Last November 16, 2008 (wow that’s two month’s ago!), we went to Tagaytay (just the Specialists) so that we can simply relax and enjoy each other’s company.

Our first stop was at Jing’s house for breakfast.  We coerced Jing and her family to make some yummy breakfast for us. We had rice (of course), scrambled eggs, hot dogs, spam, and fish.  If any of you want some free conversational English lessons, you can invite us to have a meal with you as well.  Hehe.

Before we headed to our destinations, we took some time to pose in front of Jing’s relative’s house.  It was a perfect day because the clouds above kept the weather cool, but soon disappeared as the day progressed.  Where am I?  I’m taking the pictures!

Our first destination was at a coffee shop called Bag of Beans and had our lunch there.  We met a talking parrot there.  If you like a forest blending into the city ambiance, this is the place to go.  It’s small and modest place, but the food is good.

Then we headed to People’s Palace in the Sky, an abandoned building set atop the highest point in Tagaytay.  It’s a beautiful location with lots of potential, but since the Marcos regime has been toppled, no one has taken good care of it.  What a shame!  The location is so perfect.

We were surrounded by fog.

We ended up at the beautiful Sonia’s Garden; Carmen knows Sonia, and we had an opportunity to meet the owner and visionary of the garden and two of her eager dogs.  Whenever I heard Tagaytay before, someone always made a reference to Sonia’s Garden.  She was a very pleasant woman.

We strolled, took pictures, shared stories, and ate some delicious cookies freshly baked in one of their establishments.  Yummy!  Our trip was a mellow one, and it was a great day to relax with the AIEP Specialists.

I usually watch my movies at either Greenbelt 3 or Eastwood City.  Last week, I went to watch at Eastwood City, where I reside, and I thought that the charge of Php 161 was really weird.  I asked the cashier, and she said that it was mandatory, and she pointed to a flyer.

I thought that this was BS, another way companies are passing on the cost to its customers.  I read it, and it said that I would be supporting the Quezon City inmates.  After reading that line, I told the cashier that I did not want to support the inmates at this time.  She reluctantly gave my one peso refund.  I told her I prefer to support other causes, not the cause of the inmates.  (I have been robbed here in the Philippines so I wasn’t about to support inmates.)  Long and frightening story with robbers, police, and inmates.

Most Filipinos would just pay this as it’s only one peso.  Not me.  Companies should not be passing on the buck to the customers, especially when it’s for something you don’t stand for.  If it went to the education of the children and feeding the poor, I would not hesitate at all.  Here’s another peso or more.

It’s the new year, and while some of us could care less about resolutions, there are some of us who make new plans when the new year arrives.

Last year, I was able to quit smoking.  I quit “cold turkey.”  And to continue my healthy lifestyle, I am making my new year’s resolution to eat healthier.  In order to do that, I will be consuming more fruits and vegetables and less meat, especially pork.  One of the ways I will do this is buy “juicing” it up.  That’s right.  I have a powerful juicer courtesy of Philips.  It’s difficult to eat lots of solid foods, but I can certainly drink lots of juices.

My favorite blend is a mix of apples, oranges, cucumber, and carrots.  Here’s to a healthier life.

And here’s the juice…so good!

I found this article online, and I thought about sharing it with everyone.  There are indeed many reasons why we fail to master the English language because of our own culture and upbringing.

When I was young, I moved to Hawaii, and that is how I learned how to speak English.  Unfortunately, I was not accepted by the local Filipino community there, and my very first best friend was a Caucasian kid, Kevin.  But within a few years, my mastery of the language exceeded the locals, who spoke pidgin mainly.  In fact, I became their class president, tutor, newspaper editor-in-chief, debate team captain, and many more.  But I can clearly remember how other Filipinos made fun of my accent and grammar.  The Filipinos can be the hardest, and easiest, to please!

I wanted to get rid of my Filipino accent.  I abhorred it.  I even tried denying who I was.  But my experience with culture and diversity helped me to overcome my eschewed perspectives.  I began to love my Filipino culture, and I thought that the Filipino accent was “cool.”  The accent gives us a cultural flavor, but learning the American accent is helpful as well.

Please read the article below for some extra tips and strategies.

