My Little Hachi

Sometime last year, I posted that one of my students, Aliena Miranda, was chosen as the lone representative of our city to the AFS Intercultural Programs Philippines.  Aliena stayed in Japan from December 6-18, 2011, and as cultural ambassador, she showcased the culture and language of the Philippines and interacted with hundreds of Japanese and other foreign students.  Good job, Aliena!

Here's what she surprised me with when she came home:  my own little Hachiko stuffed toy!!!!!

so tiny but so cute!

see?  he's really small but cute 

My little Hachi in the company of my other bigger 'dogs'

Aliena-chan, arigatou gozaimashita!

Jingle Bells - Japanese Style

みなさん、
ﾒﾘ ｸﾘｽﾏｽ!!!!!!!

しんねん　あけまして　おめでとう　ございます!!!!!!!

Aliena-chan, omedetou gozaimasu!

Her name is Aliena Mari P. Miranda.  Alie for short.

In case her name doesn't ring a bell yet, I'm pretty sure it soon will.

Here's why:

with Hanami Sensei

with classmate Eloisa

sharing her reflection one afternoon in Nihongo class

She's smart, cute, responsible and even more.  A born leader.  A scientist in the making.  A consistent academic achiever.  And yes, she has always been the Top 1 student of her batch ---- the kind of protege you'd be so proud to introduce to everyone, and the kind of child that makes her parents cry tears of joy.  But wait, there's more.

Guess what?

Having gone through a very thorough and intense selection process, she will be the LONE representative of her school and city to the AFS Intercultural Program in Japan, which is in cooperation with the Japanese Embassy in Manila, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Jenesys programme of the Japanese government.  With 54 other students all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao chosen from among 400 ++ applicants , she'll be touring three cities in Japan, exchanging views with other international high school students, and sharing about her country's cultural heritage and history.  Yes, it's sort of playing the role of an ambassador of Pasig and of the Philippines for a short-term period.

Alie will be leaving for Japan on December 6 this year, and might even stay at home with a Japanese host family, and attend a real Japanese high school during her two-week stay in にほん!!!

And that's just another feather to her cap.  And we're so proud of her that we're actually beyond words.

She's a true blue Pasigueña.  A student from Pasig City Science High School.  And her name is Aliena.

アリナーちゃん、おめでとう　ございます！！！！

What does your uniform look like?

 Aliena, Julie, Camille and Necy

SM MOA, 2010

One of the things that you and I cannot escape from is the school uniform.  Every high school in this country sets rules and regulations regarding how students will be wearing this piece of clothing.  In private schools, students are required; in public schools, the uniform is optional.  Lucky for us, the parents in our school buy for their children.  So every assembly time, everybody wears the same thing.

This is Chelsea, Din Din, Julie and me during last school year's Nihongo Quiz Bee.  Notice that our uniform uses three colors:  white, blue and maroon.  The necktie features the school's logo and a year level bar.  Take a look at the shoes.  Our mayor gave the children even the shoes that they have to wear.  Now that's what I really call uniform. 

Now this is how the Japanese look like when they're wearing their uniform.   Mark here is wearing an all-black winter uniform for boys.  Jaymie is wearing the girls' summer attire, and the bag on her hand is an authentic Japanese high school girl's bag.  Hanami Sensei wears a Japanese college uniform-inspired attire.  So cute!  

Let's take a closer look at the clothes:

The material for this cloth is really thick.  It's really good for wintery school days.

Look at the details of the buttons!

In contrast, the material for this is very light.

 Check out the folds in the skirt.  Maybe I can ask my tailor to make me one like this.

The waistline is adjustable through this belt.

Here are more images from the internet:

This picture by Masami.H.M for Wikipedia shows a Japanese girl's winter uniform.

Students from Tokyo wear sailor fuku with white shoes.  Photo taken from Wikipedia

Sometimes Japanese high school students pair up their uniforms with long black socks or stockings.

Photo from 1-designer clothing

This variation of the uniform shows a big bow tie in red / maroon.

 How adorable!  Check out the sailor-inspired uniform of these kids!

 If only I have legs as beautiful as theirs  ;-)

Japanese girls wear short skirts even in winter time.  They just need a scarf to keep them warm.

