A new place

The session took place in a different room, smaller than the usual one, but it made tha atmosphere so much more cozier. And it will take place there from now on, so we're going back to where we started from.

The change of the room was no problem for our Sargeant at Arms Daniel who opened the session with the usual slam of the mallet.

Our President Judit opened the meeting  and let the guests introduce themselves. That day there were quite a few guests from all around the world. Some just checking out the whole idea of TM and some fellow members from other clubs.
After the introduction Judit gave the stage to Catalina Maldonado who introduced the technical team Grammarian - Jelena, Daniel - Ah-counter and Beatriz - Timekeeer. They briefly and clearly introduced their roles to the public and Jelena the Grammarian presented the word of the day - expound.  The theme of the day were the famous qoutes and Catalina started the presentations part with her favourite quote from Forrest Gump "Life  is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you will get" from Forrest Gump. Following there were 3 presentations:

Madalina - It's up to you

Madalina started her story telling us how little she believes that Toastmasters can help her and others improve their presentation skills . After this great attention-grabbing  statement she followed with a story of the presentation telling us about her struggles and successes in a different TM  and how she never gave up on improving herself.
 

Isaac - Big Fat Lies
Issac presented us some misconceptions about fat that most people hold and which stem from some studies presented to the public. In these studies fat was linked to obesity and the general public was advised to limit the amount of fat in their diet, which was in turn replaced by carbohydrates. Apart from the dietary tips, Isaac taught us something about critical thinking - we should critically  analyze  everything that we hear from authorities.

Rayane - The new flight experience

Rayane gave us some really useful tips on how to cope with the flight if you're afraying of flying. For example, talk with the attendants about your fear of flying and you might get some speacial treatment (though sometimes they might not be so helpful) or start a conversation with your fellow passenger about your fear of flight - you'll get your mind of the fear and you might make some new friends. She made the whole room crack with laughter as she was telling the most funny stories.

After our speakers were finished, the evaluators Judit, Christian and M.A. Garcias Tarazona evaluated the speeches. They pointed out where they think the guys could improve and what were the strongest points of every presentation.
 

Table topics
Table Topics are also like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get. Our most entertaining part of the meeting was hosted by Mariyana who gave to the volunteers (or not-so volunteers) the task of explaining the titles of their books which they wrote. The first one "Life on the fridge door" - was taken on by our guest from a fellow TM club in London (and it was one of the best improvised speeches I've heard), the second one - "Life beyond the leaf-raking" - by another one of our guests and the last one - "Across Europe on a cangoroo" by the blogger himsef (all I can say - it wasn't easy) .

Carmen,  the general evaluator summed up this great meeting and after that Judit adjourned the session.