Reverted to Self-Studying

Last year I enrolled in a basic Japanese class and I was so very happy. The school I enrolled at offers ten levels for learning the Japanese language. Passing each level is a prerequisite for the student to be able to continue to the next level. I was able to complete the first two levels. Unfortunately, I decided to stop during the start of the 3rd class which started last January and ended last March of this year. Conflict with my work schedule is not the main reason. I just felt then that I cannot catch up as I was having a hard time to prestudy before the class each week. I guess this is one of the challenges in learning another language- you lose your motivation along the way. In my case, it is not just in learning Japanese but I really feel like being so "exhausted" or so lazy for the past few months. I do not know also what is going on with me but I know I will be okay. 

Anyway, I just reverted to self-study. However, since I am feeling so lazy I keep procrastinating so a day passed by with me either studying very minimal or not studying at all. To make things worst, I even registered for the JLPT this coming July and as a beginner, I am supposed to take N5- the very basic level. Well, I let my pride get in the way so I made a foolish decision again as I registered for N4. I read in a forum that finishing Genki 1 and 2 will help you somehow survive the N4 test. It was March when I registered and until now I am not even halfway through Genki 1. I only have one month to study. Well, I just have to accept the fact that I planned to fail this test. I am not a genius to finish two books and remember the lessons in just one month. I will still take the test so I will have an idea of how the exam is conducted, learn from my mistake and make sure to register for N5 for the December exam. I was humbled.

Here are a few of the photos I took while self-studying~

My JLPT test voucher

I thought so too, Mr. Bukowski~

Image source

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Eigasai 2018

CONGRATS!

That I'd like to say to myself after attending the Eigasi 2018 in Manila for the very first time. I was excited that I initially planned to watch all the lined up films. Unfortunately, I got sick and cannot afford to force myself in attending the events for this festival.

The film festival was held at four cities namely Manila, Cebu, Davao, Bacolod and Naga and it run from July 4 to August 26, 2018. Below is the Manila schedule:

Source: https://jfmo.org.ph/events-and-courses/japanese-film-festival-eigasai-2018/

I was only able to watch Chihayafuru part 1-3 and Tori Girl and out of the 3 talks of special guests I was only able to attend Director Koizumi Nori's talk at Ateneo De Manila University. Anyway, Chihayafuru is number one in my movie list for this event. Really glad that I was able to watch its trilogy in big screen.

Here are the  photos I've taken during the events I attended to. 

Flyers/magazine given during the events

Eigasai 2018 Opening Night Ceremony at Greenbelt 5 Gallery

Director Koizumi's talk 

Q&A during the talk

He speaks English by the way but I was only able to capture him saying  2 English words~ 👇

This is where I watched the movie "Tori Girl" ~

Hopefully, next year I will be able to watch all the lineup films. 




Till next time~

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My Basic Japanese Class

Last May 19, 2018 our basic Japanese class for cycle 2 (May-July) has already started. I'm taking the class at the University of the Philippines. If you haven't heard about it yet you can read my previous blog on how I enrolled in this class. 

As expected I was excited on the first day. I was wondering who will be my classmates. I was thinking it could be like the classmates I had when I was studying in the Korean Cultural Center. Some of my classmates then are office workers, writers, photographers, married to a Korean, has a Korean girlfriend/boyfriend and students. Anyway, first time or first day is always awkward and intimidating- meeting new people, observing, adjusting, observing, interacting, observing. 😅 Well, at the end of the day it's another new experience.

Since it's our first day, our teacher (sensei pronounced as sensē) taught us first on how to introduce ourselves in Japanese. The handout that we will be using was also distributed. It's  not a book but a photocopy of a book and was binded. Some separate photocopies were given too as our reference.

Our classroom~ air-conditioned

We just finished our 4th out of 10 session yesterday. Here are some of the photos I took since the first class.

