The best stay in England

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Food
The food was lovely, Daniela cook very well. We had three meals.
Breakfirst : we’ ve got milk, cereals
They were a lot of kind of cereals and we’ve got an orange juice.
For lunch we’ve got two sandwiches or pasta carbonara. The sandwiches was good but i prefer pasta carbonara she makes it very well.
For diner we’ve got some different meal everyday like pizza which i did it with her, we’ve got curry, chicken, risotto… . And some times for desert we can have ice-cream. We were never hungry because we can have as much as we want.

Excursion
The excursion was very good.
Our first little excursion it was when we visit the village with Andrew ( the son of Daniela).
The second we went to two museum which was cold Fitzwilliam museum and the second polar museum. In cold Fitzwilliam my favorite things were mummies and in the polar museum it was the model of boat. After visit museum we went to shopping it was very fun and at the end we went visit a lot of colleges and climb up an tower with the tight spiral staircase.
But my favorite excursion was London because we went to London dungeon it was very fun and scary. After we went to Buckingham palace but they were a lot of people so we went to Westminster and we had a tour of boat in the river. Later we went on tower bridge, we climbed up and up there the were floor that was made with window. the view was beautiful, we took a lot of picture and we went at the front of the bridge because it was going to get up and open to have more place so the boat can pass. A few minutes later we went to Piccadilly Circus and we went in to Hamley it is a very big shop just for toys.

I want to say thank you to Daniela for all the excursions, lessons and food. You are a good teacher you get me have fun into this trip. It was my favorite stay with Living Learning English.

Hugo

Two Awesome Weeks With Daniela

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Hello! My name is Ivan Bokhan. I’m 15 years old and I’m from Belarus. I staying in a nice two-story house in Cottenham , Cambridge. I will be here for two weeks, with Daniela, Deryck (her husband) and two nice children. I stay here with another student called Hugo. I’m really happy that I can stay with so nice family.

Family

The family is really polite and funny. I think that is good that I can talk with native speakers. They have a children, Emma and Andrew (7-years old and 11-years old) and they are very nice and polite kids. I’m spending a lot of time with Andrew and we become a friends. I didn’t expect that in these family they have a children and I thought that it will be worse that without them but later we started to communicate very well.

Lessons 

This is very good that in our lessons we can decide the time of the lesson per day (we choose 5 hours per day) .

In our first lesson Daniela show us the fat book called “Phrases, Saying, and Quotation” and every lesson we need to take two frappes from these book and explain it. In the beginning it was hard but later it became easier.

In our lessons we work from the book as well as discussing exercises with my partner. And that was interesting and fun. Daniela reproduced texts for us and we listened to it. We had a lot of reading, speaking and working with exercises. I think that the main reason for this improvement is that I’m speaking English all the time. In lessons, with the children, on the excursion and with the partner. And I think that is important to think in English. I’ve been in England twice before, but this time was the best.

House

I was really impressed when I arrived. I went upstairs and I saw my room and it was awesome because the room is very big and we have our own bathroom. I shared the room with Hugo(my partner) but there is more than enough space for both of us. Our bedroom looks very big and clean and there are two windows so the room is nicely lit up the whole day.
But not only our bedroom is really comfortable. We live here in a big house, the sitting room as well as the dinning room are quite big.
Sometimes we have dinner in the big, nice and comfortable garden.I was extremely  glad when I saw our house.

Food

I’ve been in England twice before, but this time i had the best meals. We have three meals a day. In the morning we always have cereals with milk and orange juice. After lessons we usually have a lunch. Sometimes it is something lite like omelet or sandwiches. Near seven o’clock we have a dinner. Daniela always cooking something nice and tasty for example pizza, pasta, risotto, fish or chicken. And sometimes we can try very tasty desert like chocolate cake or  “pavlova” cake.

Excursions 

Excursions was really interesting. One time we were in London and the other days we stayed in Cambridge.
In Cambridge we visited many different Colleges. For example the St. Johns college impressed me because it looks like the Hogwarts from Harry Potter. We had many activities in Cambridge, like visiting tho shopping centre, the Fitzwilliam Museum, swimming pool, aqua park, and I really enjoyed the boat ride in King’s University.

