Language Guilt

I have to admit that my knowledge of the English language is threatening my new-found German literacy. Because I teach English all the time, I hardly get to practice my German. My knowledge is something that will not likely disappear as long as I call this place home.

I have this recurring guilt everytime I pass by the bookstore in front of my workplace. What used to be a place of pleasure has turned into a battleground of choices. Being the (sometimes) indecisive Libra that I am, I sometimes struggle when I pick up a book: should I opt the easy way out and read the English version, or struggle my way through with German? The oh so easy temptation to pick up the English version is ever present.

To settle the matter, I created a self-imposed policy: I will only read German novels in German and English novels in English. The same applies for movies. I have decided that translations are evil. A tall task in a country where everything is translated. The special screening of Harry Potter in English is in itself a special treat. Apparently, many expats here feel the same way, who watched the movie just because they wanted an English oasis in this sea of German, like me an eternity ago. I remembered my frustration when I watched The Devil Wears Prada in German, because I couldn't relate to the lines spewed by the movie reviews I read.

In the end, I know I have to read German if I want to improve my new skills. I only wish for the patience when I plow through Two Brothers from Fürth.

P.S., Don't tell anyone, but I read Das Parfum auf Englisch.

Iba talaga ang Pinoy!

1,500 inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Cebu City, Cebu at practice! This is their special performance for the Cebuano governor.



Sister Act!


Specially for Filipinos!



Sa mga Bisaya gyud! Dayang Dayang! Hahaha! Ang jologs ko!



Pardon my language, pero tangina! LSS! "Jumbo Hotdog, kaya mo ba 'to?"

You Pay Now, Bitch!

There are people who were disturbed with so many profanities coming out of a baby's mouth, but I think this sketch is pure genius! The goddamned absurdity of it all, it's one of the funniest things I have seen in a while.

I heard that Pearl's parents have decided to put her into baby retirement. Understandable, and it was good while it lasted. Thanks, bitches!

Servicewüste Deutschland

The one thing in Germany that would spark a fifteen minute tirade from me--and snickers from my German students--is any mention at the service at Burger King and Mc Donalds.

I come from a place where a large bag of fries costs .50 euro cents. 50 freaking cents. You want ketchup? Sure! Here, have three packets! Do you want more? Better yet, the nice lady behind the counter will give you an empty plastic cup, and you can pump as much ketchup as you want from the ketchup pump in the condiments section. I come from a place where Mc Donalds still fry their fries in Beef Tallow.

In Germany, I don't mind the veggie fries, but what bugs me is that they charge fifteen fucking cents for every packet of ketchup. Fifteen cents! That's a jeepney ride back where I come from. You can buy a 200 g tube of tomato paste at the supermarket for 35 cents! What's the logic of charging 15 cents for a 15 ml packet of ketchup?

It angered me so much that I actually wrote a letter of indignation to the Mc Donalds Germany headquarters. (I tried searching for the letter in my inbox but suspiciously, the email has disappeared, even the copy of the letter I sent isn't in my sent inbox. hmmm...) They said something about the cost of production being too expensive.

And it's not just the service at Mc Donalds and Burger King. A co-teacher at Berlitz bought a pair of shoes at a store in Erfurt, whose name I will not mention. The shoes fell apart after a week. The store only refunded the shoes after he brought in another German-speaking teacher to referee the fight between him vs. the manager.

Besides that, the Zara store in Erfurt is a far cry from the Zara stores that I saw in France. There were dustbunnies making babies in the corners of the dressing rooms, contrary to the German alles ist in Ordnung mentality. Not only that, the overworked teenaged salesperson was quite rude and snapped at us, saying that a particular dressing room is not available.

Come to think of it, there are a lot of very unfriendly salespeople in Germany. I understand that they don't really need the money, but geez, would it kill them to be nice?

That Funny English Language

There is really no other language that is as confusing, as contentious, as English

Working in a language school means that

a) You find out that there is no "one" English
b) Every teacher fancies himself an expert.

I never thought that we Filipinos had our "own" brand of English until I met these people. Jeff, a co-teacher called me over one day and said, "Hey Cathy, is it true that you use the word 'officemate' in the Philippines?"

