teaching koreans...

that was the first job i took..

while studying.. i got a part time job teaching english to koreans..
and that's what i did for about 3 years..

you'll be surprised to know how wonderful their culture is..
how similar at the same time different on how they live their lives compared to us...
isn't it wonderful to know more about other people's culture and how they live..
have you ever wondered how other people from other countries live their lives?..
after knowing them.. i'm now more curious on how people from different countries also live.
reading them from books has a huge.. very huge difference than being with them..
i may not have been living in their country but seeing how they live as a community
and doing things with them was quite an experience.

i used to think that filipino's are the most respectful people because of the "po" and "opo"
and how we treat our elderly people..
but wait til you meet them..

let's just say i've never been given so much respect before until i've met them..
well let's just say part of it was because i was their teacher..
but it was amazing.. i don't thnk teacher's here in the phils would be given that much respect..
from the young to the old... they give you utmost respect..
they hold the wine to pour your cup with both of their hands to show respect..
even the old people would do that for you..
they bow to you, they use polite languages often,
they make sure they never offend you in any way..
their generous and shower you with gifts to show
their appreciation...
you'd feel like a "king" with the respect they would give you.
i'm sure most of us have watched one or two korean movies or tv series
you'll see and learn how much they differ from us.

i'm not saying they have a better culture than us..
nothing perfect, we all have our ups and downs..
i'm showing how different and interesting to know how other culture's are.

to all my korean students and friends..
thank you for sharing such a wonderful experience :)

regards to tasha, jin, mishan and jini...
(if anybody knows or can find me Ms. Koo,Kyung Im, please let me know, thanks)

isko ng UP..

isa akong "isko" ng unibersidad ng pilipinas...

should i be proud of it?
lets just say i was fortunate to have been part of it...

what does it mean to be an "isko"?
should i have joined the rallies?
was there something for to me to fulfill?..

what should have i expected?
questions.. questions.. questions...
but what i know an i'm sure of is this..

it was a whole new environment..
the place itself was amazing..
it's like a whole community inside campus..
everything you need would be there...

the huge surroundings has been refreshing..
the trees, green grass, the smell of the flowers..
you can camp out, walk, jog, picnic as much as u want..

the buildings and classrooms may not have been air-conditioned..
but it's lets just say.. college like.
or else how would u be able to smoke inside the classroom. haha :)

"variety".. thats the word..
i'd say UP has the most number of kinds of people...
different people from all kinds of lifestyle and culture
i've met a few when i joined our organization UP Lingua Franca(for english majors)
and UP Vanguard(for ROTC officers)

i got my freedom.. my ups and downs..
the joys and hurricanes of my life that i would never forget..
dito sa loob ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas.

and what does it mean to be isko?
i'd say.. experiencing all of these..
being here and there...
sa loob ng unbersidad ng pilipinas..
that what makes you an "isko"..

Saturn...

and then there was Saturn...

from elementary classmates to high school classmates and i definitely hated to see them still become my college classmates.. hehe..

our high school class section was called Saturn..
the science oriented class... the cream of the crop "daw" haha :)
while others were going home at 4 pm..
our classes went on 6pm onwards with 2 additional subjects every year..
we already had bio, chem, trigo, research, etc.. at a much earlier time
cant say it didn't help but it was definitely not an easy time for us..

our batch have its good and bad times..
i remembered having the cream of the crop "daw" the whole section cutting class.. haha :)
we had our high school days...
cheating, drinking, messing around..
i for one definitely had a kick for it...
maybe i could have done better.. but it was defintely something for me..
the group still meets up every year for a reunion...

i haven't been in touch for quite sometime though..
but it's something worth remembering :)