Happy New Year!

Today is the last day of the year and I got no work. Yesterday was our online school's Christmas party. Apparently, I was not able to go because there were no details sent to me. I did not even wish that I would go.

Anyway....

Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu! That means Happy New Year in Japanese. I specifically remember, that our sensei back when I was studying basic Japanese taught us to say Shinnen Omedetou Gozaimasu as to Happy New Year in Japanese. I got confused. Now, I can't wait to work again and ask some of my students about that.

Speaking about the new year, the new year celebration is more important for them. It has become quite a religious celebration for them and a coveted holiday. Christmas day, on the other hand, is held as normal day but quite special and a secular holiday to families with a child or children, among friends, and to couples. And because of that, since I am a Christian that loves the Christmas holiday, I would often ask students what they would do on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Sometimes, I would offer them stories and articles relating to Christmas. I also offered some articles about the New Year after the Christmas holidays. Accordingly, every lesson this month had become an exchange of views and stories about both holidays, which is quite nice. I felt I have, somehow, experienced their celebrations.

The year is about to end in a few hours. Recalling the past months of teaching, I still have a lot to learn and improve. I also have a lot to relate and maybe share as a teacher, a Filipino, a Christian, a person. Lessons with avid students have not only become as a venue of learning but also of friendship. Though there is the recording SOP, it has not stopped us to become semi-personal during lessons sometimes. And likewise is happening to students who have just reserved me. I hope they will stay and increase more. Students have been the sole reason for teachers and for teaching. With that, I will be more forever grateful to them.

This year has been extremely nice to me. Though there were mishaps and bumps, they are all charged to experience and taken as is. I have learned from them and will learn more from them in every angle. It seems teaching have caught my eye and now I'm drowned in it. I hope the next year will also be rewarding to me.

I guess this is it for the last post about this year. More to come on the next year. I can see myself now doing this for another year. Thus, my sharing of experiences will continue still.

Again, Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!

Gaijin and Gaikokujin

Recently, I changed the title of one of the pages that I have. I changed it to "I am a gaikokujin" from "I am a gaijin" . Gaijin is the shortened form of gaikokujin and both means foreigner . In one of my classes, a student said that using the term gaijin to refer to a foreigner is not so nice. It's like a derogatory form. I guess, the impact is less because some foreigners use it to refer to themselves. But she said, in a polite and formal way, gaikokujin is the better term.

If you have been studying Japanese all your life, you would encounter the levels of politeness to observe in conversations. It can be troublesome to remember all details and observe all levels. In my country, we only use "po" and "opo" when talking to adults or to our superiors, and it's just it. How much more to other countries that don't have such? My student said that even them, Japanese, have trouble remembering and observing their levels of politeness. And she said, maybe, it has also become lenient or empathetic since there are already a lot of foreigners in their country. Some rules have been disregarded, though not completely.

Like with this word gaikokujin or gaijin. My student said it's okay to use both. In a sense, it's not really derogatory. Foreigners don't mind if they're called like that. But for some Japanese and foreigners who are sensitive to such use, it's better to say the full word. My student agrees with that. She said that it's more polite and more formal to refer to foreigners. Then again, many young Japanese use the term gaijin. Maybe because it's easier and faster to say.

And yes, with that, that's why I changed the title page of one of my pages. It's not such a big deal to me if I will be called a gaijin. But it's more beautiful to hear the full Japanese word, gaikokujin. It's more magical and yes, sounds more formal.

Updates On the New SOP: Reporting

I have mentioned sometime about last month regarding the new SOP. It was about getting all lessons being recorded.

Much to my worries of integrating a new category in our old SOP, it wasn't that nerve-wracking at all, as much as reporting is talked about. It has been weeks already, so I have gotten used to it. I guess, other teachers as well.

Generally, we have to make sure we report correctly in the general teachers' chatroom accordingly and reporting has been a hassle recently. Before, we only have to indicate "started" if we have started the lesson. And at the end of the lesson, we have to indicate "lesson done" or "done". If there are any disruptions while the lesson is still going on, we have to indicate it with "dropped call" or "DC" and state the reason why the lesson has been disrupted. Now, we have the new SOP, we have to report or type, for that matter, in the teachers' general chatroom many things. Some teachers have become creative with their reporting. Reporting for started goes like, SLAR or Started, Lessons and Recording. For lessons done, some would type LRD or Lesson, Recording Done. Others would report done, LR or done Lesson, and Recording. In my care I type less, rec done. Those creative ways of reporting are not yet allowed, though many teachers do that, including me. The allowed or the right SOP is still to type the whole thing. Started, recording at the start of the lesson and lesson, recording done at the end of the lesson. Yes it has become a little troublesome and a little confusing because you have to take many things into account. Sometimes, I feel like running a battle ship!

The implementation of the new SOP is still on its baby steps. We're still on the trial and error level. But I can see, we have already embraced this one.

More updates on this one! XD

Holidays

It's already December! Christmas is definitely in the air!

For this month, we got FOUR BIG HOLIDAYS and that continues to January, 2012 too!

APPROVED Holidays for the month of December 2011 and January 2012:

Dec 24 - Christmas Eve

Dec 25 - Christmas Day

Dec 30 - Rizal Day/ Christmas party

Dec 31 - Regular Holiday

Jan 1 - New Year's Day

Jan 2 - Regular Holiday

Jan 23- Chinese New Year (newly declared special non-working holiday)

It is good news for us teachers but a bad one for students. Students have already been informed with this. It can't be helped for some of the new students to be awed and would often wonder why they can't reserve any lessons on the said dates. With further explanation, they understand why. Our online school follow the Philippine calendar and not the Japanese's.

Our online school offers a lot of plans. One of those plans is to have 31 lesson credits in a month. Those lessons are prepaid and it depends on them on how they disseminate their lesson credits. Japan holidays meant more chances of having lessons for them. But Philippine holidays meant less lessons for them, thus not be able to fully use their lesson credits. Thus, it will be a waste for them.

Students who usually reserve a single lesson a day in other months, reserve double on this month. Also on other months that have a lot of Philippine holidays, such as November and April. They don't want to waste what they paid. I guess, it also showed their enthusiasm to learn and talk with their favorite teachers.

However, on the other hand, it can also be bad for teachers. Holidays meant no work. No work meant no pay. Still, it's good to enjoy a holiday or two, or even three! XD

It's good that our online school followed the Philippine calendar. If it followed the Japanese calendar, we would have more holidays and less work. Plus, we won't have any Christmas holidays!

I'm already counting the days to those holidays, even our online school's Christmas party. It'll be a first for me. I'm sure it will be blast!