On Thursday 11 January, the MFL Society held its annual joint dinner with Abingdon School.
With 90 guests in attendance, our evening started with drinks and tapas in Old School Hall, followed by a talk from Anna Simonson, a St Helen’s alumna. She told us about her journey with languages from A level to studying international relations, French and Spanish to her current work for Power of Nutrition – an NGO which supports countries fighting malnutrition and famine across the world. She shared some of the opportunities that she has been able to grasp thanks to her knowledge and skill with languages – from spending a year abroad in France and Italy during her university degree, getting an internship at the UN in New York, to travelling to South America and learning Portuguese in Brazil. The immense experiences she has achieved through the study of languages were inspiring. After her truly engaging talk, we had many questions to find out more about where she had been, what she had achieved through the years and what her next destinations and goals would be.
Afterwards, we enjoyed an exciting Mexican-themed dinner. We loved the delicious platter of tacos, chili and all the trimmings as well as mocktails, finishing off with churros and chocolate sauce!
To close the evening, Spanish, French and German songs were performed on karaoke by all the students – and even some of the teachers!
