After all the preparations, the journey to San Diego, and all the first impressions of the city, I began my lessons at Converse International School of Language (CISL) last week. Although I was already settled in San Diego, as I walked into the building of CISL I felt a little bit excited. CISL is located in the downtown area, on Broadway Avenue, and is very easy to find. I live in the student residence of Vantaggio. It is located on State Street and it only takes me 20 minutes to get to the school’s building.

My first day of class was Monday, and that day I had to take a test. This is mandatory at CISL so that you are placed in an appropriate class level. You also get information about San Diego and the school, like the computer room and the various activities offered in addition to daily lessons.

On Tuesday the lessons really started. When I arrived at school, I found out in which level and class I was placed in and shortly thereafter, the lessons began. I was placed in level 8, in a class with 6 other students, all from different countries.

I had a very kind teacher named Christine. The lessons were great and Christine really helped me with the individual questions I had. But after two days, I had a feeling that level 8 was to easy for me. Christine also thought that it would be better if I tried a higher level and told me that I had to visit Matthew, the director of CISL.

When I talked about the situation with Matthew we soon agreed that I should try the highest level, level 10. So I received new books and a form in order to attend a level 10 class the next day. I really enjoyed the lesson, and like before, I also enjoyed the students in the class and the teacher, Kristy. They were all very kind. I decided that this level was better for me, so I immediately transferred permanently.

Every morning the lessons start at 9:00 a.m. and continue until 12:40 a.m. You have a break between 10:40 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. During the break all the students talk and visit with each other. I really like talking with all the
students from different countries, and that’s how I have already met a lot
of people in such a short time.

During my lessons we do several things: we have discussions about many different topics; we improve our grammar and vocabulary; we may watch a documentary; or we will write essays. For the students that are studying for four or more weeks at CISL, they will do a presentation on a topic of their own choosing. So during the lessons you are not only improving your English but you are also learning a lot about other countries, cultures and other topics. The lessons are very interactive; in class it’s actually very cozy. When you make a mistake it’s not a problem at all and you can ask anything.

This first school week went really fast for me. My English has already improved and I’ve met a lot of new people. In addition to the lessons, I have also participated in different activities around town with other students. Most of the time school feels like an obligation, but here it’s just a lot of fun. That’s why I’m really looking forward to my upcoming weeks here at CISL!

Arrival at San Diego International Airport

After a rollercoaster of emotions and events and 15 hours of travelling you finally arrive in America, at San Diego Airport. Wow, was what I thought, I’m in America. After all the preparations that have been made I’m finally here and it feels good immediately. In the central hall of the airport my driver is already waiting for me, he is carrying a sign with him with my name on it: Linda Sintniklaas. It was something I had always dreamed about, you can see those signs with names in movies and it made me laugh. The driver was very friendly and he immediately took my suitcase and put them in the beautiful taxi. Within 15 minutes I arrived at the Vantaggio 1736 State Street which I hope to make my home for the next 5 weeks.

“Welcome girl, how are you?!” asked the lady at the reception desk. Again, a warm welcome. After a mountain of paperwork to be signed in which I declared not to damage my room and that I would not harm my fellow students, I can go to my room: no 132. The room is beautiful, is looks neat and clean and the shower is warm. I also have at my disposal to a refrigerator, a microwave, a television, a table and chair, a sink, a closet and a balcony. But now I have to sleep, tomorrow I will go to Converse International School of Language (CISL) and I will explore Broadway.

After a good night’s sleep and a hot shower I walk from the student residence to Broadway (only ten minutes). In between I make a stop at Pappalecco, a nice Italian café where I drink a lovely macchiato and eat a tasty croissant. The student residence is located in Little Italy, that’s a little Italian village within the city with a lot of restaurants, cafes and shops. It looks really nice and promising!

I turn left on Broadway and then I only have to walk straight ahead until I reach the Converse Language School. Again, I am greeted by a friendly guard and I walk up the stairs toward the counter. Despite the confirmation email I received from CISL I check if my registration went well and if it is right that the English classes will start on Monday. “This Monday the English lessons will start”, the friendly lady tells me that on Monday there will first be a test to see what level you are and in which class they will put you. She further said that I was more than welcome and that if I have any questions I can come and ask. She also pointed out the many beautiful sights that CISL organizes or which you can do individually.

