New Year's Resolution: Be Happy!

It would be nice if everyone would make HAPPINESS as his/her new year's resolution.
I admit that with our struggle to reach our goals and meet the society's standards sometimes we forget to stop
and smile and think of happy moments. When we feel happy things seem to be easy and everyone seems to be nicer and CNN is right, "Being UNHAPPY is NOT socially acceptable." We can always find things that can make us happy. For me, little things can make me happy such as my first train ride, my first plane ride, saying my first Chinese words, taking pictures, chatting with my friends, listening music, watching movies, talking to my family, helping my family,  doing my job to the best of my ability, eating peanuts and sunflower seeds, being in warm place in this cold winter, seeing snow, visiting new places and most of all spend time with someone I love.

Dream and Travel

My friends and I once dreamed of working abroad and visiting one of the wonders of the world. It was a dream that we knew would be possible by working since we don't have the luxury of money and time for travel abroad. Few years ago we all wanted to experience life away from home. Three of us realized our dreams. One found her true love and got married in India. She already visited Taj Mahal, which one of the 7 wonders of the world. Then the other one went to Seoul, South Korea to work as a private tutor. She visited many interesting places in Seoul. She was very positive about our plans and she said that if we should leave the Philippines, we should leave on the same day. We didn't really leave on the same day, but it was just 3 days difference. Before her trip to Korea, we went to many job fairs, agencies, bought newspapers every Sunday and use the most powerful took, the Internet. We often visited the internet cafe to search for ESL (English as a Second Language) job opportunities in any Asian countries. We responded to a lot of online advertisements and at the same we posted our resume to different free online job listings. I decided to buy a desktop computer and hooked it up with Smart Wifi Broadband so I could focus on my job search abroad.  We dreamed and we realized them. How? We set a time limit, we decided that before we reach our 30s we should at least visit one foreign country. Now, we are both in China and we have both seen one of the 7 wonders in the world which is found in China, The Great. It's such a great feeling when we fulfill our dreams.
To visit and live in another country is a challenging experience, culture is very different yet we learn to respect and understand them.

Happy New Year to all of my friends!To Leah in Indian, Neriz in China, Sai in Dubai, Jerry and Joy  in Philippines, my family in the Philippines and to the most special person in my life, the love of my life, FJR. I miss you and I love you all...

Merry Christmas Suzhou - 圣诞快乐苏州

As I walked in the city center in Suzhou yesterday, I was amazed with their Christmas decorations. Honestly, I was not expecting to see a big Christmas tree and a Chinese Santa Clause on his sleigh with a two reindeer. I noticed that their malls put some Christmas trees and Christmas lights too. I went to Wanda Mall and the first thing I noticed was the big Christmas tree right at the entrance. I went to another big shopping mall in Suzhou New District and I saw a big Christmas tree outside. I admit that it is a little strange for me looking at those Christmas decorations and feeling that something is  missing. I felt that the Christmas decoration  is just a picture or a plain poster which nobody notices that they're there. I didn't feel the warmth and joyful spirit. among the people around. According to my Chinese friend, the church near  her apartment was packed with people on the Christmas eve and most of them were Chinese. I wonder if Chinese people are beginning to celebrate Christmas because they believe in Jesus Christ or just because it's fun to celebrate it, or it's beautiful to see some colorful Christmas lights or fit's just for business. Whatever their reason is, I'm still glad that everyone seems to know the word "Christmas". They won't say, "Ting Pudong" or "I don't understand" if you happen to talk about it.  

圣诞快乐苏州- Merry Christmas Suzhou! -shèng dàn kuài lè sū zhōu -

(Is Santa looking at me? How do you say, "say cheese" in Chinese? Santa please say cheese, not kiss... hehe)

My Christmas Day

Christmas day activities.

8:00 AM-11:40AM: class with English level A students.
1:00 PM-4:00 PM: office hours, check for homework and update the class record files (soft copy and hard copy)
5:00-6:00PM:  dinner
6:00-7:30PM:  prepare for online lessons
7:30-8:30PM: online class (students didn't show up...FJR time :)
8:30-11:00PM...FJR time...makes my day complete!

