Volunteering – lexis
await – formal verb – wait for. He’s awaiting his interview.
a gapper – a person between the ages of 18 and 25 who takes a gap year off / from his/her studies and work and goes to work for very little or no pay in a foreign country, to gain experience of the world.
a gap – an unfilled period of time or space; a hole; a difference; an opportunity; a break
(to bridge a gap – to connect two things or to make the difference between them smaller)
to damage sth – to do sth harm, to harm sth
It doesn’t count = it is not good enough to be considered valid or valuable
Eg I applied for a job in a restaurant, but the manager said my experience making sandwiches didn’t count as restaurant experience.
spurious – adjective – false and not what it appears to be; or based on reasons or judgements which have not been correctly understood and are therefore false
to boost – to improve or increase sth
to suffer / experience culture shock – to find it difficult to adjust and adapt to a culture because it feels so different from your own
(to feel extremely tired after a long journey by air is to have/suffer jet lag).
to get your head round something – informal phrase – to adjust your thinking to accommodate something entirely unfamiliar. eg They have to ‘get their heads round working in very difficult circumstances’ = they have to absorb and adapt to uncomfortable conditions.
to go off – informal phrasal verb – to go away
to turn up – informal phrasal verb – to arrive or appear somewhere, usually unexpectedly or in a way that was not planned
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