April 8th, 2019

February 25^th, 2019

Howdy y’all!

  Contrary to belief not all of us Texans say, howdy. Some of us do but not all of us. Lol. This past week was kind of a blur. We’ve had missing teachers but they still give us assignments so I’ve been busy. One of my cousin’s father’s passed away and the funeral with be on the fifteen of March so I’ll be going back to San Emilio that Friday. I’ll be missing class but it’s nothing I can’t make up.

  I’m now on the fourth book of Game of Thrones! I kept putting it to the side otherwise I would have finished it long ago. I try to limit the amount of reading I do in a day because books here are expensive and even though I enjoy reading through them I can’t afford to start a collection here. I mean, I suppose I can but feeding me and my cousin is important…only on some days…

  My friends and I went to Shakey’s this week. If you don’t know what Shakey’s is… Well, if you ever visit the Philippines this is a place you have to visit. It’s probably the best pizza I’ve ever had and originally they were franchised in the United States. I don’t know if there are any left but I do know that the owner moved his base of operation to the Philippines many years ago.

  Last weekend I went to Paltoc, San Emilio. A lot has changed and not everyone stays at the house anymore. My auntie’s business is getting more attention and there was unwelcomed company where her store is so she stays there some nights.

  I should have been aware from my experience in Texas that I was sleeping in their room. I didn’t know that it was originally theirs. I figured it was but this weekend they had their stuff in the room and I felt bad because I was now sleeping in the room while they were sleeping upstairs. With me not being around, my cousin Rio has the whole second floor to himself and my auntie, uncle, and their other son, cousin Ninyo sleep in the room that I sleep in right now.

  Eventually, I want to add more rooms to this house. If they’re up to build it. I know my Uncle Krilo wouldn’t mind putting it together. Besides, it would take a long time for me to get the funds. But, I’d like to add more room to the house. Eventually, I want to buy land myself.

  I’ve been spending a lot of time on Wattpad. I tend to share my poetry and thoughts there. It’s like an escape from the stress that I’m dealing with. I am getting better at understanding Ilocano, my issue now is being able to speak it. I can write and read in Tagalog. I can even sing in Tagalog but I can’t speak it or understand it.

  As for my skin it has finally adjusted! As long as I keep up with my showering routine my skin shows no signs of issues. I’ve come to learn that the biggest factor to my skin issue is what I eat. For those of you who do not know, I’m allergic to glutton and dairy products. I’m allergic to other things but these are my main allergies.

  Here, I eat rice, meat, and vegetables with the occasional ice cream. I sometimes have a snack of fruits. I don’t each chocolate and I don’t care to eat bread. I’ve had to cut out coffee due to the way it reacts to my medication. Between that and having to walk everywhere (even though the distance is fairly short compared to Texas walks) I am consistently walking and having to climb up stairs as well.

 

  If anything, the people say that rice is bad for you and people here cut out rice if they are trying to go on a diet. I personally think they’re all crazy because they’re all tiny people and I’m one of the bigger Asians in this country so to me all of them going on diets makes me laugh. Sure, more food for me I suppose.

  I’ve started up my tutorial again in Ilocano and I told my teacher that the purpose of the tutorial is to be able to survive and speak to the locals because speaking Tagalog, although is convenient, it is not applicable for the city that I live in. Most of the people speak Ilocano and for those who speak Ilocano they tend to give lower prices to those who speak Ilocano. If you make yourself look like a foreigner or not from the area they will charge you more (I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before but this is my main reason for not using Tagalog).

  Other than that, most of the people I interact with don’t speak Tagalog, they speak Ilocano. So, I can naturally hear Ilocano around me and pick out Tagalog but it takes me longer to process Tagalog. What I’ve learned from school in general is that learning is a natural process. Certain subjects don’t come naturally to some people and that’s when a teacher is needed to help guide that learner when it comes to that subject.

  It’s frustrating trying to learn two languages at once. Especially since most of the online content that has been standardized is Tagalog but in order for to survive I need to speak Ilocano and Itneg. I pick up on Itneg pretty easily too. However, that language is limited to my barangay and no the city that I live in.

  I’ve come to accept that language learning is the most difficult for me. I’m glad that I can sing in Tagalog but I cannot understand what I’m singing about (except that it’s probably about a love song). Overall, I do know that I’ve learned a lot from this country culturally and I’m glad that I had the chance to be here. I hope I can finish classes here but I’ve also come to realize that… I’m the only person limiting my learning process.

  It doesn’t matter how many classes I go through or how many years that pass. I will always be able to learn whether it’s in a classroom or outside of a classroom. It’s formal for me to have a paper saying that I’m a certified teacher. However, the paper means nothing if I don’t know how to teach.

  I can teach whether I have a paper or not. As long as there is a willing person to learn and I have material to teach I can teach it. I want to teach people of all ages. When it comes to learning up until eighth grade, all of what kids learn up until that point is simple enough to teach as long as you understand it. No one needs a degree to tutor their younger sibling math, how to read, or to explain a concept in science. We have the internet. We have our own experiences.

  I came to the Philippines to learn about the culture while going to school and I’ve achieved that. I’m happy that I’ve been given this opportunity. It has been a real eye opener to me and how they view the world I came from verse the way I viewed their world before I came to them.

  Well, I don’t want to babble. I’m doing well and would like my friends to message me when they have a chance. I do enjoy talking to all of you and I actually need to post about a conversation I had with a friend. I’m sorry I do not do much vlogging. I’ve been taking one minute videos of where I am and what is around me so that everyone can see what I see but I haven’t posted them.

  If I upload them they have to be uploaded while I’m at an internet café doing homework and I usually forget about them by then. I’ll see if I can get some video set up for you guys this coming March. Live video feeds fail me due to connection so I won’t be doing any of those but I’ll see what I can do with an introduction and a theme.

Anyways, Thank you all for listen and I hope y’all tune in next week!

P.S: This should have been posted on the date written above ^^'

DJ/Cho/Nar

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