Filipinos Learning German

I posted in my previous article that we have a Facebook group for this purpose. But in this post, I wanted more to motivate my kababayans who are struggling in learning this language.

Because German language is one of the requirements when applying for long-term visa to Germany, a lot of my fellow Filipinos find learning this language difficult or stressful. But my dear kababayans, wag kayong matakot at mawalan ng pag-asa. Pinagdaanan ko din lahat ng pinagdaanan nyo and I am proud to say, medyo bihasa ko na ang lenggwaheng ito. I was even able to land 2 jobs in customer service for German-speaking countries. Kaya kung kinaya ko, alam kong kayang kaya nyo din!

Eto ang mapapayo ko para sa inyo:

• Manood ng mga children's programs. Nung bago ako dito sa Germany, naging habit ko na ang manood ng Sendung mit der Maus. During holidays, lalo Christmas season, may mga fairy tale movies din sa ARD and ZDF, so pinapanood ko din yun. Ngayon na uso ang Netflix at Amazon Prime Video, kung nasa Germany na kayo, try to watch animes and other cartoons AUF DEUTSCH. Mukhang mahirap intindihin sa una, but in due time, you'd be surprised, tatawa na din kayo sa mga scenes.
• Magbasa ng mga blogs, news articles, story books in German. Still a beginner? Then try children's books. Madaming children's books sa Amazon. Medyo asa B1 level na kayo? Check mga teenager books or mga chick lit sa Amazon. They are all easy readings for you.
• Practice speaking. Join groups gaya ng Facebook group namin, at maghanap ng tandem partner among members. Create chat groups with fellow Filipinos learning the language at dun magpractice magsalita. But still, best practice pa din ang makipag-usap with Germans in German. They can help you with the pronunciation pati na din kung ano ang tamang word na gagamitin in every situation. Kalimutan ang hiya, I'm telling you, Germans are very proud and they will love you if they hear na you are exerting effort to learn the language. They will be very happy to help you with your journey in mastering the language.

The only secret in mastering this language is continuous use of it. Hindi mo maaattain ang fluency na gusto mo kung sa loob lang ng classroom mo ito ginagamit.

By the way, I am open in helping you too in learning the language. I used to offer tutorial but due to health reasons, itinigil ko muna eto. Pero kung may demand, baka mag-offer uli ako in the near future. For now, I am open to checking your writings, and to practice speaking in German with you. Just look for me sa FB group (link above).

Unfinished Business

My fight against Marfan Syndrome continues. I had my open surgery last May, wherein my aorta in the tummy region was fixed with prosthetics to remove the aneurysm. The prosthetics run from my lower rib till just above my thigh. It left me a really big scar which would forever remind me of the battle I had been. But it was not just the scar that made this memorable. The operation was really complicated and I had hemmorrhage during the operation. It was comparable to slight stroke and if it was not bad enough, I also had pneumonia and some other internal organ problems. I was in coma for almost a month. My family and friends already readied themselves for the worst. It was difficult and based on their stories, they slowly lose their hope the longer I sleep. But I survived. I woke up after around 3 weeks and 4 days but without any memory. I saw my husband beside me crying but I did not reognize him, I was just staring at him and wondering who he is and why he's crying. After a week, he brought photos of us and put it on top of my table and the memories started to come back. I recognized him from our photo and I gave him a smile. He held my hand and began to cry once again. There were lots of questions after my memory was back. Why does the date says 7th of June? My operation was on 10th of May, what happened in between? I thought they were playing a joke with me. It was two weeks after when they, the nurses and my husband, got the courage to tell me what happened during the operation. I was shocked to learn the story myself and at the same time grateful that I have survived it all. My husband thanked me almost everyday that I did not give up, that I came back. And I reassure him everyday that I did that for him, that the reason I am still here is because I still want to create new memories with him. That there are dreams and plans we have talked in the past that I want to reach with him. And what happened just made our love for each other to grow bigger and we start to appreciate each other more. (Oh, how lucky am I to be his wife!)

But I guess there is a bigger thing that God wants me to accomplish. It is still unknown for now, but I am sure there is a bigger project for me in this lifetime. And I guess that mission has started because the hospital called and asked if they can use my case in one of the medicine lectures in the university, they will use the information on my symptoms as a Marfan patient, how to detect one, and what are the medical procedures I had to go through. That is definitely my first mission, to help the Marfan Syndrome research group and the future doctors and surgeons and to save further lives in the future.

My fight is not yet finished, I am still undergoing neurologic rehabilitation in order to be able to move around without any help again. I have been through a lot and I will keep on fighting despite the pain and even if it will take longer time, I will never give up no matter what. I will triumph over this rare disease. I will create beautiful memories with my husband, my family and friends. I will continue touching lives of strangers through Pinays in Germany blog and Facebook page and groups I am in so that when my time comes, a lot of people will remember me as "Anne, the selfless one."