Newsletter from the Hymers College MFL Department • Issue 5
The Languages and Cultures Club offers pupils at Hymers the chance to learn about the various traditions and experience different customs from around the world. From food to clothing, music and festivals, members of the club have shared their own knowledge and also have investigated other cultures from across the globe. This term, we have been learning about:
United States of America | Cape Verde | Pakistan | Sudan | Russia
The club has allowed pupils to break down stereotypes and broaden our perspectives. Not only do we learn about the countries themselves, but we also learn about their peoples, their celebrations and their roots. One of my favourite aspects of the club is gaining an understanding of our shared humanity. For instance, it is often surprising to learn how many different countries enjoy
traditions that we also celebrate in the UK, whether it is the start of a new season or meals to mark important milestones. We are fortunate that the French Language Assistant, Madame Nichols, always brings in a dish from the country we are learning. When we were learning about the USA, she brought in jumbo American marshmallows with chocolate sauce.
It was so delicious! After learning about a new country and its traditions, we host a quiz to put our knowledge to the test, with the winner earning themselves a prize as well as picking the next country we will ‘explore’. Come and join us to discover some of the cultural hotspots of the world. Zainab
How much do you know about Barcelona? In February 2024, pupils from Y10 and Y11 Spanish will be travelling to exciting Barcelona, and will be experiencing first hand some of the fascinating aspects of this vibrant city. But, did you know it wasn’t always like this? In the early 19th century, the old walled city of Barcelona had become so crammed that the working classes, bourgeois society and factories all co-existed in the same space by the bustling port. Barcelona was on the brink of collapse. An industrial city based around its sea trade, it had grown increasingly dense throughout the industrial revolution, mostly as a result of the huge development of the textile sector. Its population of 187,000 still lived in a tiny area, confined by its mediaeval walls, making outbreaks of illness spread quickly. Everything changed with a plan drawn up by a Catalan engineer Ildefons Cerdà. His plan consisted of a grid of streets that would unite the old city with seven peripheral villages and would come to be known as Eixample “expansion”. Gardens in the centre of each street block; rich and poor accessing the same services; the octagonal blocks allowing drivers to see more easily what was happening to the left and right. And as a result, these days, Barcelona is consistently praised as an urban success story. Unsurprisingly, the cultural, architectural, modern and historic city of Barcelona is one of the most visited destinations in the world, attracting over 7 million tourists every year. Some spots of particular interest to these tourists are the Port Aventura, Camp Nou and La Casa Batlló. In this article, immerse yourself in the beauty and intrigue of these magnificent landmarks. First of all the Camp Nou football stadium: home to the Barcelona football team, this is a very popular refuge for keen football fans touring the beautiful city. The stands are able to house up to 99,354 people at once and is 48m tall, 250m long and 220m wide. By 2025 a new Camp Nou will have finished being constructed and will house up to 110,000 people.
Next up is the Port Aventura, a great place for any avid rollercoaster enjoyers that love the thrill and rush of excitement as you step on one of almost 50 rides at the theme park. A fan favourite of the theme park is the dare-devil like Red Force. On this ride you will experience speeds of up to 180 kilometres an hour (110 miles an hour), furthermore the Red Force is over 800m long and reaches a peak height of 112m. Finally there is the Casa Batlló. Built in the centre of Barcelona by Antoni Gaudí. It is marvelled by many and is regarded as one
of the most beautiful houses in Barcelona. It has inspired modern house design all over the world with its irregular patterns, oval-shaped windows and is decorated with a delightful colourful mosaic made from broken ceramic tiles. There is so much more to the intense yet magical city of Barcelona like national cuisine and many more eye-catching landmarks which you can find out about on the Barcelona trip in February 2024. Marcus
Winter Celebrations Our dedicated team of language enthusiasts have recently been discovering more about festivals celebrated by communities around the world at this time of year. We were delighted to discover so many new ways to enjoy the upcoming holidays!
Diwali Diwali or Deepavali is the Hindu festival of light. It is celebrated globally and is India’s biggest and most important festival. Traditionally, it takes place between October and November because it is based on the lunar calendar. The actual festival lasts 5 days.
