18/05/2023
At Twin, we have been sending interns to work in Valencia through the Turing Scheme since January 2022. Since then, lots of people have brought their stories to Valencia and experienced what it is like to live and work in this beautiful Mediterranean city. Many interns aim to boost their CV, experience a new culture, broaden their horizons, gain independence and improve their Spanish speaking skills. For a few interns, the Twin Turing Scheme in Valencia has changed their life.
Eliza and Pips are two of these interns. They were a part of the first Twin Turing Scheme group that arrived in Valencia, and at first, it seemed that the odds were against them. Covid was still disturbing the city and it was a rare frosty winter in the otherwise sunny Valencia. Both TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) qualified, they were placed at Let’s Talk English Centre, an English academy and Cambridge exam preparation centre in downtown Valencia. Eliza and Pips wanted to put into practice what they had learnt during their training through real teaching experience. They arrived in Valencia with the expectation of spending three months there and then returning to the UK.
One day, Let’s Talk’s Director of Studies walked into the staff room and asked them if they knew of two people looking for a job in TEFL since she had two vacancies available. Pips and Eliza accepted immediately. After some time getting all the work visa paperwork ready, they settled in Valencia.
When asked about their internship, the girls highlighted how hands-on and practical their tasks were from the first day. “I think I taught my first class in the first week,” stated Pips. They mentioned that besides the teaching tasks, they got involved in lesson and course preparation as well as planning, marking, and assessing. “The theory is all great and everything, but it's just not the same as actually teaching. It is not until you start teaching that you learn how to teach,” added Eliza.
Eliza and Pips told us how they heard about the Twin Turing Scheme programme and why they chose Valencia. One saw the program advertised at their university and the other heard about it from friends. They both thought that it was the perfect opportunity for them to begin their careers. “This is a good way to start, building up some experience. So, I thought it would be great and then, obviously, it has worked out very well!”
When asked why they chose Valencia as their destination city, both had been recommended to go by others. They both had previous Spanish knowledge and liked the culture, weather and food. Eliza says, “It's the third biggest city in Spain, but it still has quite a familiar feel to it. The weather, it’s beautiful. I just love the way of life here. I think Valencia is becoming very popular.”
Finding a social network in Valencia of international students and expats from different parts of the world helped them feel more at home. Despite some initial challenges to adjusting to a new city, they both adapted very quickly. On arrival, “it was definitely a shock. But very quickly, you just adapt.” The girls say, “being surrounded by a foreign language all the time can feel a bit daunting and isolating at times. At the beginning it takes you a bit of time to get to know the city, the bus routes’ map, where the main things and places are, but we quickly adapted.” For the first few weeks everything was new, but “it was easy to adjust” and to discover what the city had to offer. “It's really nice because there are a surprising number of vegetarian restaurants and places that we can eat out at, which we didn't expect.,,” they share.
We asked them about cultural differences between Spain and the UK and the girls said, “English people are quite self-conscious about themselves and here everybody is more direct.”
When asked about what advice or tips they would give to future Twin Turing participants, they both mentioned that it is very important to go out and meet other people living in Valencia. While they made good friends in their Twin Turing group, they said that getting out there, attending events and joining activities gives you a greater insight into what is going on in the city. Activities such as the language exchange or the weekly trivia night in English allowed them to meet new people also living in Valencia. “There are a lot of expats here, there’s a community that you can reach out to,” they say. Walking the new city is definitely very important too, “the best way to get to know a city is to walk”.
The girls felt looked after by Twin, saying, “I definitely felt supported throughout the whole process from start to finish.” They emphasised that the work Twin does to prepare interns is the reason they were able to adapt so quickly, saying, “I feel like Twin prepared us really well because of the guidelines and training we received.”
Both Eliza and Pips now live in Valencia and have adapted their lives and careers successfully to a new country thanks to the Twin Turing Scheme. Find out more about the Turing Scheme here.
