AAaaaAaaaaAAAaAAaRgH! AAaaaaaAAH! WaaaaAAaAAAaaaaAAAAH!

OOOOOoooOOOOOooooorrRRrGHhhh! wAAAAaaaaAAAAAaAaaAaAaAaAaAaArk!

RrrrrRRRRRRRrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRk! AAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaah!

iiiiiIIIIIIiIIIIIIIkkKKKk! AAAAAaaaaaaaaaaAAAAaaaaaaaaAkkkkakakak!

waaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAhooOAooooAAAAAh!

tsk argh! GRRRRRRRRRrrrrrRRRrrrRRRRRRRrr!

rrrrrRRRRRRooooAAAAAAARRRRRRRRAaaaaAAaAAAaaArrrRRrRrRRR!

YYYyyAAAaaaaaaAAAY!

AAAAAAAArrrrrAaaaarrghaaaaAAAAhhhhhhhh....

whooo...

haaaa...

woooooh...

haaaa....

hmmmm...

whooo...

      If your too lazy to check out this page http://www.afs.ph/phi_ta/focus_on/stories/high_school I hope I can give you a short something about it that will give it justice. I have an article that Don rushed me to write when I had just arrived from Japan there and I think that's better than this shorter blog here. Anyway, whatever it is that I might miss out, there are AFSers in my list of contacts who will surely be willing to add. :P

     First (because of its importance), I went there under the American Field Service Intercultural Exchange Program and that made all the difference with the other program- it is absolutely the best. AFS is one of the biggest global intercultural organizations that bridge gaps between nations. It started with ambulance drivers in a war torn country who thought that war was only the effect of misunderstanding among nations. And so they started the program 90 years ago. Thanks to Don Michael Acelar DeLeon, you can learn more about AFS Philippines by checking out http://www.afs.ph/phi_ta/home

    Because I was under AFS, my main mission was to make (friendly) life-long relationships with other nationals. Of course, I was to attend school although not required to maintain grades (but because of "national" pride still worked hard on them). I was in Japan and classes were after all strictly in japanese. (Even English class was taught in japense) I was required to attend Homeroom time, Science, English, Math, PE, Calligraphy/Music, and chose to attend History, Classics, and Literature after a few months in Japan and after making good friends with the teachers. Because I only had one school year there, the school was kind enough to allow me to play with my schedule so that I can maximize my time and attend classes where I can at the very least decipher some understanding. That is why I got to meet friends from a lot of sections from first year to third year senior high school. But on hours where I do not have classes, I stay in the library with volunteer teachers who helped me learn japanese.  During these hours, I may have time with the other exchange students who were with me during my program although during different seasons. There were the Chinese and the Singaporean girls and the Spanish and the Netherland boys ;D. After classes, I attended the Kyudo club, the japanese archery where I learned (I believe) most about the Japanese heart (as in the heart of their culture). ;p

      Life wasn't all but study as what you'll find in exchange student scholarships given by universities. We did a lot of presentations, attended conventions, visited places, made a lot of speeches, etc. Through this, we met and made a lot of friends from all over the world, a lot who still maintains contact with me. (cool eh?) But the excitement does not stop there, I visited a lot of places and did a lot of things for free in Japan. (And that is something that you will really appreciate when a small decent McDo burger meal will cost you around 1000yen or a rough 500php.) A few of the places I've been to is Tokyo ( with the fantastic Disney Land for christmas), Kyoto, (most often at) Osaka, Nara, Kobe, Nara(with the deers walking around with you), Himeji, and a lot more I can't enumerate (or might rather bore you if I did).

     I cannot weigh the value of my experiences against each other but most people say that the best thing that I had from my experience is learning a new language. Although my japanese is filled with the slang Kansai bien, one of my professors in UP told me in one of our classes that talking in japanese without really struggling for the grammar might be better than talking the ultimately clean japanese while thinking about it a lot.  (heehee)

     It was actually for another country that I applied to from this scholarship but through the Divine Intervention, I ended up going to the Land of the Samurai's, something that I will never ever again be sad about. I am so grateful for this blessing. For it is because of this blessing that I will never ever ever be the same.