After a few days travelling around San Diego I found that this is a city with many beautiful places and sights. The Pacific Ocean, La Jolla Beach, Coronado Beach, the San Diego Cinema, Comic Con (a festival where people get all dressed up as their favorite comic heroes), the shopping malls, San Diego Bay with the big Navy ship, fireworks at the harbor and much more. I’m enjoying my stay here and I am so glad I came.

The people are very kind and hospitable, the student residence is good and I am really looking forward to my first English lesson this Monday. I am so glad that I travelled all over the world as a 20 year old student to come here.
Yes, I really do feel at home here!

By CISL SD student, Dianne Kuijs (The Netherlands)

Do you like adventure? Do you like getting in touch with people from many different countries and cultures? Have you always wanted to learn English or wanted to improve your English? If you answered yes to any of these questions then I have the golden tip for you: English courses at the Converse International School of Language (CISL) in San Diego or San Francisco, California.

Personally, improving my English has always been a dream of mine not only because it is a “must have” when you are in business but also it can allow you to feel more confident when communicating in English.

When I spoke of this dream with my supervisor during my last internship, she told me about CISL, so I visited the site (www.cisl.edu). What struck me first about the site was that the classes have a maximum of only eight people, so you can get plenty of personal attention, a big plus in my opinion. Also I was happy to learn that students from other countries will be in the class with me. This will give me a opportunity to discover other cultures. As I continued to read the site and as I found out more and more about the CISL language school, the more excited I became.

However, before I decided to join CISL, I thought about it a lot and also discussed it with my parents. They said that if I really wanted to do this, I should go for it because it is definitely a great experience and I’ll learn a lot.

Finally, I decided to do it, so what’s the first step I took to begin my trip? Well, making a trip to America as a Dutch student is a big journey and there are many things to consider and arrange.
First I went back to the site, downloaded a form, printed it and filled it out. After doing that, I scanned the forms and emailed it to CISL. Surprisingly, this process turned out to be really easy. I was even able to book my housing on the website where I could specify exactly what kind (alone or shared) of room I wanted. CISL responded very quickly to my application; after sending the email I received a confirmation within only 2 days. I also had some questions about the residence, and, again, they replied very quickly. After I prepared everything right down to the last detail, I could finally relax especially because CISL arranged a driver to pick me up when I arrive at the San Diego airport. The only thing I had to arrange separately was my ticket, but booking that online was also very easy.

My trip includes 3 weeks in San Diego where I’ll complete a Standard English course at CISL. I’ll stay at the student residence on Vantaggio State Street for 5 weeks, so I can explore San Diego. I can’t wait to not only walk across the Broadway, enjoy the many beaches, swim in the Pacific Ocean, watch San Diego’s famous baseball team, the Padres, and go on a trip to LA where I can walk around the huge shopping malls, but, also, to finally fulfill my dream to improve my English!

Does this wonderful trip sound great to you? Do you have a similar dream to improve your English? If so, let CISL help you plan your trip and survive language school, just visit the site www.cisl.edu!

© Dianne Kuijs

By CISL San Diego student, Nicolas Sayo (France)

If you are a shopping addict or if you just like shopping, San Diego is the ideal place. There are clothes for everybody : fashionistas, bargain hunters,  sportsmen, etc…

San Ysidro, 40 minutes south of San Diego by trolley, is my favorite shopping destination. San Ysidro, just across the border from Tijuana, Mexico, is a great place to shop with many factory outlet stores where you can buy casual clothes in many different fashions. The big Nike shop is a good place to start,  and afterwards you can try your luck at the Aeropostale store (I bought a tee-shirt and a polo for only 39 dollars!), or the Vans store (2 tee-shirts for 15 dollars). There are other interesting shops like Tommy Hilfinger, The Gap,  and the Cap New Era store. There are also lots of promotions such as “buy one product and then get 50% off of the second.” So San Ysidro is very attractive destination for people who like good clothes with low prices!