Now in the dark, cobwebbed corners of my mind, the word 'officemate' made complete sense. Classmate is somebody who you study with, so why not use the word 'officemete' to describe somebody you work with? Besides, I thought that we Filipinos spoke American English?

"Yeah why? It's not used in America?"

"No." He then showed me the Wikipedia webpage on Filipino English, where a number of the words that I took for granted as "universal English" were actually "Filipinizations," if the word exists!

One time I wanted to use a "signpen" to sign a paper, so I asked Michelle, a Canadian teacher, if she had one.

"What's a signpen?"

"You know, a pen with ink."

"You mean a ballpoint pen?"

"No, a ballpoint pen is a ballpen. What I need is a pen with ink flowing from it."

Andrew from New Zealand asked, "You mean a fountain pen?"

"Kind of," I explained, "except that a fountain pen has a funny nib."

"You mean tip?" asked a perplexed Andrew!
-----------------------------------------

The corkboard in the teacher's room has become a minefield of jokes and confusion. Adam walked in one day after another teacher from New Zealand posted a photo with the words "Walking off in a strop" (Read: Walking away in a huff). He did a double-take and asked, "What's that?"

It is now ground zero the battle is now brewing between us and them, the "Brit boys" and American English speakers.

It all started in the teacher's room when Julian from England said that he doesn't drink coffee.

"Me neither." I said.

"'Me neither' is wrong," said Cain from England.

Hamish from Australia said, "I have never used the words 'me neither' until I got here. Where I come from, it's 'me either'."

I hate being corrected when I know I'm right, so I later asked Diane from New York (she has a Long Island accent) to back me up. She was kind enough to produce a piece of paper from the Teacher's Book stating the words "Me neither" is a valid response. I photocopied it, circled the item of interest with a red marker and underlined the words "ME NEITHER." The next day I saw that Hamish scrawled the words, "But that's Berlitz English, not proper English!" at the bottom of the page.

To clear things up, I presented the situation and asked everyone if they would use the words "me neither" in that situation. Andrew from Yorkshire (believe me, that's a whole other dialect), Bruce from New Zealand, and Earl from the US all confirmed that yes, "me neither" is not a mutant form of English. Apparently, the tiff ticked Diane off, who scrawled back "Sez you!" in red letters, just above Hamish's comment.

English is a funny, funny language. Don't get me started on German!

Nalulula Ako @@

Pray tell Tagalog speaking Filipino people, when do we use the pronounKita and Ka?

I was at a party last Saturday night/Sunday morning when I was introduced to Franzi, a Social Pedagogik student who will spend the next 10 months in Manila and Tagaytay working with street children as part of her practicum to become a social worker. I was so excited that I volunteered to teach her Tagalog. For free. Just to see if I can do it, just to see if I can teach in Tagalog as well.

There are no decent Tagalog books that I can order from here that would arrive on Thursday, so I have to make my on book. From scratch.

I welcome the challenge, but at the same time, nalulula ako. I may be in over my head here! I have custom-made a syllabus for a student before. But not from scratch. Hell, I'm no linguist! Not yet! Polyglot lang po ako.

Oh my gulay, I never thought that Tagalog had so many dialects. I know that my relatives in Cavite speak a funny Tagalog, should I teach that too? Siguro I'll stick to Leila's suggestion to keep it Manila "salitang kalye" Tagalog. Tulong!

Who Cares?

Sometimes I can't get over how shallow our world has become.

I was chatting yesterday with one of my friends over at YM.

Her: So, is the thing that's happening in Paris also making headlines there?

Now, my friend is a great gal, but she sometimes gets her prepositions wrong.

Me: What's happening in Paris? Sorry, I'm not updated, I haven't watched TV lately. You mean the elections?

Her: No, Paris Hilton!

Me: PARIS HILTON?!

Me. nobody cares!

Her: Well, they show live updates here.

(Me mentally:on Philippine TV!)

Me: Well, they show it on the news, I guess. But no live updates!

