Global Village Caloundra

A group of six students from Oman studied with us a couple of months ago in order to improve their English and meet CASA requirements and I’m proud to say that the improvement was tremendous.  Saud, Fatma, Yousuf, Sultan, Hamid and Mohammed  are all aspiring pilots and are currently in the middle of their flying exams. So, on behalf of every one at GV Caloundra I would like to wish them the best of luck – I’m sure they will come through with flying colours.Thanks for the pics boys.

Every day I go to school with pleasure because I learn with great teachers and in the sunshine.

I learn English through playing games and not just by writing and doing grammar exercises. So, it is good for me to learn English in Australia because I can speak and practise my English. In France I didn’t. I did a lot of writing instead.

At lunch, all the students eat together and it’s important to mix with all the different nationalities.

In general, on Friday afternoons all the teachers organise different activites, for example a couple of  Fridays ago, all the students went on a treasure hunt in Caloundra. It was very funny.

After college I go to the beach and I sunbathe, or I go shopping. On the weekend, I go to parties at night clubs or at the beach.

Australian people are very friendly and they are always present to help you. Sometimes, I have a problem communicating with Australians because some of them have strong accents and they use slang. For example, I say “see you” and they say  “see ya.”

Caloundra is a small city with beautiful beaches. I have been here for one month and I have discovered a lot of things and each day I am very happy to be here!

One of the best things about studying at GV must be the all the different students. Esther Buehrer has joined us recently and has adjusted to a student’s life quickly. She has a wonderful outlook on life and makes the best of things. This is what Esther has to say about her experience.

I have always had an interest in languages so when I retired after working for 50 years I decided to travel and to study English at the same time. It has been one of the best things I have done. Many of my friends and acquaintances back home were surprised with my decision to travel alone but it is the best way to do something new!

It’s great here and my host family is wonderful. I feel young again being a student and even accompany the other students on outings. I went to The Australia Zoo with them which was interesting.

One of my highlights here was when I realised that my grammar is improving!

In the future I hope to do something similar again, perhaps I will go to South America next.

The Rumba Resort on The Esplanade in Caloundra is looking for cooks, waiters,  dishwashers, etc.

So, if your interested send your resume to: penefathings@ozemail.com.au  Thanks for the tip, Julio.

When most students pack their suitcases and bags to come to Australia to study English, they don’t normally pack a racing bicycle, but that is exactly what Moreno did!

Moreno has been racing since he was eight years old and is a member of the Swiss National Team.  The racing club he belongs to is VMC Muhen and he is part of the GS Rufalex cycling team, competing in the Road Elite category. He has had a great year so far with two victories in the time trials.

Once Moreno finishes his studies  he will begin his training program.  A part of his training schedule involves  training on his own as well as training with local riders in the Caloundra area.  He hopes to train for 20 – 28 hours a week.        Best of luck Moreno.

Four new students joined us today. Samuel and Sabrina are in the Intermediate class, while Camilo and Myriam have joined the Upper Intermediate class. Please say hello!

Have you ever seen a beautiful beach with perfect waves and dolphins like a movie or a picture? So, welcome to paradise. It is very difficult to explain the energy that I felt in this place. So many families at the beach learning to surf together, and ‘no worries’ if wanted information all you had to do was ask the locals because they were so helpful.

The festival started on Friday the 30th of October featuring great Reggae music. The first day was incredible for me. I felt alone at the beginning but after a few minutes I had so many new Australian friends around me. Gustavo and Thiago joined me on the Island on Saturday and I met them at the beach because they were lost. At night we went to the festival and met our friend Orion selling indigenous jewellery at his stall there. The four of us enjoyed the festival from start to finish. As I said, it is something I will always remember, so if you have time you should go to this festival next year. See you there!

Guilherme Bitelli Pereira Novo – Upper Intermediate Class

They say that “it’s the race that stops the nation” and it is true! Staff and students left their classrooms to watch the race, but not without a few technical difficulties- poor Nathalie had to keep the antenna still.  In true cup spirit, spectators cheered and willed their horses on.  It was nice to see every one participate and have fun. The Elementary students went to a lot of trouble and dressed up for the occasion and were rewarded with champagne for their efforts.  First prize went to Ritsuko for the ‘Best Dressed’ and Chisa won the ‘Best Hat’ competition.  As for the sweep, Melissa got first place, Gwen second and Carlos third.

3rd – Melbourne Cup Day – Fashion Parade / Hat Competition (Best outfit and hat wins a prize!)

5th – *Club 240V Student Night at Mooloolaba

6th – Cooking afternoon

7th – Underwater World

11th – *Ski ‘n’ Skurf’

13th – Superstition Quiz

15th – Hinterland Trip: Montville, View of the Glass House Mountains, Maleny

19th – *The Sands Tavern – Student Night

20th – Perform your ‘Mind Your Language’ Skit.

28th – *Eumundi Market

(* 21 students are needed for these activities )

One one the best things about studying English overseas would have to be making new friends, visiting stunning places and sharing memories.

Last week a group of students, past and present went to Fraser Island for a 3 days and they had an amazing time.

A bus load of students from both the Caloundra and Noosa campuses went to the Gold Coast for the weekend. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet amd make friends from a different campus.

You may be wondering what the students and teachers are doing in these photos. Dancing of course.

