The Mobile World Gone Crazy

I am not a fan of Apple, in fact, all my life, I only had this 4th gen iPod and that was only a prize won. I never really drooled over Apple products. Since the beginning of high-end phones, I usually buy Samsung, not just for its design, but because of its known quality. My SGH - D900i is up to this time functioning, and my Samsung Jet, though it did not meet its promise of  "giving you everything you want it to be" is still up and running after falling down. My new smartphone here in Germany is also from Samsung because I am truly satisfied with the quality products that they offer. However, this news might change every impression I have for Samsung. I am into qualitative products, but I am more into fair play. I find this move by Samsung unfair and selfish, at the same time, this judge does not deserve his title anymore. The symbol of justice is a blindfolded woman carrying a weight, and this judge does not clearly live up to this symbolism.

I just hope all these blah-blah in the mobile world would end. It's starting to go crazy.

Learn Filipino: Telling Time

I had found this contact person in the Expat Blog who is searching for a Tagalog trainer, so I immediately sent him my CV and told him I am interested to take on the challenge. Since it is a freelance job, I still have time to refresh on my language. Honestly speaking, even if it is my native language, there are basic information that I have already forgotten. Blame it maybe on the language that I use everyday here (which is German), plus the fact that I have always been writing in English since I was in high school. I only get to use my native language when I chat with my mom or my cousins. Another reason that I really need to refresh my Tagalog/ Filipino is that because I have used Taglish for such a long time, that I have forgotten the strict Filipino I have learned in grade school and high school. One obvious problem by me is TELLING TIME. I either use the English method (example: 2 o'clock or 3 o'clock in the afternoon) or the Spanish method (ala una or alas dos) when I speak. For such a long time I have made myself believe that is the only way of telling the time. Then I posted this as status on my Facebook wall asking for opinions, and voila! I suddenly remembered my grandparents and how they tell the time. So I guess, your first lesson with me is learning the numbers in Filipino and telling time, in PROPER FILIPINO way.

The Numbers:

1 - isa
2 - dalawa
3 - tatlo
4 - apat
5 - lima
6 - anim
7 - pito
8 - walo
9 - siyam
10 - sampu
11 - labing-isa
12 - labing-dalawa
20 - dalawampu
21 - dalawampu at isa (dalawampu't isa)
22 - dalawampu at dalawa (dalawampu't dalawa)
30 - tatlumpo
31 - tatlumpo at isa (tatlumpo't isa)
40 - apatnapo
50 - limampo
60 - animnapo
70 - pitumpo
80 - walumpo
90 - siyamnapo
100 - isangdaan
101 - isangdaan at isa
111 - isangdaan at labing-isa
200 - dalawangdaan
1,000 - isang libo
1,101 - isang libo't isangdaan at isa
1,111 - isang libo't isangdaan at labing-isa
1,000,000 - isang milyon
1,101,101 - isang milyon at isangdaan at isanglibo's isangdaan at isa
1,000,000 - isang bilyon


I know it is kind of complicated, I guess, I will save the discussion about telling numbers for the next days. And now, off to telling time!

Telling Time (the correct Filipino way):

It is best to teach telling time using pictures, but before that, here are the important terms to remember:

umaga - morning (12:01 am until 11:59 am)
tanghali - noon (12:00 nn)
hating gabi - midnight (12:00 am)
hapon - afternoon (1 o'clock pm until 5:59 pm)
gabi - evening (6 o'clock pm until 11:59 pm)
minuto - minute
oras - hour
segundo - second
bago - before
makalipas - past

So, first, how to tell exact time. Just add the word ika- and then the number and then tell which part of the day is it, is it morning, noon, afternoon or evening. The formula is: prefix "ika" + number + word "ng" + part of the day. Example:

Ika-dalawa ng umaga (2:00 am) or ika-dalawa ng hapon (2:00 pm)

I'd like to think/ compare that telling time in Filipino is a bit similar to UK or German way of telling time. Here are the reasons why:

Ika-dalawa at kalahati ng umaga (hapon) (Half past 2 in the morning/ afternoon; Zweiviertel zwei)

Labinglimang minuto bago  mag-ikatlo ng umaga/ hapon (Fifteen minutes before 3 in the morning/ afternoon; Fünfzehn vor drei)

Labinglimang minuto makalipa ang ika-dalawa ng umaga/ hapon (15 minutes past 2 in the morning/ afternoon; Fünfzehn nach 2)

And for other minutes, simply use this formula: prefix "ika" + number of hour + word "at" + number of minute/s + word "minuto" + word "ng" + part of the day. Example:

Ika-dalawa at dalawampung minuto ng umaga/ hapon (2 o'clock and 20 minutes in the morning/ afternoon)

Easy, isn't it? Well, fear not! Even if you tell time in English or Spanish, the native Filipinos will understand you. I just wanted to share the good old ways of telling time in Filipino. :)

The Price I Got To Pay

Hubby got me a new notebook yesterday. He said it's his post birthday/ post Christmas and post Valentine's day gift. But those are only his words, at the back of these words, here are the things he expects from me:

1. More blogging time instead of just playing around in Facebook.
2. I will start a book.
3. Should I get admitted at the University, that I'd have my work done better and without delay, especially when our internet is acting up, I can do my homeworks at the University library any time.

