My #experience in Cambridge When I finished my studies I found a small job where, after a while, I couldn’t find any way to do anything different. There came a point where I thought there wasn’t much else to do, and then I found out about Connectors-Plus and they encouraged me to start something new in Cambridge. They made it very easy for me, all the paperwork, English courses and accommodation were taken care of. They also guided me in finding a job and even getting a volunteer position to practice the English I had studied. I had to take the initiative and the desire to meet everyone, and so I mixed with students from everywhere and little by little I became more comfortable in English. I enjoyed the calm of cycling around Cambridge, which is small and really beautiful. I learnt to drive punting boats on the River Cam. In the city centre there was always someone to go to the pub with or have a barbecue in the Colleges. I always had something amazing to do and I saw my hard work pay off. There is so much movement and opportunity. I made good friends with whom I made unforgettable plans, I saw different things and I learned enough English to be able to get a job straight after finishing the course that I would not have considered without the new perspective that my life in England gave me. I work at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva, and I’m starting over, maintenant en Français…

Volunteering says very positive things about you. Volunteering says a lot of positive things about you. But if you have any doubts about what your work in an English charity shop would entail and how much volunteering like this would benefit you personally, I’ll clear them up quickly. Charity shops, for example, are shops, but while they sell books, clothes, audio players and other products, they also carry out profound social work, because as you know, in the English economic system social assistance is closely linked to private initiative. So, the money that charities get is used to finance social projects that they are part of, such as helping children, orphans, the elderly, homeless people, there are endless types. But anyway, I’ll get to the point. One of the main reasons for volunteering is that they are simple jobs that you can do with a basic knowledge of the English language. Obviously, as you spend time volunteering at a Charity, you will acquire vocabulary and improve your English without realizing it through a natural process of linguistic immersion, without much effort, doing things with your hands and establishing the typical social relationships of the working world. Another very important reason for doing this job is obviously its ethical characteristics, which are highly valued in the Anglo-Saxon working world. Being young and having decided to do social work says a lot about you. It says that you care about society, that you have an ethical and social conscience. It says that you are brave enough to embark on the English working world, and of course it says that you are an entrepreneur and hard worker, which is a plus on your CV both there and in Spain. Being able to learn English by participating in an ethically fundamental and professionally praiseworthy experience is wonderful, and Connectors Plus helps you make this experience possible. Check out the Gap Year programs or prepare to study a degree in the United Kingdom. Go for it, there are fascinating experiences and this one could be part of your life!

Save time with a Gap Year Do you think you know what you want? Or do you have no idea what to do with your life? Have you ever given yourself the chance to prove yourself in a professional context? Maybe volunteering? Do you think that learning English at eighteen is exactly the same as learning English at thirty? If you have more questions than answers and the world is drowning you with them, I’ll tell you one thing: IT’S NORMAL. When I was eighteen, a little while ago, I didn’t know whether to study psychology, journalism or political science. I felt more lost than an octopus in a garage, it was difficult to listen to myself under so much pressure. I wish someone had told me: Don’t worry Elena, you have a lot of things to learn and you can start with these. You can live in another cultural context for a year, give yourself the opportunity to work and see what you like, you can learn about social work, give yourself time to get to know yourself in a new place without pressure. You can really learn English and have this handicap solved for the rest of your life. That’s what a gap year is, Elena. Many young people around the world do it and it’s an essential life experience that will make you feel much calmer and more confident in your decisions. That didn’t happen. And I had to realize it myself three years later. That’s when I did it, and I’m very happy about it today. It’s just that I went around in circles more than necessary before reaching this conclusion. Actually, I’ll tell you one thing, you can do a lot more with your life than you imagine. There are more direct paths to reach interesting goals that fulfill you more than those that they tell you are right, what happens is that many times we lack perspective. At that time I didn’t know how to see it, but today I have it very clear: A gap year is not a waste of time, it is gaining time for oneself, culture, immersion in the language, confidence in our decisions, work experience, and valuable knowledge that we rarely have the opportunity to acquire. Keep up the good work, it’s worth it.

