1. Solo Work: Write to a childhood friend.
We make friends throughout our life, but the relationship we have with our childhood friends is something that is special and unique because childhood friendship is innocent and free from cares. However, sometimes we get so busy with our life later on that we don’t get time for such relationships.
Do you have any childhood friends who seemed to drift out of your life? Do you miss them? Why not write a short English poem or essay about your friendship and send it to him or her? Read the following poem and see if you can get some inspirations!
Childhood Friends
Mindy Carpenter
As childhood friends, we grew up together,
Swearing to be friends forever and ever.
Sometimes we would argue and fight,
Other times we would laugh and stay up all night.
We went from playing with games and toys,
To talking and dreaming about different boys.
My thoughts and feelings, to you I would confide,
Never having anything to hide.
Friends we do remain,
Things changing, and things staying the same.
To each other we still listen and share,
About each other, we will always care.
2. Pair Work: Discuss the strange Coming-of-age Rituals.
Many cultures retain ceremonies to confirm the coming of age, and significant benefits come with the change. Do you know any strange Coming-of-age Rituals? Read the following and discuss the queer initiation rites with your partner.
· In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, the Matausa tribesmen believe that in order for timid boys to become brave men and attract women, they have to expel the contaminating female blood that they got from their mothers during childbirth. In order to do that, they undergo a brutal bloodletting rituals that involve shoving canes down their throats, sharp reeds up their nostrils and plunging sharp arrows repeatedly into their tongues.
· In the tiny South Pacific island of Pentecost, boys as young as five years old engage in a tradition that can be best described as the ancient precursor to modern day’s bungee jumping. In Naghol (N’gol) or the land diving ritual, suicidally brave men jump from makeshift rickety towers as high as 100 feet up in the air with vines tied around their ankles.