English the Filipino way

By Antonio Aboitiz
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:06:00 01/03/2009

Filed Under: Language, People

MANILA, Philippines—The ubiquity of the English language in these islands is a bittersweet reality of our culture.

The entire world is scrambling to learn the planet’s current lingua franca while we, who had it thrust upon us for better or worse, are coming dangerously close to losing our fated headstart because of a variety of complex factors.

One of these factors is the fact that many of us who do not pronounce the words like the people on the pirated DVDs everyone purchases (piracy is a crime!) are very intimidated by this inability, and therefore become frustrated or ashamed and give up. This is something that must be smashed. Not the DVDs, but the stigma and teasing that can come along with bad diction.

Making fun

The perpetuation of the national pastime of making fun of someone’s English abilities should be ended. That is because we have our own English. It is Filipino English, and it is as valid—if not more so—than the English spoken by say, Australia or Canada, nations whose populations are but a fraction of ours.

We are supposedly the third largest English-speaking nation in the world. However, that all depends on how you define fluency. If you take the number of speakers of English as a second language, we probably rank around that.

English is a difficult language to learn. It has many rules, but also has almost as many exceptions and is fantastically non-phonetic (why is knife spelled with a k?). Its earliest evolution from its Germanic base, running into long and bloody backs and forths with the Romans, Vikings, then the French, then a liberal spiking of words obtained from conquered lands belies the history of the incredible islands from which the language bursts forth and itself conquered the world.

There may be more speakers of Chinese, but their geographic scope and influence around the globe cannot rival that of English.

This is THE language of international business, diplomacy, aviation, science, entertainment, and the World Wide Web.

English was brought to us by Americans, who started our public school system (an educated citizenry is a pre-requisite to true democracy) and left us speaking lots of good English. That is, until we decided to make Pilipino the national language in 1936 (check the preface on your kid’s Balarila) and the Bagong Lipunan tried desperately to force it as a medium of instruction.

We have our own English. We say comfortable the way it is spelled, not as “cumftabul” the way an American would. We use the word “already” as no one else does. “It is ready already” “it is finished already” this is pure Filipino-English. An Australian or an American would likely say simply “it’s done.” We say “for a while”—what exactly does that mean? I take it to mean, “when it’s ready already.” Again other English speakers might say “just a moment” or “just a sec”—but they mean the same thing really. The British and their Commonwealth members use “take away” Americans, “to go” Filipinos say “take home”—or at least used to.

God help you if you ask for the “CR” in any other English-speaking nation. But hey, we’ve also contributed to the English language in general: “boondocks” is a corruption of bundok.

The very difficulty and inconsistency of the English language—its fluidity and ability to invent and co-opt words—lies at the heart of the creative potential it imbibes to those who speak it.

Our ability to comprehend English is a trump card that we have to develop further and play to the hilt.

It makes courting foreign investments easier, makes tourism more attractive, adds to the “by the grace of God” advantages we have—great natural wealth in terms of biodiversity and minerals, strategic crossroads location, and more importantly, truly friendly, caring people who have a great sense of humor.

English is a living language, just as our own languages are. We also co-opt other words and usage as they come into our lives and become ubiquitous, and unavoidable. Its evolution is not determined by scholars and laid down as the law of the land.

Evolution

This just tells me we are primed and ready to evolve our language at the pace this world now demands of everyone: fast. We share some of those built-in ethno-linguistic evolutionary characteristics that gives English its creative advantage.

Back to the pronunciation aspect. I believe one great advantage we have in the growing field of business process outsourcing/information communications technology/call centers—is that we are not grating to the native English speaker’s ear, the Americans and British folk who are our major call center customers.

You outsource that to someone from India, or Singapore, or Hong Kong, and their accents will not be as pleasing to those customer’s ears as our own accents which we make such fun of.

Let’s not lose our aces. We’ve already done that with a few of the good cards we had already been dealt.

I have several suggestions to keep our edge in English:

1. Keep speaking English and continue to use it as a medium of instruction. Take what we want from either of the other two largest English-speaking nations but be consistent in our textbooks, particularly in spelling and grammar.

2. DO NOT make fun of someone’s pronunciation unless it is constructive.

3. DO NOT fear ridicule. That person making fun of your English, well, you could probably run circles around them in your own dialect.

