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Governess

◆Riza

<Educational Background>
University: University of Saint La Salle - Bacolod
　　　　　　　(BS Education - majored in Math)

In my one million thoughts, it never crossed my mind to come to Japan . . . but obviously, here I am now. I was a bit apprehensive at first, but for the past few days that I’m here, I feel a little more relaxed and comfortable. I guess being with people who are friendly, accommodating and supportive helped a lot. It’s the first time that I’m working out of my ‘comfort zone’, that is, my country Philippines, and more specifically, my workplace for 6 years, the University of Saint La Salle ? Integrated School in Bacolod City where I was teaching Mathematics to fourth year high school students.

Since I’m new in Japan, I know I still have lots of things to learn and discover about it. . . its culture, customs and the ins and outs of things here. Books may say a lot about this country but still there’s nothing to substitute real experiences. I’m glad I’m here to see things for myself. I’ll probably be using most of my free time exploring Japan.

The challenge of my new job as an English teacher has begun. . . wish me luck!
　

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◆Mariane

<Educational　background>
University　　　　 : University of the Philippines Los Banos　BS Biology
　　　　　　　 　　　　（Honor Roll)
Graduate School : University of the Philippines Los Banos
　　　　　　　　　　　　M.S. Molecular Biology Graduate　School　
　　　　　　　　　　　　University of Tsukuba Exchange Research Student

Seven monthes of living in Japan is great fun for me. I had no difficulty in adjusting to the weather, lifestyle, food and people even though this is my first out-of-the-country travel. I plan to visit Japan's famous places in the future, meet a lot of people and share experiences and cultures.

I love surfing the Internet, reading practical ways to live, and How To's books, I enjoy biking around, playing badminton and billiards to relieve my stress. Singing and watching movies are my ways to relax. My latest adventure was skiing.

Becoming an exchange research student in Tsukuba University has given me opportunity to taste Japan's technology and style of research. It has also given me a chance to become a part of DCEC family. I used to teach Biology and Chemistry students in my country. For me, teaching is a passion, I would like to see my learners widen their knowledge and develop their skills. I believe that there are more interesting things to discover in Japan and new experiences for me to gain.

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◆ Carol

<Educational　background>

University : University of the Philippines　Los Bano
　　　　　　　　Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts
　　　　　　　　Major in Speech (Writing & Theater)
　　　　　　　　(cum laude)

Very early on in my life, my parents have encouraged me to be independent. I was accustomed to speaking my thoughts out and pursuing my dreams.No one could ever tell me what I cannot or should not do.While growing up though, I had remained close to my family up until I had to live alone for my stay in the University.I must say, nothing had prepared me for the solitude I felt during my first two years in College.

But now, embarking on my second time to live alone and my first out of the country experience, I am more than happy to welcome the challenge.Having left my husband and daughter back home, I know it will not be easy.Nevertheless, the opportunity to meet new people and learn from them is what gives me the thrill to carry on, and as they say, to seize the day.

Barely a week since I got here, I have already met a number of Japanese learners who will surely make my stay in DCEC a worthwhile experience.I cannot wait to make this experience an unforgettable one.

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◆ Myles

<Educational　background>

University of the Philippines Los Banos College, Laguna
M. S. Microbiology Minor Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
15 units of course work and 2 units of thesis

University of Tsukuba Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki, Japan
Exchange Research Student (Tokubetsu kenkyusei)
Short term exchange program (JASSO Scholarship)

University of the Philippines Los Banos College, Laguna
B. S. Biology Major in Micrbiology
Honor student

During my formative years, there have been two teachers who have made a big impact in my life.The first one was when I was in my preparatory days.My pre-kindergarten was so sweet, kind and spontaneous. She made learning very enjoyable that I admired her to the point of using her name as my youngest sister’s nickname.She became my first idol and ever since that day, I secretly wanted to teach.

In high school, my biology teacher made me fall in love with the subject so much that I pursued it as a career.She was very strict and demanded a lot from her students but she taught the subject with vitality and passion.It would be fair to say that she was the reason why I pursued Biology in college and as a career.

Science and teaching it has been my work ever since.I may not be able to impart knowledge to students in a classroom setting but I have always considered myself as a teacher every time I worked with my trainees.I have always tried to introduce my topics to my learners in the most comfortable way for them.In my belief, even the most difficult topic can be grasped well by students with the proper teaching methods.That is why when I was given the opportunity to teach English in DCEC, I grabbed the chance.DCEC have the same teaching beliefs as I do and we both know it is really effective.

I may not have gotten my lecture-type class setting, but the idea to make an impact on a student just like my previous teachers had on me is already a challenge I am very willing to see to.

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◆ Poppet

<Educational　background>
Waseda Business School, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Master in Business Administration (MBA). Focus on global marketing.
University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
B.A. in Communication Research (cum laude)

Before coming to Japan to pursue a two-year MBA program in English at Waseda, I worked for almost eight years with an overseas subsidiary of a Japanese life insurance company, where I was in-charge of the training and development section. As corporate trainer, my responsibility was to develop the full potentials of the sales representatives and managers and promote a learning culture.

