Facebook Help Group

Nothing more scarier than going head on with the unknown. Fear no more and some of the readers of Pinoy in Germany blog has took one foot forward and had created a Facebook Group: Pinay in Deutschland group. The members who join here are either filipino/filipina married or engaged to a German national, living and/or working in Germany, and the likes. Asking for help regarding your visa or for tips on how-tos from people who are 'been-there-done-that' have never been this easy.

Happy Chatting!

Internet Connection Problem

The internet at home is down for a few days already, the internet provider just said that there was a restoration going on and could not give an estimate time on when it will be available again. For people who are in Long Distance Relationships, I know you guys will understand on how horrible the situation is for me. It felt like my world stop turning. The first couple of days, I have to contented myself with text messages ... but its quiet different if you get to talk real time with your love one.

SMARTBRO prepaid plug-it kit

I got convince to avail a wireless broadband to end my misery. There are other telecommunication companies who offer this but I went for SmartBro by Smart Telecommunication company mainly because it was recommended to me by my brother and other friends who personally tried it themselves. There are several kinds of SmartBro available in pre-paid or post-paid plans. I opted for the SmartBro prepaid plug-it kit, since (I hope) that the internet at home will be fix soon. I thought this is a good temporary fix. 

The content of the
 SMARTBRO prepaid kit

The kit costs me 1,245php and is pre-loaded with 120 hours internet airtime valid for 5 days. It's so easy to use: Just insert the sim card in the USB slot, then plug it in your laptop and you are ready to go. There is a manual included in the kit just incase you need. This is a pay-to-use type so you needed to load it after using up all the internet airtime. Their lowest rate is 10php for every 30 minutes. They also offer "unlimited" use where their highest rate is 200php good for 5 whole day. Not bad, right?

I am a computer noob and can only tell you that the connection was good enough for my daily activities which includes checking my emails and my social network account, chat and video call via yahoo messenger, and surfing online.

Indeed,  I regret not getting the wireless internet service sooner. It would have save me and my boyfriend the frustrations. But at least now, I do not need to worry about that anymore.

DISCLAIMER:
I am not an affiliate of Smart. For any inquiry regarding their services, products or promos, kindly redirect yourself to their official website. I am not paid to write this and have only express myself based on what I experience.

Studying Der, Die, Das

I saw a glimpse of confusion in the German Language during our third day in class. We were introduced to the infamous "Der, Die, Das" which all means "The" in English. They symbolizes masculine, feminine or neuter respectively. Actually, the real tricky part is that each item word in German Language have their own gender. How to know if it male or female? That's the point, you don't. We have to memorize everything. Whew!

Thanks to my teacher and new online acquittance -- I was able to get some good tips on how to handle this:

1. Memorize by group.

-- Use a table to help you achieve this. It should like this:

Clothing	DER	DIE	DAS
	Rock	Jacke	Kleid
	(skirt)	(jacket)	(dress)
	Mantel	Bluse	T-shirt
	(polo)	(blouse)
	Pullover	Hose
	(sweatshirt)	(pants)

2. Memorize little but little.

-- Avoid mixing other unrelated stuffs inside the group. Sure, you wanted to know everything: table, kitchen items, and so on. But this will only confuse and overwhelm you. Just focus on what words you needed to learn, the rest will follow.

3. Use sticky notes.

-- Place sticky notes on items you see everyday at your home with their german word equivalent. Remembering by practicing!

Crossing my fingers now ... Good Luck!!!

Monday Best: 2nd day in School

For some reasons, I always dislike Monday. Even when I started to work, Monday is always the rush hour of my week. But yesterday's Monday is different. I was excited and thirsty to learn more german words. I found myself in our classroom an hour earlier than starting time. I eagerly inspect the pictures on the wall and the several maps of Germany inside the classroom. One by one, my classmates arrived. I have  a great time listening to their love stories about their german husband/boyfriend. And was delighted to find out that one of them is heading to the same city where I am heading too. Yey!