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

Quite ironic that I find this amusing, because I was once a TV junkie. I used to spend an average of four to five hours parked in front of the TV a day. I am a big fan of Buffy TVS, X Files, The Amazing Race. I still watch TV here in Germany, but to a much lesser extent. I can attribute it to the fact that TV programs here are more educational than entertaining, but honestly, I've got better things to do than to channel surf nowadays.

I'm no TV snob, I still download programs of my choice. Rome kicks ass. I bet that if I started to watch Hero, I would get into it too, like everybody else has. I'm also quite sad that Bob Barker is retiring. My Grandpa and I used to watch The Price is Right together as a ritual.

By the way, they're showing Rome dubbed in German on Pro 7 starting July 8. I think Pro7's parent company helped fund the show. Oh, and Weeds is on German TV too. I haven't seen it yet but I've heard great reviews.

Everybody Changes/Palaisipan/ Mein Lebensrätsel

A year hence, and I still find it hard to believe how radically my life has changed.
It's basically the same routine. I wake up early, I walk through the city streets, I go to work. Go home knackered. Cook dinner. Watch TV. Sleep.

Aber es ist doch anders. Ich bin in Manila letztes Jahr gelaufen. Jetzt ist die Stadt Erfurt. Es ist immer noch unvorstellbar, dass die Leute im Fernsehen Deutsch sprechen. dass ich Euros verdiene, dass dieses Land in einem Tag wunderschön warm und dann wieder 15 Grad kalt werden kann. Europa ist jetzt mein Wahrheit, nicht mehr mein Traum.

Pero malaki ang katumbas ng aking mga pangarap. Minsan pakiramdam ko naghahalo-halo na ang mga wika sa utak ko. Minsan hindi ka maintindihan ng mga tao. Bakit mo ginagawa ito? Bakit mo ginagawa iyan? Hindi talaga maiintindihan ng mga Aleman bakit mas maganda ang Maynila sa aking mga mata kaysa sa mga siyudad nila. Matindi pa rin ang pangungulila ko sa lahat ng may kinalaman sa Pinoy. Siguro dahil bihira akong makipag-halubilo sa mga Pinoy. Dito sa siyudad kung saan ako nakatira, kahit sa Jena, wala akong nakilalang Pinoy na galing Pinas. Kung dati hindi ako nanonood ng The Buzz noong nasa atin pa tayo, updated ako ngayon sa Gretchen-John Estrada issue! Kabobohan, di ba? Pero minsan mas gusto ko pang manood ng kabobohan, maibsan lang ang pamamahay ko. Kasi kahit dito ako nakatira, kahit alam ko ang wika nila, pakiramdam ko pa rin na hindi ako taga-rito.

One thing that I like in my new country is that mostly everybody devotes their brainpower to something useful, unlike in my Motherland. Everything there is bogged down by chismis and politics. I find my current work more stimulating and challenging than my previous job. I work in an international environment, with Americans, Germans, Argentinians, Canadians, South Africans, Cubans and the French, all under one roof! I like my job more than I ever thought I would. I like teaching. I discovered reserves of patience I never thought I had.

Es ist gerarde passiert, aber es wird noch Neuigkeiten in die nächste Monate. Bald werde ich in der Uni gehen. Bald wird mein Leben wieder ändern. Bald wird noch mein Lebenszustand auch anders sein. Manchmal mein Leben bewegt sich so schnell, dass ich sprachlos bin! Einem Jahr ist nicht genug alles zu schlucken. Mein Leben ist nur ständig Änderungen. Ich kann kaum atmen, vor der nächsten Kurve kommt.

I am still trying to come to grips with all the new changes, and the coming changes in my life. Part of me feels grateful that I am living a dream, a part of me wants to go back and be safe. To go to a place to where I know everything, to where I know the language and the rules of the game.

Ganoon ba talaga? Hindi ko alam kung bakit ako nanghihinayang sa nakaraan. Siguro dahil kapag tumingin ako sa harap, hindi ako sigurado kung ano ang ano ang aking magiging kinabukasan. I see a new curveball coming! Hay, heto nanaman!

