Love Letter

Today, I received a letter of an apology for being absent from one student. I usually get those kinds of letters written in their broken English. Sometimes, they send it to me directly and sometimes they send it through the office and the staff sends it to me. But this letter today is different.

Here it is:

こんにちは。

今日の１６：００のレッスンで、応答がこないと思っていたら・・　ワイアレスのスイッチが

オフになっている事に、旦那さんが帰ってきてからわかりました。

私が　パソコンがあまり使えないので・・。

先生に　またまた　申し訳なかったです。

すみませんでした。

I consulted Google Translate with this and it said:

Hello.

Wireless switches · 4:00 PM I thought today's lesson, the childdoes not respond and

Was found to be turned off, comes back from her husband.

I can not use PC-much.

I did not apologize once again to the teacher.

I'm sorry.

Even though with the translation from Google Translate, it still doesn't make sense to me. I can read some of the characters so I know she is sorry. And I guess, she also said that she knew that the lesson will be at 1600 but the connection was not responding. And she found that their wireless switch was turned on but she still needs to wait for her husband to return. She doesn't use the PC so much, so, she doesn't know about it too well. She also mentioned that she didn't apologize to the teacher, so for that, she is very sorry. Isn't it sweet?

I hope I can read Japanese well so I don't have to consult with translators anymore. Translators can be handy sometimes but not so good with complex sentences. So, still the best resort is to learn Japanese. It can be helpful for students like her and it can be easier to explain English terms exactly.

So, in response to her letter, I gave her private message in English. That will serve as her homework. :D

It's always nice to receive apology emails/ private messages from students who miss your lessons. It makes you feel important and it really shows their eagerness to have a lesson with you. It gives you more inspiration to improve your teaching skills and interaction with the student. And you'll know for sure that the student will definitely book you again the next time.

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.

Japanese Animal Noises

I realized I learned many Japanese words and slangs from various students. It's always fun to learn new Japanese words . It brings you closer to the Japanese culture, unlike from only listening to Japanese songs and watching Japanese anime and movies.

The learning experience is direct since you hear it from the student. You can get clear explanations and opinions from them. It's like having your own 3-minute Japanese teacher.

I've already blogged about two Japanese expressions not so long ago. This time, I want to share to you how certain animal sounds sound like in Japanese.

1. Chicken= ko ko ko ke ko
2. Dog= wan-wan
3. Cat= nyaa~~ nyaa~~

I learned those from different students who have heard those animal sounds from my background. The chicken is on top of the list since our chicken goes off like a broken alarm clock. Second on the list is the dog because the neighbor's dog barks like there's no tomorrow. Third is the cat because there was one time when one of our felines had a litter and she left one kitten to starve. It meowed, or "nyaaed" for three days or so. Students who have heard those animals have immediately asked me "What's that ko ko ko ke ko?" or "Do you have a dog?" or "I can hear nyaa~~ nyaa~~". I always apologetically answer for the disturbance. But they always say they don't mind and would further discuss about the animal that they heard.

Technically, HBOETs need to have a quiet environment. But there are days that some noises that cannot be shunned away. So, HBOETs only need to apologize for that. It's good though that most students are not so huffy about such noises. Again, as much as possible, it's good to have a very quiet environment conducive for teaching.

As for animal noises, I'm crossing my fingers on what counter part the sound of the gecko has in Japanese. (^O^)Y