Diwali celebrates the story of the Ramayana which tells the tale of the exiled prince Ram saving his wife Sita from the 10 headed demon Ravana. To celebrate Diwali, we give gifts, light fireworks and light diyas (clay oil lamps) to represent light being triumphant over darkness and to welcome Ram and Sita back from their 14 year long exile. Riya
Christmas Christmas, the time of year we all love, is an annual festival to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, celebrated on 25 December as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world, such as Christians, Catholics and Buddhists. Christmas is often celebrated by the exchange of gifts and cards with beloved ones, Christmas
dinner, Christmas carols, Christmas decorations and other celebrations alongside local traditions. The name Christmas is from the word Christ’s Mass. A Mass service (which is sometimes called Communion or Eucharist) is where Christians remember when Jesus died for us on the cross and then came back to life. Christmas was also first recorded to be celebrated in England, 1038. Daniela
Dong Zhi Dong Zhi is celebrated on the 22nd of December. It is a Chinese Winter Solstice Festival, it is one of the most celebrated festivals in China. The origins of which can be traced back to the Traditional Chinese Medicine principles of yin and yang. It symbolises the victory of light over darkness. Dong Zhi represents that the days will start to grow longer, and bring a sense of balance and harmony to people’s lives.
It’s also known that Dong Zhi was discovered over 2,500 years ago during the Han Dynasty by a wise man named Zhou Fong. The most well-known traditions around Dong Zhi consists of popular dishes consumed at that time. Northerners eat dumplings and Southerners eat tang yuan, which is glutinous rice balls, which are both savoury and sweet. This is when families gather around a hot stove and eat steaming dumplings. Zahra
Epiphany Epiphany is an annual Christian celebration that commemorates the visit of the Magi (the Three Kings or Three Wise Men) - who were led by a star from the east to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. The term ‘epiphany’ originates from the Greek verb ‘to reveal’, as it was when baby Jesus was ‘revealed’ to the Gentiles. Epiphany is celebrated on 6 January, exactly 12 days after Christmas Day (although some branches of the Christian church celebrate it on different dates), in various ways around the world.
In some countries, people will take the day off work, and children will receive gifts to represent the gifts brought by the Magi (gold, frankincense and myrrh). According to Italian folklore, an old woman called Befana drops down chimneys at night and delivers presents to imitate the Three Kings. In Spain and Latin American countries, El Día de los Reyes (Three Kings’ Day) is a significant occasion with parades and fireworks. Numerous nations also consume unique baked goods containing a figurine - which brings good fortune to the discoverer for the rest of the year. Kinga
Hanukkah The eight day Jewish festival of lights, Hanukkah, commemorates the reclaiming and rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. On each day of the festival, a candle on the menorah is lit.
2,000 years ago (the miracle being such a small amount of oil was able to stretch for eight days). Usually fried food is eaten because this remembers the oil used in the original menorah used to light the temple for eight days. This year Hanukkah is on Thursday 7 December Friday 15 December.
A menorah has 9 candles on it, one for each night and a candle called a Shamash which is used to light all the other candles. During the candle lighting Jews recite special blessings and prayers, sing songs, and exchange gifts to celebrate the miracle in the temple more than
Agnes
Inti Raymi Inti Raymi is a traditional Peruvian festival which originated in the Incan Empire. Inti Raymi means “Festival of the Sun’’ in the native tongue, Quechua and it takes place in the city of Cusco. It celebrates the connection of the Andean people, their land and their ancestors.
Originally, it was established around the year 1430 by the Inca Pachacutec, but with the fall of the Incan empire, it was considered pagan and was prohibited by the Viceroy of Peru, Francisco de Toledo. In 1944, the Peruvian writer Francisco Espinoza Navarro helped restore the festival and nowadays, large groups of people don traditional Inca attire and recreate the celebration with dances, music
and speeches, all of which blend contemporary and traditional customs. They also eat Incan food, such as chiriuchu, which is known as “cold spice” and contains ingredients like sausage, corn and sometimes guinea pig! Daniel
Kwanzaa The celebration of Kwanzaa is celebrated in Pan African communities and in AfricanAmerican communities. Kwanzaa is a secular celebration, and is more related to the culture of this diverse region and tradition.