Matta nihon e itsu ka modote kaereru ka na?

Dear friends,  

Intercultural exchange programs teach teenagers all 

over the world  that our concerns are global. 

An exchange experience fosters mutual  understanding 

that can help bridge our differences and lead to peace.  

Please join me and sign the petition drive to help create 

a new generation  of global citizens,      

http://www.exchanges4peace.org/  

Thank you! 

PLEASE ASK THREE OR MORE PEOPLE YOU KNOW TO SIGN BEFORE APRIL 28!

The Petition for a Global Expansion of Educational Youth Exchange Programs is coming to a close in a week. If each of us who have already signed the Petition got just three additional people to sign it, we would have four times the current number of signatures before the deadline of April 28th.

Please help us in one last effort to gather signatures in support of more intercultural exchange programs for the world’s youth.

Please invite three or more of your friends, relatives, acquaintances – anyone you think will want to sign the Petition—to do so.

Just click here to send the petition to a friend with a message inviting them to sign.

We want to take their signatures to the United Nations, too!

We will have a Petition Presentation Ceremony on June 6, 2008 at the United Nations, during which we will present the petition signatures to a high ranking representative of the U.N.  

The Petition Presentation Ceremony will be attended by members of the diplomatic corps, representatives of the organizations that supported the Petition, and AFS participants, Board members, and staff.

Please take one more step to ensure that we have as many signatures as possible on the Petition we present. The result of each of our small actions will be both large and important. As great leaders have said in the past, “Instead of worrying about the future, let us labor together to create it.”

Original message from マーフニコラス:
> Dear AFSers and Friends,
>
> This is a rally cry for PEACE! We need your signatures for the PEACE PETITION initiated by AFS.
>
> Sign the Petition online at:http://www.exchanges4peace.org...
> (input your name, email, country: Philippines. how did u hear...?:AFS Intercultural Programs then click 'submit')
>
> Be part of the petition for global expansion of education youth exchange programs. Only few days until deadline, April 28, 2008.
>
> We are 2nd on the list and we need 30,000 more signatures! Pls. pass on this very important messege to all you contacts. Thank you very much!
>
>
>
> From: AFS Philippines
>
> Forwarded by:
> mahonri andaca
> 2006 ASEAN scholar

AFS Returnee
>
> (original message from Sheena Flores)

~>rei.ijio

para dugtungan ang blog ni kenny...

...really a lota things new sa maksci

mam mabini invited me to judge the impromptu speech lalala nung english week. di sinasajang nagkasabay kami ni poch sa jeep from mrt to maksci so hinila ko na rin xa. pagpasok pa lang sa gate chochorva na sana si manong guard. no! sabi ko one hour late na kami ni poch! and tuloy-tuloy kami sa avr. sige, kausapin nya si mam mabini kung gusto nya. kebs sa kanya!

list of new things na nabalitaan ko sa maksci

1.May 2nd run ng entrance exams!  You know the 60-90 hati sa maksci ng public ng private schools nila ngaun. anyway, na fill up na ata ung slots ng private while ung sa public kalahati palang. so their doing a second run ng entrance exams daw. those who failed the first entrance exam for can still take it the 2nd time for the same school year. wonder who thought of this. brilliant... so wutz the use of the waiting list?

2. well, there is the cr thingy na inumpisahan na ni kenny. yes, hindi na mala-hotel ang cr natin. didnt know wut do to nung hindi ko makita where da heck nila nilagay ung lock. cr's aren't as cozy as before.

3. umikot kami ni poch sa taas and saw mam espie na naglelecture. may laptop xa and flat screen chova. kahit papano may natitira pang cool stuff sa kanya. aun sinulatan ang flat screen ng white board marker sa pagdidiscuss! haha yeah!

