Carlow, Ireland

My name is Rut, I am 18 years old, from Vic and currently studying medicine at university. When I was 15 I had an amazing opportunity: the chance to go to school in Ireland. My parents and I agreed that I would spend the first term there, in 4th year. I was going to stay in Carlow, Co. Carlow, a biggish town of about 20,000 inhabitants one hour south of Dublin.  

So there I went, pulling a huge suitcase with my right hand and an airplane ticket in the left one. I arrived on the 31st of August and already had to start in Saint Leo's College, an all girls Catholic school, the following day. Although it is obvious that in the beginning adjusting is somehow difficult (wearing a uniform, eating too many potatoes, the rainy weather...), I settled down pretty quickly and the first week went by at incredible speed. I soon made friends, both with Irish and other international students. My host mother was great and I got on well with her; she even took us out sometimes to other towns and all sorts of trips.

The education system in Ireland is a bit different from that in Catalonia and I was soon moved to 5th year, as 4th is meant to help students learn about life and I needed to study the usual subjects. I was having such a great time I managed to convince my parents to let me stay there for the whole school year.

Learning English under these circumstances is pretty straightforward and comes in natural. My level improved rapidly without much effort, just by living an Irish life. So, all in all, I had such a wonderful time, learnt a lot and had so much fun. That's why I would totally recommend this experience to anyone who has the chance, without any doubt.