Hey, everyone.
I’d like to share something of what I’ve experienced while I was teaching in Center for Premier International Language Studies (CPILS).
I had a student from Taiwan. He is 13 years old. He was the only one who traveled from their country. His parents wanted him to study English so they sent him to CPILS to study. During his stay at the school, he got positive for covid. He got isolated in a room for 4 days. After his isolation, he got back to the classroom to study again. He said to me that he had no roommate and someone to talk to even his parents didn’t care. He felt that no one likes him and he was just annoying to his roommate. I felt that this boy was sad and need someone to talk to. Sometimes when he goes to the classroom he just sleeps. I asked questions about his personal life. And he shared about what he likes and dreams in life and that his birthday would be on Sunday. On Monday, I wrote a note that says: “Happy birthday, Justin! Always smile”. And he said, “thank you”. On his last day at school, we ate Jollibee (fast food) inside my classroom. He wrote a letter to me. I was happy to meet this boy.
A group of high school students from Japan came to CPILS. I had 4 students from that group. They were not allowed to use their phones for the entire 7 weeks and really focus on studying English. There was one girl who could make cranes out of paper. The English book talked about art so I told her to create art. She made 3 origami cranes. I was amazed by that time because cranes are tall birds with long legs, necks, and usually long bills. I didn’t know how to create origami and it originated in Japan. I was glad because I could put them on the bulletin board. “Japanese people are respectful however they have a cold personality” one of my Japanese students said. She got sick for 4 days. After her isolation, she gave me many colorful cranes. I decided to decorate my bulletin board so that she can feel that I value her effort in creating cranes. Eventually, we became close. Before their last day, they had a graduation speech. She said during her stay at school, she often cried because she missed her family and she felt comfort if she make origami. I was touched by that. On her last day at school, she gave me origami paper and a turtle, and a kind of colorful Rubik’s cube. She said: “When you make origami cranes, please take a picture of it and send it to me”.
I had a Taiwanese student who came from the military and her leg was broken because of running. So decided to stop and rest. During the pandemic, she realized that she wanted to take care of sick people. She went to the university to study nursing. She went to the Philippines to study and improve her English to communicate with other people. She was willing to share her culture and make friends with other countries. On her last day of school, she said that “Can I have a hug?” and we became friends.
The other one was a Japanese man. He is 35 years old. He was depressed for months before he went to CPILS because his boss always scold him at work to the point that he felt terrified to go to work. Japanese workers are known to be workaholics and loyal to their companies. Even though they don’t like the work they need to stay in the company. However, he quit the job. He didn’t go to college because his father is a taxi driver and couldn’t afford it. He decided to study English to write songs because he likes music since he was a teenager and get a better job. He said he was happy that he enrolled at the school and met me as his teacher and he can share his problems with me.
I was sad that I didn’t pass the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and often times I doubted my ability in speaking English. I had fear of speaking thinking that I could make mistakes in English. However, God planned it to be part of CPILS to make me realize that there are people who are struggling too. I was happy that I could help them even in small ways. I won’t forget this experience and met different students that helped me grow in some way. Their letters have encouraged me.
Thank you,
Leika