Belated Happy Mother's Day and Father's Day!

I know it's too late to post something for Mother's Day or Father's Day but I'm posting anyway because I'm always reminded how patriarchal and masculine the Japanese society can be and I cannot get away the thought of not posting it.

Two Sundays ago, it was the Father's Day and I supposed it was well commemorated in many countries, including Japan. Unfortunately though, it was a day that wasn't really a big deal for many, not so much when they talk about Mother's Day.

When I ask students about the usual presents for mothers on Mother's Day, they have many things to share. From carnations, which is the usual flower for mothers on Mother's Day, to jewelry and things that mothers want to get. And when I ask students about the usual present for fathers on Father's Day, they don't really give a unanimous answer.

One student--a Father--somehow said that the Japanese commemorate the Mother's Day more than the Father's Day because children are always with their mothers at home. The fathers are always out of the house for work and go home late at night. Fathers do not really bond with the children. So Mother's Day is more important and well remembered. He also added that he did not receive any presents from his children or his wife but that's okay. (Our lesson was in the afternoon. I was quite reassuring him that it's not yet too late to get a present. :D )

Japanese society is evidently a patriarchal and masculine society but the matriarchs dominate the homes. Mother's Day in Japan bear witness to how strong women can be, though they are still flourishing in other fields. And if Japanese women are given more chance to thrive, they might do a better job than men. Don't you think so?

Well, anywhere in the world, mothers and fathers alike are important. But like what our pastor at church said, "A home can live without a father but a home cannot live without a mother."

Belated Happy Mother's Day and Father's Day!

A Present From Japan With ♥

Oh my! Today, I just received the parcel from my student. She sent me a Totoro Towel. How nice of her!

See, it really is from Japan!

My student lives in Osaka. Of course, the specific address is smudged for the privacy. ^_^

She put it inside a very cute box too. She said that she's going to put it in a tissue box. I guess this is not a tissue box. 

She put a note also. It said: 

Teacher Zed ♥ 

Thank you very much for teaching me English very well. I really like your lessons!!

Aika.

P.S. I hope you'll like it. :)

The towel is inside this lovely bag. I felt I was opening one of those Russian dolls.

See the embroidery? How can I possibly use this? 

A happy face.

I'm still speechless up to now, I don't know what to say or to say thank you. Hmmm.... I'm thinking of sending something Filipino to her too.

Sigh For The Rain

It's June again... time for the torrential rains to start. I suppose, it already has started at the end of May. For online jobs, I believe rain means intermittent connection, slow connection, choppy calls, or no connection at all. I believe I can also say that it applies both to wired and wireless connections. 

I just had a share of mishaps in my schedule. Since we had bad weathers, I experience such and sometimes to a point where my lessons had to be replaced because of a bad connection. 

Internet connection is a very important tool when working online. It is the base of your bread and butter. No internet connection= no work= no pay. It is very different here in the Philippines. As would some people say, internet connection here is like a dial-up connection in first-world countries.  Unless, you would want to pay a hefty price for your sole internet connection. It's impractical for home users to pay such.

We're strongly considering now to change our provider. But we cannot just do that since I don't want to be absent even for a couple of days. Sigh.

If you think working online and home-based doesn't give you any stress, sometimes it can.