Recently we were looking through some old photos of the school, and were struck by how different the school is now from when we moved into this new building. We moved in here in 1997 so the photos on the left are from around 1998 ish and the photos on the right were taken this year (2014).
Left: Peter Letzer Right: Joanne Mouland, Elly Easey
LSI Portsmouth has some of the most stunning viewpoints in Portsmouth. Our new occasional series 'Rooftop Interviews' this week features Wesley and Matt, discussing Wesley's time in England and in Portsmouth, shown from the top of the building overlooking the beautiful Solent.
Be sure to watch the video above, and here are some more photos and details from Wesley.At the moment we have a lovely student from Brazil, Wesley Reuel, who is really making the most of every minute of his time away from home. He kindly agreed to answer some questions for our blog:
Wesley, Where do you come from and how long will you stay at LSI? I´m from Brazil, more specifically from Natal the state capital of “Rio Grande do Norte”, my city is known by “City of Sun”. I will be at LSI until the beginning of September, so I have 4 months. What made you choose Portsmouth? Because the University of Portsmouth have exactly the same course I´m doing in Brazil, and the city has a good history. I could mention D.Day , Charles Dickens and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. So, why are you learning English? I´m learning English to have a second language and because I will study one year of Software Engineering at University of Portsmouth through the SwB Program of Brazilian Government. I already did the TOEFL, because the SwB requires a minimum level to give the sponsorship
Back in Brazil what do you do? In Brazil I study Software Engineering at Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte also I work to the government of my state in the Department of Transit. What do you do for fun? I divide my free time between watching movies and travelling to take pictures, always I prefer do the second one. Register one moment and keep it for the rest of life is amazing. I really enjoy this. How do you see your future, what are you hoping to do? In the future I wish to finish my course in Brazil, and then go back to Europe to work in a software company. Wesley, thank you so much for telling us all this. Wesley has a flickr page showing some of his pictures (which are amazing) and a blog where he talks about his travels and has photos showing all the amazing things he has seen. - definitely worth having a look at. Link to his flickr page Link to his Blog
Where else could you find such a diverse group of creative individuals. It really is quite stunning; authors, actors, artists, musicians, producers, composers, photographers, poets, crafters (and there are undoubtedly some that have been missed) - here at LSI Portsmouth we are incredibly blessed with the people we have in this school.
A week or so ago one of the teachers came and announced that his class (GE Intensive D5) had written a song and wouldn't it be nice if it was filmed? He was right!
So here is Jon D; mad, crazy, lovely Jon D (Dobbin) and his fabulous class of students, with a song they wrote. Jon is playing the guitar, the students sing and the very talented Dan Pringle produced the music. Enjoy!
A few months ago, a human bundle of energy arrived at LSI Portsmouth for an Executive course. Massimilano Fanni Canelles! Max was extraordinary, he just didn't stop. It very quickly became clear who this man was, and what his passion was. He is an Italian doctor who runs a non profit organisation that gives aid in war torn countries. He is so passionate about his organisation, that he spreads this to all those who come into contact. In fact his home stay (Maggie Paton) is going out to Sri Lanka with him to help in September. At LSI Portsmouth, we were so impressed with what he does that we are giving over August to his organisation. The social events we are holding throughout August will try to raise money to go towards the fantastic work.
Max took a few minutes to introduce himself to readers of the blog::
'My name is Max and I come from Italy. I am learning English because it is important for any
business or activity. English is the international language. I came to Portsmouth because it is a beautiful city where
you can experience the real English culture and have good relationships with
wonderful people. Back in Italy I am a doctor and
professor and president of a non government organization that brings aid around
the world.'
He was kind enough to leave us with a lot of information and some pictures about his organisation @uxilia.
@uxilia was founded in 2003, an Italian non-profit organization that carries out voluntary activities. @uxilia dreams of a world where everyone has rights and opportunities. They work in developing countries and in Italy. Their goal is to create durable and sustainable solutions to end the vicious cycle of poverty and injustice. They focus their energies on health care, welfare, education, training, micro credit, emergencies, advocacy and the promotion of human rights.
Max here with friends and with Maggie - his homestay.
For about 20 years or so a group of teachers from LSI have gone walking in the countryside after work on a Wednesday evening (during the Summer months). Very often the teachers who leave the school stay in touch and come along on the walk and this is their opportunity to catch up with friends old and new. We thought it would be nice to show a picture of the group on their walk and also to show what gorgeous countryside we have near the school!
From the left: Des, Joanna, Ceri, Fiona, Shelton, Vince, Ginny and Allen. (Two missing from the picture are Claire and Caroline ;-)