.........I had a wonderful Christmas!

On Closing Doors...

I wonder why most of them (teachers,staff and students) never learn to close doors. We are supposed to be in the office after our class teaching hours. That is if we only have 2 teaching hours in a day, that would mean we have to stay in the office for 6 hours. Usually this is the time for me to prepare my lessons and check homework and do other stuff like chatting with students on qq. We just moved into a new office where I and my Canadian co-teacher are seated right next to the entrance door. In southern part of China, such as Suzhou, buildings don't have heating system. Usually they have to use air-conditioners heaters but they rarely use them, perhaps they consume too much electricity. I understand this since it's important to save energy. What I don't understand is that, no matter how big the sign, "Keep Door Closed" in English and Chinese, only few people seem to understand it. The temperature is really freezing and this month it's always below  zero degree Celsius, so literally I freeze my butt when I stay in the office. Canada is even colder than China, but my friend said, that this place is even colder that his country because people love open doors, breath fresh air and freeze during this winter season. I just wonder though, do schools in China teach this basic skill to close doors when they enter and leave the room? It's just annoying that you have to tell everyone to do it when you're busy doing something. We're lucky if someone is going inside so we could tell him nicely to close the door but if someone is going out, then my friend has to stand up and close the door. These days I've noticed that he's really being annoyed with his new job, being the door man.
I hope they would learn to close doors specially when air conditioner heaters are not on. It would really help a lot.

In China, Do as Chinese Do?

"In Rome, Do as Romans Do." Does it mean that in China, I have to do what Chinese people do? Well, I have this saying in mind before leaving for China last year. I have read about Chinese culture, specially when it comes to eating. I saw the exotic food in Beijing when it was shown on television before the Beijing 2008 Olympics. I was thinking that eating snakes and scorpions would be some of the exceptions of not being a Roman in Rome. I don't have any problem with following or respecting their culture at all. In fact, I tried hard, just like eating dog barbecue and going to a public bath. I couldn't say no since everyone was eating it and any dish with a dog meat is the specialty of Xuzhou, a city located in the northern part of Jiangsu Province. They asked me if I have tried and I said "No". I was about to add that I didn't have any plan to try, but before I could say it, they were asking me to try, saying that I would love it because it was delicious. It was the look on their faces that made me try. They look so sincere and anxious to see my reaction so I did it. When I started biting the barbecue I was thinking it was pork and I muttered, "hmmmmm hao chi." That simple statement made them smiled. So, they ordered more and put more on my plate. By the way, they love to serve you with anything, and even if you're so stuffed, you just have to try every dish that they would offer. Chinese people love having big meals during their Spring Festivals, so you don't have to worry about being hungry.

When it comes to trying their exotic food, such as beetles, scorpions, silk worms and snakes, I think I still need a lot of courage to do this. For now, I could say, that in China, I am trying to do what Chinese do.

New Divide (LP)

I just wanted some noise because silence is deafening and I found this new single by Linkin Park. Don't get me wrong, I love Linkin Park, this song is made specially for the movie, Transformers Revenge of the Fallen.
This song states that there are two sides or differences among people which can result to disagreement and sometimes it's difficult to reconcile, thus creating a wall, a New Divide.

"So give me reason to prove me wrong, to wash this memory clean
Let the floods cross the distance in your eyes across this new divide"

Facebook Farm Store Useful in Teaching

I was searching for some items in ebay for my English class with a 9-year old Korean girl.

I copy pasted some, such as shoes, camera, and other stuff. I had to copy them one by one. Suddenly, I remembered Facebook farm store. I clicked the store and chose animals. I decided to use it  and used print screen to copy them. I used paint to delete XP points and just left the price which is in coins. I was the buyer and my student was the seller. I asked how much is each item and I then gave more than the price and asked her how much the change was. At first she had hard time saying the price in English because she said  that she only learned numbers in Math which is in Korean language. For 400 she would say, 4-0-0  or 4 and 2 zeros. I just discovered that she has a good mathematical skills. She was too quick to say, "your change is 4-0-0." The lesson was a good chance to teach her how to say numbers in English such as 100, 200, 300 up to 1000.