4. Keep speaking your home dialect, teach it to your children, and present it as a language class in school. While English may be slowly changing some of our already fractured-culture nation’s heritage, we will never ever give up our identity and cultural characteristics. Don’t worry, we will still be Filipino.

5. Remember that each dialect we lose, we lose a complete worldview. So the old languages must somehow find a way to survive or they will perish forever.

6. Keep it to a minimum with the silly acronyms. We are just plain crazy about those. Some are unavoidable (it’s a waste of time to say “Subscriber Identity Module card” rather than the omnipresent “SIM card”). For your own sake, don’t use the silly acronym unless you know what it stands for. This acronym insanity permeates business, nongovernmental organizations, cooperatives, civil society, government (“Epira—what’s that? Such silliness because if they called Republic Act No. 9136 the “Industry Reform Act for Power and Electricity” instead of the “Electric Power Industry Reform Act” we might be calling it “I RAPE”), education, religion, etc.

Numbers game

7. Remind those arrogant enough to challenge our English that on many terms, we win because we have the numbers. The United Kingdom herself only has about 60 million people, and even those guys can’t agree on the proper pronunciation of words.

8. At some point in time, our own Noah Webster will create a Filipino Dictionary of the English Language. When that happens we will have truly come of age as another birthing place for this unique modern language.

(Aboitiz recently retired from the Aboitiz Group of Companies and is current chairman of the Visayas regional committee of the Philippine Business for Social Progress.)

Yehey!  It’s The American Institute’s 2nd Year Anniversary on January 21, 2009, and we’re celebrating it in Puerto Galera on January 24 - January 25.  Everyone is invited!!!  We have almost 70 students and friends signed up!!!

In addition, we are offering a 50% discount on MyCourse, a private or one-on-one course. 

MyCourse.This course is designed especially for you for a private, accelerated learning experience. Our Specialists will assess your skills and English proficiency, discuss your goals, and customize a lesson plan that fits your needs and meets your goals.  For example, you can combine conversation fluency, American accent, grammar, writing, speech, confidence building, test preparations (IELTS/TOEFL), sales and marketing, and many more.  This module is excellent for those who want to learn more and faster at the time and day of their choice.

If you are looking to improve right now, this is the right track for you.  The investment is a little more than the group, but it’s definitely worth it as you will learn more at a faster pace because it is individualized and personalized especially for you.

Who is this guy?

What is he holding?

A check for Php 2,500 for winning Categories Game Part 3 in our Forum.

Congratulations Wilyam!  It pays to play at AIEP, right?

Wilyam also won the 1000th post worth Php 100!

Lastly, Wilyam’s team won The Referral Game for a prize of FREE dinner and FREE movie for the team!

Join us in the forum!!!

This past Christmas/New Year break, I finally tried wakeboarding!  I have gone to Camarines Sur twice before, but wasn’t able to wakeboard because there were always events there.  This time, I got lucky!

I tried the kneeboarding first because it was easier.  My first try was a failure.  After three seconds, I let go of the rope, and I fell into the water.  The second time around, I made it 3/4 of the way.

Then I got bolder, so I tried the wakeboard.  I tried and tried to no avail.  I kept falling into the water.  I could not get a proper take off.  That means, I need to go again!

So wakeboarding will be another AIEP activity!!!

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” -Anonymous

Baguio-Bataan-Batangas-Bontoc-Boracay-Bukidnon-Cagayan de Oro-Caliraya-Cebu-Clark-Davao-Iligan-llocos-Iloilo-Liliw,Laguna-Lucena-Majayjay,Laguna-Nueva Ecija-Nueva Vizcaya-Pagudpud-Palawan-Pampanga-Pangasinan-Puerto Galera,Mindoro-Sagada-San Pablo-Subic-Tagaytay-Tarlac-Vigan-Zambales-Zamboanga

As I was pondering on my travel goals the other day, I was starting to feel disappointed because last year I only had the chance to visit two provinces for the first time namely: Nueva Vizcaya and Lucena.  Every year I would always set a major trip. Meaning, explore a strange land for the first time at least outside of Luzon. So I was looking at my list and sadly added these two. Not enough. Sigh.

