Oh, and on another note... Gosia wanted me to inform you all that Jeff's rendition of the Spice Girls' "wannabe" at last week's Music Club was indeed just for her... Stand up and take a bow, Gosia! :)

This week’s edition by: David

Ok guys, it’s another week and another Speedo. I’m back from a weekend of nervousness and politeness (more on that later) and currently dying of a cold. So if you see me in the corridor, looking kind of pale, don’t laugh…

Quite a busy week for Callan events, and some others coming up which you might be interested in. Read on for more information…

Also, welcome back to all those who have stayed away, been skiing or otherwise during the winter break…

NEWS AND REVIEWS

Last week saw three clubs, all with different levels of success. First up was Film Club with Chris, which had a huge turnout – I believe the best ever! Six students came to watch Final Destination 3, which apparently was so frightening that two students left in shock and with white hair! Ok, well that last part was made up, but it could have happened… Also taking place last week was Pool Club and Travel Club, but nobody attended either club. Come on guys! Gosia went to Kraków, so I don’t think she was complaining!

Up and coming is conversation time, with Sean’s Advanced Convo on Thursday 8th, 7.30pm. This is for those of you who are Stage 9 or above and want something a bit more challenging that those crazy Callan questions! For those of you who are not quite Stage 9, why not join Caroline and Hugh at the Totu Café on Wednesday 28th, 7.30pm for Intermediate Convo. You can talk about anything you want, and not have to worry too much about forming “perfect Callan answers…” Finally this week we have Climbing Club, so if you want a physical workout its on Friday 2nd March. Meet at the school at 7.20pm. As with all clubs, remember to sign up with the secretaries.

I am also informed by Marcin that there are no less than five potential Music Clubs this month, details will be released later, and we also have Caroline’s lecture soon. A Belgian talking about chocolate? Strange… :p

WEDDINGS AROUND THE WORLD

Ok. At the weekend I went to a Polish wedding for the first time. It was a fascinating and eye-opening experience, being the only guy in attendance not Polish, and was not very good for my stomach or diet. But great anyway. So here we will look at some different wedding traditions around the world.

POLAND – Apparently if a bride can drink wine from her glass and not spill any, it’s considered lucky. Is this true? Let me know. And feel free to share any other aspects of a Polish wedding you want us to know about. We’d appreciate the information in advance!

MOROCCO - On her wedding day, it is a Moroccan wedding custom for the bride to have a ceremonial purification milk bath before a ritual henna painting (Beberiska) of her hands and feet. Originally, this purification and painting was the wedding ceremony in Arab lands some 200 years ago. Modern Morrocan brides continue this tradition by annointing the palm of guests with a unique smear, called the henna. Before she is dressed in her wedding dress, another woman arranges her hair, applies her make-up and puts on her jewelry. The bride also wears an elaborate headpiece with a veil.

JAPAN – While the bride and groom exchange their wedding vows, their families face each other, instead of the couple getting married. Central to the traditional Japanese marriage ceremony is the ritual of drinking nine cups of sake, after which newlyweds are considered united. Families and guests also drink sake, to symbolize the bonding of the couple as well as of the two families. The father of the groom, and of the bride, then introduce their respective family members.

VENEZUELA - During a traditional wedding ceremony in Venezuela, the families of the bride and groom will exchange 13 gold coins, to symbolize prosperity and good fortune. The coins are known as arras. These may also be exchanged between the couple themselves. In Venezuela, it is traditional for newlyweds to sneak away from their own wedding reception without saying good-bye. This is considered to bring good luck to the union.

NEW ZEALAND - Maori weddings will include a ceremonial welcome to the bride and groom, known as a Powhiri, and a traditional warrior challenge. The wedding ceremony will be conducted by a tribal elder and the couple will be blessed in the Maori language. Wedding rings made of carved bone or greenstone are also popular amongst those wishing to include the ancient culture of the Maori people in their wedding. Traditional Maori 'infinity loops' have a spiritual meaning of never-ending love.

SEE YOU ALL NEXT TIME!

Last saturday saw the return of Music Club and I was quite surprised by the number of people who showed up at the London Pub – quite surprised. Jeff’s rendition of the Spice Girls’ Wannabe impressed everyone.

“I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want…”

Say a big ‘hello’ to the new teacher. His name is Paul and he’s from England.

More phrases related to the body:

Don’t bite my head off!
When someone shouts at you or is annoyed with you, you can say “don’t bite my head off” and it basically means the same as “calm down” and that you want the person to stop being angry e.g.

