A Very Insightful Message

I have a student who is a volunteer worker in their local library.  I asked her about her job and good thing, she was enthusiastic enough to share about it. I told her that I envy her.

A part of me wanted to be a librarian. For the fact that I just wanted to sit around and check all the books. And also to work with books and be with books Mondays to Fridays. I guess I can say that I am more in love with books than with humans. From a bird's eye view,  but in reality, it's not. Being a librarian is actually a science.

So, when I told my student that I envy her work as a librarian, she told me, "You should have taken the librarian license?" And there was an eye opener for me.

Good Schedule!

Hi y'all! I feel so happy today because the schedule that I have is very suitable for me. It took me awhile to realize that.

Recently, I am on the job hunt. Having a late afternoon schedule for my online teaching job is good to compromise with the job hunt. I guess I have not talked about my schedule before, right?

Well, when I started, my schedule starts from 1500-2100. This was from a year ago during my first six months. I remember I applied to some job openings and the having interviews with that kind of schedule is not a good combination. In my next six months, I changed my schedule to 1400-2000. It's an earlier schedule because I need to compromise with what happened here at home. My mom had an accident so I need to help more with the house. And with this second schedule, having some interviews still did not go well because it covers a lot of time during the day. The third schedule that I have now is better because I start late, however, I end late. It is from 1630-2200. It's a better schedule than the previous two because it doesn't cover a lot of time during the day and I can do job hunting freely in the morning.

So, now I just realized that my current schedule perfectly well. It compromises well if I have some impromptu interviews and I don't need to block out our replace many time slots.It's good!

A Lesson With A Choppy Line

Stude: You have daughter right?
Me: Yes.
Stude: How old is she?
Me: She'll turn two this 25th!
Stude: (wasn't able to hear) What will she turn into?
Me: :DD

August Holidays--OFFICIAL

Just hot off the press! This is our official schedule of the APPROVED HOLIDAYS FOR AUGUST!


AUGUST 19 =  KADAYAWAN [Davao Holiday - Special non-working Holiday]

AUGUST 20 =  EID UL FITR  [ Legal Holiday ]

AUGUST 21 =  Ninoy Aquino Death Anniversary [ Special non-working Holiday]

AUGUST 27 =  National Heroes Day [ Legal Holiday]

I'm so HAPPY that it can't be contained with caps!

Nicknames

When I ask students if they have nicknames, they will always say "Nothing" or a short version of their names. I already know that but it's interesting to know their answers. In rare case, though, some will say they have nicknames.

One of my students last night will go to Thailand within this year for business. I told him that Thais like to have nicknames. (I got the information from one of my other students. He was given a nickname by his Thai friends when he was working there.) I also told him that Filipinos like to have nicknames. So, if he would come here his nickname would be No-no, taken from his real name. He smiled at the suggestion and asked, "If Thais will ask me what's the meaning of my name, I cannot explain it." "Just say, no, no," I told him. He laughed.

Generally, students say that nicknames in Japan are only for children. Well, except in some rare cases like those two students mentioned. I remembered that one of my elementary teachers said, the sweetest name one can have is your own first name. I guess somehow, that's the way for Japanese....

Tanabata, Ochugen, And Oseibo.

July 7th is Tanabata Day in Japan. Happy Tanabata Day!

Tanabata is the day when the Cow Herder Star crosses the Milky Way to meet his love, Weaving Princess. This is also a day for children to write their wishes on a small strip of paper and hang it on bamboo trees.

I asked my students about it and they don't really celebrate it anymore 'cause it's for children (that's also because my students usually are adults). One student said, it's also the time when young people can dress in their nice yukata and stroll to some food stall set-up in parallel to the Tanabata Festival. One student also said that in malls there are some Tanabata decorations, like the bamboo, where people can hang their wishes. But basically, Tanabata is for children.


On the other note...

I also learned from another student about a time of gift-giving, which they call Ochugen and Oseibo. Both are terms for the culture of gift-giving in Japan. First comes Ochugen that happens in the early days of July and Oseibo in the early days of December. As per the student, there's no decided date for the gift-giving but it usually happens on the first days of the month. Such celebrations, of course, are signified by advertisements.

The student also mentioned that Ochugen and Oseibo are usually observed by adults who are married. They give presents to the important people in their lives who have helped them or played a great role in their lives. Aside from parents, it could be the relatives, teachers, bosses, or other important persons. Single and young people don't really storm in Ochugen or Oseibo areas, only adults he said.

