Student Welcome Meal 2014

I think, I hope, that I can safely say a great time was had by all at this year's student welcome meal.  Including my group of faithful student helpers, we had 61 students at the event ... they came from all sorts of faiths and cultural backgrounds.
Nations represented included:  Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Ghana, Holland, India, Indonesia, Jordan,  Lithuania, Myanmar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and UK.

Our evening began with an ice-breaker called 'Find someone who ...'.  This is an English language teaching classic and is a great way of getting individuals talking to lots of other people. Here I am giving instructions ...

"Joy, what's going on here? You and Mohammed
look like you're about the start fighting!!!"

We enjoyed a lovely meal together. For those interested in what was on the menu, we had: halal lamb chilli, vegetarian chilli, halal chicken casserole, bean casserole, bombay potatoes, veggie pasta bake, jollof rice, plain rice, cous cous, chicken bites, onion bhajis, veggie pakora, bread and a selection of crisps.

It's always difficult for internationals to adjust to different flavours but I think most everyone enjoyed the food ... definitely Rafaela did!!

Then, over cake and coffee, we had our quiz 'Around the World in 20 Questions'.  Here are a few example questions, can you guess the right answers?  See below for correct answers.

1.  Which of these is NOT the name of a real island?

     a) Princess Diana Island

     b) Prince Patrick Island

     c) King William Island

2.  How many other countries border China?

     a) 10         b) 12         c) 14

3.  Which of these colours is NOT the name of a real river?

     Yellow    Red    Green    Gold    Blue    White  

4.  What would you do with a 'haiku'?

     a) read it

     b) eat it

     c) sit on it

5.  How many American states have a Pacific Ocean coastline?

     a) 3           b) 4           c) 5

With 60 students and a full evening there is no way I could run this Welcome event without a team of faithful, willing  and hard-working volunteers  ...  my heartfelt thanks go to all those who helped cook and bake, those who provided transport, all my meeters and greeters and, especially, all those who beavered away in the kitchen all evening.  My thanks also go to St Mary's Island church, as without their partnership all the planning and execution of this event would be so much more difficult.

Lynda & Frank meet and greet students as they arrive.

Tea-boy John

It's been very hard to cut down the 270 photos Anu and others took ... so here are a few more (that would be 'few' in the very loosest sense of the word).

 

 

Here's everyone ...

Once again, THANK YOU to everyone, those
who've helped in so many different ways and,
most especially, all the students who came along -
without them it would've have been a non-event.

Student Comments ...

First of all, I am really honoured to be one of you guys.Secondly,I want to thank all the volunteers who devoted their valuable time serving us without any return. Especially, Mike, the lovely guy, thanks for his ride! Finally, I want to thank you, Lynne, thanks for organising such a great meal,and I promise you a big dumpling meal ^=^      Joey from China

Thank you for organising yesterday's welcome meal, I really enjoyed it. Everybody was so friendly, and I must say your prayer before we started eating really touched me - even though we're people of different faiths it sure made me feel good :)         Aalya from ????

If there is any person who needs to say a BIG THANK YOU to someone, we have to say it to you, and that's why I'm answering this email!  Thanks for treating us almost like your children, thank you for all the love and attention always. Your generosity with us is priceless. You can be sure that when we go back to Brazil we will really miss the TABLEtalk sessions, the Welcome Meals, the World Cafe and all of you, who make us feel welcomed in by a family here!  May God bless you today and always.    Livia from Brazil

I just would like to thank you for the lovely dinner and the whole evening. It was so nice to meet more international students there and talk to people who are a part of St Mark's Church. Me and my friends enjoyed every minute of the meeting. Thank you once again. 

Kate from Poland

Lynne, I'm so glad of making part of these huge number of international students that you really care about. You and all your volunteer friends have done an incredible job since I arrived here, and I'm already feeling bad for having to go back to Brazil and leave all of you lovely guys behind.  Thanks for the welcome meal, it was everything awesome. The food, the people, the lovely volunteers that helped you so much during that night. If I was able to, I would give all of them a huge hug! Thanks for everything! :)    Rafaela from Brazil

QUIZ ANSWERS:

1.   a) Princess Diana  -  the other two are in Canada

2.   c) 14  -  check your atlas

3.   Gold  -  trust me

4.   a) read it  -  it's a type of Japanese poem

5.   c) 5  -  Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Hawaii