Bangkok-Cambodia-Hong Kong-Laos-Malaysia-Singapore-Vietnam

On second thought, looking at my list I realized I have so much to be thankful for after all! I have been privileged to go around our country and other nations as well. Yet, there is still so much to explore. The Philippines truly is rich in natural beauty. No wonder a lot of foreigners come to visit.

This famous expression “it’s a small world” yet, how many fortunate individuals can say they have travelled around the world? If I had the luxury of time and money I would go to 10 countries in a year! Really, if there is one favorite advise I would always impart to people I meet, that would be “to travel and see the world; if not the world at least your country.”

31 provinces, 7 countries. Not bad. It makes me smile to look back and reminisce. But of course, I will not stop there.  There is still so many sights to see, oh so much more to see!

One of the Christmas presents I received from my parents was a new blue luggage. They were always telling me to get a new one whenever they saw my old beat-up green luggage, but I love that luggage even though it’s really ugly and falling apart. It has sentimental value to me, but I knew it was time to let it go.

That green luggage has been to several countries: US, Hong Kong,  Thailand,  Korea, and of course, around the Philippines. That’s the reason why it’s so bruised and battered; it’s been there and done that. I have so many fond memories of it.  I hope I will have even better memories with my new blue luggage.

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(This is an old entry written last year December 24, 2007.)

A famous carol goes, “it’s the most wonderful time of the year….” Ah, truly it is.

It’s Christmas eve.

On my drive home I glanced at the sky and behold, the moon in all its glory!  No wonder I was basked in a soft radiance as I hit the road. Times like these make driving alone an indulgence. I was quickly reminded of that famous star which led the three kings to the manger. I chuckled to myself. Christmas is in the air.

Hail to luna, oh ever so beautiful luna!

Glancing at the moon or should I say the moon watching over me gave me a calming, soothing effect. Like chamomile, or lavander or hot chocolate. It felt reassuring. Its presence gave me such comfort as if to say it’s perfectly alright to spend Christmas by myself.

If I could hug that moon I would!

For just a few hours before the strike of midnight almost every breathing being this side of the world is scrambling to get ready for Noche Buena. I imagine most mothers, housewives and household help are in a flurry of kitchen busyness as they prepare for their feast after Misa de Gallo. And there are those who are rushing to finish wrapping their gifts after doing their ultimate last minute shopping today. Finally, those carolers who quickly move from house to house hoping as they sing louder and faster they will still earn as much.

As for me, I am alone. I arrived home with all the Christmas lights on, bright and colorful. Only to find myself sneaking into a house where ‘not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.’ Nobody was home!

I look through the window and check the moon. I whisper softly, asking to keep me company through the night.

As I quietly settle into my room, slowly I am faced with that familiar feeling of aloneness. I’ll get by, I remind myself. It’s not the first time, in fact it’s been this way many times. The trade-off for being independent is that you are away from your family in this time of family celebration. Neither do I get to hang with my friends simply because they now spend it with their own families. I can admit, of course it makes me sad. To the point it makes me envy. Because I cannot have what they have. I don’t get to celebrate Christmas the way they do. I’m missing out good ol’ family fun time and the warmth of family celebration, staying up late merrymaking and opening gifts.

While I stay up late in bed watching cable hoping it’ll put me to sleep.

And then I had a passing thought. Perhaps there are people out there who would actually want to be in my shoes. Maybe I’m not alone after all! Because being alone is that special, tender moment to be with one’s self. The luxury to do as I please.

Tomorrow is Christmas day and I will be spared. Because I don’t have to dress up and drag my whole being to a get together and find myself in the thick of conversations with titos and titas, lolos and lolas, ninongs and ninangs, nieces and nephews, cousins and every member of a typical Filipino extended family. Giving a yearlong report of what-has-been and what-has-not-been in a quick, animated review over and over. Not that I don’t want to but simply because I find it exhausting, even monotonous. At least for most families I know this kind of gathering happens only once a year, which I find strange. Why do most families reunite only during Christmas?  Rather it becomes a procedure, a method of doing things. Is this what we mean by tradition? It’s so… what’s the word -routine. I feel heaviness in my heart now.

I don’t mean to rant.

Because I wouldn’t want to spoil my very private, personal and silent Christmas eve celebration. My mobile phone beeps again for a Christmas greeting text … and another, then next.

I look out the window one more time and glance at the moon. It is perpetually bright and still.

And I am at peace once again.