I participated in the Angloville program held at Aracy Kocsag Hotel in Fule, Hungary from 10th -15th May 2015.
As numerous websites will tell you, the Angloville program provides native English speakers with an opportunity to meet people from Eastern Europe (Hungary in this case), as well as other native speakers. In return for providing our language and conversation skills, we (the native speakers) are provided with “free accommodation and food for six action-packed days.”
Angloville advertises this venue as offering “elegance and comfort away from the noise of the world in an authentic rural environment… surrounded by picturesque and calm countryside stretching for miles.” And it truly is a beautiful location.
The day before the start of the program some of the members of our native speakers' group met each other for the first time in Budapest, and were taken on a four-hour guided tour of the city, followed by a restaurant lunch.
The following day, a bus arrived to take us to the venue, which is located approximately 90 kms from Budapest, near Lake Balaton.
Upon our arrival at the hotel, we were introduced to the 9 Hungarian participants, the 2 program coordinators and to the remaining native speakers (bringing the number of natives speakers to 8). There are usually an equal number of native speakers and participants, however two participants had elected to do a ‘tandem’ program making the ration slightly uneven.
The program did indeed provide an invaluable way to learn more about a country with which I wasn’t familiar, and to go beyond the usual tourists’ impressions of Hungary. During my week there, I met some amazing people and forged some life-long friendships.
Although the program was fairly intense (5 hours of conversation sessions each day, not including social activities and conversation over meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner) the time flew.
The accommodation at our venue was fairly basic – we were provided with very small, shared bedrooms and one bathroom to share between 4 people (not en-suite as advertised). Meals were another area which was somewhat disappointing due to the fact that there were so few fresh fruit and vegetables available. Nevertheless for anyone used to backpacking and sleeping in hostels, these things would not cause any real hardships.
I would also like to add one final word of warning about the idea that the program would provide us with time to go hiking, walking and swimming: “A typical 6 day programme is spent in a stimulating environment with Hungarian people in a series of one-on-one discussions, group activities, negotiations, hiking, walking, swimming, meals (with both Hungarian and English speakers), entertainment, and social time.” Unfortunately, our days were so heavily packed that this left very little time for any personal time to enjoy the beautiful countryside.
I would greatly urge anyone thinking of joining this program expecting a holiday, to think again. As an ESL teacher, I have never worked so hard in any teaching job in my life – upwards of 6-7 hours a day! Despite the challenges, I truly did enjoy the week. I haven’t laughed so much nor had so much fun for a long time. The Hungarians were the loveliest group of people you could ever hope to meet and I am very grateful to this program for having provided me with this opportunity.
Overall, if I were asked if I would recommend the program, the answer would have to be “absolutely, but…” It does provide a wonderful opportunity to connect with people from different cultures and to experience a different aspect of life in another country. Nevertheless, it would be good to be fully aware before signing up, that this is not an all- expenses-paid holiday in the country, as one may be led to believe. The work is intense, the accommodation and food are basic, and there really isn’t enough personal time to take advantage of the facilities which are advertised on the website. For these reasons alone, I would hesitate to recommend the program to anyone.