There's no usual item to give on Ochugen or Oseibo because it depends on the favorite things or the things the receivers want to have. The student said that his wife usually gives an apron for his mother-in-law. This time, he said, he sent out some good beer to his relatives.


An insight...

It's interesting to know that there are festivals and celebrations in Japan that matter age. Tanabata for children, Ochugen and Oseibo for adults. I guess we don't really have that here. Maybe it's celebrated differently.

For example birthdays. For children birthday parties, there are games and a lot of children foods like sweets, ice cream etc. For adult birthday parties, there are drinking parties, alcohol, and maybe for the more older adults, healthy foods, I suppose. But there is always cake. So, in conclusion, even if birthdays are celebrated differently in the Philippines, birthdays are for children and for adults alike.

I guess Japanese celebrations and festivals are like a reminder of one's childhood and old age. The more  you age, the less happiness there is. But I don't know. This is the magic of the Japanese celebrations and festivals.

Once again Happy Tanabata~~~ And Ochugen! !^o^!

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. 

Being Busy-Japanese Style

I sometimes ask some working students (in our online school) if they are busy. They sometimes say, not really. I also ask if they go on overtime. They sometimes say, they do most of the time. "Then you are busy!", I usually exclaim. "But not so busy", they usually contradict. I always end up thinking what is "busy" for Japanese employees.

Till one new student defined what is busy for them. He said that if a Japanese employee is busy, they go home late, riding the last train at night or driving home at an ungodly hour. If they go home around 1900 or anytime before 2300, then they are not busy, even if they go on overtime for 2-3 hours. He also added that some companies do not offer a paid overtime. He thinks this is so, so that the the employee will have to focus on doing the work on itself and not prolong the work because of a paid overtime. That makes sense now.

"Here in the Philippines, overtime is always paid," I told him. He said, "You are lucky but the efficiency and productivity will not be so good." I have to agree with him on that.

I think I can say that I somehow understand what is busy for Japanese employees. From what my student said, I can somehow conclude that Japanese are very hardworking.

It's being hardworking that I always hope for Filipinos and me to conquer.

posted from Bloggeroid

Thoughts.

My last post was ages ago, right? I'm getting too lazy and pre-occupied with other things that make me not to care about posting something here. Oh well... excuses as you might say. 

Anyway, I mentioned from my last post about one of my avid students. Apparently he did not leave our online school. He said he misses us, his favorite teachers, so he's not going to quit. That's one good news! Another good news is that, he just found a job as taxi driver and he doesn't like it. Too bad but he doesn't have much of choice because he is already way beyond his younger years.

 He realized that it was a bad move for him to quit his previous job. He quit because he's getting too tired doing the same thing. Now, he's going to be a taxi driver and it's way too unrelated with his previous or his skills. He doesn't have much of a choice now since he has been rejected by some of the companies he had been interviewed with. I guess this is his last choice. I just hope him for the best with this new career.

Regarding to me... I don't have much of a news, I guess. As everyday unfolds, I'm beginning to dislike my schedule. I start late which gives me the chance to spend a lot of time with my baby and do things I'm supposed to do. But I end late and that makes me stay up late quite longer than before. It's tiring and sometimes the reservations don't come a lot. I'm now hoping for a better and different job. If that's the end of it all, I won't be posting here anymore....

I'm just ranting out of my head here right now. I haven't organized the things I learned so far because of the laziness. I hope I can reorganize and hope to share it with you. :)

Bitter Sweet

Hi! Nice to see you again! Maybe you'd think that I have resigned from being an home-based English teacher or HBOET already. Fortunately, not yet. I'm still here! I have just been lazy or there isn't any news to share lately, good or bad. Well not today. :)

On the lighter note

So today is the second day of the second half of the Golden Week in Japan. The first half started last April 28th until April 30th. The second half started yesterday, May 3rd, until this Sunday. The Golden Week is a (sometimes) week long holiday in Japan because it consists of national holidays consecutively and sometimes happen in a week, including Saturday and Sunday. It's a good chance for Japanese to travel, relax, and take lessons on the Golden Week. It's a good chance for teachers too because there are a lot of reservation in these days.


