TABLEtalk - Chinese New Year

We had a fabulous evening celebrating the Chinese New Year at TABLEtalk. The year of the Pig.

A huge THANK YOU goes to the cooking crew, headed up by XiuLi, who worked away from 4pm to produce a mountain of jiaozi (Chinese dumplings) for us to enjoy.

Thanks also go to those who entertained us with songs and dances, piano recitals and even a brief TaiChi demonstration. Congratulations go to Melanie Horn, from Germany, who not only won our China competition but did so fair and square - yes, I'm sad to say there was a bit of cheating going on ... And, finally, many thanks to those who stayed behind to clean up the kitchen!

International Sunday Lunches

Today was the first of out International Sunday Lunches for this semester. Here are some of the comments our students and hosts made ...

HOST COMMENTS:

Neil & Anne: "Yes, it was great fun. Dagna & Jolanta are delightful. They are full of fun and laughter. They even laughed at my jokes! We took them down to Largs for a walk along the shore and had a great time."

Scott & Audrey: "We had a really good time with Roy & Munish and they appeared to enjoy themselves. The good weather allowed us to go out for a walk around the village after lunch. They seemed to really enjoy being in the country surroundings and seeing somewhere a little different."

John & Katrina: "Thanks for your email. We had a really good time with Jasen & Mr Zhang. We even introduced them to the game 'TAKE 2'. They did very well."

TABLEtalk - Valentine's Night

Another good turn out with yet more newcomers. As usual, at this time of year, of theme for the evening centred around Valentines, love and relationships. Our discussion of characteristics for an ideal partner revealed some interested differences between male/female thinking, east/west thinking, and also between young and not-so-young.

The Dating Game exercise pushed some people out of their comfort zones - thanks for being willing to join in the role play!

TABLEtalk - Games Night

What a fabulous start to this new semester!!

Twenty nine students came along for our first TABLEtalk evening of this new academic year - nine of those being newcomers. It's always great to welcome new students.

We had a great evening of games and challenges but the overall winners were 'Team Wonderful'. Well done!

Farewell Meal

A farewell meal with Joe, Joy and Lydia. Maybe one day I’ll get to visit you all in Beijing! Joy from China: “The discussion topics (at TABLEtalk) are the best way to practice your English, and you can learn a lot from other people’s opinions … The Sunday lunch was also very good. I learned a lot about local daily life and enjoyed the conversation with the hosts … We really appreciate your endeavor. Thanks for your kindness.” Joe from China: “The memory of TABLEtalk is precious. You and other helpers are so impressive … food, culture, and the local accent were the difficult things to adjust to but TABLEtalk helped … Every time I came to TABLEtalk I feel very cheerful. I have seen the power that comes from hearts of Lynne and other helpers. Their actions and language show a real willingness to help.”

New Year's Day

Following our Hogmanay Ceilidh last night, it was great to invite XiuLi, Memon, June, Jessica and Fiona back to my flat for a ‘sleep-over’. I thought maybe I’d be the last up in the morning, but not so. Just after 10am I made a pancake breakfast for everyone and then we spent five hours watching the best ever version of Pride & Prejudice. How marvellous!!

Hogmanay Ceilidh

A number of students came along to our HOGMANAY CEILIDH at Hopehall, to see the New Year in, in traditional Scottish style!

Christmas Party 2006

Thirty-five students from eight different nations came along to our annual Christmas Party; with 22 guests that brought the total to 57. The food was great (thank you Alison), the quiz was a challenge (that’s my fault) and the Carol singing (with Jack on the piano) was great fun!! Do remember what I said … “Things are not always what they seem. As we look around Paisley or Glasgow the message we might receive is that Christmas is all about spending money, eating & drinking too much and generally getting rather stressed. But the truth is …"

St Andrew's Night 2006

Many thanks go to Gordon and Derek for supplying the music for our St Andrew’s Night - for some it was their first ever experience of Scottish dancing.

Thanks also to Alison and Jack jnr for helping prepare our feast of haggis, tatties and neeps.

Our Scottish vocabulary quiz was won by Sandra Einig from Germany – who should soon be able to pass for a local !!!

Graduation Ceremony 2006

Kathleen and I were both soooooo blessed to be invited to the graduation ceremony of several students that we’ve had the pleasure of crossing paths with Benjamin Doerr from Germany, Adam Chudy from Poland, plus Kate, Vivian, Ellen, & Shelly from China. There were others too but, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get photos of everyone.

TABLEtalk: Career Moves

None of us wants to end up like ‘a square peg in a round hole’! TABLEtalk this evening began with a fun mingling exercise where everyone trying to guess the profession that had been pinned to their back. The only questions they could ask of others were closed questions - some got there quicker than others, but some of the professions were a little out of the ordinary.

Then in groups we looked at what sort of personality we have, what are our strengths, and how do we go about finding the right career path to follow?

International Sunday Lunch

Many thanks to Neil & Anne Pitcher and their sons for providing a fabulous meal and a great Sunday afternoon for XiuLi, Munish and myself.

Fireworks & Hot Chocolate 2006

Twenty eight students signed up for our annual evening to watch the local council fireworks display.

Following the display we all met back at CGC (Christian Growth Centre) for hot chocolate, cake and a few challenging rounds of pool, air hockey and fuzz-ball. Many thanks CGC for their wonderful hospitality!

Student Comments

Marielle from Holland: "I was at TABLEtalk just once when I was here on holiday. That's a shame because I thought it was a nice evening and Paisley is a nice town."

Day Trip to Glasgow

Grace, Jing, Tracy, Sam, Dawn, Csaba, Sandra, their friend and I took a day trip over to Glasgow to visit the Transport Museum and Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. It was a glorious day and on route home we took a slow walk through the park.

Student Comments

Jana from China: “Thank you for holding TABLEtalk for international students. We lack the feeling of belonging, but you give us belonging. Thank you again.”

TABLEtalk: Alien Encounter

After a fairly quiet start to the semester our numbers suddenly doubled this evening with 10 newcomers. The increased numbers always add a certain dynamic to the evenings that makes them more fun.

Our themes for both this week (Alien Encounter) and next (Culture Shock) are designed to help international students address some of the culture shock issues that arise in coming to live and study in a new nation.

TABLEtalk

It was great to begin a new academic year knowing that we already have a core of international students who are still around in Paisley. It was great to welcome back the Jan & Bram (the Dutch boys), Csaba & Sandra (from Germany), Vivian, June, Amanda and Shelly (from China), Sam (from India) - and a newcomer, Munish, also from India.