4. teachers na ang may-ari ng classrooms. so ang studes ang umiikot. sa nabalitaan ko bawal tumambay sa (1) corridor ng principal's office. actually even dumaan daw ata, (2) corridors ng classrooms, at (3) sa stairs. hello, life...

5. iba na ang ichura ng office ni lolo anir.  so gurly gurly na xa. pag-uwi ko galing japan balak ko pang magregalo ng calligraphy chorva for his office pero...uhm...di bale nalang. besides, di kami close ni mama divs as they call their principla

6. wow! may shoe sock na dapat ang mga studes para makapasok sa computer room! elem school? [may nagtanong sakin nung kinwento ko to. shoe sock po ung sock na nilalagay sa labas ng shoes para di madumihan ung room]

7. mahigpit na raw ang security ng school. kailangan magsulat ka sa logbook ni kuya secu. ewan ko. basta tuloy-tuloy lang ako sa loob. kebs ko sau.

8. ung canteen, may curtain na ang windows na ambading. at ewan... basta. check it out

9. ENGLISH SPEAKING ZONE! ewan. nagkaron ng sign sa may third floor sa room ng hooke nung batch ko pa hooke. aun. anlabo.

10. may sanitary kit na ang mga studes. sanitary kit = hand sanitizer + nailcutter (with the makati logo) + more stuffs. they do inspection pa raw. they get refills ng hand sanitizer in exchange for newpapers

11. ung papunta sa office ni mam gonzales iba na ichura. di na kailangang umikot ng stage.

12. iba na ichura ng pond pero most probably u know this oredy. last visit ko wala na ung mga pinaglalaruan kong mga gold fish.meow

it feels different na. doesnt feel lot like maksci anymore. tho i dunno. pwede bang masabi na ako ang nagbago at hindi ang maksci? no... but i dunno. i dont think so eh.

namiss ko ung pic ng becqi na nakapost sa labas ng room ng becqi noon. aun... felt so empty. yep ang drama

kelan ba papabuwag ang maksci bldg na yan?

ugh! conformity... wutever... am supposed to be on my paper for rubio (warrrrla)

at dahil nainggit din ako kay Yang here. goes..

A] - AVAILABLE:
~ for wut? depende po ^~

[B] - BIRTHDAY:
~ september 22, 1989.

[C] - CONFUSED ABOUT:
~ how do i write my paper to please rubio.

[D] - DRINK YOU LAST HAD:
~ water. i have cough and cold

[E] - EASIEST PERSON TO TALK TO:
~ poch,mel,san,lex,tar,ugh andame~

[F] - FAVORITE MUSIC GROUP/BAND:
~ ellipsis...! hahaha!

[G] - GUMMY BEARS OR GUMMY WORMS:
~ both

[H] - HOMETOWN:
~ makati na ako simula kapanganakan

[I] - INSTRUMENT:
~ guitar, piano, flute(lol), koto, shamisen. though i only practiced the latter 2 at japan

[J] - JUICE:
~ mango hehe

[K] - KILLED SOMEONE:
~ animals? yes. nyik

[L] - LONGEST CAR RIDE:
~ from cubao to sorsogon. that was 15 hours!

[M] - MILKSHAKE FLAVOR:
~ strawberry.

[N] - NUMBER OF PETS:
~ five kittens, two cats plus a dog at japan.

[O] - ONE WISH?
~ secret... choto hatsugashii

[P] - PERSON WHO YOU CALLED LAST:
~ poch na tulog naman.

[Q] - QUIET OR LOUD:
~ quiet. i duno mas gusto ko quiet ngaun

[R] - REASONS TO SMILE:
~ blessings counting them one by one ;3

[S] - SINGLE AND READY TO MINGLE?
~ yep

[T] - TIME YOU WOKE UP:
~ this morning, 11:30. so i thought ill miss debsoc's GA today but got there just on time.

[U] - UNDER THE SEA:
~ wut?

[V] - VIOLENT:
~ no. im a peaceful person XD

[W] - WORST HABIT
~ procrastinating and i know im not alone XD

[X] - X-RAYS YOU'VE HAD:
~ chest before i left for japan, whole body when i got to japan. binanga ko isang white mercedes there (T,T) and i realized i should learn more humility.