Photo taken from 1-designer

I don't know how this girl takes the cold out there, but as for me, I surely won't walk in the snow in those short skirts!  Photo taken from Wikipedia

Sometimes I wish we have the flexibility of having two sets of uniforms like the Japanese.  いい　な！ 

 Here are some uniform-related trivia for you:

According to 1-designer, the Japanese wear brightly-colored hats for their protection, especially when crossing very busy streets.  The bright colors ensure that they are seen even from afar.

Since there are hardly any utility workers in Japan and since students themselves maintain the cleanliness of their classrooms, they use the uwabaki.  According to this article from Wikipedia, the uwabaki is a type of Japanese slippers worn indoors at home, school or certain companies and public buildings where street shoes are prohibited.  It's very much like our own foot socks.  If you're from a public school, you know what I mean.  Traditionally, Japanese people dislike wearing the same shoes indoors that they wear on the street, so they take off their shoes when they enter the genkan or entrance hall and put on footwear designated for indoors use.At the entrance of every school, from preschool to college, there is an assigned locker for each student to put his or her uwabaki.

Remember my post about Japanese school bags?  I'd love to own one of these randoseru from Heiwa Elementary School as shared in Wikipedia.

Well, that's all for now.   I'm ending this post with a wallpaper showing an anime character in a Japanese uniform which I got from wallcoo.com

バイバイ！！！！！

Eiga Sai : Group Outing @ Shang!

July is Philippines-Japan friendship month, and to commemorate this special occasion, the Japan Foundation organizes an annual film festival called Eiga Sai.  We've been going to this event since 2009, and this time I decided to bring the whole class because if we take the weekend schedule, some students do not get the chance to see the movie.  There are always too many movie goers, and because the tickets are given away on a first come, first serve basis, some of my students end up going home not seeing anything.

I'm glad I made this decision to go with them on a quiet Tuesday afternoon.  We laughed, cried, cheered and sighed for Ami, the name of the character for the movie Your Friend.  Zannen.  We didn't get to see Feel the Wind, which starts Kento Hayashi, the girls' crush from the previous year's Eiga Sai we watched, The Battery Future in our Hands.

Meanwhile, here are proofs our latest Eiga Sai experience with Ms. Maricris Murillo, the head of the Filipino / Spanish Department:

We've been here!

Wacky!

Cutie? :-)

with Ms. Murillo

The Eiga Sai banner

Yes, a pic even from the elevator!

Pose, pose, pose!

And another one!

And yes, another pic!

We do love shashin ;-)

Nihongo Caravan SY 2010-2011

Last school year (2010-2011), my Nihongo students and I decided to come up with an open-house style culminating activity.  Previously, we've already done a song and dance type of program; for a change, we wanted something that is more interactive.  So we decided we'll just have five booths --- onigiri booth, origami booth, calligraphy booth, yukata booth and a game booth.  Judging by the tons of pictures I have saved on my laptop, this was one huge success.  Thanks to my students and to all who dropped by to show some support.  This is going to be a picture-heavy post, so please be forewarned.  I wanted to show all the images, but it will take me the whole day to load 300++ pictures in one post. 

So here's what made into the final cut:

 I ❤ Manga!  Thankfully, Meara has a collection of manga, anime characters and some toys and trinkets.  These were a big hit among the students.

 I want one of those for myself, but where would I put them in my house?  ;-)

 Micah (in green yukata) and her friends had their hands full trying to write the students' names in Katakana.

 Julie and Ayra try to show to the students how to make a crane origami.

 Kat, Dana (in hat) and Pam (in green yukata) demonstrate how to make onigiri, or Japanese rice balls.

 See?  Japanese manga have many fans in Pasig!

 Guess what anime character he is ;-)

 A girl tries to wear a floral yukata.

 Oishii!  Tabetai!!!

 Who's that mysterious guy behind the mask?

 Ms Jha (Filipino / Spanish teacher) becomes a Japanese for a day.

 Ms Beloy (Science teacher), Ms Jha and Ms Joan (Filipino teachers) ---- geisha for a day? Hehehe

 Students try writing in Japanese ink and brushes

 Pretty Cosplayers

 Hanami Sensei + Sir Ephraim (Science teacher) and me

 Francis tries to demonstrate how to do karate while we're busy posing

 Julie demonstrates another onigiri art.

 The boys and the girls turn competitive playing the kendama.  Yatta!

 The Japanese believe that when you combine a thousand cranes, it means good luck, prosperity and longevity.  Check out this article from Wikipedia for more info.

Library in-charge Ate Lita with Kenneth and Rein.  She is wearing the pink yukata which my friend bought for me from Japan.