After I deleted the XP points, leaving only the price

First I used the animal category, but after we finished it she wanted to sell  more things and asked me to make another list. I quickly printed trees and flowers on paint and saved them in .jpg format so I could send it to her. During the lesson she asked me why the items were so expensive. I told her that they were only used as an example and in a game. She said that she likes selling something because when she grows up she wanted to sell bags and shoes just like her friend's parents.

 Sample of the lesson flow:

Teacher: How much is your chicken?

Student: It costs 500 dollars.

Teacher: Okay, I will give you 1000. How much is my change?

Student: I will give you 500.

We use this pattern until the last item, and later on she decided to change the price because thought they are too expensive, so she made the trees just 10 dollars from 1300 facebook price.

I also taught her the idea of bargaining. I tried to asked for a lower price and most of the time she said no and she would give the final price which is not too far from the original price.

The last part is using the superlative form of adjective, focusing on the words such as cheapest, most expensive, most beautiful and strongest.

According to the picture, the most expensive animal is the Bull and the cheapest is the chicken.

According to her, the most beautiful animal is the White Rabbit and the strongest is the Bull.

It was fun, I didn't think that my game could be a source of a 30-minute lesson.

When Did a Prison Become an Attraction?

I used to think that a prison is the last place that any tourist would consider visiting. I remember when one of my nephews had a field trip and one of their destinations was a jail in Zamboanga city. I was surprised the school included that place for their trip. There were many terrorists in that prison and most of them killed a lot of people in western Mindanao. My sis-in-law said that they just witnessed the prisoners making Christmas lanterns and other crafts. I was scared for them because I never wanted to visit a prison thinking that those people might escape and harm everyone around. I was always thinking that a prison is a hell on earth, the last place that one would want to live. How could one truly live when he is in a cage like a wild animal or a bird?  What difference does a man have from an animal when he is in prison? I also think that authorities beat them or are harsh on them when they break some rules in the prison or caught them trying to escape. There are also gang fights and bloodshed among prisoners and if they're serious it can cause one's death. I had a very negative image of a prison until I started watching Prison Break. Then I come to love the story of each character, specially the leading character, Michael Scoffield. The show somehow changed my concept about some of the prisoner's stories.

In 2007, one of our BPO clients from the USA said,

"So your prisoners there in Cebu are good dancers huh?" and he laughed.

I was puzzled so I asked him? "Have you visited the prison here in Cebu?"

He said, "No, I have never been to your city or any place in the Philippines."
"I have seen it from a tv news and from youtube that inmates in your city are all dancing."

"Oh, I see! Right, they just want to entertain the world." I replied quickly because honestly I didn't have any idea about their dancing performance and them being on the news. So after I hanged up I quickly search the information in youtube and I was ashamed because it's in my city yet I didn't know about it. I think that time I didn't know what is tv because I had to work at night talk to US and UK decision makers and my boss and our company managing direcror were always at my back asking for more closed deals......arrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggg! Then in the morning I had to rush to my part time job where I had to face my Japanese and Korean students. For 2 years in the BPO industry I could say that the tv missed me and I didn't know what's happening around, unless it concerns about the business SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats).  The inmates dancing was becoming a hit in youtube. I think that the administrator has a very good intention for doing this, for he believes that letting these people dance would rehabilitate them. I also believe that making them follow all the dance steps is an achievement considering that these people are in prison because they're lawbreakers.

Now, many people, specially the reporters are interested in visiting the prison to witness their monthly performance. The prison has turned into one of the destinations that one should consider visiting when they go and visit Cebu. Well, dancing is better than sleeping in their cell. Great job Byron!

Here are some of their videos.

