"I am Predator"

Happy 2009 everyone!
Apologies for the delayed entries, I spent the new years in the Philippines and its actually been quite busy since I've returned. How was the Philippines, you ask? It was four fabulous days of beach, cheap beer, good food, and adventure with good friends. The dollar goes a long way there so if anyone is looking for paradise on a budget, I'd highly recommend the Philippine islands. We were at Puerto Galera, a smaller, lesser known beach about three hours from Manila, famous for their exotic diving sites. I didn't get my scuba certification this time but I definitely hope to in the future. Anyone want to go scuba?

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One of the highlights of my job is meeting so many different kinds of people who are incredibly enthusiastic about learning English (quite a change from my students back home!) Like most language learners, a fun part of learning a new language is the ability to rename yourself. Here in Asia, I'm finding that students get real creative with this new naming opportunity. So far, I have a Yoyo and a Yuyu in my upper level class. Ikea and Man (who's a girl) are in the other class, and let's not forget Together, Banana, and Papaya in my high school English club.

After consulting other fellow teachers, I've compiled a list of some of the most interesting student names they've come across:

Mango
Coke
Dynasty
Feeling
Handsome
Tomorrow
Muse
Snake
Loofy
Milk Butter
Demon
Club
and last but not least, Predator.

"Hi my name is Winnie, I'm a new teacher here. What's your name?"
"Hi Winnie. My name is Predator."
Im smiling and nodding still.
"What is your name again?"
"I am Predator"
Still smiling, but a bit confused. No more nodding
"Your name, is Predator?"
"Yea! nice to meet you!"
Im baffled but still smiling.
"ok, nice name! nice to meet you!"

It turns out that Predator actually changes his name every week depending on the new words he learns each week. I guess he learned about Predators that week!!

Lesson learned- i suppose this is why maybe its a good thing that our parents didnt let us name ourselves. Why NOT name yourself after your favorite fruit?

Next entry coming up: Chinese New Years in the motherland- How it's REALLY celebrated