It was first celebrated in 1966, after the Watts riots. It was created as a Black empowerment event, to celebrate the ideals and traditions their forefathers set, back home in Africa. The seven day festival, dedicates a day to each of the celebration’s principles. People decorate their homes in colourful cloth and patterns, reminiscent of traditional homes
Day 1 Umoja- To strive for and maintain unity, in family, race and nation. Day 2 Kujichagulia- To be determined and to believe in yourself as a person. Day 3 Ujima- To work together for the bigger-picture putting differences aside. Day 4 U jamaa- To build, manage stores and services, profiting each other and avoiding greed. Day 5 N ia- To appreciate culture and traditional practices, preserving and committing to them. Day 6 K uumba- To push ourselves to the maximum, striving to benefit the community as a whole, and assuming responsibility Day 7 Imani- Faith, in the people closest to us, and our culture and beliefs.
Las Posadas Las Posadas is a religious winter celebration which means the Inns. Every year it is celebrated from the 16 December to 24 December in Latin America, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and other Latin Americans who live in America. It celebrates the journey which Joseph and Mary undertook from Nazareth to Bethlehem for a place in which Mary was able to give birth to Jesus. The main aspect of this celebration is asking for a place for rest(una posada) by
Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is one of the oldest, most important festivals celebrated in Central and East Asia, and dates back at least 2500 years. It commemorates the arrival of spring and always takes place on the first day of the lunisolar calendar, which is late January or February on the Gregorian calendar. There are many traditions associated with this festival, including the sweeping of graves, dragon & lion dancing and finally, my personal favourite, eating delicious traditional foods. Next year, Lunar New Year will be on 10 February, so why not join in with the festivities? Alice
singing. After the service children will break open piñatas(often shaped like a star) which are filled with treats, toys and sometimes money. Dashenka
in Africa. People greet each other with, “Habari Gani?” which translates from Swahili as “How are you?”, a testament to Africa’s welcoming and open culture. Sai
Midwinter in Antarctica Hence the name of the celebration, Midwinter in Antarctica is celebrated in Antarctica on June 20th or 21st. It’s celebrated all over Antarctica on the start of the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere, and it commemorates all the staff working in Antarctic research stations. Navy officer and explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his team of the Discovery Expedition started this custom.
New Year’s Day Another winter celebration is New Year’s Day. This is celebrated on the first day of the year when a new calendar year begins and the year goes up by one. The date was partly chosen in honour of Janus who is the god of beginnings and the month’s namesake, so New Year is celebrated on 1 January. Lots of people celebrate it in a different way in countries all over the world. In Spain, people eat twelve grapes at midnight, one at each chime of the bells. In Scotland, there is the tradition of ‘first footing’ where you are the first person to put a foot across someone’s threshold. Traditionally you take a gift of coal so that all in the household will be warm and well in the New Year. Wherever you are, there are normally fireworks, resolutions being made, and gathering with friends. As we approach New Year’s Day, have you thought about your New Year’s resolution? Liba
Saint Lucy’s Day Saint Lucy’s Day, or otherwise known as ‘The Feast of Saint Lucy’, is a Christian celebration which takes place on 13 December. Though it says feast, in this context it’s more like an annual celebration for a specific saint, rather than a large meal. Saint Lucy’s Day is celebrated commonly in European countries, but of course, all countries celebrate it a little differently. For example in Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Finland, Denmark or Norway, people sing songs and girls dress as Saint Lucy and bring cookies. This is said to ‘help one live the winter days with enough light’. Vincent
They created it to intentionally imitate the celebration of Christmas. On this day, people eat a big feast and exchange gifts and cards. However, overtime, this festival wasn’t seen as a replica of Christmas but a celebration of its own, and Midwinter Day became established as a holiday and is now recognized all over the world. Mahathi
Saturnalia For the ancient Romans, the holiday Saturnalia was a holiday to look out for. Originally a day long holiday on the 17 December, the Romans decided to extend the holiday to seven days, just before the Julian winter solstice on 25 December. Saturnalia is about the pagan god Saturn, the god of liberation, peace and abundance. On those days, all work stopped and communities gathered to observe the holiday. Just like modern day Christmas, people shared gifts and decorated their homes. Aryan
Soyal The Native American tribes of the Zuni and the Hopi, residing in the Southern United States, celebrate the Winter Solstice on 22 December as Soyal. Its prayers and rituals implement a plan of life for the coming year, ceremonially turning back the sun toward its summer path. The belief is that the sun god had travelled away from the tribe during Winter Solstice, so the tribe ceremonially drew the sun back to them. Lasting up to 16 days, many of the rituals take place in ceremonial underground meeting rooms called kivas and tribespeople dress up as ancestral spirits, the Kachinas. It is also a time of purification, the blessing of tribespeople and homes and an opportunity for elders to regale the children with traditional stories. The ceremony ends with a feast and a Kachina dance. Ram
Yaldã Yaldã Night (also known as Chelle(h) Night) is an ancient festival that is celebrated in Iran and other historically Iranian-influenced regions. This corresponds to the night of 20-21 December in the Gregorian calendar and the last day of the ninth month (Azar) and the first day of the tenth month (Dey) of the Iranian solar calendar. This night is also known as the winter solstice which is the longest and darkest night of the year. On this night, friends and family gather together to eat, drink and read poetry (especially Hafez) and the Shahnameh until after midnight. Fruits and nuts are eaten with pomegranates and watermelons being significant due to their red colour that symbolises the crimson hues of dawn and glow of life. These items and more are commonly placed on a korsi, which people sit around.