"Thriller" by Michael Jackson

"Jai Ho" from the movie, Slumdog Millionnaire

Untitled Spanish Poem

Author: Unknown

I was searching for a Spanish poem and I found one on a website selling poetry gifts so the poem was printed on a picture therefore copy-paste feature is not possible. I typed it on a notepad because I wanted to see the English translation. I understand some words, such as corazon, lugar, solo and a few more but I couldn't understand the entire message so I had to translate it using google. I was surprised with the result since the English poem is exactly the one I got yesterday. I just love this poem and it's funny how I found the same piece which was given and read by someone so special.  I think it has a very special reason.
Thank you so much!

Spanish version

Hay un lugar especial en mi corazon
Que solo tu puede tocar-
un lugar donde puedo ir y te siento cerca.
Durante el dia pienso en ti.
Miro tu sonrisa, oigo tu voz
Y en mis pensamientos apareces amorosamente.
La manera en que nos amamos uno a otro
Hace mas dificil estar separados
Por eso aunque no te puedo tener en mis brazos
Yo te tengo en mi corazon.

English version

There's a special place in my heart

that only you can touch -

a place where I can go and feel you near.

Throughout the day I think of you.

I see your smile, hear your voice

and in my thoughts you lovingly appear.

The way we love each other

makes it hard to be apart

so when I can't hold you in my arms,

I hold you in my heart

Bring Excellence to Life

Author: Ralph Marston


You cannot achieve excellence just by proclaiming it to be. Excellence is built in the details.

Attend faithfully and competently to the details, while staying true to your purpose. That is how to bring excellence into your world.

What is done with genuine love is done with excellence. Let love guide you in each moment, and you will consistently create excellence.

Excellence resonates with what is true, what is good and authentically valuable, with what is right. Work with honesty, integrity, and a commitment to truth, and excellence will permeate the results.

Intention is critical, yet excellence does not come from good intentions alone. Excellence comes from actions persistently and consistently guided by the highest and most authentic intentions.

In each thing you do is the opportunity to create excellence. Again and again, bring excellence to life, and live true to your highest purpose.

Philippines Call Center Bloopers

Source:internet/email

Actual c0nversati0n from a technical  acc0unt in C-Cubed (Cust0mer C0ntact Center)

TSR: 0kay sir, Let's check if y0u wiLL be abLe t0 g0 0nLine n0w...

CUST: yes... (yes Lang ng yes kase et0ng HAPON na it0... )

TSR: type in www.yahoo.com

CUST: what? yahoo.cot?

TSR: n0 sir... yahoo.com...

CUST: yahoo.cot?

TSR: n0 sir... com... C-O-M

CUST: cot?

TSR: (asar na) .com sir!

CUST: aahhh... yahoo.cot.

----------------------------------

TSR: It's C as in CAT.

CUST: what?

TSR: C as in CAT. C-A-T... me0w me0w...

(ayuz! very specific na yan ha baka hindi m0 pa magets...)!

----------------------------------

CS: Thank you for calling... this is Candy, how may I help you?

Cust: What did you say your name was... Mandy?

CS: No, sir, it's Candy...

Cust: Sorry, can't hear ya... didja say Mandy?

CS: No, sir.. Candy, sir... Candy... as in Storck!!!

(oohhh... now I get it!!!)

----------------------------------

CS: Was that a "B" as in boy or a "B" as in bravo?

Cust: Uhhmmm... how about "B" as in boy...

(good choice...)

----------------------------------

CS: Alright, let me verify that... Was that a "G" as in golf?

Cust (with a different accent): NO! That was a "G" as! in GEBRA! (z as in zebra)

Oh, Gebra!!! like the one in the Goo?!!!... Gusme... Gon't gou get git?)

----------------------------------

CS: Yeah, sir... sir... are you there?

Cust: Yes, yes, I'm there!

(siguro naglalaro sila ng Counter...)

----------------------------------

CS: Sir, do you have NET-ESCAPE there?

Cust: Huh?... Oh!!!.. No, I have MSN IN-NERNET EXPLODER here...

