November Calendar

Bring & Share Lunch

For me it's always a privilege to invite students and friends to my home for Bring & Share lunches  ...  not only a chance to enjoy each other's company but also an opportunity to feast on a variety of culinary delights!!
For some reason we didn't get a group pic this time but there were plenty of foodie photos ...

 We taught the students how to play the story-telling game 'Consequences'.  Here are just a few of our creations ...

Mr Arshad met Juliet in Spain.

He was wearing a swimming suit.

She was wearing a red dress.

He said, "You don't know who I am, you don't

know what I do. I have a specific set of skills;

skills which I have acquired over time.

I will find you and I will love you." 

She said, "Kiss me quick!"

The consequence was they built sand

castles in Barbados.

Edward met Queen Elizabeth on the London Eye.

He was wearing swimming shorts.

She was wearing an afro wig and rubber gloves.

He said, "Why can't elephants jump?"

She said, "You're crazy!"

The consequence was they walked off together

to have a romantic dinner.

David Beckham met Amira in a small box

suspended under London Bridge.

He was wearing a Viking outfit.

She was wearing a red bandana. 

He said, "You look funny!" 

She said, "I only want two kids,

a chubby little boy and a girl."

The consequence was they moved to

Mauritius to live with the dodos

but discovered they're extinct :-(

TABLEtalk

Cyrielle, thanks for this photo.
Not all of the 37 students who were at TABLEtalk for our Culture Shock
evening but proof of the amazing mix of nationalities present.
Many thanks to those of our longer term students who imparted some
of their own wisdom regarding dealing with culture shock plus an
array of issues that simply related to living life in a different culture.
It was a great evening :-)

Alien Encounter

Our discussion topic at TABLEtalk last night was 'Alien Encounter - stranger in a strange land'.

After completing a survival exercise groups, especially our newly arrived students, were asked to consider what they needed in place not simply to survive but to thrive during their time here. Here's a list of thoughts from the students  ...

• Learn to cook
• Buy warm clothes, an umbrella and get accommodation with good heating
• Learn good time management
• Develop friendships
• Move outside your own language group and culture
• Get involved in some sport activity or find other ways to relax
• Respect each other
• Be open-minded and flexible
• Don't be shy
• Ask questions
• Participate everywhere, especially at TABLEtalk
• Seek help before you hit a crisis
• Laugh lots!
• Don't take yourself too seriously
• Escape from Medway occasionally

On a personal note ...

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending the wedding of my friends Rob & Katie ...

Here are just a few of those who helped out during the day ...

Port Lymphne

Had the most wonderful day out at Port Lymphne ... thanks Basel & Aiste and the fact that the sun shone :-)

Here are just some of the animals we saw ...

Here are some of my attempts to be arty ...

And it's amazing what fun you can have with an empty plinth!!

All in all, it was a marvellous day out  ...  a moment for fun and relaxation at the end of an incredibly busy month.

Getting to Know You

Another great evening at TABLEtalk,

where we welcomed 37 students

from 21 different nationalities!!

Our first activity had students in groups of four finding things they had in common.  The only rules were that people were not allowed to lie, nor were they simply allowed to list body parts!! Not only were teams able to gain points based on the number of things they thought of, but also by thinking outside the box or simply saying things like 'we all love Lynne or TABLEtalk' which earned an automatic 50 points.

Here's some of the creative stuff I really liked ...

• We're all beautiful people and we're all single - what's the deal.
• We all have a brother - not the same one.
• We all know what the unit of Pascal is.
• We all know how to change a tyre (now I know who to call).
• We all hate Justin Beiber.
• We all believe in God.

We spent the rest of our evening getting to know people through a speed meeting activity ...

World Mental Health Day

At our World Cafe on October 7th we observed World Mental Health Day.

Myself and two colleagues, Melanie & Chris, used a questionnaire to help raise awareness of mental health difficulties amongst students and to inform them about the various support systems in place at the university.

The Cafe was extremely busy and the questionnaire really helped us to engage in further discussion.

Many thanks to all those students who participated. Please be aware of the various levels of university support that are available to you ... Student Centre, Chaplaincy, the Well-being Team, Counsellors, Listening Ears and SINGS (Special Interest Nurture Groups).

Black History Month

In respect of October being Black History Month we will be showing a series of related films on Tuesday evenings.

Why not join us in Pilkington 008.

Film showings will begin at 7pm so please come early :-)

October 6th

October 13th

October 20th

October 27th