Two down, one to go

You scored as English/Journalism/Comm, You should strongly consider majoring (or minoring) in Communication, English, Film, Journalism, Literature, or Writing. It is possible that the best major for you is your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th listed category, so be sure to consider ALL majors in your OTHER high scoring categories (below). You may score high in a category you didnt think you would--it is possible that a great major for you is something you once dismissed as not for you. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at it. Consider adding a minor or double majoring to make yourself standout and to combine your interests. Please post your results in your myspace/blog/journal. French/Spanish/OtherLanguage 75% English/Journalism/Comm 75% History/Anthropology/LiberalArts 69% Psychology/Sociology 50% PoliticalScience/Philosophy 50% Education/Counseling 50% Visual&PerformingArts 44% HR/BusinessManagement 44% Biology/Chemistry/Geology 38% Nursing/AthleticTraining/Health 31% Religion/Theology 25% Physics/Engineering/Computer 19% Accounting/Finance/Marketing 13% Mathematics/Statistics 0% WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU? created with QuizFarm.com

We are a Teenaged Drama Queen

This was written a few months ago by a classmate of mine from Journalism school. We have since found ourselves in very different paths. He was acquired by the Philippines' leading broadsheet, and I am working here in Germany as an English teacher, and a wannabe Master's Degree student.

Filipinos share a common unflattering perspective about our country: We're a "Banana Republic," a "Saftladen." The last time a German asked me about our country, aside from the usual that he knows Mr. so-and-so is married to a Filipina, is a documentary that aired here last October about the children scavengers in Payatas. "Is it true," asked the man in the ICE train from Mainz to Weimar, "that there are Filipino children who eat out of the garbage can?"

I had to admit the shameful truth. Yes, it does happen. But why doesn't the world care about us, about what's happening?

Well, because we don't care about it ourselves. We are so self absorbed as a nation that we are oblivious to the fact that we are the only people who can clean up this mess. Like your high school's teenage drama queen, everybody else has grown so weary of our antics that the next outburst has people rolling their eyes, asking "what next?"

The sad thing is, our government and people are so enslaved by America that we look to them for inspiration, to come up with solutions to our problems. People!! They can't even run their own government properly! America comes up with an anti-terror law, we come up with an anti-terror law. Has that brought anybody anything?

Nobody wants to hear about our sob stories. Nobody wants to talk about our problems. The world wants to hear progress, not misery. Nobody likes bad news. And our joke of an electoral system is a running gag that stopped being funny ages ago.

Everybody knows what needs to be done and how to do it. I just wonder when will we finaly get the nerve to finally act.

What's That Coming Over The Hill, Is it a Monster, Is it a MOONSTEEEERRRR!!!

Hello guys sorry if I haven't been around lately, thirteen-hour workdays can do that to ya!

First of all, this has been long overdue, my friend Jonas has completed The Challenge of the Super Duper Friends, basically featuring the American presidential aspirants as superheroes! My friend Jonas runs the Philippine office of an American storyboarding studio, and it's their first foray into animation



Secondly, check out my new links, Eurotrippen and BerlinBound, who shares my Monty Python love. I raise my hat to his British wit by dedicating my new favorite song to his blog--Okay, the band's Welsh, but that's the same thing, innit? Just joking!

Kinda the same, a bit different

There are several things here in Germany that remind me of home.

Meister Proper, uhrm, Mr. Clean,

Magnolia Nestle,

and Selecta.

However, my guilty pleasure here in Germany is Germany's Next Top Model by Heidi Klum. It's quite a discovery, and an eye-opener on how Heidi Klum is like. GNTM is ten times better than America's Next Top Model! ANTM feels like a Tyra Banks vanity project, while GNTM is actually about the girls! No super big Heidi photos adorn the set. The girls actually get sound modeling advice and critique, and the drama is kept to a minimum. The challenges don't suck, and are actually practical when applied to the modeling world. Of course, there is a resident bitch, IMG Models scout Peyman Amin, but the show doesn't descend into a condescending bitchfest, which happens often in ANTM. Unnecessary cattiness? Not here.