(... makes sense to me!!!)

----------------------------------

TS: Ok, sir... do u have a PEN and a PENCIL ready?

Cust: What?!!

TS: Oh, Im sorry, sir... Do u have a PEN and a BALLPEN ready?...

(klap! klap! klap!)

----------------------------------

ethernet cord connected???...

Cust: Tha Hwhut??? (with alabama accent)

TS: Yung yellow cord, mheem...

(oh-oow ngee nehmeeennn..)

----------------------------------

CS: ...That's E as in I-KOW... (echo)

(oki lang yan, Dong...)

----------------------------------

CS: I w! as hoping you can take this survey with me... Would you have the time to do that, sir?

Contact: How long is this gonna to take?

CS: Mmm.. MGA three minutes....

(ay shyet!!!)

----------------------------------

CS: ...I'd like to speak with Billy Thompson please???

Contact: He's not in. Would you like to leave a message in his voicemail?

CS: Sure, SIGE...

(ay shyet, ulet!!!)

----------------------------------

TS: Ok, sir... Could you please drag the icon UPSTAIRS?...

(... lemme try...)

----------------------------------

Cust (US): So how's the weather there?

CS: Well... it's kinda cloudy today, sir...

Cust: Oh really?!!!... So where are you located?

CS: Sir, your call has been re-routed in ORTIGAS!!!...

(... dats nir Mexico...)

---------------------------------

TS: Alright, we're going to perform a checkdisk... that is for us to see if your hard drive has errors in it.please type in C-H-K-D-S-K...

Cust: What is that again?

TS: C-H-K-D-S-K... that is... C as in Charlie... H as in Harley... K as in Karly... D as in Darley... S as in Sarley... and K as in Karly...

(gleng-gleng... bagong version...)
----------------------------------------
Tech Support: "O.K. Bob, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager."
Customer: "I don't have a 'P'."
Tech: "On your keyboard, Bob."
Customer: "What do you mean?"
Tech: "'P' on your keyboard, Bob."
Customer: "I'm Not going to do that!"

"No Promises" by Shayne Ward

Another song by Shayne Ward that I like at the moment.

"Breathless" by Shayne Ward

click the link below to see the music video

(youtube video)

If our love was a fairytale
I would charge in and rescue you
On a yacht baby we would sail
To an island where we’d say I do

And if we had babies they would look like you
It’d be so beautiful if that came true
You don’t even know how very special you are

Chorus

You leave me breathless
You’re everything good in my life
You leave me breathless
I still can’t believe that you’re mine
You just walked out of one of my dreams
So beautiful you’re leaving me
Breathless

And if our love was a story book
We would meet on the very first page
The last chapter would be about
How I’m thankful for the life we’ve made

And if we had babies they would have your eyes
I would fall deeper watching you give life
You don’t even know how very special you are

You leave me breathless
You’re everything good in my life

You leave me breathless
I still can’t believe that you’re mine
You just walked out of one of my dreams
So beautiful you’re leaving me

You must have been sent from heaven to earth to change me
You’re like an angel
The thing that I feel is stronger than love believe me
You’re something special
I only hope that I’ll one day deserve what you give me
But all I can do is try
Every day of my life

You leave me breathless
You’re everything good in my life
You leave me breathless
I still can’t believe that you’re mine
You just walked out of one of my dreams
So beautiful you’re leaving me
Breathless
Breathless

Wrong Question or Correct Answer?

