Tales from the volunteers

My name is Shane Blaylock, I’m 18 years old and I’m from a small town in the North East of England called Haltwhistle. I currently study outdoor adventure sport at Newton Rigg college and in my first year of studying I was granted the chance to apply and be interviewed for a winter sports project in Sweden. My initial thoughts were this sounds amazing as Sweden is a place I’d never thought I’d look into travelling to and or take part in winter sports such as cross country skiing.

Once I was interviewed my excitement grew and 2 weeks later I was told I was going to Sweden for free! Which is amazing being from a low income family and the fact I’d never been abroad before.

Whilst studying outdoor adventure sport, I took part in kayaking, canoeing, caving, climbing and hill walking which fuelled my interest to become an outdoor instructor.

To be a good instructor you need to be able to be confident and adaptable, which are 2 things I was able to develop when in Sweden.

During the project, I spoke in front of school pupils and delivered a presentation of live in England and then got into small groups and compared the differences between England and Sweden. I learned that Sweden is much more environmentally friendly such as returning plastics to supermarkets for money. I had to adapt between different groups as there was age differences and different abilities of speaking English, through this I was also able to learn a little bit of Swedish as well.

When we weren’t in classrooms, we would either be on the slopes, on an ice rink, driving snow mobiles or being pulled on a sledge by huskies! There was always something to do, one of my favourite activities was ice fishing. A memorable moment is sitting on a frozen lake at -12 degrees looking at the Northern lights!

We also become good friends with a sámi family and worked on their reindeer farm for a day. I’m still in contact with them today!

Since coming back from Sweden, (apart from wanting to go back) I have gained relevant Outdoor Adventure qualifications which will help me get jobs in the outdoor industry.

I have become much more competent in trying new things since partaking in winter sports and the want to develop new skills has increased dramatically. The project has made me enthusiastic to travel to different countries and learn about different cultures and hopefully work abroad too.

The project has made me become more independent and taught me important life skills such as having to cook for myself and the group has made me a lot more confident in my own cooking and has allowed me to cook at home more frequently which I love. Budgeting was also a key part when shopping which has helped me be more careful with my own money.

With all the skills I have learned from the project, I felt confident enough to further my education and apply to university which will help me develop my skills learned in Sweden even more, making me an all round better outdoor instructor.

 

DM Banner EP

Project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union – The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

My name is Joe and I went on the Sweden project.
During my time here, i have been able to work with a range of different people from different backgrounds, teaching them about our culture and learning about there’s through questions and quiz games.
In my free time we have been doing a range of different activity’s, including snowmobiling, cross country skiing, feeding reindeers and ice skating.
Thanks to Erasmus+ I have been able to learn a lot about the Swedish culture. I have had many opportunity’s to work with different cultures that will benefit me in the future.
Personally I feel I have became more confident working with others and improved on my teaching skills from working with the  scouts and school kids.
Joe Rimmer

 
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Vocational Educational Training (VET) project part of ‘Discovering More’, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
DM Banner Askham IDEUM LQ
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

My name is Shane Blaylock, I’m 17 years old.
I went on a project in Sweden to do a 2 week experience doing winter sports. Also I have never been overseas before so I was very excited to fly.
During my project, I have experienced things that are nearly impossible to do in England, I have gained confidence in new skills such as ice skating, cross country skiing and reindeer farming. I also got to know Swedish people my age by going into their schools and talking to them, comparing Sweden to England.
In my free time, I really enjoying learning how to ice skate. Skiing is something I’d never thought I’d do and I’ve really enjoyed doing it.
Thanks to Erasmus+, personally, I have build my confidence in talking to strangers whether it being kids in school or people I’ve bumped into down the shops or an a walk.
Shane Blaylock

 
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Vocational Educational Training (VET) project part of ‘Discovering More’, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
DM Banner Askham IDEUM LQ
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Hi my name is Erin. I am 17 and I am from Cumbria.
During my project I have been in two different schools to learn their culture as well as show them what our lives are like in England. I have worked  with kids to learn what they do in their spare time and organised sport activities.
In my free time I have experienced many activities from playing ice hockey and going walking as well as going out with some local teenagers.
Thanks to Erasmus+ I have professionally experienced teaching the younger generation of the Swedish kids sporting activities that we undertake in the England.
Personally I have gained a lot more confident taking to a group of people, I have experienced Swedish activities that I can take back to England and help with my education and expand on my future career.
Erin Walsh

 
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Vocational Educational Training (VET) project part of ‘Discovering More’, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
DM Banner Askham IDEUM LQ
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

I am Kristina, I am 18. I took part in this project to Sweden because it looked an amazing opportunity to embrace new cultures and learn new skills.
During the experience I spent a lot of time in schools developing my personal skills and learning about their culture. I have also done fun activities like snow mobiles, reindeer farming and snow bbq.
In my free time I went for walks in the snow, cooked tea and played pool tournaments.
Personally I have learnt about the Swedish culture and language. How to budget and plan meals. I also worked with refugees from different countries and over came the language barrier.
Kristina Fell
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Vocational Educational Training (VET) project part of ‘Discovering More’, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
DM Banner Askham IDEUM LQ
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

My name is Ellie, I am 17 and I am from the Lake District in England.
During this experience I have learnt lots about Swedish culture including the sports, such as ice hockey, the foods like meatballs and reindeer and the traditions like the Sami people and the Midsummer celebration.
In our free time we did lots of fun and exiting activities such as skiing, husky sledding and snowmobiling. We also had big snowball fights with the local children which as a lot of fun.
Thanks to Erasmus+, professionally I have learnt a lot about communication with others, even despite language barriers. I also learnt about working with children and how to teach them new skills.  Personally the biggest thing I enjoyed was learning a new language which I intend to continue learning after I return home.
Ellie Kidd

 
____________________________________

Vocational Educational Training (VET) project part of ‘Discovering More’, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
DM Banner Askham IDEUM LQ
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

My name is Harry Bouch. I’m 16 years old and I live in a small village in the UK called Kirkoswald.
I wanted to go to Sweden to see the difference in cultures and sports because I might want to instruct winter sports later on in life.
The project: We are into Swedish schools and learning about their culture, life style and history and how this is different to the UK. We have been into two different schools: a secondary school and 6th form. We have helped run scout activities for a Swedish group of children ages 8-10 and also worked on a reindeer farm for some Sami farmers.
In my free time I have done cross country skiing, snowball fights, swimming, snowmobiling, sledging, walking, dog sledging and ice skating. Me favourite was dog sledging because my Dad breeds sheep dogs and I enjoyed discovering how they train their dogs differently.
I have learnt how I can be independant.
Harry Bouch
____________________________________

Vocational Educational Training (VET) project part of ‘Discovering More’, co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.
DM Banner Askham IDEUM LQ
The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

As part of our Vocational Educational Training (VET) project Moving Feet Opening Minds, young trainees produced a presentation about their sport coaching project in Sweden. Back in the UK, they showcased the following PowerPoint to their class mates.

They all seemed to have a great experience out there, developing skills in sport coaching at IDEUM.

Project supported by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union and organised with Newton Rigg / Askham Bryan College.

eu

banners partners askham IDEUM

The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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