[Y] - YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL(S):
~ cats and dogs

[Z] - ZODIAC SIGN:
~ virgo, the virgin. XD

i love UP! rock on!

kyou wa uchira wa ichigo o miteta. oishi soo na to omoteta. uchira wa chyou natsugashii

YAPPARI nihon no uchi ni kaeritai. nihon no kasoku to aitai. sore mo beri-chan to sampo ni ikittai. mokou ni mahon no naka wa sagashiteta no de sugoku bikurishta. ie de ironna koto o okassan to otousan kara mananda. sore to ichigo toka iron na tabemono o chyosen shiteta uchira wa sugoku futoi ni natta. demo firipin ni kaete kara uchira wa daibu yaseta.

YAPPARI yumi wa hikittai na~ kyudo ni nihon no bunka wa mandanda. nihon no kokoro demo koko kara chyoto wakaremashita. zembu wa mada mada wakaranai koto ga oi da kedo. sukoshi demo yukkuri de manabu demo ii to omou. itsu ka yumi o hikeru ka na?

YAPPARI kyokai no hito mou aitai. asoko ni hoka no nihon no kaszoku mittai ga aimashita. uchi no kyokai wa dokodemo onaji to omou. bunka toka kotoba wa chigau demo kokoro wa onaji to omou.

YAPPARI gakou toka hoka no bashou kara no tomadachi wa aitai desu. nihonjin ka hoka no gaikokujin no tomadachi ka riyohou wa aitai desu. watashi wa sekaijin ni nareru koto wa taisetsu to omoimasu. mina wa sekaijin ni naretara ii ja nai desu ka?

YAPPARI jinja toka turipsu toka disneyland toka himeji jo toka koyou-san toka ironna bashou wa matta ikitai to omou. iron na bashou wa iron na hanashi toka omoide wa dekita no de matta ikitai.

YAPPARI uchira no nihonggo wa umaku naritai desu. kore o yondara uchi no nihonggo wa mada hetakuso to omoimasen ka? demo kono pesu de yukkuri demo ureshii. mata itsuka uchira wa nihonggo de pera pera ni naru.

ITSU KA ANATA TO AITAI DESU. IRON NA KOTO O HANASHITAI DESU. SONO HI MADE MATTEMASU~

9th National Debate Championships at PMA! Sleep Deprivation, freezing cold water, plus all the other warla stuffs. Definitely a lot of "interesting experiences".  lol.

Well there was break night. UPDS gays of course broke. lol. yay! Well after the warla night of dancing, eating, and all, we didn't expect that we still had more breaking to do! lol. Earlier,we left our unit with Nash. He didn't really sleep there but since he didn't wanna come to the cadet hop and we needed somebody to stay there while..hehe..something had to be fixed, we asked him to keep two eyes on our things. I guess he didn't know that Kath left the key inside the room so when we returned, the only key was left locked inside. I think there was a spare key but it'd only arrive at around 5 am so yay!

We asked Robin for help. They were already talking about ideas such as breaking the door knob, breaking the window, getting through the  veranda. I thought these stuffs were more movie like and so I believed we'll find another solution. But no, it was deduced that we'll be getting in with the help of the window. It was really getting cold and the jacket I brought wasn't enough

.  The guards came to check on us and warla! they even helped us! LOL! Useless padlocks and keys. haha! Karmina in a nice black dress had to climb in through the kitchen and open the door for us! yay! Thanks to Robin and his skills(lol), Karmina and her body stature, and to the helpful guards too! LOL!

     when is that? 'cause I badly need it ASAP!

     It feels like I cannot do anything about it anymore when I know I have the power to prove them wrong. I feel disheartened. And just for now, I still wanna keep it to myself. 