I first came to Japan in 1999 when I attended a sales conference in Tokyo, my first trip abroad! Excited and eager to learn about my mother company’s culture, it was not long before I fell in love with the country.As fate would have it, I came back in 2002 on a Rotary Club professional exchange program to FukushimaPrefecture and later on received a scholarship to study in 2005.During my one-month stay in Fukushima, I was able to experience profound hospitality and made life-long friends with Rotarians and with my host families.Moreover, aside from experiencing nature at its grandest, I learned varied aspects of Japanese culture and tried many things for the first time, such as authentic Japanese cuisine, onsen, snow, and tea ceremony.

I have been teaching English in Japan for almost two years as an ALT in three public senior high schools around Yokohama and Kawasaki.It is amazing how Japan wants to learn from the outside and become part of the global village by learning English.With this in mind I hope to contribute in my own little way by helping them to communicate in English, thus making them stay connected with the rest of the world.

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◆ Cecil

<Educational　background>
University: University　of Santo Tomas
            　 St. Paul's College
　　　　　　　　(Major: Mass　communication)

During my fifteen years stay in Japan, I have gained so many friends. I worked in different establishments and challenged a variety of jobs. I enjoy talking to various types of people. My past working experiences in the Philippines were all related with Human Relations.

During my free time, I shop a lot! I love cooking and eating good food. I only watch happy movies because it relieves my stress from work. I’ve watched “FRIENDS” tag series for more than a hundred times. I liked the plot of the drama. The characters were very caring, and the series emphasized the importance of one’s dream.

I believe that one should be happy with what one does as long as there is fairness. There is such a thing as “luck”, but I believe we determine our destiny. Be optimistic always...

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◆ Mattie

<Educational　background>
PhD in International Studies student (Waseda University)　　　

Before coming to Japan, I worked as a teacher for a university and as a project officer for a social development complex. I taught International Relations, Political Philosophy, Asian Studies and History courses to university students. I enjoyed the discussions I have with my students so I knew in my first semester of teaching that this is my vocation. However, I felt I needed to do something more so I decided to work as project officer for Poverty Alleviation in a non-government organization. My job as project officer involved research and policy advocacy for a poor-oriented government projects and programs.

At present, I am a PhD student at Waseda University studying Philippine-Japan relations. My interest about Japan started when I was a university student. One of my professors made a strong impression on me that I decided to pursue further studies in Japan. In almost 3 years that I have been in this country, I have come to like many things Japanese especially sushi and sashimi.
　

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◆Danielle

<Educational　background>

PhD Candidate, Policy and Planning Sciences
Graduate School of Systems and Information Engineering
University of Tsukuba

I totally agree with Collin Powell, former about one of his unwritten rules of life “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.” Yes, just like him, I am a born optimist. I believe that despite some troubles that we’ll encounter or are encountering in our lives, there is always something positive that will come out of it wherever we are. I’m basically a people-person meaning I love interacting and working with people regardless of what background. This led me to taking up Sociology as my undergraduate college degree. Before coming here to Japan, I’ve worked for an international organization as a monitoring and evaluation specialist, and then for one of the largest NPO group in the Philippines a project development officer advocating environmentally-related projects. This job also led me to having my first teaching experience to college students of a private university. I love to read, surf the net and yes, study while listening to jazz and some classics. Aside from this my other passion in life is traveling. I love the country-side as much as the city life. This other passion is what actually led me to Japan.

I have been living here in Japan for the last five years and it’s been a pleasant learning experience, academically and personally. I’ve learned a lot about the Japanese culture, from wearing kimono, making tea, cooking, ikebana and the art of “zen”. Lately, I am also into Sumi-e., the art of Japanese painting.I love Japanese dramas, SMAP, Ken Hirai, Banana Yoshimoto and Shu Uemura. Perhaps, what makes me really happy in my stay here is that, I have learned all these, despite of my limited Japanese language ability. Life in Japan has been a great journey and I am glad it ain’t over yet…

◆Berns

<Educational　background>

POSTGRADUTE: Masters in Business Administration
　　　　　　　　　　　 Waseda University

COLLEGE 　　　　: BS Business Administration
　　　　　　　　　　　 University of the Philippines Diliman

Since college I have always admired Japan and its people. How could a relatively small country be that powerful like the Westerners? It’s amazing! Until now, I still couldn’t believe that I am actually here. It’s a dream come true.

In the Philippines, I used to work in a bank and my 7 year work experience has been in the same industry. I know famous business terms like JIT, TQM and Kanban. I can also understand and speak some Japanese words. Though, I still battle with the complexities of Kanji because I find it really difficult. But I know Japan is a lot more than that and I wish to grasp as much as I can while I’m here.

I am just a simple girl pursuing her dream. Japan is undeniably a wonderful place to live in but I also miss my home country. Looking back I had actually taken for granted the beauty of my own. And being away makes me appreciate more even the little the things that we actually have.

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◆ Pam

<Educational　background>
University　　　　　: University of the Philippines
Graduate　schoo l: Tokyo University （Major: Urban Engineering）

Prior to coming to Japan, I was working with a government agency --- the Philippine's　central economic planning body. Currently, I am finishing my masteral degree at Tokyo University’s School of Engineering　In addition to that challenge, I joined DCEC a few　months ago, and to my surprise, that made my life in Japan enjoyably challenging. I have　always regarded teaching as a reward in itself, and my experience at DCEC is living proof of this. It’s not exactly stress-free, but it sure is fulfilling to teach and to know that the students are actually enjoying in the process.

I enjoy the outdoors with my friends, especially mountain hiking. Also among my favorites are swimming, wall climbing, reading Harry Potter and Narnia books, and watching Disney films and Lord of the Rings.

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