I thought that exposing students to native English speakers would be a good experience for  the class since most of them haven't tried communicating with a foreigner in any means. I thought using my skype would be the best idea since I purchased a plan for USA and Canada. Before the activity, I gave an example of conversation between a hotel receptionist and a customer who wanted to book a hotel room. It was simple and to help them understand the dialogue better, I explained the idea using more examples and using pictures so everything would be clear. Their task was to ask for a price of a hotel room, and they only needed to read the questions because I already wrote them on the board. I just wanted to see if  a native speaker could understand the way they speak and in return is to test their listening skills. We only called to inquire for the price, and they could either say, "How much is your single room," or "Do you have a vacant room for this coming...?" All they need to do was just read the sentences out loud. I made the first call and after I got the price I thanked the person and hang up. They were all quiet for a moment. I asked if they heard what the other person said. Most of them said yes. So I thought they were ready. I wrote some expressions that they  could use such as, "Good morning, Thank you, please, hold on, one moment please and have a great day." I asked if someone was ready to go first then the class pointed to a boy at the back. They said, "ta..ta...ta..." it means, "he". I called the boy to come forward and I was glad that he stood right away and took the mic. I asked him where he would like to call and he said that he wanted to call a 5 star hotel in Houston Texas, USA. Using google, I quickly searched for 5 star hotels in Houston. When I found the list with phone numbers I made sure that he clearly understood what to do. I asked everyone to listen for the conversation. Before dialing the number, I wanted to add a phrase for him to use which is, "could you repeat that please" or simply saying "pardon me" to make the person repeat what he said.

I asked the class if they could provide the phrase,

"Class what would you say if you couldn't understand the person in the other line?"

Everyone seemed to be thinking, then suddenly a boy at back answered,  

"Just say, Can you please speak Chinese?".

I responded by saying, "Good luck! I hope you can find a receptionist who can speak Chinese."

Most of them were laughing so I had to wait for a few minutes for them to calm down. We got someone from Houston who was so friendly and helpful. The student was able to get the  most important information which is the price of a single hotel room. He asked for the total price of 5 nights stay and everyone was shocked after I converted the rate to RMB. The total price for 5 nights was 15,500 Chinese Yuan, before tax and without breakfast. They were all saying "wahhhhhhh!" The next student called New York 5 star hotel and most of them said "wahhhh" again because 5 nights was 18, 755 RMB, if I remember it right I think the name  of the hotel is New York Palace. Honestly, I don't understand why these hotel room charges are so high,when we get the same sleep we're getting when we're at home, at the airport of even out there in the street? Don't tell me it's the food, because breakfast is not included. I wonder, is the bed made of gold? 

I'm Thinking About Food

I miss those hot summer days when I don't have to wear a lot. I miss the warm sunshine and the warm breeze when I left my windows opened at night. Those were the days when I didn't have to think about electric blanket, heater and food a lot. The changing seasons in China is one of the reasons why I really wanted to be here, to feel what it is like in autumn, winter and spring. This is my second year in China and I am happy that I was part of their four seasons. Now, I'm facing the cold winter again, and my colleague said, it should not be too hard for me since it's my second year. Perhaps he was right, I should not be feeling too cold since I already had an idea what it feels during winter, but I couldn't control my body from shivering when the temperature drops below 5 degrees Celsius. I turn my heater on to 30 degrees and I wear at least 3 clothes but I still feel that I'm going to freeze. All I wanted to do is stay in my warm bed all day and think about those delicious food, but I don't even have the motivation to go to the city and enjoy a good meal. I'm still looking forward to see some snow. They said that perhaps this year it will snow in Suzhou since this is the coldest year for the past decades in China. I would love to see some snow through my glass windows. I'm sure the temperature will be below 0. Well, of all the four seasons, I love Spring the most. I can pick some flowers such as wild roses from the bushes. I'm feeling lazy this winter season and I'm just thinking about delicious food that I have tasted during my stay here.

Here are some photos of the  food that I enjoyed in the past few months.

Hot and Spicy Fresh Water Fish.(from Tai Lake Suzhou)

"Hot Pot" Ideal for winter, mixed vegetables and meat with Kung Fu Noodles.

(a man made the noodles while doing actions like Kung Fu)

Hot and Spicy snails...so delicious. Sold in the street restaurants.

A big fish in a small pan? It was tasty, I wish I knew the name.

Fried Chicken Value Meal with fried banana balls and tomato.

I love those fried banana with eggs. Hmmmm

Fried rice with meat and egg.

