Plurality of Love: Let’s Talk About Love at the Be (Mine) My English Camp
February: the month of love, no matter where you go! Messages about love surround us in movies, dramas, cartoons, books, and songs. So as not to be left out, HUSO English Corner organized its first English Camp under the theme “Plurality of Love.” The camp created a space for students in the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty (HUSO) to exchange, learn, and create their own love stories…all using English! “I got a chance to deepen my bonds with my friends and also first and second-year students and students from other majors. It was a great deal of fun to do activities and to have good food,” said Amonchet Puwadethtanyakan, a third-year English major.
The Be (Mine) My English Camp, held 18 February 2023 in the faculty’s Smart Classroom HS5307, was opened by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Orathai Piayura, Dean of HUSO. About 40 students joined the camp to practice and showcase their English skills.
HUSO English Corner began the camp activities by facilitating a “Love Debate” icebreaking session. Once students had learned some trivia about love traditions around the world and had shared their own perspectives on love and relationships, they were awake and ready for the main session of the morning: a panel on “Love Without Borders,” with honored guests Mrs. Disaraporn Wallace, Mr. Dylan Wallace, and Ms. Dorcus Tushemereirwe. The guests shared their experiences on cross-cultural relationships and becoming part of cross-cultural families.
Ms. Disaraporn discussed her insights into “Love Languages.” She found that most problems between cross-cultural couples came down to their different “love languages.” Mr. Dylan agreed, and added that the root of the differences could at times be attributed to different personalities but also cultural factors and differences in how they were raised. Ms. Dorcus talked about her own experience of having an ex-partner from a different tribe in her home country of Uganda. Her love story came to an unfortunate end due to family differences, but she shared that cross-tribal marriages had helped improve her country at a macro level, decreasing cultural, religious, and status differences and fostering improved relationships between tribes.
For the afternoon, English Corner introduced two types of “dating” to participants. The first, "Speed Dating," helped participants practice English small talk and build good relationships with new friends in HUSO. This was followed up by the “Oh! My Valentine” event, where participants wrote a Valentine card in order to complement each of their speed dates. Then, participants were paired with a “blind date” for the next activity. In "Scavenger Hunt: A Love Challenge Treasure Hunt," participants had to find and complete 5 missions with their partner. To close the daytime part of the camp, students formed small groups and applied their creative English writing skills, writing short skits under the theme "A Different Love Story."
“This camp really helped me improve my English skills. Even though I can’t speak that much, I still could practice listening and reading. Everyone at the camp was kind and friendly. This camp made me have a couple of new foreign friends, so we can share our own language. It was really fun. I will definitely want to join again next time,” Suchada Sanitnit, a fourth-year Thai major said, reflecting on the camp. Indeed, HUSO English Corner looks forward to holding more camps in the future and hopes to see growing interest among HUSO students of all departments. In the meantime, students can follow English Corner activities at their Facebook page “HUSO English Corner.”
News / Photos: Organization Communication Group, Faculty of humanities and Social Sciences
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