5th August. Spanish gathering at Culture Club.

DATE FOR YOUR DIARY - WED. AUGUST 5.

Dear Member or Friend of the Society,

Yesterday's Get Together (15 July) was a very special one in that, despite a number of regulars being out of Hong Kong, a record number of people attended the gathering. Grateful thanks go to all 60 of you (maybe more, I lost count) who came along and enjoyed a humourous, but ultimately serious commentary about the use of social networks on the internet for communication purposes. The talk was given by Mohamed, who comes from Syria. He spoke in a remarkably clear, correct and, he assured us (confirmed by the female listeners), sexy Spanish. He did a great job, especially considering he left his notes in the taxi. We were all very appreciative.

Next time, on the 5th of August, Katerina, this time from Poland, but who also speaks marvellous Spanish, has promised to give a talk on Granada, where she spent a year. Of course, the Alhambra, one of Spain's major tourist attractions, will be featured. Please make a note in your diaries to attend that Get Together. Remember, that everyone who has an interest in communicating in Spanish will be very welcome. I must emphasise that the primary purpose of the gathering is to practise our Spanish, at whatever level. Socially, the evenings are also extremely enjoyable, but my personal opinion is that if people turn up because of the social aspect, but do not know any Spanish, this tends to deflect us from this primary purpose.

In connection with this motivation, our thanks must go to the native speakers from Paraguay, Spain, Argentina, Peru, Colombia and Mexico (any more?) who attended yesterday's meeting. They really spread themselves around and gave valuable support to all those of us who are endeavouring to practise and improve our Spanish.. Every gathering is enhanced by their presence - thank you so much for attending.

Final thanks must go to Lennon, the owner of CultureClub ( www.cultureclub.com.hk), who provided us with a relaxing environment, as well as a lot of free snacks. Please always remember, however, that he is running a business, so do support him in his endeavour.

Saludos,

Chris Stubbs.

Member of the Society.

25th July. Spanish gathering at Termini Cafe

Dear all,
Our regular Spanish gathering the last Saturday of the month will be in Termini Tea Yard cafe and as always it will start from 8.00pm on going.

Details: "Termini Tea Yard"
Tel: 25757738
2/F, 516 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay

I'll see you then,
Marcela

15th July. Spanish gathering at Culture Club

Dear Friend of the Society,

A reminder that our next Get Together at CultureClub (www.cultureclub.com.hk) , 15 Elgin Street, Soho, Central (map attached), will take place this coming Wednesday, the 15th, from 7.00 p.m. onwards (early attendance appreciated). You are all very welcome to attend.

Those who are considering coming for the first time, you will find that it is an ideal opportunity to practise your oral Spanish in a friendly and welcoming environment. This time we are fortunate in having Mohamed giving a talk. I'll copy some of his letter to me, so that you can appreciate that it should be an interesting talk -

I will take your advice and keep my presentation a presentation. The topic will be "Herramientas sociales virtuales - lo que hay hoy por la red y una explicacion sencilla de que carajo es el 'poke'". Feel free to omit the "carajo" part of the title if we do not wish to offend cultured attendees. I will talk about the many social networking websites out there, the ones that the Spanish and south Americans tend to prefer, the type of content, pictures, options, all with a touch of humour. It will have a slight element of ridicule over the degradation of our methods of communication and an element of melancholy toward the more traditional and meaningful means such as writing letters or posting photos. It will be informative and entertaining, hopefully. I also intend on bringing a white board for the brief introduction regarding my accent and how it compares with the Spanish accent. -

Follow that!

I hope as many of you as possible can come in order to enjoy the talk, practise your Spanish, and have snacks on the house( courtesy of the supportive owner of CultureClub, Lennon) as well as drinks at happy hour prices, after the first. There is no need to register - just turn up with the desire to communicate in Spanish.

Saludos,

Chris Stubbs

Member of the Society.