*Note* I realize that Valentine’s day is over, but I have been sick the past couple days and didn’t get a chance to post it earlier! Enjoy!
It occurs to me that, no matter what cultural background you are from, everyone loves arts and crafts. It’s great to every once in a while let your creative juices flow and just feel like a kid again.
Last Friday’s coffee social activity was to make homemade Valentine’s day cards. We had two tables set up with assorted paper, paper flowers, stick-on sparkly felt hearts, markers, glue, etc., and everyone was allowed to do whatever artistically floated their boat. I have to admit, I was a little doubtful when I first learned that this was the activity of the day. I thought that some people would object to participating in such a “childish” activity, and I did not think the guys would not be inclined to play around with various pink and red sparkly objects. But to my surprise, the first people who started making cards were men! Soon, everyone was crowded around the tables, cutting, pasting and “ooh”-ing and “aah”-ing over their friends’ creative accomplishments. I thought I was doing a pretty impressive job with my cards, but I had nothing on their creativity!
My lovely homemade cards ^_^
Of course the most asked question of the day was “who are you going to give your Valentine to?” And I got a lot of different answers. The most popular answer was “I don’t know,” but I did get some definite answers. One was for a friend “because I love him” (said teasingly), another was for a boyfriend left behind in Mexico, another was for a husband who got two made for him “because he is my husband” (SO adorable!).
This got me thinking: even though Valentine’s day is one of the most shamelessly commercial holidays ever, it does remind you that love is a universal concept. The love of a friend, a family member, or a life partner is something that transcends the language barrier, something we all can relate to. Sometimes it just takes a “childish” activity like this to remind you.
英語maniac 