      Yumi o hiite to onaji koto te iiu desu. Watashi wa omoidasu. Ano kyudo no shiai no ato toki, nihon no denshya no naka ni Ishimoto-sensei to kyudo no hanashi deshita. Jibun wa yumi ga masugu ni oshiteta to omotetta kedo hontou wa zen zen oshirarena katta. Yumi wa okiku hita to omotetta kedo hoka no hito mittara nangga chichai datta. Mato wa kangaerareheng, gambatte masugu ni yumi o oshinagara hitte soshite ya wa mato ni tobimasu. Saishyo ni, masugu ya okiku oshiritai da kedo dekinai. Tsugi wa, kangaetara dekiru demo wasuretara mou dekinai. Saigo ni, kangaenakutte mo dekimasu.Kyudo ni Mahon no shigoto wa mahon no, ya no shigoto wa ya no desu. Watashi wa Mahon no shigoto wa shittara ya no shigoto wa ya ga shimasu. Mae ni, iro iro shittenai katta. Chyansu wa hontou ni mottana katta desu. Demo sore wa watashi ga kinishinai desu. Mananda koto dake wa kitto wasureraremasen. Doko ka machigattara, tsugi ni mou shinai desu. Watashi no kyudo no kibishi na sensei to aitai. Hountouni aitai. Sensei wa kibishi katta da kedo suki ni narimashita. Watashi wa iro iro manabimashita. Yumi demo kibishi da kedo daisuki desu. Ima wa au suru toka yumi hiku koto ga dekimasen da kara mattemasu. 

     Ima, shiteru koto ni masugu ni hikittai da kedo mada mada dekimasen.Matta itsu ka dekinai koto wa shyorai ni sugoi dekirareruyouni watashi wa kitto gambattara.

   ~>We have to learn that patience is a virtue. In everything, there must needst be a due process in its season. We have to learn to wait. And as we have to make sure that we will endure.<~

Each player of this game starts with 6 weird things about themselves. People who get tagged need to write in their blog their own 6 weird things and state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. These 6 people will do the same thing.

1. I start studying at 12am. (not too weird nowadays i think)

2. I use japanese in writting on my journal and on my stitch notebook.  Don't want unwelcome eyes peeping in my lil secrets. And I use a lot of Kansai bien in case there are studes at school who could understand a lil japanese. ;p

3. I only use Jergens for my hands. I always put on lotion coz I have this hand allergy. Its hereditary. My cousin's like this too. So we shouldn't touch any highly acidic soaps and liquids(dishwashing soap, laundry soap, etc). I can't even stay in the swimming pool for too long.

4. I love using green ballpen though I love colors blue and (recently) red

5. I'm controlling myself from being tempted to read HP7. Its not practical to buy more than one copy of the book and I have three younger siblings. I'm only gonna read it after they finish. I want the book all for myself. Besides, Andrew Heywood is still taking up much of my time(hello to all PolSci majors).

6. And bacause I can't think of anything else to write... Well, I don't really think the latest HP movie sucks. Could be because I didn't reread the book before going to the eigakang. C'mon, twas BASED on the novel by JK Rowling... Or it could just be because I know "some person/s" who just gave negative comments on the movie 'cause "somebody" else did... Or it could be because "some person/s" I <strike>hate</strike>dislike gave that kind of comment on the movie. ugh!

    I appreciated the part when Harry was having this internal struggle between the forces of good and evil. hehe... why? Hmmm~ 

     Uchira wa nangga ata n da kara. Ima no koto wa muzukashii da kedo uchi wa tsuyoi chau? Nangga washi wa tsuyoi te iiu koto ga jibun ga shinjiteiru. atashi wa kitto gambaru ne. soshite, nihon no koto wa natsugashii. Nihon e chyou  kaeritai. Kazoku toka tomodachi to aitai te iiu wake de aru. Jibun no yumi demo hikittai. Uchi no karada wa yumi ga sagashiteiru. Gomukyuu shika nai. Rainen, moukai ryuugaku suru ga dekiru kamo shiranai. Fuiripin Daigaku kara tasukete morareru. Demo, ichiban mijikai no puroguramu wa ichi nen kang. Doshyou?