Linley Boyle, who teaches Yoga and dancing on the coast, volunteered her friday afternoon to teach students a folk dance. At first, the students were a little reluctant but it didn’t take long before they were all involved and laughing. Apart from being a lot of  fun, students were able to practise their listening skills because they had to follow instructions.

The Upper – Intermediate students have been busy these past few weeks putting together a magazine. It’s aim is to provide new students with valuable information about GV Caloundra and Caloundra in general.

Click this link to see the Newsletter

Many thanks to all the students who worked hard on this project and a special thanks to Nathalie their teacher who has had to edit and format the magazine.

Honza, from the Pre-Intermediate class, has taken some photos that are absolutely beautiful and I hope you enjoy them.

It seems that the whole college made it to the Sands Tavern last night which explains all the sleepy faces this morning.

Luis, or Papa Luis as we have affectionally come to know and call him, is responsible for the bulk of the photos I post on the blog. He often greets me in the morning with a smile on his face and camera in tow and provides me with his latest photos. So, I would like to say thank you from us all because I know how happy you are to see your photos on the blog. Papa Luis joined us in February for 24 weeks and then re-signed for a further 12 week General English course  in August. Even though he is one of our mature age students, he has participated in all our activities and has become friends with every one, staff and students alike. His experience has been such a pleasant one that Luis would like to emigrate to Australia. Best of luck with that Papa.

Julio was the student responsible for making all that wonderful food at the FCE BBQ on Monday. Even though Julio has officially finished his 48 week course with us, he prepared all the delicious salads we enjoyed. At this point, I would have probably said how sorry we were to see him go, but that isn’t the case  because Julio has signed on again for another 44 week course. He will be starting his new course in the first week of November.

Today students and staff celebrated the very first FCE class to take place at Caloundra. We would like to wish  Chloe, Saki, Laura, Cindy, Bianca, Stephanie and Kris the best of luck with their tests. I would like to thank Julio for preparing the rice and salads and to the students who helped with the BBQ, especially Ivan and Benjamin.

As most of you already know, we have organised a student night at the Sands Tavern in Maroochydore for next Thursday night, the 15th of October. 21 lucky students will get to go there for free. A mini bus will leave from the campus next Thursday at 8.15pm. In order to be fair to all of the students we have arranged a little competition. The winners will be given a ticket to present to the driver. Good luck!

Q1. Who teaches Latin Dance classes in Caloundra?

Q2. When did Michael get married?

Q3. What is his wife’s name?

Q4. When will Gui move to Brazil?

Q5. Where did students have lunch in Noosa?

Q6. Who does Adrian work for?

Q7. How much does the  Gold Coast Trip cost?

CONGRATULATIONS

1. Matheus (Pre-Intermediate Class)

2. Andy (Pre-Intermediate Class)

3. Corinna (Pre-Intermediate Class)

4. Maggie (Pre-Intermediate Class)

5. Guilherme (Intermediate Class)

6. Stephanie Fury (Elementary)

7. Julie Boulard (Pre-Intermediate)

8. Luiz Pauloo (Pre-Intermediate)

9. Jasmin  (Pre-Intermediate)

10. Nathalie (Intermediate)

11. Sabrina Jost (Intermediate)

12. Karen Sugey (Pre-Intermediate)

13. Victor (Elementary)

14. Katia (Pre-Intermediate)

15. Anne – Sophie (Pre-Intermediate)

16. Anna Hung (Elementary)

17. kenix Li (Pre-Intermediate)

18. Annie Lee (Intermediate)

19. Adrian Ammann (Intermediate)

20. Melanie (Pre-Intermediate B)

21. Laila (Pre-Intermediate)

Michael was one of the first students from Peru to study at Caloundra. He arrived in February 2008 and finished in July the same year. He always had a big bright smile and he worked hard to improve his English. It was apparent to us then that Michael would be successful at anything he set his mind to because not only,  did he find a job for himself but he found jobs for most of his friends too. After he finished his course, he moved to Brisbane, found some more work, saved his money, flew his girlfriend over form Peru and married her.  Michael and Sofia were married on his birthday, February the 18th. He is extremely happy and says he is working hard to support them. “Life couldn’t be better.” Congratulations Michael and Sofia. We wish you both all the very best!

Laura has been teaching the locals how to dance the Salsa in Caloundra for a couple of months now and she loves it! She is quite proud of the fact that she is also the choreographer. Laura said that the lessons are becoming more popular with time and that she may have to teach another class. Keep up the good work Laura.

Gui and Lina Maria met at Caloundra when they both started studying here at the end of 2008. They started going out almost immediately and became a couple soon after that. Both students left a few months ago. So what happens when a Colombian student meets and falls in love with a Brazilian student and vice versa? In this case, Gui has moved to Colombia to be with Lina. It must be love, their friends say, after all it isn’t easy for a Brazilian to get a job in Colombia. Gui told me that he plans to stay in Colombia until Christmas time and then head back to Brazil. He hopes Lina will follow. Take care guys and let us know how things go.

Kings Beach was the venue for the sand sculpting afternoon. Students got to work on their masterpieces straight after the BBQ and I hear that every one had a good time discussing what they were going to do and sculpting their designs. The winning sculpture was the big fish. Congratulations to you all.