Woman: You forgot to buy bread!
Man: OK, I’m sorry. Don’t bite my head off!

In the insect world, the female mantis is known for biting off the male’s head after copulation (sex), though I’m not sure if this is the origin of this particular idiom… maybe it is!

By heart
If you know something by heart, you know it very well. According to Callan, the best way to learn is to repeat, repeat, and repeat, so that the learner can speak without thinking. The student, therefore, knows the answers to the questions by heart. Most people know the alphabet by heart, unless you live in China where there is no alphabet.

Chin wag
The chin is part of the face, below the mouth, and to wag means to move from side to side, like a dog’s tail. So, a chin wag is a chat or an informal conversation e.g. Let’s go to the pub for a beer and a chin wag.

Ok guys, it’s another week and another Speedo. This week is special for there are two big events to get you going, one of them school related and the other not. So read on, for more Callan craziness!

As for me.. I’m off to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Chorzów in July. Just thought I’d share that information with you.

NEWS AND REVIEWS

Last week saw Daniel’s lecture on The Beatles. This great Scouse* band were one of the biggest in history, and Daniel covered all of this and more. He even taught the students who attended the lyrics (words) to some songs, and had them singing. You’d never have seen me singing in front of students… Well done Dan, and thanks to those who attended.

*Scouse (or Scouser) is the name for people from Liverpool, don’t forget to say “hi Scouse” to Daniel every time you see him!



This week sees another Music Club, on Saturday (17th) at the usual haunt, The London Pub on Plac Piastów. Kick-off is at 8pm, and the star attraction is none other than that man Jeff. So sign up with the secretaries, and we’ll see you there. Marcin also mentioned to me that next month promises to be eventful, with no less than three Music Clubs planned…


Kids’ Club is also this Saturday, (17th), so sign up with the secretaries. Film Club is also up-and-coming, so keep your eyes peeled for more news on that when we have it…

VALENTINE’S DAY – FEBRUARY 14th.

Saint Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day is on February 14 (Wednesday). It is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's cards, chocolates or donations to charities, often anonymously. It is very common to present flowers on Valentine's Day. The holiday is named after two men, both Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.


So, in other words you get to spend time with those people you care about most, or you let somebody you may like know that you do. You’ll notice that we have a box near the secretaries’ office, so feel free to leave Valentine’s notes for the teachers or secretaries. The trick is NOT to write your name, because it’s meant to be a SECRET!

Did you know that Valentine’s Day is the second-largest card-sending day of the year, with over one billion cards sent? Hopefully I’ll get one this year.


Also closely involved with all this love stuff is Cupid, the Roman God of erotic love. His equal in Greek mythology is Eros, and another of his Latin names is Amor. Cupid is supposedly the son of the goddess Venus and is worshipped just as much. He likes to shoot arrows at people and make them fall in love.

That’s all for this week guys, see you next time!

.. for any Beatles fans out there

Do you want to insult your boss in English?
I found this great website which lets you do just that. Choose a description of your boss and the insult generator will do the rest for you!

http://www.thecareerbreaksite.com/funny-insult.php

Word Game
See how many words you can make using the following letters:

S C T R E A

Use a letter only once per word e.g. STAR is good but not START. Don’t include plurals. If you can get more than 25 words then you are the bee’s knees (very good).

What’s this?
It’s a banana. The banana is a very popular fruit eaten mainly by humans and monkeys. To go bananas means to become mad or crazy e.g. He went bananas when his wife told him she’d crashed the car.

Bananarama was the name of an all-girl pop group in the 1980’s, who were responsible for producing some of the worst music ever heard. They were eventually banned after making people’s ears bleed.

Banana is a Portuguese word.

ENVIRONMENTALISM: You have two cows. The government bans you from milking or killing them.

FEMINISM: You have two cows. They get married and adopt a veal calf.

TOTALITARIANISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and denies they ever existed. Milk is banned.

POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: You are associated with (the concept of "ownership" is a symbol of the phallo-centric, war-mongering, intolerant past) two differently-aged (but no less valuable to society) bovines of non-specified gender.

COUNTER CULTURE: Wow, dude, there's like...these two cows, man. You got to have some of this milk.

SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

Word of the day:
Onomatopoeia

A word which imitates (or copies) the sound it represents e.g. splash (plusk in Polish) sounds similar to the noise of something falling into water.

Some more examples:
Hiss – the sound a snake makes
Sizzle – frying food
Buzz – the sound of a bee flying

Animals make much the same sounds around the world, but each language expresses them differently. English and French cows sound the same, but not in English and French!

http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/ballc/animals/animals.html