New York: Discovering The Big Apple from top to bottom (and the other way around).

English:

New York: Discovering The Big Apple from top to bottom (and the other way around).

As I had already said here, my English course in Brighton wouldn't be the last one. And I knew it even before coming back from Brighton. In September 2006, I started my degree in university and, taking into account that university life was a new adventure on its own, it was not until summer 2007 that I decided to travel again. And what was my destination this time? New York! 

London, I have a crush on you.

English: 

London, I have a crush on you.

There's not a better way to start describing my feelings for London than quoting Roxette's song "Crush On You". I had been in love with London since long before I finally got a chance to visit it. Before I travelled to Brighton in 2005, I had already made plans to visit London, but I was advised to go to Brighton instead because I wouldn't meet so many Spanish people (and would therefore speak English more often). Nevertheless, the fact that I spent one whole month in Brighton didn't stop me from visiting the city of London, especially taking into account how close Brighton's train station was from where I lived. One weekend, my Spanish friend, Carmen, and I decided to take a train and go to London. After a two-hour-long journey, we arrived to the first city of my dreams (and I say 'first' because back then I didn't know that the future cities I would discover in my life would also become "cities of my dreams"). Of course, London surpassed all my expectations... not only was the city huge and beautiful, but there were also so many interesting sights to see. I remember taking a touristic bus and walking around it just as if it had happened yesterday. I remember eating a packed sandwich in front of the Thames with the Houses of Parliament on my right side and looking straight towards the London Eye. I remember sitting in front of the Buckingham Palace to see the Changing of the Guard, looking for a bargain in Oxford Street, falling in love with Harrod's windows, walking across the Tower Bridge, visiting the Tower of London and, of course, posing in front of the Big Red Bus and the telephone boxes. London was also the first city where I got to use the underground. London was - and still is - a must as well as a first for me: many things that happened in my life (such as using an underground or seeing lots of guards in front of a Royal Palace) happened in London for the first time. Due to all this, I think there's no need to say that London is such a special place for me nowadays. London was a dream before I had seen it with my own eyes and, even though I have already been there three times, it will always be a dream - though now it's a dream come true.

Brighton, Cambridge and why studying abroad is worth your time and money.

English:

Brighton, Cambridge and why studying abroad is worth your time and money.

Since my parents had seen that I was capable of travelling "alone" and going back home safe and sound, they finally allowed me to go abroad to study an English course. Since I was 12 I had always known I wanted to become an English teacher - I loved foreign languages (and still do) and wanted to study an English course abroad so bad. So summer 2005 was the perfect chance for me to go and make my dream come true. I went to Brighton (England) for one whole month in summer and I fell in love with the English language and culture even more. I was lucky, because I lived with an amazing family (a single mum and her four-year-old child) who really appreciated me. Also, the house where I lived was very close to the school I attended every morning from Monday to Friday, the shopping centre, the cinema, the train station, the beach and the so well-known Brighton Pier and Pavilion. Spending one month in Brighton was a wonderful experience: I met lots of new people from many different countries (including a Spanish girl from my class who became one of my best friends), I had lots of fun, I visited the outskirts as well as other cities (like Cambridge and London - but London deserves another blog entry on its own), I discovered my fascination for cookies and banoffee and I learnt many new things about the English language. I had new classmates every week, but that wasn't a bad thing - it was a perfect occasion to discover new things about other fascinating places in this world. As you can imagine, and taking into account what an incredible experience it was, I knew I would go and study abroad in other occasions - and so I did. What I knew for sure the moment I left Brighton was that those people and those experiences would always be in my memory and in my heart.