At 10:15 pm on March 18, 2010, as soon as the two MCs said goodbye, most of the students attending the “Histoire d'amour” gala in the audience quickly headed towards the exit. But perhaps few of them knew that behind the stage, in the inner wings, there were people who lingered for a long time afterward, to give each other tight hugs to celebrate the gala being more successful than expected. They were the ones who organized this gala.
Annual activities do not mean 100% favorable
“Histoire d'amour” is simply the name of this year's French-language gala. Before 2010, there were many such gala events held to celebrate the International Francophone Day on March 20, and more importantly, to create a space for exchange for students in general, especially students from French-speaking schools. Based on that idea, once a year, the French-language Clinical Psychology Department (under the Faculty of Psychology - University of Social Sciences and Humanities) organizes this activity. Many years have passed, meaning that many programs have been developed. Students from French-speaking schools in Hanoi have gradually become accustomed to this activity, considering it an indispensable thing every year. However, only those in the organizing committee understand: “To be able to organize such a large-scale activity is never a simple matter”.
Each class in the French-language Clinical Psychology block consists of only 10-15 students. That many people run around for more than 2 months, taking care of studying for exams and organizing. All stages such as making the stage, renting the hall, thinking of ideas, writing the script, contacting other schools, approving the performance and testing the program are all taken care of by that many people. Le Mai Lien - Deputy of the Organizing Committee said: "Sometimes we are tired and discouraged, but we still have to encourage each other to try harder, in 4 years of university we only get to do a program like this once. Luckily, we receive a lot of help from teachers as well as students from other schools." Lack of people and experience is not an issue, but the financial issue is always the most difficult thing for the organizers. Most of the major activities of the schools such as Foreign Trade Charm or Miss Banking have great support from outside businesses. However, with “Histoire d'amour” – which is only a program in the social sector, and is specifically for students of French-speaking schools, finding sponsors is extremely difficult. To cover the costs incurred during the organization process, the students of the Psychology department mostly rely on sponsorship from the school, the Psychology Department and AUF. However, these sponsorships are also very limited.
100% success = love + enthusiasm When asked, "What motivates you to be able to both complete the exams well and participate in so many stages of the program?", most of the students in the Organizing Committee just smiled and said, "Seeing everyone happy and satisfied with what we have shown is enough to make you try." Only by seeing the whole process of preparing for the program, attending the meetings to outline the plan and divide the work can you see the enthusiasm of the members of the Organizing Committee. Even in times of urgency, they meet during lunchtime, eat and discuss, and after making a decision, they grab their bags and rush to the lecture hall to make it to the first period in the early afternoon. Without a heart full of love and enthusiasm, how many people can try so hard? That love is not simply a love for the French language, country and culture, but it also contains a great sense of responsibility and solidarity.
“Histoire d'amour” has ended, the tiredness and difficulties have been left behind, but the writer of this article firmly believes that the story of love and enthusiasm of the people participating in organizing this gala will continue to be written. I wish you all to always keep that heart, so that the following programs will be 100% successful like today.