As well as this, in some areas, it is custom that forty varieties of edibles should be served during the ceremony of the night of Chelleh. The poems of Divan-e Hafez, which can be found in the bookcases of most Iranian families, are read or recited on this festival as well as several others including Nowruz (a festival that marks the spring equinox). Other activities that are common in this festival include staying up past midnight, conversation, drinking, telling stories and jokes and also dancing. Gabriella
Spelling and Translation Bee Year 7 Spelling Bee It was around October when I first heard of the Spelling Bee, I thought that I might join just for fun. There was a competition for both Spanish and French and after a few days of deciding which one to choose, I thought there was no harm in entering both. All competitors were given a booklet containing all words we needed to know for the whole competition, which was handily split into four sections depending on which stage we were at. The first round had fifty words that we needed to know, fifty for French and fifty for Spanish. During the round we had one minute to accurately translate and spell as many words as we could, not only did we have to know the words and translations, we had to be able to spell the word using the languages’ alphabet. After a few weeks, the first round had been announced. Once everyone had their go, the top few students from each class would be selected to go to the next round. Suspense filled the room before the teacher called out the name of who would be going to round two, and to my relief my name was the one to be called out. For the second round we were given one hundred more words for each language on top of the ones we had already learned! I decided to create flashcards so that I could test my speed more efficiently, and take them around with me, in case I needed them. Eventually, after a few weeks of learning words and practising, the day had arrived. After a short while I was called to the front to do my attempt. Fortunately, I got through to the next stage of the competition for French!
rest of the world out. I could feel myself speeding up, getting more confident with each word until the minute ended. I sat down and was filled with a feeling of relief as I watched the rest of the round take place. After some time, everyone had gone and they were about to announce the four winners, or so I thought… Instead they announced there had been a tie, my heart sank, I was hoping, wishing that it wasn’t me. It seemed the ray of bad luck still remained because they declared the tie was between me and another girl. To settle the tie we both went up and did another round. During my minute I shut the world out right at the start, this meant I was faster and more accurate, skipping the words that didn’t come to my mind instantly, and before I knew it my turn was once again over and it was now her’s. I sat down and she began, her speed shocked me, she was even faster and more accurate than the first time! A sense of dread overwhelmed me. To my suprise, the judges told us that we tied again, they stated this time they would count skips and the person that used the least skips would win. She went first this time and in total she used one skip. Next was my turn. It was the same as the two times before, but this time I couldn’t let myself skip. Halfway through the minute I heard a word I was unfamiliar with, I wasn’t able to remember it! Full of panic, I skipped and only realised when it was too late. It seemed the bad luck had not yet left…
We made our way to the central building and sat down in the main room. After a few minutes, the competition started. I was hoping that I wouldn’t be first to be called up as there were many people there watching today, all the children competing, their parents and a few teachers, but a wave of bad luck must’ve hit me because the first name to be called out was mine!