Another excellent shopping destination is the Fashion Valley Mall, a more upscale place for the shopping addict, featuring many famous designer boutiques. The prices are more expensive than San Ysidro, but  less expensive than in Europe. Fashion Valley is easy to get to by trolley from downtown (20 minutes). Fashion Valley Mall is very big! Here you can find many chic labels such as Hoolister and Abercrombie & Fitch, as well as electronics brands like Sony and Apple, where you can try out many products and receive advise from the sales staff.  So if you go to the United States looking to buy the latest fashion collections and brands, San Diego is the place to go!

It is the place where the students normally sleep during the travel.You have a suite with everything you need (shower, microwave, fridge…). The place is very well located in Little Italy very close to downtown, the center of the city and Converse. There are more than 300 students so it is very easy to meet people from all the countries. Most of people come from Brazil, Switzerland, Korea and Belgium but there is also French, Spanish, Italian… There are a lot of things to do for students. For example if you are European or Brazilian and you like football, you can play all the days during the week in the park opposite of Vantaggio. Mexican players use to play here. It is a good opportunity for meeting people. For the people who like to go out during the night the clubs are in downtown. Besides all the evening students stay in front of the desk where there is a room where we can play billiard, beer-pong… with people who put music or mix. There is also a yard where you can smoke.   So during all the night boys and girls can dance, share or do what they want. Thursday is the day where there is the most of people, the student who stays on house family come to Vantaggio and it is very crazy, so much people, it looks like a club or a real party. So if you live Vantaggio  you can’t be bored, everybody can find something to do like shopping, jogging, visiting, playing sport, going out during the night… There is no better place for meeting students and enjoying his time.

by Nicolas Sayo, France

If you don’t like rides but you are a surf lover or simply you love water and you are ready to live a different experience the Wave House is your place. Here you can find wave machines, wave pools and surf machines whose purpose is to recreate the thrills and challenge of the ocean. Contrariwise if for you it’s not the right day to experience something new and you simply want to relax you can swim in the swimming pool present in the park. Apart from the Wave House one of my favourite attractions is the Laser Maze. Inside this maze you have to navigate through a web of lasers going over and down them as quickly as possible to arrive to the end of the maze without being hit. It’s a perfect game to challenge friends. The convenient thing about Belmont Park is that you can decide to buy a ticket for all the attractions ( if you want to try all) or to buy just the tickets for the attractions you are interested in, it’s your choice. Outside the park you can lie down in the sun, drink or eat something in the numerous places situated near the beach or decide to practise some activities.

If it’s a beautiful day you can rent a bicycle or rollerblades for 8 dollars per hour. Ride along the coast is a good idea to admire the wonderful sightseeing, the beautiful houses and reach Pacific Beach in a easy way just doing a little bit of activity which is good also for the body. Mission Beach is in conclusion the right place to spend a day having fun or relaxing yourself not so far from downtown.

“I was surprised after visiting ‘The Art of Trees’ at the Harbor, because beforehand, I didn’t expect that much. I was wrong!

I really think it is a good idea to do and show this public art and it also shows a creative, cultural side of the city of San Diego. The art trees were very interesting because you can contrast your opinion of them to the many perspectives that other people have towards them. You realize how different your interpretation is than the artist’s interpretation or the intepretations of others.

These art trees make the city look pretty interesting and different from others, as art is seen by everyone. That means that people who like art, or not, are able to see it, to interpret it and to give their own opinion of it. In this was, the trees make art accessible to everyone.

I personally liked one art tree called “Lean on Me” by Robert Verhees because it could have a lot of interpretations and point of views apart from being very creative and beautiful. In conclusion, I strongly recommend to everyone, tourists or not, to spend a little bit of their time enjoying the ‘Art Trees’ exhibit in the San Diego Harbor. I think that everyone is ogiint o havea good time looking at them and also taking lots of photographs!”

“I really enjoyed the field trip on the 22nd of July. We went to see the Harbor and the Art Trees. I really liked the sculptures like the swordfish. But I had a favorite one: it was the art tree caled “Stariway to Heaven” just like the Led Zeppelin song. The stairs of the art piece give the impression that the stairway to heaven in a long one: the stairs were also shiny and had some glitter on them, so they looked like the stars in heaven.

We also saw the ‘Star of India’. It is a large ship with extremely big sails. It was the first sailboat made from iron. I learned that the steering wheel in front of the boat is called a ‘helm’.

