Gwen

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My name is Gwen Grahl, meaning ‘white moon’. My parents chose to call me this because it is a Welsh name, reflecting my mother’s Welsh background. My father is Scottish and was brought up near Edinburgh.

I am fairly tall and extremely freckled with untameable, ginger hair and glasses. I live with my two older sisters, my older brother and my parents.

My interests vary greatly. My life is full of activity; and my many interests range from the conventional to the very surprising. I am a keen musician; I play the cello and the recorder. I am also in two orchestras and I sing in a weekly choir. Music to me is a fascinating experience; there always seems to be so much to learn that it is hard to keep up with it all! I also do drama twice a week; in two different groups and have been involved in creative projects of many kinds including cookery, literature and dance.

I really enjoy cooking and my parents have encouraged me to try foods from many different cultures including Indian curries, which are particularly popular in my house as well as other exotic foods. My dad is fantastic at curry, and loves making a variety of dishes when he cooks for the family.

Another of my interests is Art, which I also study enthusiastically at school. I did a project last year on art reflecting people’s culture and found it very inspiring, studying artists such as Chris Ofili and looking carefully at the styles they use to portray their identity. I also read poetry a lot, and enjoy particularly the work of Imtiaz Dharker, a Pakistani/Indian poet who writes a lot about the strong influence of both her Asian and British heritage; as well as that of Benjamin Zephaniah, another very compelling poet.

I speak French quite confidently- I am often in France on holiday and have learned the language considerably quickly. My family were lucky enough to be offered the opportunity to live in France for a year in 1988. We lived in the Alps near Grenoble and my sisters and brother attended the local school and benefited amazingly from the experience. Sadly I was only 6 months old at the time and so my French is nowhere near as competent as that of my siblings.

Five years later we also had the opportunity to live in Berlin. This was something I really do remember although again I was too young to get a real grip of the German language. I do have memories of the beautiful parks there though; the snow lining the streets and the river being frozen into frosty sheets of ice in the winter. I can also remember the kindergarten I attended, and the lively children’s songs I learnt that we would sing on sunny mornings in Berlin.

Living in a foreign country is the most exciting experiences you can have in my opinion, and I only wish the children of Newham had more of an opportunity to have these types of experiences; especially in such a wonderfully diverse area as this.

I love living in Newham; to me it is fresh with culture, physicality and diversity. It is fascinating to see so many people of so many different backgrounds united within one area; there must be someone from every country in the world, which is not only really interesting, but also unusual in any area throughout the world. It also makes Newham simply the best place to meet new and different people and gives everyone a challenging and motivating experience in this vibrant area.