Since we had both used one skip we were taken to the front for a sudden death round, they would give us each a word and we would have to spell it. For this round, though, we had as long as we needed to spell the words. She got the first word, I couldn’t tell if she got it correct or not but I had more important things to focus on because next it was my go. I heard the word, after a second or two of thinking about it I replied, carefully spelling the word to make sure there were no errors. After only one round of this they told us to sit down because the tie had been settled! After sitting down, they announced the top four that would be moving on to the final round, tension rose around the room, there were around twelve of us and only four could go to the finals. To my immense relief, my name was called out for third place. I could feel the bad luck cloud disappear as the judges handed me a bronze medal and congratulated me.
The minute began and something came over me, I looked directly at my dad and shut the
After a short break, I began to learn the new words, there were one hundred more of them
A few weeks passed before I began preparing for the next stage, this stage was national and would take place in the University of Leeds. This stage added another fifty words, bringing the total up to two hundred words. My first step was to create more flashcards of the new words to help me learn them and afterwards, to increase my speed and accuracy. Several weeks went by and eventually the day was here, and me and my dad went to Leeds University.
now - the total was now three hundred words! My most effective way for learning the words was by using flashcards, so I set to work creating more of them. Weeks went by and eventually one day when I left for school my mum had already packed bags, we were going to leave the night before the competition and stay in a hotel near the university. After a long journey in the car, we arrived at the hotel, it was around nine thirty pm and once we got into the room it was roughly 10pm so I went straight to bed. We had a quick breakfast then we took a taxi to the university and got registered. We sat down on a wooden bench and I had one last look at the flashcards, this would be the last time I looked at the word list. Several minutes passed before they told us to go into the room, we followed signs that took us to one of the language rooms where the French spelling bee would take place. We sat down on one of the benches, as the lady at the front announced the first competitor. Luckily, it wasn’t me however the next few rounds went by like a flash and before I knew it, my turn had come. I spelled my words clearly and loud enough for the judges to hear, before I knew it the minute was over - for the last time. I sat down and watched the rest of the competitors and at the end they announced the top four. Unfortunately my name was not called out and I didn’t win, however I did manage to get to the final stage of the competition which only the top 1% got to and I had fun doing it. Rayan
Y8 Translation Bee On 3 July, I was lucky enough to compete at the national finals of the Spanish Translation Bee. To get there though I had to undertake a lot of painstaking practice. After getting past the school round, I sat down every night, learning and repeating the list of vocabulary and phrases that we would be tested on. Then on 8 June I headed off to Lancaster University with my dad. With 20 competitors and only the top five getting through, I was shaking. Throughout the whole car ride there I kept my head down, eyes on the vocab, making sure that I was word perfect. Each of the competitors had their turn before going to the next room for the winners to be announced. After calling out three other people’s names, my name was called out next! So in the coming month, I would be off to Cambridge for the final.
As it was July, most of the students were away for the summer so it felt quite calm. After arriving at the destination we practised for what little time we had. I could recognise a few of the people that came from Lancaster at the competition and again there were 19 other competitors. Hearing them have their turns was incredible. There were many talented linguists taking part so it felt daunting when it came to my turn. Most of the competitors were in Year 9 so had studied the language for longer than I had. But I gave it my all.
Unfortunately this time I didn’t make it into the top five but I am still happy and proud that I made it to the finals and I found it very inspiring to visit the Universities of Lancaster and Cambridge. The experience was overall very positive and I would be very keen to participate in the competition again. It has definitely improved my confidence and knowledge of the language and has encouraged me to want to go on studying Spanish into the future.
This time my sister and mum accompanied me on the journey and after two and a half hours, we arrived in Cambridge. We were early enough to have a little tour. My mum was especially excited to show us around Pembroke College, which was the college that she attended. Fortunately, it was close to the faculty of languages where the competition was taking place. The buildings were beautiful and we walked along the river which felt peaceful and definitely helped to calm me down before the competition.
