MANILA, Philippines - Shangri-La?s Mactan Island Resort and Spa hosted one of the liveliest parties of the season at the Ocean Pavilion.

The night was starry, the sea calm, and breezes blew wafting off the clouds.

There was a tinge of sadness, though, as it was a farewell party for GM Timothy Wright and his lovely wife Mona who have since left on a new tour of duty at the Shangri-La in Bangkok.

In a brief speech, Tim summed up his Cebu years as one of the best and most memorable of his career. He and Mona have made many friends who will remain so forever.

There was much applause for new GM Raymond Bragg, who hails from New Zealand. He can hardly wait to move his family to Cebu. He said in the past year, they stayed at the Mactan Shangri-La several times because they like it so much. His assignment here is a dream made reality.

Seeing to everyone?s comfort and ease were the resort?s communications director Sharon Samarista and her assistant Lesley Anne Tan.

It may have been a cocktail party but what was on the buffet and carving stations amounted to a feast. Congratulations were heaped on the food/beverage director Trevor Stevens.

Service was excellent as usual, everyone told Sheila Sepulveda, the human-resources director who was discussing civic work with Marielou Rodriguez Canizares. There was no time limit to the party so quite a number stayed on.

No chairs? Never mind, there were neat granite steps leading to the garden as well as a decorative ledge beside them. There settled Amparito Lhuillier, Chinggay Utzurrum and Cookie Newman for a long chat.

When it was finally time to go, Ching and Cookie told their handsome escort if he?d put on an Eartha Kitt CD to hum along with all the way to Cebu City. And take the long route, they purred, with Ching adding ?C? est si bon!?

Language lessons

Michel Lhuillier was most amused and asked the ladies, ?Would you like to learn French?? He is giving full support to Les Amis de la France (Friends of France in Cebu). They have set up a French Cultural Institute and Language Center.

It is located at the QC Pavilion along Gorordo Avenue and was recently inaugurated by the Ambassador of France and Madame Gerard Chesnel.
French lessons are imparted by the director Louis Thevenin and his assistant Alice Gauny. Loveth Abad takes care of the reception desk.

Summer is a good time for children and teeners to enrol in language courses. Experts say children below 10 who study a language learn it faster and speak it with more fluidity than others.

While French lessons are offered by Les Amis de la France this summer, lessons in Spanish will also be offered at the Casino Español de Cebu by Los Amigos de España, which is headed by Amparito Lhuillier. Teacher is Mariton Villaflor who also does one-on-one tutoring.

During the latest meeting of ?Amigos,? the guest speaker was Mary Rose Macapagal, district sales manager for Visayas and Mindanao of Qatar Airways. She spoke not just about the best way for Cebuanos to get to Madrid, but about the more than 80 Qatar Airways destinations worldwide.

The next meeting of ?Amigos? will be over lunch at Casino Español on March 27, with an innovative formula to make everyone speak in Spanish. There will be tables for six, with six folded pieces of paper in a bowl. Each person will pick out one and speak with his or her seatmate on the topic stated.

It was fun formulating the topic themes, or questions for Amparito and the rest of the officers: VP Susan Sala, secretaries Myra Gonzalez and Angeles Mathieu, and treasurer Julina Muertegui.

Was anyone eavesdropping from the nearby tables? ?Nadie esta escuchando,? said Cecilia Rodriguez, ?Porque no hay nadie was que nosotros.?

Nobody else but us!