On the darker one

I have lost another avid student again. He is a beginner student but has a great enthusiasm when learning English. He struggles sometimes when talking but he always say the English is a hobby for him and enjoys it. He was always kind of down during his last days in our online school. His last day in our online school was on the 30th (of April) and he said that he would be back after everything is fine.


The Golden Week is ending. A student leaves... and another student comes. Let me tell more about it soon. :) This is it for today.

3/11- A Year From Now

Last Sunday was the anniversary of the the mega quake that hit the eastern side of Japan. It has been a year and wounds have not scarred yet, nor even heal. It still saddens me to see images or read news about it.

I asked some of the students on their experiences about the earthquake and it was all scary for them. I did not have the chance to have a lesson with a student who lives in Sendai, which is one of the areas that was devastated by the earthquake. It would've have been memorable if we had a lesson together.

Although, we did not experience the huge earthquake here, we were also terrified by the students reaction. Some were stranded in stations, some were not answering the calls, some did not logged in. It was a small chaos among us and we were worried too.

Japan has not fully recovered yet and their wounds are still yet to heal. But slowly, they are fighting the pain and the suffering and looking out into the future positively. I know Japan can do it... like they have always done before.

Another New Sched

I've said before that I have been teaching for a year already. I thought that one year as a teacher equates to popular. Actually, NO. :D

I still get some lazy days, like today. I only have a total of three lessons for the first half of my working time and later, another three. Sigh.

With that, I requested to change my schedule again. It was actually approved around last week and it will be effective on the second day of March. So, from the 1400-2000 JPT schedule, I will work from 1630-2200 JPT.

The new schedule will help entertain interviews and it will also give me chance to handle some night classes. There will be no differences with the compensation though. In fact, it will be 10 bucks short but that's okay. I believe, I will get a higher guarantee of getting fully booked everyday because of the late schedule. And the feeling of the workload is not so heavy since it's just five hours compared to the six hours. I hope I made a good decision on that.

I don't normally inform my avid students about my new schedule. The first schedule was unnoticeable since it only revolves on almost the same time slots. So, no information on that. Only a little later when some students asked whether or not I teach at night. But with this second change, I already informed one because he also informed that he might not be able to reserve me. Thus, making me inform him about my new schedule. And I guess, he had some high hopes on seeing me again. (#^o^#)

Again, I do hope that I made a good decision on the new schedule. I have to adjust on this drastically because it's a whole new change. I hope I can deal with that.

As of now, my current schedule is blah. I get a lot of unreserved times, which is very bad, except on weekends.

And with that, let me take my break. See you!

The Weather

One of my students today showed a scenery of his backyard.

It's like looking at a postcard. Don't mind the face.

If I could just go through the video cam to my student's backyard, I'd endure the cold just to escape today's humidity.

Weather is the common icebreaker that I always use to start my lessons. I get bored using it but it still doesn't fail to spark the interests of my students. Ironically, for today, it sparked on me.

My usual spiel goes like this:

How about in your area? What's the weather there today? ^_^

A Different Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day in the Philippines is an important celebration of LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! Though it's not a national holiday, it's a day where people share or confess their love to their family, sweetheart, spouses, friends, and to people who they really care about. You will know everyone's at it because they will greet you "Happy Valentine's Day" or "Happy Hearts' Day" and other similar greetings. There are also many heart stuffs everywhere, not only in the malls and restaurants, you can also see them in some classrooms or offices. Radio stations and local TV channels also showcase Valentine greetings. It's not really big like Christmas or New Year, but because of LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, that's what it makes it BIG.

However, in Japan, it's quite different. I'm always excited to know how they celebrate holidays and events. That's why I would always ask students what they think about it or what they do during that day--just like what I did last Christmas and New Year. So for this time, the Valentine's Day.

Some students say that Valentine's Day is the day for young girls-- in elementary to high-school-- to confess their feelings to the guy who they like. And they wait for the response on White Day, which is on March 14th, which is a day for the guy's turn to return the chocolates that they received on Valentine's Day or to give a response to the confessed feelings of the girl. Sounds weird right? Why not respond to it on the same day?

I found an article from Japan Today's Lifestyle section that tells also about Valentine's Day in Japan. Let me write it for you here:

Lots of chocolate, but little love on Valentine’s Day in Japan

Ah, Valentine’s Day. That most romantic of times is just around the corner. That means roses and chocolates, right?