Heidi Klum is a great host in Project Runway, but she's waaay, waay better in German. She does the suspense thing really well in PR, but she's a master in GNTM. She's actually very witty in her native language!

During a catwalk challenge, a contestant took to the catwalk so sexily, swaying her skirt to and fro so violently with her hands that she accidentally flashed the judges. As judging time rolled around Heidi told the contestant, "You walked so beautifully, like the models would do in Valentino shows, but you showed us your underpants!"

"Did she? She didn't!" said runway trainor Bruce Darnell

"She did! She had pretty pink panties on!"

Goodness that made me laugh! If they can only remove that annoying German TV habit of cueing in inappropriate or cheesy American songs as background music...

Leipzig Memories

Ciy Museum, Leipzig

The first time I heard of Leipzig was in a Sweet Valley Twins novel when I was 11. In it, Jessica and Elizabeth's family hosted a boy from the East German Gymnastic team, who were visiting the town at that time. Yes, that's how old I am. Yes, I read Nancy Drew too. He wanted to defect to the capitalistic USA, and the twins convinced him to go back by throwing a party with German photos, music, and strudel.



What does that have to do with this post? Nothing. Just wanted to say that I went to Leipzig, and met up with That Queer Expat and B. from Eurotrippen, who, in my opinion, has one of the best expat blogs out there. Pardon Adam's open mouth, he was in the middle of saying "cheese!" It was a lovely, sunny spring day, a perfect day to wander around Germany's medieval streets.

Leipzig is a great city to visit! The shopping's amazing, and it makes me wish that I had two cents to rub together so I can buy a 30 euro dress without feeling guilty. I've just realized how much I miss living in a big city, and how stylish city people should actually look. I've realized how frumpy I've become since moving to university town Jena. Now that I live in Erfurt, I see everyday how much I badly need to reverse the fug.

P.S.

I kinda feel sorry for this guy!

Our New Life

We've spent the last two weeks moving in and trying to sort out our life here. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let the video do the talking. Enjoy!

All the Little Things That They Do

Every culture has its own quirks, and even the level-headed, "rational" Europeans have their own weird habits that I can never get over. Here's my top five list.

1. THEY EAT RAW MEAT The first time I landed in Germany I was horrified to discover that they like to put raw ground meat seasoned with onions, pepper and salt on bread, a dish they call "Gehacktes."

"But it's just like sushi!"

I can't just imagine myself eating raw meat from a warm-blooded mammal, sorry.

2. "Geh nicht drausend mit nassen Haaren! Du wirst dich erkälten!" (Don't go out with wet hair, you'll catch a cold!) Similar to the Filipino concept of "hamog." People should either blow-dry their hair, or if they can't help it, put a hat on before braving the elements.

The last time I heard, the cold was caused by a virus.

3. "Let's open the windows for oxygen!" Even in the coldest of winters, they open the windows for a few minutes to reportedly get rid of the "stuffy air" in the room. It's understandable, since most German houses are poorly ventilated due to the cold weather, encouraging the growth of the dreaded house mold.

4. And the open windows policy apply to bedrooms, too. The common over-engineered German window can be opened all the way, or only slightly ajar at the top. Neat. But the typical German has one quirk: He has to leave the bedroom windows half-open all the time for "fresh air" to circulate in the bedroom. Naturally, this leaves bedroom temperatures freezing. As Martin, a German friend of ours puts it, "Germans have no sex lives because they keep their bedrooms ice-cold."

Germans buy potatoes in sacks, like we do rice in the Philippines. Potatoes have to be kept in the coldest spot in the house. Three guesses where MIL keeps her potatoes.

5. Mayo with French Fries, Mustard with Wurst. I have adopted this quirk wholeheartedly. I take it that this is a European thing. Don't put Ketchup on your Fries or on your Wurst; it's a dead giveaway that you're not a local. As I slathered my Thüringer Bratwurst with ketchup, the vendor at the stand I frequent gave me this horrified look and jokingly teased, "but ketchup is only for kids!"

And I like the mustard here. It's bitter-spicy (not hot), much unlike the radioactive yellow "mustard" that they sell back home.