Hot beef with tomato soup.

Shrimps with cheese and "others" so delicious..cheesy.

Rice with meat in pineapple, beans and shrimp

Sichuan Hot and Spicy chicken..super spicy but so delicious,

I just love this dish but I forgot the restaurant, it's somewhere near

Guan Qian Street, Suzhou.

I thought we ordered "broccoli" but not the first time though.

So my friend and I said, is this "Chinese Broccoli"?

I guess we pointed the wrong picture,
it's hard to be illiterate....

Finally we got the broccoli but from another restaurant.

Beijing Roast Duck, so crispy, juicy and delicous....

Exotic barbecue stands in Wang Fu Jing Street, Beijing.

I couldn't take a good picture because the owner tried

to chase us with his knife or stick. You can find snake,

Cicada, scorpion and vegetables barbecues. I just

love vegetable barbecue like mushrooms and pepper.

A Reason to Smile

A few days ago, I felt that teaching was the most difficult job in the world. I was staring into a pair of 61 eyes and all I could see in those eyes were the words, "I don't care" and "I don't understand". I felt that I was giving everything yet I still see so many students with no interest in learning English. I decided to find out what type of learners do we have and so I changed my lesson the following week. Instead of giving them short dialogues and stories to read, I decided to use Dr. Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences which is basically a lecture type. I made few simple YES/NO questions for each type for them to easily identify their abilities.

The class with 61 students didn't disappoint me. More than half of the class said that they are Body Smart people, that they love sports and other outdoor activities than any other things. The rest fell under people smart, musical smart, number smart, nature smart and self smart. Out of 61, only one said that he likes to learn a foreign language specially English. At least there was someone in that room that made me smile.Then, going to the next class, I was expecting the same result. So, I just went on with the discussion and finally asked questions to more than 40 students. There were more than half of them who said they to learn English so much and that they enjoy our English class. When I asked about one girl about her ability she said she is musical smart and word smart. So I asked her if she could sing any English song. The class supported my request by saying, "sing..sing..sing". The girl started singing, "My Heart Will Go On". She has a really nice voice and the class gave her a big round of applause. Another boy was inspired by her song so he also sang, "God is a Girl", a song which I heard before but I actually didn't know its title. The singer is a girl but the boy gave justice to the song. He really did well.
Here is the video from youtube. No wonder this song has become no. 1 in China.

 

The last boy really surprised me when he said he can sing and dance like Michael Jackson. I thought he would do moonwalk or some Michael Jackson moves, but the class applauded more when he started singing "Nobody" and doing those  cute moves from right to left by Wondergirls.

I just felt that the students would do best once they are given the chance to do what they can do best. I always believe that teachers can motivate students, but that's just 50%, the students should add 50% of that motivation in order for learning to take place. That day, they gave me reason to smile :)

Tug of War

These are the teachers and staff enjoying the opening of workers’ day celebration in our school last September 4, 2009. Our department, The International Business Department didn’t make it since there are many female teachers than male. The  rule of the game is just to have the same number for each department regardless of one’s weight or gender. I remember when we did it back in college when the rule was a little strict since the coach had to weigh all the players for each team and had the same number of females for each team.

 

Common Sense Obituary Printed in the London Times

Author: Unknown

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has
been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since
his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:

Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
Why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair;
and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more
than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in
charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended
from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for
reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job
that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly
children. It declined even further when schools were required to get
parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but
could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have
an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the religious organizations became businesses; and
criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took
a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own
home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her
lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded
in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his spouse, Discretion, by
his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now,
Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

Spiderman ReturnS

I had fun watching these two men while they were cleaning the glass walls of the college restaurant. I was glad I noticed them that day since few days after taking this photo I found one of them outside my room, in the terrace, wiping the glass. I wondered how he got there since I was inside my room and all the main doors were locked. Then I remembered this scene and I thought, " Oh, Spiderman is outside my room". Then few minutes later another man appeared hanging on a rope just like the one on this photo. I just waved at them and said my overused Chinese phrase "Ni Hao".

