This afternoon the Gabfest Club session (Dnipro Window on America, Ukraine) was dedicated to the insight into the Xmas mood of the English-speaking countries.
The group was offered a compilation of the funniest Xmas commercials and asked to comment them. It turned out that things that are funny for English-speaking countries audience are not always funny to the learners of English in Ukraine.
Our American volunteers Mr. Jason and Mr. Stephen had to explain many things from the commercials.
The group was introduced to the FODOR’s Travel – a famous American travel company that published numerous US guide- books.
We wished our American friends Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!
The after-party was an enjoyable event with a lot of sweet treats, tea and Xmas conversation!
The session was most enjoyable and inspired to continue building bridges between American and Ukrainian people.
Participants number – 37 persons.
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Today’s session of the GABFEST English Speaking Club (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was dedicated to the introduction of the some unknown in this part of the world details of Christmas celebration.
The session started with the Christmas greetings from Santa Clause (club member Igor). For small talk we have chosen the topic about Xmas flowers. We have compared the staple Xmas decoration in USA and Ukraine. Euphorbia pulcherrima, a native of Mexico, was adopted in America as a Christmas staple. Schlumbergera bridgesii, a native of Brazil, is the Xmas cactus popular in Ukraine. The round table of the Gabfest club was decorated today with such plant. It had beautiful, delicate flowers at the end of each leaf.
In the main part of the session the club members read and translated an article about such element of Christmas decoration as nativity scene. The article revealed some historic facts about this phenomenon. A nativity scene is a depiction of the birth of Jesus as described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. To better understand what is depicted in the nativity scene the club members were offered a slide show with a task - to read and translates the Christmas story. Our American Guest Mr. Jason was invited to the session and contributed to the information about the US tradition of Xmas celebrations. The club members had a chance to tell Jason about Ukrainian traditions of Christmas and explained the differences.
During the art break the group had a chance to sing the popular Christmas carols while club member Valentina accompanied them on the piano.The fun continued with a traditional Xmas tea ceremony - with assortment of cookies. A multitude of world musical hits about Christmas was checked on YouTube. Big screen projection of the favorite clips created unforgettable atmosphere!
Number of participants – 27 persons.
News from American Teen Club (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine):
On the 20th of December American Teen Club (Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) is hosted by the "Window on America" center and celebrate uncoming year! The meeting was lead by FLEX alumni Gerasymova Darya'13, Hanna Akastelova'13 and Olga Chychykalo'12.
The members of the club learn some New Year's vocabulary, watched videos of "Spelling Bee" competition and had their own. Clubbers were challenged to spell top-misspelled English words. At the end everyone sang "Jingle bells", creating a New Year atmosphere.
Also everyone was engaged to making wonderful 3-D snowflakes. Members showed great teambuilding skills, beacause the snowflake consists of 6 parts.
This little piece of art now pleases all guests of the library. The youngers member – Illiya was happy to dress Santa Claus on Ipad, sing New Year's songs and be engaged in Club's activities!
Teenagers were glad to meet Mr. Jason, library's guest from the United States and asked a lot of questions!
Number of participants – 12 persons.
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Today’s session of the American Teen Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine was dedicated to the celebration of the American Christmas. The session was run by FLEX alumnae Dasha Gerasymova. The club members brought a lot of sweet treats and soft drinks to create the festive atmosphere. The boys dressed up as Santas for several funny photos. Popular songs like “Jingle bells” and “Rudolph the red-nosed rein deer” created Xmas mood.
The highlight of this session was watching “Home Alone” movie clips.
This Saturday the American Teen Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine ) was run by FLEX Alumnae Dasha. She had planned to show the famous American movie Home Alone.
Home Alone is a 1990 American Christmas family comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. The film stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, an eight-year-old boy who is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for their Christmas vacation. Kevin initially relishes being home alone, but soon has to contend with two would-be burglars played by Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci. The film also features Catherine O'Hara and John Heard as Kevin's parents. As of 2009, Home Alone was the highest-grossing comedy of all time. It spawned a successful franchise, with four sequels and three video games, with the main cast reprising their roles for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
The
second part of the session was dedicated to some funny games. The
participants tried to communicate in English while playing.
Number of participants - 12 persons.The
second part of the session was dedicated to some funny games. The
participants tried to communicate in English while playing.
Number of participants - 12 persons.
The Club members of the Club decided to celebrate the forthcoming Xmas with a party after the official club session.
The party scenario was drafted. It included musical numbers performed by the library staff and club members. A group of the club members developed a menu with snacks that had traditional American ingredients and foods.
On the day of the part, on December, 22 the table was decorated with tablecloths in festive winter colors- red and green. Funny party plates and cups were purchased to create the atmosphere.
The menu included canapés with salads: pineapple/crab meat and tuna/sweet corn. For Ukrainian club members this combination is very American. The highlight of the menu were Xmas cookies. We have managed to find the sweets that looked like American cookies: the chocolate chips cookies, shortbreads, etc.
The Xmas dinner started with a greeting song performed by the librarian Irina. She has rehearsed a traditional American song “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” in the Doris Day version. Our American friend Mr. Joseph played his guitar and sang a couple of Xmas carols. Traditional Xmas songs of both cultures (American and Ukrainian) were played as background music.
The party created a strong team spirit in the club and was enjoyed by all participants.
The number of participants – 33 persons.
Have a look at more pictures, please
This afternoon the Gabfest Club session (Dnipro Window on America, Ukraine) was dedicated to the insight into the Xmas mood of the English-speaking countries.