Wrong. Guys, take note. If you get lots of chocolates from women in your office on Valentine’s Day, don’t get the wrong idea. They don’t all love you. They might not even like you. It’s probably “giri-choco” (obligation chocolate), a custom that bemuses foreigners (and foreign media) each year at this time.

Love has very little to do with Valentine’s Day in Japan, and it’s been that way for a long time.

So who took the love out of the day?

The confectionery companies, of course. Morozoff reportedly introduced Valentine’s Day to Japan in 1936 and again in 1952, but Mary Chocolate claims to have got the ball rolling in 1958, which is the first time, according to the company, chocolate was sold in Japan for Valentine’s Day. The gifts were promoted as “lover’s day” treats at a counter in Isetan department store in Shinjuku. But marketers quickly realized that Japanese men did not have a tradition of giving chocolates to their sweethearts, so they hit upon the idea of promoting the day as an occasion when women could give chocolates to the men in their life.

But then they took it a step further. Since each customer buying chocolates for one boyfriend or husband wouldn’t result in many sales, they packaged Valentine’s Day as a way to show appreciation for all the men in a girl’s life, including male coworkers. Nowadays, it’s not unusual for some women to buy a small chocolate for each guy in her office.

However, love hasn’t been completely abandoned on Valentine’s Day. Besides “giri-choco,” there is “honmei-choco” for the real thing.

How popular is the custom, anyway? In 2010, online researcher Macromill polled working women on their attitudes toward giving chocolates. Of the 515 responses from Japanese women aged 20-39, 78% said they always buy chocolates for Valentine’s Day. Of them, 71% give chocolates to their husbands and/or boyfriends, 48% to their bosses, 44% to male family members and 37% to coworkers. The two most common reasons for continuing the custom of “giri-choco” were: “It contributes to smooth communication in the workplace” and “It will get me a better evaluation at the company.”

Now, lest you think all this is unfair for women, the marketing gurus, in all their wisdom, then came up with White Day on March 14 — meant to be an occasion when men reciprocate with something sweet. The origins of White Day are also open to debate, but the custom can be traced back to 1965, when it was introduced by a marshmallow manufacturing company to drive up sales of its sugary product. By the 1980s, white chocolates replaced marshmallows as the preferred gift, but since then, candy, flowers—even underwear—have become popular presents. Whatever the item, it is known in Japanese as “sanbai-gaeshi” (triple value) because it is supposed to be three times greater than the value of the chocolates the guy got on Valentine’s Day.

Whether it is “giri-choco or “honmei-choco,” Valentine’s Day is big business in Japan. According to the Chocolate & Cocoa Association of Japan, of the 406 billion in annual sales of chocolate in 2010, approximately 53% came during the month leading up to Feb 14. It is not unusual for confectionery companies to spend the bulk of their yearly marketing budget on Valentine’s Day.

Just as they do with Halloween and Christmas, retailers begin their Valentine’s merchandising campaigns well in advance, often in mid-January. From Feb 1 and even earlier, department stores, supermarkets and convenience stores set up huge red displays full of goodies. Some department stores, such as Takashimaya in Nihonbashi and Mitsukoshi in Ginza, for example, dedicate an entire floor to gift chocolates, with up to 50 brands represented. The stores predictably give their campaigns French names names like “Amour du Chocolat!” or “Mont d’Amour.”

In recent years, the European brands have conquered Japan. During their campaigns, department stores often bring the chocolate makers from Europe to be on hand to talk with shoppers and give chocolate-making demonstrations. Department stores also report that in recent years, there has been an increasing number of women who buy expensive chocolates for themselves, rather than for men.

http://www.japantoday.com/category/lifestyle/view/lots-of-chocolate-but-little-love-on-valentines-day-in-japan

From that article we would see a glimpse of the Japanese Valentine's Day. Not so romantic compared to here and more of an obligation for some. I asked some students if what day is romantic, they would say it's Christmas Day. I learned before (maybe I haven't talked about it last December) that Christmas Day is more of like a day for the couples, thus romance and sweetness is associated with that day and not so much on Valentine's Day.

Some curious students also asked me if we (Filipinos) celebrate Valentine's Day as a religious event. I told that though Valentine's Day is a commemoration of a saint we don't celebrate Valentine's Day as a religious event. It's a day where we commemorate the big L-O-V-E.

