UbeFest 2024

My husband and I are planning to go there. Sana lang makisama health ko.

The Voice of Germany

Isa sa kinaaadikan ko dito sa TV ay ang The Voice of Germany. Maybe part of being Pinoy na ang kahumalingan ang anything to do with music. Masyado akong excited this season kasi bukod sa 10th year anniversary ng The Voice, which happens to be parang anniversary ko na din dito sa Germany (yes! I survived 10 years!), ay *drum rolls* TATLONG CANDIDATES WITH PINOY BLOOD MADE IT TO THE SING-OFFS! Apat silang umabot sa battle round but sadly, yung ka-battle ni Danica ang pinili nina Samu Haber at Rea Garvey. 

They are Juan Geck for Team Stefanie and Yvonne, Janina Bey for Team Nico and Leo Engels also for Team Stefanie and Yvonne. I can't find any bio for Leo except his soccer portfolio, futbolero muna sya dito sa Alemanya bago sumabak sa The Voice.

Next round will be hard kasi there are 5 teams (4 jury ans 1 Comeback Stage Team) competing this season, kaya 2 from each team lang ang pipiliin para sa semi-finals. Four teams have 11 candidates for Sing-Offs, kaya exciting! Literal na the best man wins! 

Sing-offs round starts on Thursday.

Below are YouTube links to their performances:

• Juan's Blinds and Battle
• Janina's Blinds and Battle
• Leo's Blinds and Battle
• Danica's Blinds and Battle - sadly she didn't make it to the Sing-Offs pero ang linis ng battle performance nya

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).

Where to Find Filipinos in Germany Online

Way back in 2013, I posted about my search for Pinoy bloggers in Germany. It was also the time I started the Pinays in Germany blog. It started na ako lang nagbblog (hence the URL is singular), until I met a few Filipinas sa Facebook group and reunited online with an A1 classmate back in Goethe Institut so I eventually invited them to write with me, kaya naging plural na ang blog title. I also posted in 2013 na I found a local Filipino community near me. Di na ko pumupunta sa community meet ups lalo after ng scoliosis operation ko, medyo anstrengend sa akin ang matagal na nakaupo but the members there are already my family here, lalo yung malapit sa amin nakatira. Naging tita-titahan ko na sya and already part of our extended family in Batangas, kasi from Batangas din sila. So my family back home ay very thankful din sa kanilang mag-asawa for treating me like their own family dito sa Germany.

Anyway, my purpose with this blog post is to update you guys about the Filipino groups I am part of ONLINE. Number one is of course our blog. Here are other Facebook groups I am a member and/or admin:

• Pinay in Deutschland - a group about just anything (I am one of the admins)
• Kusina ng mga Pinays in Deutschland - a group for food blogs and cooking/baking tips (I am one of the admins)
• Study and Work in Germany for Filipinos - a group related to working and studying in Germany (I am one of the admins)
• Wikang Aleman para sa mga Pinay in Deutschland - a group related to learning German language (I am one of the admins)
• Filipino Students, Alumni and Academics in Germany (FSAAG) - a group of Filipino students and alumni, I am not an admin but highly recommended for Filipino students and researchers in Germany

So if you are also a Filipino living in Germany, or planning to move to Germany, you are welcome to join our group/s to meet other Filipinos. I am more active there than in my blogs, so see you there!