Two weeks of Intensive English in Cambridge

August 15, 2026

The Moment

From 8 to 22 August 2026, I spent two weeks in Cambridge taking an Intensive English course at Kaplan.

Classes were from Monday to Friday, so the rest of the day was free for Cambridge, meeting people and doing things outside school.

And there was quite a lot going on.

At school I studied English, but as soon as I left, I kept using it to talk to people, make plans, joke around and just have normal conversations.

The Resonance

The best part was meeting people from different places.

There were students from several countries, and I ended up talking to people I probably would never have met in my normal life.

That made English feel much more natural.

It was no longer just something I studied in a classroom.

It was the language I actually used throughout the day.

In that sense, Cambridge almost became a second classroom.

The Friction

One evening I went to a pub with the others.

I don’t drink alcohol. It’s simply a personal choice. I don’t like the way alcohol makes me feel, so I prefer not to drink it at all.

That evening I ordered a lemonade.

£4.15.

Let’s not talk about the price.

What I really liked was how normal everyone was about my choice.

None of my classmates pressured me, none of the teachers said anything, and the bartender simply made the drink I ordered.

As an Italian, I noticed the cultural difference even more.

In Italy, it can sometimes happen that people ask why you are not drinking, make jokes about it or keep insisting.

There, it was simply: you want a lemonade? Fine.

The Quiet

Those two weeks went by incredibly quickly.

I studied, spoke English, met new people, laughed, explored Cambridge and spent a lot of time outside school.

Then 22 August arrived and it was time to go home.

Two weeks may not sound like much, but when you live them like that, they leave something behind.

I am not taking home only what I learned in class.

I am also taking home the conversations, the people and the feeling of having lived for a while in a completely different environment.