Others asked what would I do on this day or would I receive any thing special, I told them that I would just work, work, work, thus a normal day for me. LOL

I always have fun talking with students about events, especially about events that are differently celebrated in Japan. They give me a tour about Japan with their experiences, opinions, and their practices. They even give me more information compared to online encyclopedias and books. This is indeed one of the perks working as an HBOET.

I'm still in the middle of my shift. I still have four more lessons to go, that means four more students to torment with the Valentine fever in me. hehehe

Happy Valentine's Day again! XOXO

You Look Good!

Recently, I have been putting my bangs up before it's getting longer. And because, I don't wash my hair everyday. LOL. When I do pin my bangs up, I get compliments from students. ^_^

Sometimes, it cannot be helped for us to get comfortable with the students. Especially those who always reserve us for their lessons. It's an icing on the cake to get compliments, especially if they empathize with your feelings. Of course, we're teachers, we still need to observe professionalism and not let our emotions rule out our lessons.

One Year As An HBOET

I have officially turned one on teaching today. Yehey for me!

Contrary to what I promised my self last year, I was not able to make a hundred entries on this blog, not even half of a hundred. But that's okay. I shared some, maybe not the most, interesting findings about Japanese attitudes, cultures, and people.

I learned a lot from teaching. Even though, I believe, I have not yet improved to the fullest, but I can say that I have improved--my character, my flexibility, and of course, my multi-tasking skills. I have to say the last one because sometimes I do multiple things during the lesson. It goes to show whether or not I am paying attention or I can pay attention to students.

I guess the most important thing that I have realized and need to improve on is teaching super beginners and advanced students. I still lose control on teaching students with such levels. I still don't know what to do. And sometimes, I feel I am not a good teacher if they don't reserve me again. That's okay, though. I just have to try much harder than before.

I realized I have become quite popular a little bit that I have my own line of avid students that I expect and look forward. Sometimes, it's not a good thing because some students reserve me everyday that we have lost things to talk about. It's also good to have lessons with students who have reserved me on my first few weeks, who did not reserve me again for the succeeding stay. I guess I made a bad impression on them but when they reserve me again, especially that I am growing old with the school, they will be impressed with what I have become. I hope. It just go to show that they remember me and maybe, became popular that some long-time-no-see students want to try me again. :D

It has been a fruitful year. From the looks of it, I guess it'll be hard on quitting this job. If I do leave, I will miss my students, old and new, most especially.

The Long Lost Student: Details

Last night, I had a lesson with a long lost student. It was like a reunion lesson. XD

I had him as a student during my the first few days of teaching. I was still an awkward newb at that time and I still didn't know how to handle lower beginners. And it was unfortunate that he reserved me as a teacher. Our lesson was very awkward and I was too dumb at that time. He ended up not reserving me and I thanked him for that.

Until last night, however, he reserved me again. It was such a nice, nostalgic feeling to see him again as my student. It was good to know that he still remembered me for all those months. He became a more confident English-speaker than before. He could already make good simple sentences and his comprehension became better. I guess, I could also say that I became better myself. I did not feel awkward and I was even happy to have spoken with him again. Thinking about it, it was like a reunion of long lost friends.

It was nice seeing him again. We had a quite fun lesson. I hope to see him again and I promise to teach him even more better.

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!

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!

Enka-Singing Student

I'm feeling tired recently. Maybe because with the new SOP that is about to launch at the end of the week or maybe because with the full load that I got today. I don't know.

I forgot that it is a national holiday today in Japan. It's their Labor Day but there's nothing really special about it, except that most Japanese don't have work and school today. So with that, I got two students who are in elementary and I am going to share about one of them.

The other elementary English learner that I had today is a girl in the fourth grade. She is still a beginner but very bubbly and curious about learning English. It's very easy to relate to her since she initiates the conversation and is not shy when relating with a foreigner, like me. ^_^

She even shared to me one of her hobbies: singing. And not only singing normal Jpop or Kpop songs but ENKA! As what I have learned, Enka is a traditional Japanese way of singing. It can be very tricky since involves mostly the nasal muscles and the muscles in the throat. I have only watched Enka music videos and only a few of them to be really a good critic but my! The student is very good in singing Enka. And I can feel that it is something very special and you do not mess with. I want to hear her sing again!

You can read more about Enka here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enka