Geschafft!

I did it! I passed my German language test with flying colors! I got a 5 (the perfect score!) for the listening and Reading parts of the test, a 3 at the written part (Scheiße!) and a 4 at the oral part!

All I have to do is to convince a university that a three ain't that bad (remember I need a 4 out of 4 for my course!) since I got a 5, twice! Three means I still passed the test.

Ich habe es in einem Jahr geschafft! Letztes Jahr (Jan 2006) konnte ich nur "Alter Schweder," "Guten Tag," und "Gesundheit" sagen! Jetzt kann ich Deutsch ganz offiziell! Es hat viele Tränen gebraucht, aber es hat sich gelohnt.

Hooray!

We are finally moving! Found an apartment, and we're moving to Erfurt! By the end of the month! Yay!

I am very, very happy to be moving out, and I am happy to be out of reach from my MIL. She is quite sad, and has taken to hugging me and saying, "Everybody wants to leave me. You too?"

While I am sad as well, I am actually more excited at the fact that I'll be independent in a new city, and happy to be away from her meddlesome and annoying ways.

She always prides herself as a really good cook, and admittedly, she does cook well. She loves making traditional German dishes, and asks me to watch while making them. "Das ist wie meine Oma das gemacht hat." (That's how my Grandma used to make it.) Since traditional German cooking is rich in meat, potatoes, and fat, a normal meal in the household usually drips in grease and butter. Even her vegetables are marinated in heavy sauces or butter. Hearty German dishes literally are not for the faint of heart! Then she complains the next day at how big she's become.

I think I have gotten along with her for the past eight months by playing the compliant Asian. Though Thomas says that the following statements are not completely true, I think that I never complained. I do stuff around the household the way she wants them done to avoid arguments. I never answer back. I understand that because Thomas was not here to explain my behavior, and that because I can't express myself in German as well as I can in English.

I patiently waited for the day that Thomas would be done with school so we could move out of this backwater city. It is beautiful, yes, but a tad slow for my taste.

She, in turn, treats me like the provincial innocent. That was ok, because in some respects, I was. But sometimes it gets too much!

Everytime I cook something Filipino or Asian, she always has to meddle with how I should do it. Mas marunong pa siya sa akin, eh sino ba ang Pinoy dito? I tell her that I want to recreate the taste of my childhood, but she insists that her cooking methods are better than mine! She always meddles in my cooking. She doesn't want anybody to meddle with her cooking but she insists on meddling with mine, all because I sometimes cook with a recipe in hand!

Like during Filipino Food night. She insisted that I flood the freaking wok with cooking oil as I made Lumpiang Shanghai (spring rolls) so we can fry a lot in a short amount of time. People normally use up to three tablespoons of oil when frying spring rolls.

I didn't use water or egg yolk to bind the end of the wrapper because it doesn't work. The spring roll wrappers sold here are too thick, they break because of the moisture. So I let it be. Barbara told me, that won't work. But I've done it before, and it does.

So as I cook the Spring roll in the vat of oil, the wrappers ballooned and floated to the surface. She exclaimed "Scheiße, I told you so! You should've used egg!" in front of everybody! Carola, the other cooking host said "Shh, don't fight here!" I was steaming mad at Barbara, and gave her dagger looks. Thomas just ladled out the excess oil in another bowl and told me, "See, I told you, you shouldn't listen too much to my mother!"

Well, it was my fault because I was too much of a pushover. But in everyday life she is just the same as well. Typical German who wants to control everything. So anyway, I promised to cook these past few days as a thank you for allowing me to stay in her house.

Last night I made Tortang Talong (Eggplant Omelet). To remove the skin while achieving the burnt eggplant flavor, I put the eggplant over her ceramic hot plate stove, a lot safer than the Filipino method of grilling it on fire. She took a look at what I did, and said "Scheiße, what you're doing will make the stove dirty! I think you should put it in the oven instead."

Since it was her stove, I had no choice but to put it in the oven. It works just the same, but it didn't taste the same. Then as I fried the omelet on a skillet, she noted, "Cooking one eggplant at a time is so inefficient. Why don't you put everything in the oven? You can cook three to four eggplants in one go!"

