In a recent email, a student from Australia wrote "Dear...sorry I did not write last
I feel one of the positive things I can do is to be an english conversation partner for the students. Filipinos study english and are quite good at it, but shy about speaking. My grade 3 classmates Sherrie and Nadia check all my assignments from my Speak Tagalog book and do the translations easily. I just try to be around so they can talk to me. I stay after school to play Connect Four or read. They speak english to me, I reply in bad Tagalog.
Sometimes, they say gems like this, "Kuya Lane, you said we were going to play soccer, now you are playing
Teachers tell them to not to tease me. I see a few scold the others. But it is fun to see them as they are. They enjoy teasing and its just how children are. I can tease back just as good as any tease me. I call the girls "pikat" (flirty), not what good Filipino girls are supposed to be.
One day, my student Gladys said, "Kuya Lane, I will go your house on Saturday. I will see your room." It is just like yours I said. The report from others who have been to our house is that my room is messy. Maybe it is. I cleaned my room before they came this time.
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