EF Stories: Ramon from the Netherlands at EF Miami
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My dream
For me, it was always a dream to go to America. I was (and still am) particularly interested in the culture, nature and the stories you see in films, for example. In short, I wanted to go to America! Unfortunately this was not so easy, I dreamed a lot about it, but could not make much happen yet. Questions that kept me busy were, for example:
“When do I want to go?”
“Where do I want to go (America is so big)?”
“Do I want to go alone or with friends/family?”
After my college studies, I was able to work at a company for six months because they had a temporary position available. During this six-month period, the feeling to travel started to come up more than usual. That was the moment I decided to put my dream on paper and make everything real. I was going to go to America after this six-month period, but how and what, I still had to figure out. After some searching it occurred to me that I could possibly also go to America in a functional way by, for example, doing a study and trip combined into 1. This would allow me to also use my experience to positively boost my career by putting something of a training/course on my resume for this period.
After spending some time on the Internet, I quickly came across the EF site (which I liked very much). I contacted EF and was very pleasantly assisted by the employee. She was spontaneous and could clearly answer all my questions. When I had everything in order, I decided to take the step and go to Miami to start my American adventure.
The trip
My travel plan was as follows - I would first spend two months taking a basic language course at EF Miami, and then go to California for a month to start a road trip. So on the one hand, there was an educational side and on the other, a side in which I wanted to have a taste of nature while also going on a road trip.
Once I arrived in Miami, everything was very well arranged (including transportation). For example, I was also immediately made very welcome at the EF campus. Once I arrived at the room, a bond was immediately created with the guys I slept with in the room. There was a very relaxed atmosphere and I could tell that everyone was there for each other right away. All in all, of course, you are all in the same boat. So then, when I walked into EF on the first day of school, I suddenly had 100+ friends there!
Even though I was nervous, I felt right at home. During the day you had school and after classes we basically went out with the whole school to do fun activities. EF itself often organized activities in which you could participate voluntarily, which were very fun by the way. Outside of the school hours you had a lot of free time, in this time you could decide for yourself what you wanted to do. I usually went to the gym in the evening (near the EF campus) or went for a run on the boulevard. We also went out regularly, in two months I saw almost every big club in Miami where I had the most fun nights ever. Be careful though, because once back in the Netherlands going out became a lot less fun....
My learning experience
As for the education, you can specify how intensive you want your courseto be and there is a test at the beginning to determine your level. Because I was in Miami with the students from all over the world, I was immediately required to speak English everywhere. So the lessons I took on the EF campus, I could immediately apply "in real life." This was very insightful for me, especially because you can help other students (and vice versa).
Furthermore, now, three years later, I am still in touch occasionally with some friends I met in Miami. Unfortunately, they all live far away, but should I ever be in the area I would definitely visit them. In other words - I have vacation addresses all over the world!
In conclusion, I have had the time of my life thanks to EF, it is a very wonderful opportunity to learn and see the world. It gave me unique memories that I will never forget. I can recommend a language course with EF to everyone. It is very useful, fun and definitely a unique experience!