Grr grr and more grrr!!!! Outside I was all calm, but deep inside I wanted to scream! "Hey, who is the Filipina here? You and your pseudo-Asian dishes are fine, but when I cook Filipino, then I cook Filipino! If I wanted to make baked eggplant omelet, then I would've done so!"


I made Maja Blanca for dessert, from scratch! I literally scraped hard coconut meat out of a shell to make coconut milk! She asked where I put the water, and I replied that I threw it away. She went, "Scheiße, why did you throw that away? It was good for drinking! We drank that in Cuba."

I couldn't take it anymore, so I made Thomas explain to her that coconut juice is only good when it comes from a YOUNG coconut. Old Coconut juice tastes yucky. Because he was in Southeast Asia for a year, he knew that.

I know she just means well, but I can't take all this meddling! I will be glad to have a kitchen I can call my own!

Expat Meme

From Heidelbergerin


5) Name five things you love in your new country:

1. Being able to wear what I want/ Fashion. Love the clothes!

2. To be able to walk around/bike around without being assaulted by pollution, noise, and traffic

3. The honesty of the people

4. Things get delivered/done when and as promised.

5. The Autobahn! Cheese! Bread! Cold cuts!

4) Name four things that you miss from your native country:

1. Malls! Mall of Asia, Megamall, Glorietta, Greenbelt.

2. People are friendlier in the Philippines.

3. Shops are open from 10 am to 10 pm, even on a Sunday!/Midnight Madness sales/Really cheap Chinese shit. There's also a lot of Chinese crap here but they're more expensive.

4. Filipino culture/Filipino Christmas/Filipino Food/Filipino weather/Filipino beaches/My Makati life/My family

3) Name three things that annoy you a bit (or much) in your new country:

1. Everything is so expensive, double or triple the price compared to the Philippines

2. The obsession over privacy. I understand it, but sometimes it gets too much. Being a Filipino, I have a much looser sense of personal space. When I first got here, I had to ask Barb's permission to enter her living room (because it was "her" living room)

3. Power-tripping inflexible government workers.

2) Name two things that surprise you (or surprised you in the beginning) in your new country:

1. They eat raw pork!!!!

2. They allow their children to roll around in the dirt! And clean them up later when they're really, really filthy. Filipino mothers watch over their children like hawks. Kids can't play outside unless their backs are caked with baby powder, with a small towel placed under the backside of their shirts. Pag pawis na, hala! Habol! May dala nang basang bimpo at kailangang punasan ang mukha!

1) Name one thing that you would miss terribly in your new country, if you had to leave it.

1. The lack of social hierarchies. Angela Merkel and the jobless single mother have equal rights.

I would encourage anybody living abroad to answer! What do you like/dislike about your new country?

Broken Record

A little Pictionary of my new life.



I work here.



Fellow teachers Mary-Louise (Canada) and Jeff (US)

Jeff and I got to talking yesterday, and asked a question that I've heard a thousand times.

"How is it that you speak with an American accent?"

People who know me personally know that I speak with an American accent. I sound like a broken record, as I've told the story a million times already, to schoolmates, officemates, and most of my co-teachers. I was raised by my grandparents, who were born during the American occupation and educated under the American educational system. They decided to create an English-speaking household. It isn't hard, I tell them. I was raised on a diet of Matlock, Steve Allen, McGyver, and Sesame Street. It is possible to raise an American-speaking kid in the islands.

I didn't learn my native language, Tagalog, until I was three, when I had to go to school. That resulted in 11 years of hell, when kids picked on me because I spoke English well.

Mary-Louise joins in, "Hey I had a friend whose parents were Polish immigrants. They speak Polish at home, and she didn't learn English until she had to go to school."

"That's just what she said!", Jeff exclaimed. "See, I wonder what would happen if I marry a German. I speak German as well, and I want to know how it would be like for my kid if we decide to use English at home."