When we went to London we had the possibility to decide what we want to visit. So we decided to go on the London Dungeon. After this attraction we did a short boat ride which was very beautiful. We left the boat near the Tower Bridge so we climb to the top and took some beautiful photos and went by metro to the Picadilly Circus. The excursion to London was absolutely lovely.

In the end I want to say that the house, people, food, excursions was really great. Thank you “Living Learning English”!

Wunderful stay with Daniela Thake in Cambridge

Fantastic Cambridge Visits
Fantastic Cambridge Visits

Hi it´s Romana here. I´m 18 years old and I´m from Austria. I staying in Cottenham – near Cambridge – for two weeks with Daniela and her family. I stay here with another LLE student called Estelle. We are very glad to stay with really nice family.

Family

The family is very polite and we love to stay with them. We learnt a lot  of new vocabulary while we were here. The children (6-years old girl and 10-years old boy) talk a lot to us so we learnt to understand English child language. We felt very welcome here so our stay was better than expected.

Accommondation

I was really impressed when I arrived .I went upstairs and I saw my room the first time it was a ‘wow-effect’ , because the room is very big and we have our own bathroom. I have to share the accomondation with Estelle(my collegue) but there is  more  than enough space for both of us. Our bedroom looks very friendly and there are three windows so the room is nicely lit up the whole day.
But not only our bedroom is really comfortable. We live here in a big house, the sitting room as well as the dinning room are quite big.
Estelle and I have the luck that this is a house with a spacious garden, so we can stay outside whenever we want. Most of the time we have dinner in the garden. I prefer this because it is a absolutely marevllous habit.
(I have already been to a host family in England with different agency five years ago and it wasn´t a good experience. I had to stay with two other girls in a very small room and we had to share the bathroom with seven other people.)
I was extremely  glad when I saw our accommondation .

Lessons

In our first lesson Daniela told us how she will teach us and if we want something to be changed we only have to inform her. We were allowed to choose the topics we prefered.
In our lessons we work from the book as well as free talk about many different topics.It is a god fun!
Daniela records our spoken texts and plays it again so we can correct our own mistakes. In this way we are able to listen to our first recording  ( the beginning of our stay) and we can see the progress we have made is extremely good . The main reason for this improvement is that we have no other possibility than speaking English all the time.
I think I improved my English very much  because of the fact that everybody around me speaks English so I began to think in English.
I have been to England twice before  but both times were  with other Austrian students. We didn´t talk to each other in English so the progress was not as good as this one.

Hi it´s Estelle here. I´m 18 years old and I´m from Switzerland.

Food

It´s been over a week now that I´m in England and I like the food at Daniela´s home very much. We have three meals a day and we eat a lot in the morning. The breakfast consists of cereals and toast with a cup of tea and some juice. After lessons we have lunch. Most of the time we eat sandwiches but we had the possibility to get a omelets or pasta for lunch. If we are hungry in the meantime we are able to take fruits.
For the dinner Daniela cooks homemade healthy food. Every dinner was different to the others and it was delicious so we asked for the recipe not only once. We had meals like abergine, fish, chicken, pizza, pasta and many other delicious dishes.

Excursions

I´m very happy because we had almost every day an excursion. One time we were in London and the other days we stayed in Cambridge.
In Cambidge we visited many different Colleges. For example the St. Johns college impressed me because it looks a bit like the Harry Potter’s college. We had many activities in Cambridge, like visiting the Botanic Garden, where we listened  to a concert, the Fritzwilliam Museum, a Shakepearepake’s Play , an indoor Swimming area, the Grand Acarde Shopping Centre and I really enjoyed the Panting tour on the river near the Universities of Cambridge.

When we went to London we had the possibility to decide what we want to visit. So we decided to go on the London Eye. At the top of London Eye we had a fantastic view of

the city. After this attraction we did a boat tour which was very exciting. We left the boat near the Big Ben so we took some awesome photos and went by bus to the Brithish Museum. The excursion to London was absolutely lovely.

Once we went ice skating an hour away from our home. It was a really good experience because we had a lot of fun with the children and I learnt how to skate without any help.