Form~ basic info and setting expectations

Quiz~

[Left] Quiz~  [Right] Practice Sheet~ sensei just want to evaluate our Hiragana writing skills before the Hiragana quiz next meeting

This is the handout we are using~ don't mind the video lyrics 😅

Till next time again!

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Enrolling in a Nihongo Class at UP

 

やった! (Yatta!)

At last, I was able to overcome my procrastination to enroll in a Nihongo class. My work shift is also one of the reasons why I can't enroll just yet. I chose to enroll at the University of the Philippines (UP) because they have the cheapest fee amongst the school/language centers I've searched online. I also wrote about school/centers that offer Japanese classes and you can read it here. Also, UP is quite near from our office so there's a little room to fret over coming to class late whenever the traffic jam is at its worst.

I am a full time employee and haven't been enrolled at UP so this simple guide suits other non-UP students like me.

How did I enroll?

🔎 First I visited the website of UP Department of Linguistic to learn some basic information about the Japanese classes they are offering.

📌 UP's extramural classes comes in three cycles. 1st Cycle is from January-March, registration starts in December. 2nd Cycle is from May-July, registration starts  in April. And 3rd Cycle is from September-November,    registration starts in August.

📖 Religiously read their FAQs and the How to Enroll guide on their Facebook page.

 👣 Went to UP to create an ExCRS account. 📨 After creating an account, I immediately received the email for the activation link. ⬇️ 📝 Waited for the first day of  registration. Reserved a slot then went to UP again to pay the tuition fee. Cash payment ONLY.

After the payment the RESERVED status was updated to ENROLLED. 

After I successfully reserved a slot, I received an email about the next step which is payment. Failure to pay within 48 hours since you've received the confirmation email will forfeit your reservation. Then I received another email confirming my payment and that I am already enrolled.

For some, they prefer to create an account after the first day of the registration so that they only need to go to UP once for the enrollment - register for a class after account creation and if lucky enough to get a slot they just can proceed with the payment. In my case, I was eyeing the weekend class. The registration starts last April 1, 2018 -it's a Sunday. I even almost forgot it. I was able to register an hour before it started and some of the slots for the basic class were almost full. I can't afford to lose my most preferred schedule.

🎉 Gave myself a pat on the shoulder for successfully enrolling in a basic Japanese class. 

There are few classes that started as early as May 5 which I initially prefer but it was already full when I logged in for class reservation.

がんばって. (Ganbatte)

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Nihongo Class in Manila

I’m gaining more interests in Japanese culture these days especially in Japanese entertainment. I remember trying to self-study last 2017 and managed to learn Katakana and Hiragana. I learned also how to write the Kanji of numbers 1-10 but I wasn’t that motivated so I stopped along the way. Now I can’t even remember exactly some of the characters’ stroke order.

Started learning Hiragana (ひらがな) and Katakana (カタカナ) this way~

Self-studying is not that effective for me based on my experience in trying to learn basic Korean language. I ended up enrolling in a Korean language class at the Korean Cultural Center of the Philippines (KCC). I seeked help from Professor Google for some schools or centers that offer Nihongo classes. Here are some of what I’ve found- University of the Philippines (UP), Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), Study Nihongo with Jellyfish Education Consultancy (JEC), Nihongo Center Foundation Inc. and Unmei Nihongo Center.

Difference? Let’s see. I only included information for basic Japanese class since that’s what I’m looking for.

UP 

💰Tuition Fee: PHP3,500

📎Inclusion of Fee: Course handout and Certificate of Completion for students who meet all the requirements of the course
📅Schedule: 30 hours (3 hours per meeting x 10 sessions)~ 2 months

ADMU 

💰 Tuition Fee: PHP5,000
📎 Inclusion of Fee: Course handout and Certificate of Completion
📅Schedule: 30 hours (3 hours per meeting x 10 sessions)~ 2 months

Study Nihongo with JEC 

💰 Tuition Fee: PHP7,500

📎 Inclusion of Fee: Books, ID, Certificate of Completion, Recognitions and Tokens

📅 Schedule: 30 hours (3.5 hours per meeting x 9)

Note: I assume this is only for 2 months since class is only for 30 hours. Though it’s gonna be 31.5 hours if the the entire 9 sessions each has 3.5 hours. End of class is not indicated on their website.