Fun Farming at Farmtown

I could say that I am still addicted to farming in Facebook Farmtown. I was glad that I accepted my friend's invitation to start farming. At first I didn't think it was interesting since I only saw a small plot with a few plowed plots and planted with potatoes. I didn't realize how interactive the game is. Later on, my friend Leah, taught me how to make my farm look better by removing the spaces in between plots. I wanted to plant more and plowed more plots but the problem was I didn't have enough money to buy seeds. Again, my friend helped me by letting me harvest and plowed in her farm. While I was harvesting, her husband joined and we were chatting in her farm and later on he also hired me to work in his farm. It was fun, I was working while we were  having a conference chat.  It's like an IM where you can send a real time message when you are both online. It has also a function that would let you send an offline message if your friend is not online. I started to get interested when I went to the market place and saw many people looking for jobs and shouting phrases like,"Hire me!" " I need a job!" "The baby is hungry!" "I need some job to feed my family!" "I'm a good harvester!" "I'm a fast worker!" and many more. I had fun at the marketplace. I stayed for a few minutes without saying anything, but a farmer hired me to harvest his farm. I earned a lot and I went up to a higher level. I asked him how could I hire someone to work for my farm, and he said that I needed to have at least 10 neighbors. So from there I invited some friends to be my neighbors and also tried to befriend other farmers and asked them to be my neighbors. I finally got the privilege to hire someone to harvest and plow my farm. The most interesting part of this game is the fact you have to work in order to get something. If you want to buy a house then you have to work for it. To get more money, I worked a lot in other farms, planted every spaces in my farm and sold some gifts. Now, I can just visit my farm to see if harvest is ready, then go to the marketplace to hire someone to harvest and plow then plant some seeds and get back to work. It's virtual farming yet it's fun since I can "reap what I sow."

Ginkgo Leaves and a Butterfly

I love these ginkgo leaves. These are the only trees inside our school that make me feel that there is fall in Suzhou, China. All the trees here in our school remain green throughout the year except these ginkgo trees. I feel sad when they sweep these leaves away. I don't really think of them as rubbish in fact I think that they make the place beautiful by spreading gold in the ground.

Purple Envelope

I went to China Post yesterday at 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon.

I gave the letter to the man who was asking something or telling something when I arrived.

He looked at my letter and laughed. He also said that my letter was in "Yinyu" English and asked the woman to tell me something. The woman also got the letter and then without saying anything turned around, got her phone and started pressing. Then got a pen and paper and wrote something, so I figured that she was using a dictionary on her phone. She handed the paper with the two English words, "change envelope". I stared at my purple envelope and asked the man, "weishenme?" why? But he just said, "Ting Pudong" which means "I don't understand" and got inside and took something inside the box. He came back and gave me a brown envelope and doing some actions to let me transfer the contents of my purple envelope. I did it quickly so I could just put the stamps and go back to school. When I sealed the envelope, the man showed his watch and pointed at the door, saying something like "shabar le, ni...mingtian...san.." and making the sign of 3 so I guessed that means I had to come back at 3pm the next day, since mingtian means tomorrow, san means three. I'm not so sure with "shabarle" since but since he was pointing the door so I guessed that means they were closed. I said okay, "xie xie ni ", thank you and left with my two envelopes. I wondered why they didn't like my purple envelope. I bought it from Carrefour, and I wonder why they are selling purple envelope that is not accepted in China Post standard.

Short Story: Love, Wealth and Success

Author: Unknown


A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them.

She said "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."

"Is the man of the house home?", they asked.

"No", she said. "He's out."

"Then we cannot come in", they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.
"Go tell them I am home and invite them in!" He said.

The woman went out and invited the men in.

"We do not go into a House together," they replied.

"Why is that?" she wanted to know.

One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed.
"How nice!!", he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"

His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"

Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"

"Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out and invite Love to be our guest."

The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest"
Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up and followed him.

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success, "I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?"

The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!"