 

 

 

A Lovely Week in Cambridge

Hi it’s Louisa here.I’m a 16-year-old girl from China and I’ve stayed in Cambridge for a week now.I’ve got much more familiar with the city which sounded more like the name of one of the most prestigious universities in the world for me.

*Food*

Food here is very different from the way we have in China.We have same breakfast every morning——porridge and toasts with butter and blueberry jam.As for lunch and dinner,we have got a variety.Sandwiches,pizzas,soup,chicken pies,omelet with mushroom,a mix-up of corns,peas,carrots and salmons……English food seems not as unpalatable as we’ve heard about.On the contrary,it is delicious and delicate indeed.

(Why delicate?English people have all kinds of tablewares to suit all tastes as well as a wide wide range of jam and juice…And of course plenty of dissert and snacks in stock.They also have the habit of eating in the garden.There’re trees and flowers and entertaining facilities like trampolines and swings for children to stretch out.How sweet!!)

*Classes*

Daniela is our considerate and experienced teacher.Her teaching style is just unique.Instead of doing all the things for us,she steps backwards,encourages us,tells us the method and gives us the feedback,through which course we have improved the ability to study independently,boosted self-esteem and formed a more conscientious personality.We especially did teamwork jobs and freely-talking practice,making quite great progresses during the lessons.

 

 

London Eye Here!
Our Trip to London  :-)

 

And it’s Angel Time~I study in the same class in China with Louisa.Let me introduce you guys to the excursions and family we have then!

*Excursions*

We got outings every day here.We went to Pembroke College on Monday and St John’s College in Cambridge is really beautiful and I like the church in Pembroke College the most.The heavenly environment can make you forget all of the feelings in you life.

We visited a garden as well.It’s Cambridge University Botanic Garden and we went there twice.The first time,we were obsessed by the fascinating plants in the garden and the next time,we listened to a concert played on the grass.I love the man who played perfect cello.He is really handsome!

If you visit London without going to the museums,you are so unlucky.The museums in England are all fantastic!No matter is it the porcelain in the Fitzwilliam Museum or the mummy in the British Museum,I like them all.We stayed in London for a whole day on Thursday. London Eye,Big Ben,the Thames River ……I believe I’ll never forget them!

What’s more,we are truly looking forward to going to the King’s College gardens to enjoy the Shakespeare’s play Midsummer Nights Dream tonight.It must be amazing!

*Family*

The place where we live is really great.We lived comfortably and had a great time with the family.Although we have different cultures,we did feel at home because of the friendly family members. Of course, we have learnt a lot of protocols here.We feel we are very polite now.

Two unforgettable weeks

bridge of sighs
bridge of sighs

We’re Julia, from Spain, and Marie, from France. We’ve had an amazing two weeks here with Kate and Peter. We’ve done many things such as going to London (twice), to Canterbury, to Harry Potter Studios, to a pub quizz and even flying in a little four-seater airplane. It’s been a great experience, and although we were a bit worried about the food, it’s been very good!! Thank you Peter and Kate for this two week in England, we will never forget what you’ve done for us. Bye!!

st Albans park

Toast at Thiebault and Hannah's new house
Toast at Thiebault and Hannah’s new house

 

 

Fish and chips :P
Fish and chips 😛

 

First trip to London
First trip to London

 

Platform nine and three quarters
Platform nine and three quarters

 

Natural history museum
Natural history museum

 

Music festival
Music festival

 

Let's go flying!!
Let’s go flying!!

 

My first time in the UK

Hello.

My name is SAKURAKO. I’m Japanese.  I stayed 3 weeks in St Albans with KATE and PETER.

I visited London, Whipsnade Zoo, Jazz concert, opera, etc.

Peter taught me about the history of St Albans.  Peter is a walking dictionary!!!

I went to Cambridge. I was surprised at the Mathematical Bridge. Because it was first built without bolts or nuts!! it’s just wood. In the library, I saw Newton’s hairs, his note, etc.

I visited Harry Potter Studio with Kate. It was beautiful and amazing!!! I tried butter beer. But it was too sweet for me. I stayed there about 5 hours!!!

Every Wednesday, we went to a concert to listen to different music.

After the concert, we went to a pub to speak with Kate’s friends.