Truly, this notebook costs a lot because of these expectations I have to bring into reality.

Nevertheless, I am more than happy and he is still the sweetest and most romantic guy in the world! He makes normal days special.

I love you baby!

Expat-Blog Post: FAQs Part I

Being a member at www.expat-blog.com, I have been receiving some friend requests and private messages from my Kababayans. Hence, I thought about blogging the common questions I answer constantly, both as private messages and from the forum itself.

Q: Where is it easier to get married? In the Philippines or in Germany?
A: It all depends on you. The first steps are usually the same: NSO birth certificate, NSO CENOMAR, cedula and then sending them to your fiance to process his Ehefähigkeitszeugnis. Anyway, my friend described on her blog a more detailed procedure about marrying in the Philippines, it's best to read her posts for more information (please click here). We did exactly the same things that they did, but in shorter time. We just got really lucky to get our wedding preparation and our wedding itself done within the 21 days visa-free entry of my husband in the Philippines. It is safest to tell your fiance to apply for visa more than 21 days, at least a month or two maybe? And plan everything ahead, best would be that you start planning during his/her vacation/ engagement day. Never try what we did, we just got really lucky that there was a free venue, and our videographer is a family friend.


Q: What does one do when we opt to get married in Germany?
A: Please click here for the requirements that you need to accomplish. The link is from the German Embassy. Please check the embassy website from time to time, in case that there are changes.

Q: How about for family reunion visa?
A: Aside from my friend's blog, which I have already the link posted on the first question, please click here for the list from the German embassy.


Q: Does one really needs language certificate before applying for Marriage Visa or Family Reunion Visa?
A: Again, it all depends on your situation. I have learned from a friend, that when you already have a kid with your German spouse, you do not need the language certificate anymore if you are applying for family reunion visa. For marriage visa, I still have to ask further. However, you lose nothing from attending the language class and taking the exam, at least the Start Deutsch 1. Why? Because even if you opt for the exemption, the Ausländersbehörde in Germany would still require you to take the course anyway. Unless your husband is open to paying the fine for not taking the Integrationskurs. Hence, learning German in Germany would be easier for you, you won't be shocked from the language, because the learning environment in Germany is totally different from the what one may experience in Goethe Institut Manila. I guess, for beginners, it is really helpful when you can ask your classmates using your native language than asking in German.

Q: I have no time to attend the classes in Goethe due to my work. Can I do it on my own?
A: Absolutely! There are lots of websites to go to to learn the German language. Most helpful for me are the following websites:

• http://www.german.about.com
• http://www.busuu.com
• http://www.livemocha.com

There are also lots of videos available in YouTube website for learning german, just use the search box. And of course the Goethe Institut website itself for the sample of Start Deutsch 1 exam. Just take note that only the exam from Goethe is accredited by the embassy, hence, you must only take the exam there and not from any other language schools.

Q: Is it difficult to find job in Germany?

A: If your German is conversational enough, there are lots of Nebenjobs waiting for you. If you want real jobs, you need a bit of patience, because I myself is still in the process of job hunting. Nebenjobs are fine, but in my case, I have to choose wisely which job to take due to my health conditions, I cannot apply in supermarket because I have scoliosis and I am not allowed to lift/ carry heavy boxes, hence, not all nebenjobs fit me.

So, that's it for now. Will post the part two as soon as I got to gather enough questions to answer. Please note that these questions are tailored for my fellow Filipinos. There might be other rules governing other country. It is advisable that you post your own questions in the forum or search for expats in Germany who are also from your country and ask them thru private messages.

Leave The Past To Memories

I tried to trace all my blogs in other blog site providers and I realized that I got LOTS of blogs forgotten in time. I planned to export the contents of these blogs and move them all here, but when I read them today, I realized, they just don't fit here. It's like, those were thoughts I had and were specially made for these sites and not here. Hence, I decided to leave them published on the sites they are now and visit them from time to time.

Just like in life. There are those events in the past that we usually wish to happen again. But if we look closely on where we are now, we see that it's just impossible to bring the past into the present. Not that they are ugly memories, but simply because they just no longer fit in. Hence, it is best to just leave them all in memories and visit them every once in a while.

Awakened

Yesterday, we had a small accident. We are not sure if it has to do with the slippery road due to a sudden change with the weather plus it was raining ice or because of our damp filter because, honestly, our car is already quite old. Thank God that nothing totally bad happened to us, only bruises on my legs because of the shopping bag that I was holding at that moment. Because as the woman driving behind us and witnessed everything, it was surprising that we're okay, because from outside, it was a very bad one. Imagine that our car swiveled to the right and we rolled on our side, our plate number was thrown out and the right side mirror was totally broken. We are so thankful for these angels along the road who helped us out yesterday.

Through this situation, I was awakened. I realized that life can really be too short, you never really know what might happen. We had our car freshly checked last Friday by our mechanic, and still, we had that accident. It is really important to always say thank you and I love you to the people around you. Only the One Above knows until when will you be with these people.

I am so thankful for this new chance of life given to us.

Anyway, to everyone reading my blog, always keep safe, especially if you are driving, especially during this winter season. God bless us always!