Learning DiaryÂ
My first week undertaking the #LearnuaryNI challenge at Erasmus Traineeship Host: TrainingMatchmaker.com My first week in Belfast was full of new things to learn. When you are in a city where you’ve never been before you first have to learn how to orientate yourself and then you can start to discover it. That this isn’t always that easy, Pauline and I found out on our first day in Belfast when we got lost in Cathedral Quarter in search of our traineeship host company headquarters. After we finally found the office of TrainingMatchmaker.com our first task was to create a list of learning goals, as a part of the participative #LearnuaryNI campaign. Some of these goals have been fulfilled in our first week: first of all we learned how to use WordPress to be able to create our first learning plan blog and this achievement blog and we also learned how to use various types of media and programmes to present information to our host company audiences. We also could tick off number nine and ten of our #LearnurayNI list in combination with number eleven because we took photos and created Instagram stories at the Chinese New Year exhibition at Ulster University which were published on the Instagram presence of TrainingMatchmaker.com Trainer: Christine Watson –Moreover we took part in a Free Walking Tour through Belfast where we stopped at interesting sights such as the Albert Memorial Clock, The Big Fish, The Crown Bar, the City Hall, the harbour, the Grand Opera House Belfast, certain pubs and restaurants and much, much more. Our guide was very pleasant and he told us about Belfast in an informing but also entertaining way so that it was a pleasure to listen to him.
Afterwards we went to a pub and experienced a cheerful evening with a lot of music, laughter and good mood. Besides that, thanks to our Trainer Christine Watson, we started to discover the world of Northern Irish food because she brought several products for us to the office so that we can try them. This supported the innovative new training programme TrainingMatchmaker.com was creating for it’s client Mid and East Antrim Borough Council – The Secret to Creating Fab Food Photos That Drive Business. We recorded these experiences with photos and we look forward to publishing some things we learned about Northern Irish food on a separate blog.
My second week with #LearnuaryNI at TrainingMatchmaker.com
The second week started with a visit of  The MAC Belfast. There Pauline and I saw a lot of exhibition pieces which invited us to make reflections. Moreover, I can now tick off number 12 of my #LearnuaryNI plan because I went to the cinema to watch “Bohemian Rhapsody”. It was useful because I watched the movie in Germany, too, so I was able to understand words and phrases that were new to me.
With the help of Pauline, I also learned how to use Google Drive. This is very helpful to work together on our blogs and to share the pictures and content for the business.
Our weekend was completely planned in advance to cover all our interests and to help us ensure we were making the most of our time in Northern Ireland. Over a team lunch in Made in Belfast we reviewed an itinerary with our Erasmus Trainer: Christine Watson – who is also a Licensed WorldHost Tourism Ambassador Trainer for Tourism Northern Ireland!
On Saturday morning we had a walk through Belfast to St. Georges Market, the Botanic Gardens and the Ulster Museum. The Palm House in Botanic Gardens is the most beautiful place I’ve seen so far. It has a pleasurable atmosphere because it is so warm and silent inside. We also saw a lot of birds and squirrels in the park and the first snowdrops and crocuses were blooming just like in Spring.
We tried to visit every exhibition floor of the Ulster Museum but unfortunately the museum closed before we were able to see it all, so it is still on our #LearnuaryNI plan to be finished. In the evening we tried out a recipe for Irish stew to recover and which was really good and tasty. It was necessary to gather our strength again because on Sunday we had planned a day trip to Murlough beach and Newcastle.
We had to get up very early and arrived in the morning at Murlough beach. There we had a walk in the sunshine about three hours through the dunes and along the beach and arrived in Newcastle at lunchtime. We all were very happy about this trip because after two weeks in the city we wanted to see the beautiful nature of Northern Ireland everybody was talking about – and they all promised not too much! It was breathtaking.
Furthermore Pauline and I learned this week how to organise ourselves and about distribution of tasks among each other, because we had to plan and realise the food blog project. I think we managed it quite well and it was fun to work in a team, too.
On Friday we went to St. Georges market again because we hadn’t had the time to try some food on our previous Sunday visit. In the evening we enjoyed traditional Fish and Chips in a local pub.
After a traditional Ulster fry breakfast, our last Saturday in Northern Ireland led some of us to Belfast Castle. There we had a walk in the garden and also up to the Cave Hill Trail. We were lucky to have a sunny day so that we were able to have a great view over the city from the top of the hill.
