International Sunday Lunch

Another great International Sunday Lunch - thanks to Derek & Alison Peakman!

Dean Castle Country Park

Had a great day out today. My friends, Lisa & Heather and I went to Dean Castle Country Park. I hope that sometime in the future this will be the venue for a student day out.








The grounds are beautiful and I even got to try on some chain-mail armour. It was unbelievable heavy and I have no idea how someone was supposed to fight a battle in it because I could hardly walk!!

Meal & Movie

A huge thank you goes to Jean and her mum for hosting today. The day was attending by most of the students who have done or are still doing the Christianity Explored course. We had quite a feast, enough food for an army. Then afterwards we watched the JESUS film, based on the Gospel of Luke, with time for questions and discussion together.
Many thanks to all those who came along and helped make the day so special.

TABLEtalk - International Night

Our annual INTERNATIONAL NIGHTS are always great fun and this year was no exception. We started the evening with a Scottish Quiz which was won by Munish & Sandra - although other teams came up with some very creative answers.



Lynne & Sam from India














The quiz was promptly followed by our international feast, with a variety of fabulous delicacies from Germany, China, Malaysia, Poland, Scotland and England (many thanks to all who brought items).

A couple of our Polish students then taught us all their national dance and finally David led us in some ceilidh dances.

Day Trip - Largs

Unfortunately the weather wasn't so kind to us on our day trip down to Largs, but even so 10 students came along. We walked along the sea front and ate our lunches in the wind and cold :-/

Fu Yu, Sugu, Summer & Fiona on the train to Largs

After some free time to walk around the town and enjoy a coffee or ice-cream we all caught the train back home together. On the train ride there and back we had a lot of fun playing a game, taught by Jasen, which involved a lot of laughs and some mildly embarrassing dares!!

Then we visited the Vikingar Museum and learned a little more about the history of the Vikings here in Scotland.

Day Trip - Easter Passion Play, Edinburgh

Kathleen & Co took a number of students over to Edinburgh for the day to see the Easter Passion Play in West Princes Street Gardens. I think a great time was had by all.

Kate wrote and told me, "The Christianity Explored course really helped me to understand all that was happening in the play."

TABLEtalk

Over the past few weeks we've tackled a number of new themes at our TABLEtalk evenings ...

On March 20th our theme was 'COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN' in which we talked about the art of communication, speaking & listening. As part of this evening we did a group exercise entitled 'The Zin Obelisk' which was quite a challenge.

On March 27th the topic was 'FEARS, PHOBIAS and all things Frightening'. Part of our evening included students writing some 'agony aunt' letters which were then passed to different groups to be answered. Some of the advice caused much hilarity.

Then on April 3rd the theme was 'HEALTH MATTERS' in which the students put together posters depicting their 'Top Ten Tips to a Healthy Lifestyle'.

If anyone ever has any ideas for TABLEtalk themes we'd love to hear from you!

Pool & Ping Pong Tournament

A great time was had by all at our Pool and Ping Pong Tournament evening. Thanks to all who took part; especially to Nora (on the left) who played pool for the first time in her life and got to the semi-final - well done!!


Thanks too to CGC for their generous hospitality.

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 …"