Lara
Current affairs in France and Spain The recent banning of abayas in French schools France has long enjoyed international renown for its baguettes, brie and Beajolais, but its domestic headlines have more recently been dominated by the long-standing French principle of Laïcité (secularism). Following in the footsteps of previous iterations, the current French constitution was written in 1958, reasserting the Revolutionary principle of the separation of religion from the business of the French State. This principle can be seen in action in modern French society through a variety of measures, including in education. Since 2004, young people have been banned from wearing a headscarf in state-schools. This rule regarding religious clothing followed many others, such as the bans on the Jewish kippah and Christian symbols such as rosary beads. The French Education Minister, Gabriel Attal,
has recently said “When you walk into a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify the pupils’ religion just by looking at them.” In 2010, when the 2004 law was amended to include a ban on full face veils, there was uproar from many in the community of some 5 million French Muslims. However, from September of 2023, the French government decided that wearing an abaya, a loose fitting religious robe, should also not be worn in school. As you can imagine, this provoked anger among some Muslim school girls, especially as wearing the abaya in school recently started to gain popularity following the previous ban of the hijab and veil. There’s no surprise that this law has caused such controversy, with right-wing parties broadly supporting this ban, whereas some on the Left have concerns for the future impact of the ban. What do you think of the French government’s decision? Elodie
Spanish General Elections “I am firmly convinced that Spain is the strongest country of the world. Century after century trying to destroy herself and still no success.” Otto von Bismarck Van Bismarck’s words have certainly been upheld after Spain’s most recent political conundrum. After shaking hands with hardcore separatists, will the Spanish government allow itself to fracture? Coalitions are an issue that Britain’s majoritarian government rarely has to worry about. Although uniting parties together often helps to deradicalise them, it can sometimes take some time for a functional government to be created, as has been the case after the 2023 Spanish general election. Mid-November has just seen the socialist Pedro Sánchez reinstated as Spanish Prime Minister, despite his party placing second in the election. This results from the failure of the electoral winner, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the right-wing Partido Popular, to form a majority coalition. To have a majority in the Spanish Congress of Deputies, one must have at least 176 seats, but, with the PP and its rightist allied parties only reaching
172, Feijóo had to attempt negotiations with the remaining parties, something which was doomed to fail from the very start. The PSOE (Spanish Labour Party) and Sumar (a party of the Left) refused to budge, leaving negotiations with smaller regional leftist parties, including seven-seat party Junts, a more controversial group seeking a binding referendum for an independent Catalan state. These negotiations fell apart due to the presence of VOX in the right-wing coalition, a party deeply-rooted in anti-regionalist ideals, going so far as to call for a total ban on Catalan, Basque, Galician and Canarian regional parties, among other policies in its extreme-right agenda.
A poor result for the right-wing coalition at Feijóo’s investiture saw King Felipe VI invite runner-up Sánchez to form a new government, well aware of the high price being demanded for Catalan support: nothing less than a pardoning for those still facing charges for their involvement in 2017 Catalan independence referendum, deemed illegal and unconstitutional, including such figures as former Catalan Prime Minister Carles Puidgemont, self-exiled to Belgium after a European arrest warrant was placed against his name. Despite protests and wariness from the public, at Sánchez’s investiture deputies from Junts voted ¡Sí! in favour of his coalition, carrying on his role as Prime Minister for at least another four years. However, with Catalan pro-independence parties as the kingmakers of the coalition, casting the make-or-break decision over any vote in Parliament, some fear that the price of their loyalty may ramp up in the future. James
The King’s League The King’s league was formed by ex-footballer Gerrad Piqué and his friend, Spanish influencer, Ibai Llanos. The King’s League is streamed every Sunday on Twitch or Youtube, with the streams watched by, on average, 700,000 people every week. The games are made up of two 20 minute halves and 10 players either side. Each team has two places on their roster for ‘special guests’ like Ronaldinho, Andrea Pirlo, Andriy Shevchenko, Djibril Cissé, among many others. The games also have wacky rules like penalties where the player has to dribble from the halfway line, and each team has two ‘secret weapons’.
Each team also has a president. Usually the presidents are either ex-players like Sergio Aguero or Iker Casillas who play in their team, or famous Twitch streamers such as DjMariio or Perxitaa. Sometimes the presidents even take penalties for their team.
where teams from North and South America will face each other. The big question is, where will they go next…? And could there be a Kingston (upon-Hull) league? George
The concept has been very successful and won various awards in Spain. Indeed, the success of the men’s game has led to the formation of the women’s equivalent, ‘The Queen’s League’. Starting soon is “The King’s League Americas”
Thanks to all our fantastic contributors to this term’s edition of the newsletter. Mr Calvo-Garcia would love to hear from any other budding foreign correspondents who would like to write an article next term! Please email ecalvo-garcia@hymers.org