March 7, 2019
I’ve been typing up
all these post and not posting them so I want to sorry for that everyone. This
will be my most current post that shall post on March 11th. Midterms
should be in two weeks! I can’t believe this semester is already almost over. I
do know that I’m having a bit of trouble this year in the subjects that I
actually like due to me not being able to absorb the content. I’m going to have
to do a lot of studying this coming week.
For those of you who
actually read these I do appreciate the attention you give. I’m sorry that I’ve
been on and off on these. I do write to you guys. I lack in actually posting
them. So, I’m hoping that I can schedule what all I have typed up for you that
way you have something to read.
Gaming: Not many
Filipinos play games. If they do, it’s Mobile Legends or League of Legends. Card
games are considered gambling. One of my friends asked me if I wanted to be the
Dungeon Master when I returned home and I got excited. I told my friends here
that I wanted to try to play this game with them. It’s proven to be more
complicated than they expected and well… I’m probably not helping with my
complicated way of thinking but I do hope that I can guide them through a game
before I leave.
If you’re not sure
what game I’m referring to, I’m talking about Dungeons and Dragons. I had
brought my book over from the U.S because I hoped there was a group here that I
could play with and it turned out that the game didn’t exist. At least, not in
my city.
When I first arrived
in the Philippines my communication skills lacked and they still do but I can
communicate comfortably with these three so I’m hoping this goes well. I have
them set up for the most part. The only thing now is to have them place their
ability scores in what they think they should do. My girl best friend wants to
look up more about the game before she chooses her scores and I understand
that.
Something
interesting about this game is that most of the Filipinos I know aren’t aware
of medieval times so I get to teach them history as well as English. I’m hoping
that we can exchange Ilocano and English and help me build a vocabulary this
way. I hope the story that I set for them isn’t too hard to follow.
What I noticed in
the generation of Filipinos from the ages 16-21 is that they don’t have
concrete problem solving skills. My friends are smart and I’m sure they’ll
figure it out but I wanted to present them with a situation to test that skill and
to help them practice it. I originally made the campaign for my friends back
home but since there are less of them and a none of them have played the game I
made it smaller.
Language Learning:
When I go home to San Emilio, it’s easier for me to pick up on Itneg and I can
actually practice it with one of my friends in Abra. However, his Itneg doesn’t
always line up with mine. Usually, there is only an accent difference but
occasionally there is a major difference. I’ve learned that his Itneg is closer
to Filipino while my family’s Itneg is closer to Ilocano.
I have two tutors
again this year. I told my Ilocano tutor that my major difficulty is my lack in
vocabulary and he informed me that even the Ilocano speakers of today have that
issue. He enlightened me that even though Ilocano is what the teachers speak
during 1st grade to 3rd grade, they don’t actually teach
Ilocano. During 4th to 6th (maybe 7th?) the
teachers are told to use Filipino and for 8th to 12th
they are pushed to use English. Technology is usually introduced in 11th
and 12th grade and that blows my mind. Some may or may not be
introduced due to the lack of funds.
Out of all the
languages I can attempt to speak, Ilocano is the most likely. If I spent more
time with my family it would probably be Itneg instead of Ilocano but I spend
more time in the city. (Not that I don’t like spending time with my family) It’s
that traveling all the way there is not cost efficient). I can understand more
Ilocano than Filipino.
Now, this is going
to be confusing but I have to clarify something. People will argue with me but
this is what my teachers have told me. Filipino is not the same as Tagalog.
Tagalog is a dialect of Filipino spoken in Manila. Filipino is the national
language which is standardized. As I said, this is what my teachers have told
me and I’m going to stand by it but I won’t argue what is what because well, if
there’s a language I do know it’s English but I still have trouble with that
language…
That being said… I
can sing, write, and read in Filipino but I cannot understand
it. How is this possible? There are song in ‘Filipino’ and I can mimic the
sounds that the singers make but that doesn’t mean I know what they’re talking
about. Writing in Filipino is pretty easy due to the fact that I understand how
to sound out the words and I understand the format in which Filipino follows.
Ilocano is the most
spoken language around me. This makes it easier for me to grasp the language.
However, what people don’t understand is just because I can understand the
words that are presented to me, it doesn’t meant that I can present the words
from my own mental word bank and it’s frustrating.
Overall: People have asked me, “How can you not speak the
languages of the Philippines? You’ve been here since April right? This past
almost year has been useless if you can’t speak the languages.”
Let me tell you. I
know that I’ve improved and I wish that I could only focus on one language. I
can’t exactly prevent the other feeds of languages from coming into my mental
feed. Through the people I’ve interacted with I learn as much as I can but
language learning has proven to be the most difficult challenge for me as of
yet.
I would also like to
mention the ‘s’ that is tagged to the word ‘language’. When I first got to this
country I could hear a difference between Itneg and Ilocano but I didn’t know
why. Now, I understand what the difference is between the two languages. I
still get Ilocano and Filipino mixed up. However, I do know that I recognize
Ilocano words easier than Filipino ones when they are spoken. When Filipino is
written I can see that it’s Filipino and to be honest, I think that’s enough
proof to show that I’ve improved.
So no. I am not
fluent in ANY of the THREE languages that I’m having to learn. But, at least I
can tell the difference between the three. I hope that within time, I can speak
all three. I really do. There has been a lot that I’ve overcome this past year
and I don’t feel that this past year has been a waste. I’m enjoying my time
here and I want to continue to learn through my friends and family.
This turned into a
rant, I’m sorry everyone.
Thanks for listen,
DJ/Cho/Nar
Keep up with me at the following:
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This will send me an email with your questions you don’t have to leave a name. I will post the answer to the blog!
Facebook
This is mainly for communication so go ahead, add me. Message me every once in a while so that I remember who you are. Otherwise, I'll delete you at the end of the year when I clear through my facebook lol.
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Wattpad
If I don’t write a post here there’s probably a chance that I have written something on my Wattpad because there I post poems! They are shorter reads with more meaning. I am currently working on two poetry books but the more important one that ties into this travel blog is called ‘A Barrier Meant To Be Broken’.
This will send me an email with your questions you don’t have to leave a name. I will post the answer to the blog!
This is mainly for communication so go ahead, add me. Message me every once in a while so that I remember who you are. Otherwise, I'll delete you at the end of the year when I clear through my facebook lol.
I follow anyone who follows me! This is mainly pictures of where I go!
Wattpad
If I don’t write a post here there’s probably a chance that I have written something on my Wattpad because there I post poems! They are shorter reads with more meaning. I am currently working on two poetry books but the more important one that ties into this travel blog is called ‘A Barrier Meant To Be Broken’.
