Refresh Magazine

From the nuns
to France
'Aartsenfruit planned every step of the
training for me. In the period from 1 August
to 16 September I spent a week at the
Regina Coeli language institute in Vught in
the Netherlands on three separate occasions.'
The institute is also known as 'the Nuns of
Vught', referring to its origins as a school
run by nuns. Regina Coeli has gained an
outstanding reputation and has grown
substantially over the last few decades.
In common parlance, however, people
doing a language course there still say
they're 'going to the nuns'.
'It's a very intensive programme', says Matti.
'From eight in the morning till late in the
evening every day. The course was completely
customised. I even spoke French with the
other participants during our breaks.
Constantly speaking French like that creates
a sort of routine and gradually takes away
your fear. You gain confidence. It's incredible
how much you can learn during three
course weeks. I was super motivated,
so it was a fantastic experience.'
Visiting suppliers
'Two weeks after that, in late September,
I went to France, where I stayed till the end of
November. During that time, I visited various
aartsenfruit suppliers in the Avignon region,
doing a whole range of different types of work.
I was on the production line checking and
packing products, coordinated and also
accompanied shipments and worked in sales.
It was very diverse.
It made no difference to me what I did, just
so long as it involved talking. That expanded
my vocabulary considerably. And boosted my
confidence too. The growers thought it was
interesting and enjoyed having me on board.
They saw how aartsenfruit treats its employees,
and of course I told them about aartsenfruit.
It also gave me even more valuable insight
into the business. That's something I can
share with my customers and colleagues.
And it also helped me to develop as a person.
Aartsenfruit organised this opportunity for me,
but I had to do the work myself.'
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