I was reminded of a question that has been floating in my head for some time. I speak German, English and Tagalog. I would love it if my kid would be able to do the same. However, I'm scared that I would overwhelm my kid. I could speak Tagalog exclusively to my future children, while Thomas could speak English, even if my English is better than his. Our children could pick up German in school, right?

A little note on trilingualism: Thomas' best friend is half-Greek, half-German, and was born in America. His dad, a university professor, spent a year there on a PhD grant. He holds all three nationalities (shh, don't tell anyone!). He speaks all three languages in varying degrees of fluency. However, he didn't start speaking until he was three!

At first his mom spoke to him in Greek, his dad in German, and both occasionally spoke to him in English. However, because he didn't utter a word in any discernable language, they decided to raise him in one language: German. Then he started to talk.

Because of his multi-lingual upbringing, he is able to pick up languages quickly. He now speaks Spanish as well. I noticed that I share this trait. German is a difficult language, but my progress is better than most of my classmates, who were raised speaking only one language.

I can't expect my children to have the same capabilities as I do. Will I overwhelm my future children if I try to raise them in three languages? Will it work?

Meanwhile, I hope that I still have enough room in my head for Spanish. Thomas and I plan to move to Chile after five years to learn the language. Since Tagalog has a lot of Spanish in it, I hope I can learn it quickly. That's another challenge for my future kid!

Biyenan Blues

Pasensya na kung Tagalugin ko yung post na ito. Mahirap na, baka mabasa ng mga Aleman! Alam kong binabasa ako ng pinsan ni Thomas! Rant lang ako ng konti dito sa blog ko ha, pasensya na.

Hay, naku, wish ko lang makapag-ipon na kami ng pera para maka-alis na kami dito. Don't get me wrong, magkasundo kami ng biyenan kong hilaw, pero minsan di ko siya ma-take na kasama sa bahay. Kaka-graduate lang ni Thomas nitong March, kaya ayun, dito kami pareho sa Jena naka-tengga. May trabaho na siya, kaso laging nau-urong yung starting date ng trabaho, freelance consultancy firm ang pinasok niya eh.

Kaso nga lang, parang aso at pusa magaway ang mag-ina. Daig pa ang mag-asawa! Kaugali kasi ni Thomas yun ex niya. Si Barbara, pagdating sa akin, very patient. Hindi ko alam kung bakit. Kasi foreigner ako? Kasi lagi ko siyang sinusunod kahit alam kong wala siya sa katwiran? Kasi ako yun taga-linis at taga-laba at taga-luto sa mga araw na depressed siya?

Ako naman, diskarteng close. Ngiti lang, minsan kahit inis na. Kailangang pakisamahan eh. Magiging biyenan ko din yan someday. Namana ni Thomas yung ugaling nagmamarunong lagi sa Nanay niya, alam ko yun. Ugali ng ex + pagmamarunong=recipe for disaster!

Nakatambak noong Sunday yung mga gamit ni Thomas from Deggendorf sa home-office niya, hindi naman ginagamit yung opisina. Alisin daw, so inalis. May isang rung sa shelf na walang laman, so naglagay siya ng bag doon.

Ito namang si Barb, nagfreak-out! Alisin daw yung gamit niya, opisina daw niya yun. Ayaw alisin ni Thomas. Ano ba naman yung iisang part ng shelf, di ba? Tapos ayan na, as in she went apeshit. Talagang namula sa galit! Iyak ng iyak sa inis. Ewan ko ba, menopause lang kaya 'to? Tapos nun, sorry ng sorry, sabay halik sa amin. Eh hello di naman ako kasama sa away.

Yan lang ang latest sa mga kaganapan sa bahay. Basta ako, ewan, parang pahirap na pahirap para sa akin na pakisamahan siya. Sabi niya, aalis daw siya papuntang Greece o Spain for the month. Di naman umalis. Haay basta sabi ko sa kanya alis na kami dito by the end of the month. Sana kumita ako ng more than 800 euros this month para makapag-rent kami ng bahay.

Hay naku, nahahawa na yata ako sa negativity niya at ang vibe ng bahay niya. I know that I have to get away from here as soon as possible.