Love Your Neighbour pals share their language and cultures with our community network

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Last month we hosted our first ever Spanish and Latin American Social Club, co-led by Love Your Neighbour match Pepe (70) and Isabel (32). Pepe is from Peru and Isabel is Mexican, and they speak Spanish together. The pair enjoy going for meals together, and chatting about music, travel and the (many) different names for foods across Latin America! They were keen to share their language and cultures with members of our community network. 

Neighbours discovered more about the Spanish-speaking world through a quiz and an activity on Spanish sayings. Isabel created the quiz, which spanned Latin American celebrities, history, sports and literature, and a picture round on flags, and Pepe came up with lots of interesting sayings in Spanish, which neighbours then learnt the meaning of, and matched up with their English equivalent. One of our favourites was “Al pan, pan y al vino, vino” (“bread is bread and wine is wine”) which for us would be “Call a spade a spade”!

We also sampled delicious Venezuelan food from local business EF Exclusive Foods, run by Pepe’s friend Francys, and listened to a whole range of music, from salsa and cumbia through to global classics like Macarena. Check out our playlist here.

One neighbour said they enjoyed “learning new things in such a lovely, fun atmosphere” and another shared that they liked “the games, knowledge, moments to treasure and making new friends” - and the food definitely went down a treat too! 

We asked the Love Your Neighbour pals about their experience of planning and running the Social Club together: 

What did you learn from planning and leading a Social Club for our neighbours?

Isabel: Planning this Social Club was such great fun! Pepe and I were discussing ideas during our calls and we had lots of laughs about it all. We did several versions of the questions, tuning some bits and trying to make them interesting and fun. He talked me through the sayings in Spanish that he put together in a list, which Izzy then helped us make into a really cool activity. 

Pepe: Lo que más me agradó, es haber podido contribuir con un granito de arena [...] Aprendí que no hay diferencias entre jóvenes y mayores, porque todos nos divertimos por igual.

– What I appreciated the most [about planning and running the Club] was being able to make my own small contribution. I learnt that there is no difference between younger and older people, because we all had an equally great time.

What was your favourite part of the Social Club?

Isabel: Don't know! I liked all of it. The food was so nice, and it was so lovely to hear and read the feedback we got from attendees. I really enjoyed talking to people about our native language, sharing stories and some random facts through the quiz. It was also fantastic to get to know other neighbours who also speak Spanish, and to listen to their stories about visiting Spain and Latin America. It was such an enjoyable and memorable club! 

Pepe: Lo que más me gustó de esta reunión, es conocer a otras personas y ver la camaradería que hay entre todos, se ve que disfrutaron mucho de los pasatiempos y la música, así como también de los Tequeños y empanadas de mi amiga Francys […] debo decir que ha sido muy gratificante para mí, la he pasado muy bien, he conocido personas muy amables, que a pesar de no hablar el idioma, nos hemos complementado bien.

– What I liked the most about the meet up was getting to know other people and seeing the camaraderie that exists between everyone. You could see that people really enjoyed the activities and the music, as well as the tequeños and empanadas that my friend Francys made. I have to say that for me it was very fulfilling; I had a really good time, I met very friendly people and despite not speaking the language, we got on well. 

What would you say to other neighbours who might like to run their own Social Club?

Isabel: Definitely give it a try. You'll certainly have loads of fun. At first I felt a bit scared because I had no idea how to plan something fun for a group of people to do for over an hour. But Izzy was simply great at helping us plan it all, making it work and making it as fun as possible for all the attendees.

Pepe: Lo recomiendo al 100%, a que se organicen en un Club Social, porque es una forma divertida y sana de pasarsela bien, y en gratas compañías.

– I would 100% recommend that you organise a Social Club because it’s a fun and healthy way to have a good time, in pleasant company.

A huge thank you to Isabel and Pepe for sharing their language and cultures with our neighbours at such a special Social Club!