Do you believe in miracles?...

Me, yes! Because how can you call another way the fact that I won the studying trip to Great Britain?!!!!

To be honest, firstly even after the solemn presentation of the certificate, I couldn't imagine that it was me who would go to England just in some weeks!

So to make me feel waiting for a real trip my family began arrangements. We thought about presents to my host-parents and people from school. That's why the last day before my departure I had a rather big rucksack completely full of different things: pens, calendars, key rings, magazines telling about Togliatty and AVTOVAZ, chocolates with famous sights of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, national linen towels, toy Cheburashka, jubilee coins, coins of the USSR, beautiful authoring casket, malachite picture with Russian birches, postcards, pictures of my grandfather's fishing on ice, of our lovely cats, some seed…and surely I took 2 small bottles of Russian Vodka! I read 2 books about England and its people to be aware of their peculiarities and the way of behaving which was unusual for me! I fancied a lot but finally in a blink I realized that I was in…LONDON!!!! I was astonished to see so much green in the street but even greater I was heartened up by lots of smiles everywhere! No sullen and stiff British, just sunny and happy faces of people who seemed were ready to help you and were always frank and well-wishing. I was met in the very old Victorian house by a pleasant woman, many and her friendly family: my host-father Tony, host-sister Tamara and brother Stephen! Moreover I was lucky to live in one room with Andrea - a pretty girl from Guatemala who had come to Hastings with the group of almost 20 teens! So just conceive how amazing it was to meet and to spend time in England with people from another continent which is incredibly far away from Russia! Besides of different mentality and way of living we became excellent friends very soon.

As I was alone they guided me through Hastings. I was surprised by such nice and cozy houses with so much Christmas decorations. Mighty and blusterous Northern Sea made great impression on me. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a fox not far from my house and funny squirrels in the trees became a usual occurrence for me. It was amazing to walk through the embankment with fabulous parks, charming restaurants, hotels and other buildings. It was interesting to me that there was a strongly pronounced centre. I spent lots of hours hanging out in such cool shops and stores like "Marks and Spencer", "Debenham's", "Dorothy Perkins", "Peacock" and it was very pleasant to shopping in small local stores.

We also went to the cinema and loved there a lot.
In the school I got acquainted with students from South Korea, China, Japan, Columbia, France, Spain, Kazakhstan, and Brazil. In my group there were people of different ages. Some of them studied in school, others in university, some of them had there own business. The teachers there were real professionals. They had a perfect motto: "Do as you would be done by".

On the one hand they were very cheerful and benevolent. But on the other hand all the teachers excelled by their high qualities of teaching I really enjoyed our classes. They could combine difficult grammar material with entertainment. We even managed to visit the court and then performed a trial by ourselves at one of the lessons. In the end of the studying we had a Christmas party where we sang happy songs, played, danced and my group made an amusing sketch about celebrating Christmas and New Year in different parts of the world. So now Embassy CES School for me is like my dream. I wish there will be such fine studying centers in my city.

But except the school I got lots of fun going to different towns and cities of England. I was in Tunbridge Wells where a very huge shopping centre was. I have no words to describe fascinating views of Brighton. I was in the Brighton National Museum with lots of extraordinary and interesting things and pictures to see. I couldn't expect that Royal Pavilion was such a splendid palace. And it took my breath away when in the evening I stood in the end of the Brighton Pier surrounded by scaring Northern Sea. Lightening in the city was uncommonly wonderful.

The culmination of all my impressions became LONDON. I really fall in love with this fantastic city. Old historical buildings of unbelievable beauty that I saw many times on the pages of different books were opened behind my eyes. Graceful bridges crossed pure Thames, extremely modern buildings, famous red telephone cabins, unwonted for me big two-deckers, renowned Trafalgar Square, impressive Big Ben, snow-white Saint Paul's Cathedral, great Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, beautiful Buckingham Palace, picturesque National Gallery and National Theatre stroke me strongly. Still now looking at my pictures made from London Eye I can't believe that this all have happened to me! 

This trip has become the best experience in my life! With the first opportunity to go somewhere abroad I'll prefer spending my vacation in the United Kingdom because I have an unredeemed wish to see Cambridge and especially Oxford! I keep in touch with all my new friends from Embassy CES School and I hope to meet them again in our lovely Hastings. During this short time I saw so many places, got known so much new things and met so much creative people that I can call this trip a turning- point to improve myself to be able to achieve great and unthinkable results and to be sure that impossible is nothing. Thanks to my destiny and certainly to "Znaniye-Centre" that I had so much indescribable impressions and delight!!