They are very kind and friendly!!!

I had good fun to stay in Kate’s house!!

My conversation progressed more than I hoped !!

Harry PotterDeer at WhipsnadeJazz concertEvery WednesdayWalking in the countryside

IELTS preparation in St Albans

Post walk refreshments
Post walk refreshments
Brown Bears at Whipsnade Zoo
Brown Bears at Whipsnade Zoo
Post concert socialising
Post concert socialising
Kate and Peter
Kate and Peter

My name is Hao. I came to Kate’s house to study for my IELTS. I got the result I needed. I’m happy.
Every Monday night we played Quiz in pub. Peter played Quiz very well.
Every Wednesday we went to concert to listen different music.
After my IELTS exam I worked in a charity shop.
I visited London, Cambridge and Whipsnade Zoo.
I spoke with Kate’s friends. They were very friendly. My speaking is much better.
Sometime we went to theatre to watch a play.

Learning in St Albans

Hello,  my  name  is  Jiebin,  i  come  from  China,  I’m  19.  I  stayed  in  St  Albans  with  Kate  and  peter  for  ten  weeks,  i  had  plenty  of  fun  with  Kate’  family.  I  came  to  England  to  learn  English  and  to  prepare  for  the  IELTS  exam.

It  was  amazing  to  describe  my  long  journey  in  England. I  went  to  London,  Durham,  cambridge,  Brighton,  Blenheim  Palace  and  the  zoo, i  especially  like  visiting  Durham,  Cambridge  and  London.

In  Durham,  Kate,  Peter  and  i  lived  with  Kate’  brother  in  law  for  two  days,   her  brother  in  law  was  quite  funny.  He  taught  me  cooking and  we  went  to  Durham  university,  It  was  very  beautiful,  then  we  visited  the  Durham  cathedral,  it  was  one  thousand  years  old  and  still  very  beautiful.

In  Cambridge,  we  visited  Cambridge  university  and  there  were  30  colleges.  we  saw  many  building  about  famous  people,  like  Isaac  Newton’s  accomodation.

In  London,  i  visited  the  Madame  Tussauds,  which  was  very  fantastic.  There  were  400  waxworks  inside,  including  actors,  singers,  bands  and  politicians.  It  was  quite  interesting.  Then  i  went  to  BFI  cinema,  tower  bridge,  Buckingham  Palace  and  Chinatown,  they  all  were  good  experiences  for  me

In  addition,  we  still  have  many  activities.  We  went  to  concert  every  Wednesday  and  i  had  lots  of  conversation  to  practice  my  socializing.  Sometime,  we  visited  some  new  teachers  and  Kate  gave  some  advice  to  teachers.

Now,  my  English  is  much  better  and  i  will  never  forget  this  lovely  journey !

Thank  you  for  everything.

jiebin

New Year 2013 in St Albans

image P1100035_first_dinner,_on_Boxing_Day,_with_trifle,_mince_pies_and_christmaspudding_ P1100072 P1100173 P1100202_fish_and_chips,_and_steak_and_ale_pie,_in_The_Eagle

I stayed at Kate and Peter’s house for 2weeks from the date of December 26

They are a very friendly family.
So I enjoyed 2weeks as part of the family.
I went to London and Cambridge.
On New Year’s Eve they took me to a party.
We celebrated the New Year until 5 in the morning!
It has been a valuable experience for me.
Kate is a very active and talkative person.
So I really enjoyed her lesson and St Albans life.

AMAZING KATE AND PETER

 

Kate and Peter gave me the opportunity to have many exciting and amazing experiences.

Kate and Peter took me to many places.

I went to London and Cambridge and the Cotswolds.  They are amazing places.

My confidence developed and I went to Brighton and London independently.

And they taught me a lot about history.

They often took me to a lot of local places. I met a lot of people in carols, concert, Nursing home, in pub. I also had many experience of real life in the community.

And St Albans is a very lovely city.

Most of all, they are always kind to me.

I want to come here again.

 

Yuki and Pam in a traditional pub - The Cock At Verulam House Nursing Home Listening to Carols in St Albans  Concert Group Indian lunch at Singhli, Wed 12 Dec Champagne celebration for Hannah