Nihongo Center Foundation Inc 

💰 Tuition Fee: PHP14,650.00 😵

📎 Inclusion of Fee: Handouts, textbooks and ID

📅  Schedule: 76 hours- The duration of the class depends on the schedule you will choose. If you prefer the 3 meetings per week for 3 hours each meeting then you can complete the 26 sessions in 2-3 months. If weekend is your only available schedule then it may take 5-6 months. The fee is expensive for me but it is acceptable since it’s good for 76 hours class and aside from handouts they are also providing textbooks.

I inquired to them via FB messenger and this is the screenshot of their response.

Unmei Nihongo Center 

💰 Tuition Fee: PHP34,500 😰

📎 Inclusion of Fee: Not indicated on their website but when I inquired via FB messenger I was informed that this already includes study materials and certificate of completion. (Really appreciate their prompt response.)

📅 Schedule: 150 hours- The duration I supposed you can complete it for a minimum of 2 months. The duration depends still on the schedule you will choose. Their schedules also depend on what branch will you be enrolling.

Just a friendly reminder, all schedules are subject to change. If you wonder if the teachers are Filipino or Japanese- UP has well trained Filipino teachers and I bet same with Ateneo based on the name of the teachers listed on their website, Study Nihongo with JEC has Japanese teachers, Nihongo Center Foundation Inc, I guess has Filipino teachers too based on photos I saw online and I am not really sure for Unmei.

Are you eyeing any of the choices above? Well, I picked UP because it’s the cheapest and it’s quite near from where I work. Hope this helps you in searching for a school or center to learn Nihongo.

Till next time!

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Drum Tao Preshow in Gateway Mall

Last April 16, 2018 I attended the preview performance of the world-renowned drum show,  Drum Tao (DT), at Gateway Mall Activity Center.

I just learned about this Japanese troupe couple of months ago. I didn't know that they already performed here last 2012. Well, I was not into Japanese culture then so even if I knew I might not have the urge to watch it.

The ticket I got is for Balcony Center seat. I know it's too far from the stage but I don't mind. All I want is to experience their superb performance live. My bias is not part of the ensembles who partook in this Manila show event. He is with the other DT  performers currently touring around North America. Though I've been following their Ameblo blog, I just realized that after buying the ticket a week before their 4 days show at Kia Theater. Sad because I was excited but still happy because my first intention anyway is to witness a Japanese show live. The very first preview show (preshow) they had was last April 15 at Shangri-La Plaza. There was an interview and a Q&A from some members of the media in the audience. Below is the video of the interview. I didn't attend this event, just saw this on Youtube.

           (From L to R): Yoshinori Suito, Shingo Kawahara and Daisuke Fumoto

Going back, the event started at around 6:30pm. Prior to that they also had a preshow at Robinson Magnolia which started 6pm? I don't know how they did it but this preshow at Gateway Mall Activity Center lasted almost an hour and it's the same ensembles who performed. They even had a short interview at Robinson before their performance so how they managed to that and arrived at Gateway on time? 

Saw this Youtube videos of  Yoshi and Daisuke's interview at Robinson Magnolia.

Took some random photos before and during the show...

Throughout the entire show I was on cloud nine and was speechless. I wanted to clap with the audience but I couldn't afford to stop taking video and my other hand was busy holding my wallet and the DT flyer that was given in the venue.

The preshow has two parts. After part 1 they just took a minute or two breaktime, I guess, then jumped off to the second part.

Here are the videos I took. Please bear with the quality and how shaky it is.

Part 1/2

Part 2/2

I miss them[😂]. Hope they'll come back next year.

2019 Update: They will be performing in Manila again this coming September 5-8, 2019 at The Theater at Solaire. Tickets are on sale since last May 22,2019. 

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