Outside the Museum of Contemporary Art, we saw a large LED tower. There was a little poem written on it in LED lights. IT was very strange and I think that art sometimes is a bit too abstract for me. Overall, I enjoyed the trip and I think that I will go to the museum in La Jolla soon.”

“I have to recognize that these classes have been fun.
What I liked the most were my classmates because all of them are very nice, and always say something funny, and can’t stop laughing. I have also liked the teacher because she is nice, she does different activities from the grammar and book exercises and she also laughed with us.

The best moments have been while playing Taboo, and when we did conversation. I will always remember Chris’
bananas, when I laughed with Juan about something stupid, Christina’s commentaries and laughs, and Rosali’s songs.”
-Edgar, Spain

“My favorite time was playing Taboo with the class. That was so fun! We always laughed together. We had fun together. I liked my class and now it is over and we must go home. I will miss everyone!”
-Roberta, Switzerland

“I enjoyed staying in this class. I like studying with everyone, and with Natalie. I liked all the Taboo matches and the conversations and the day that we didn’t stop laughing. I also liked the field trip to Balboa Park, and I will never forget about the bubble.”

“I will always remember when I laughed with Edgar about stupid things, such as the question ‘what is your favorite color? And why?’ I will also never forget the day that Edgar explained how he could swim when he was a little kid by using a bubble. The days that we played Taboo and when we discussed different questions were very fun.

I will also never forget the day that Cris explained how she prefers Spanish bananas to American ones.” J
- Juan, Spain

“I had a lot of fun teaching this class. Everyday you made me laugh with your stories about taking the wrong bus, or meeting people on the bus, and the crazy stories they would tell you.
I also enjoyed watching you play Taboo and mixing English, Spanish, German, Catalan, and Portuguese.

The funniest thing was the Spanish bananas: much better than the bananas in the US. I will have to eat a banana the next time I am in Spain!”
-Natalie, Teacher

CISL San Diego teacher Denise’s Level 9 English Class recently took a trip to the Mission Café, a restaurant located in Downtown San Diego, to introduce her students to American pancakes. After their delicious meal, the students were asked to write a restaurant review. Here is what they had to say:

“Pancakes at the Mission Café” by Dominque
Well, they were big. I’m writing about the pancakes, which are served at the Mission Cafe in Downtown San Diego. You can choose or combine from nearly endless choices of ingredients: my favorite was the banana-strawberry ones. Excellent! The portions which were served were too big. It ended up that everyone was fighting to empty their plate! At least they provided lucky Cindy with a doggie bag to carry the delicious leftovers home for lunch, dinner, or whatever.

One may refine the pancakes with maple syrup, sugar, or butter. It’s your choice, and everybody is different. So was this place. It’s a very nice, small restaurant; simply, but beautifully, furnished. The walls are adorned with expensive watercolor paintings and a balcony surrounds the building. The staff was fast, friendly, and amazed by the internationalities of their guests. This is a highly recommended place to have breakfast or just one of their big, great coffees.

“Pancakes” by Eduardo
Yesterday we had an incredible experience in class: we went to a restaurant to have pancakes! After a never-ending walk through the streets of San Diego, we finally found the place and we sat down at a table. The waiter was a little bit surprised to have such a cosmopolitan group of people! We ordered our drinks. In less than no time we were all enjoying our coffees and juices and we ordered the pancakes. I shared mine with Dominique because the order was really big; American size, you know!

We had time to talk about many things and share our moments here in San Diego. It was very nice to go to a restaurant with all the class and eat something that many of us had never tried before, and I quite liked the experience. However, our Korean classmate wasn’t able to make it, and we saw his message on the blackboard when we returned. I am sure that he would have loved the pancakes!

“Who Wants Some Nice Pancakes?” By Rico
We went with our class to this small, lovely restaurant named Mission Café to eat some pancakes. The decorations were neat, and there was a cool atmosphere. But let me say something about the breakfast. First, I had an orange juice, which was really fresh and tasty; but after that I ordered strawberry-banana pancakes. I was so hungry and I thought it would be easy to eat a whole plate on my own. But this was a mistake: if you order pancakes, you get a lot! It was too much for me, but the pancakes were delicious.
I recommend this restaurant because you can chill out there, and of course, you can get tasty pancakes.

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