I am currently on my way from Vigo to Dublin to check how our school year is going in Ireland. We are now leaving the north of France behind and are preparing to cross the English Channel, such incredible views! I am taking advantage of this trip to Ireland to tell you about the beginnings of our project. This project was born, without my being aware of it, when I was 9 years old, the age chosen by my parents for me to start going abroad. I remember my tears at the airport before leaving, how I got on the plane accompanied by the stewardess, those first moments when I arrived at my new family’s house, the difficulties of the first days, “those strange meals”, the schedules… And I kept thinking, how strange these English people are! But from that first experience I remember, above all, the friends I made, the places I discovered, the fears I overcame and, with the passage of time, I realized that “beans for breakfast” are not so bad and neither are the English. In addition to all this, the memory that stayed with me was the day my family came to see me worried about my first trip abroad alone, and I perfectly remember my “bad temper” when I saw them there, I didn’t want them to come! I just wanted to be with my new friends, I didn’t want to miss a single second of that new experience. I didn’t want to go back, or at least not for a couple more weeks. My perception of the world had changed, my fears had disappeared, nothing would be the same again! Now, Seats bealt on, we land! These days in Ireland, after assessing how our boys and girls are, we will attend a museum night in Dublin, we will discover the history of Belfast and its murals. In addition, at the request of the participants, we will visit the Titanic museum and, through an interactive game, we will learn more about its history.

At CONNECTORS PLUS we love September…well, and June, and July, and August… We look back at those wonderful moments we have experienced throughout the summer: our students nervous and excited at the airport saying goodbye to their families, looking sideways at their new companions who will be their jokes and adventures for 2, 3 or 4 weeks on the Isle of Wight, in Bournemouth, in Chichester, in Cambridge… The first friendships emerge on the plane and the first instructions from the monitors Pablo, Pedro, Ana, María begin: safety and camaraderie above all. We arrived. The WhatsApp groups are abuzz: My roommate is a French guy, We’re with some Russians, We’re going to the beach, who’s up for it? Send us your location!!! “Please, guys, be punctual tomorrow morning.” And time flies by with classes, excursions, bike rides, games on the beach, punting on the Cam River, disco afternoons, games, camaraderie with classmates and instructors, secrets, anecdotes, laughter. With her English certificates under her arm, it’s time to pack her suitcase to go back: Ana, my suitcase is smaller than before or something, let’s see if it fits by sitting on it… They want to go back because they miss grandma’s tortilla, but they want to stay forever with those friends with whom they already want to plan next summer and from whom they don’t want to part. Goodbye with tears and hugs. On the way home the WhatsApp is on fire again: “I miss you already, buaa”, “We’re meeting up now!” Guys and girls, it’s been great sharing these summer days with you. See you next summer! That’s why we love September and now the new school year is here with new challenges.

If you are reading this news, it means that you are already here, on the new Connectors Plus website, and we have carefully thought of everything for you. Accompanying you in the challenges you will encounter when moving to another country is what distinguishes us as an international mobility agency. We wanted this philosophy of our Welcome Plan, our mission as a company, to also be reflected in our new website. Our programs cover the need to learn English, but they are much more than that. They are true experiences of personal growth, at any age, for people who move to another country and have to learn to move and interact in another language in a short time. That is why we know the importance of being there when they need us. By transferring this knowledge to our website, we have made it a user-friendly and welcoming environment so that you can easily access all the information about the company and the programs we offer. For example, from the “Programs” menu you have direct access to all the programs we have active at the moment and also to those for future dates. You will also find a nearby contact channel so that we can resolve your doubts and assist you in choosing the program that best suits your needs and interests. We are still polishing the details, so if you want to send us your suggestions for improvement, do not hesitate, we will be very happy to consider them as far as possible or incorporate them into our roadmap. We would like to thank noez design, the team that created this marvel, for helping us define every aspect of the website, both in terms of design, content and interactive communication. Image courtesy of www.freepik.com