 So far, we are 9 now in the batch -- we have a new classmate who just arrived recently: the thorn of the roses -- our only guy in the class.  He was stranded in his town's pier as there was an ongoing strong typhoon over the week end. This is why he didn't get to attend the first day. The good thing about him is that he is a fast learner. Imagine from our first day: 3 hours lesson all jam packed for less than 30 minutes (it serve as a reviewer). So, as much as possible, it is a must to attend each class on time.

This is all for now. Going to review now for tomorrow's rumble! 'Til next time!

Headset for Voice Chats

Learning German is a mixture of fun and difficulty. My Husband-to-be (H2B) wanted to help me train by means of voice chatting. I happily went to the nearest CDR-king, one of the largest gadget store in the Philippines (over 100 branch nationwide) who showcase budget goods that are made in China. How cheap is cheap? I brought my headset there for only 120php. But like any cheap product, you can only expect poor performance. The microphone of the headset stop working after a day. Sure, it has a week warranty -- but you see, to have it exchange ... I needed to fall in line usually taking at least 30 minutes before its your turn. And what can they exchange it for? Of course another 120php worth of headset. So yes, I did not bother went back to have it exchange. This is a good way to burn money?


My H2B ordered me to go shopping (yeah! I like the sound of that! Marrying the right guy huh?) and to find the time to buy a decent headset (there's the catch!). So I head to the mall with my sister's family for some eating and shopping. I actually ask my brother-in-law to shop the headset for me. Being a computer noob, I knew he would find a better choice. I was not mistaken!

He got me a *drum roll* Plantronics Audio 326 from Octogon Computer Superstore.  You can imagine my eyes starts to sparkle when I saw it, esp. when I saw that it was specifically made for music and games, voice talk, video conference and voice recording.Good marketing strategy? It is covered with a 3 months warranty by the Octogon store and another 7 months warranty by the maker itself. And this cost only 895php. Good deal ha?

I tried it and was delighted how clear the sound is. The head set is feather weight and does not strain my ears. So if you are looking for a good headset, the brand Plantronics is something worth checking out!

My first day in School Exp

Today is my first day in school. My sister who is a makeup artist was giving me that "day look" right after lunch. My class schedule begins at 2pm and ends at 5pm. At least the make up session kept me distracted until the driver came in the office to drive and drop me off my school.

The teacher and some of my classmates were already there. The air conditioner is nice against the hot weather outside and the room were sparkling clean. There was a German flag with a seal on the middle displayed near the white board. And a lot of pictures scrapbook styled display on the walls giving the place a roomy feel. The tables were arranged like a letter "U". I was hoping to be able to sit at the middle, but it was already taken. So, I settled down on the corner nearest to the door. I mentally count how many we were -- 6. But one of my classmates inform us as if she read my mind that we are actually 10 people in the batch. It was a good thing I bring along my 'bag hanger' rather than have my bag stuffed behind my back (there's a good tip).

 I came in prepared and arranged my stuffs on my desk:

-- black ballpen
-- red ballpen
-- mechanical pencil
-- eraser
-- notebook

 It was time to start although other classmates have not arrived yet. The teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth Seidenschwarz, then started the lesson by asking us to give her a german word. I suddenly have a mental block and blurted out: "Hallo". The situation is so comical that we all laugh same time. "Come on people ... give me another German word!" she said, "how about 'I love you' in German?" And this is where I redeemed myself: Ich liebe dich! (yey!).

Somewhere in between our lessons, 2 more students arrived. So my last counting is 8.

Anyway, the teacher is really good. We started to talk in german after an hour. My head was spinning with joy and an inner voice was screaming: "oh my God, you guys talking in German na!" Time do fly so fast and by the time I feel thirsty for more: it was time to pack up and go home (what! already???). Our class ended at 5:15pm. Our next meeting is Monday. And I never thought the day come when I wish its already Monday. lol.

Happy weekend!

German School in Cebu

If you read my previous blogs, you would know by now that I went to Cebu City to do my paperworks. Since I am here: I also enrolled myself into a German School: Treffpunkt Deutsch Cebu. This is conveniently located in Foodland Building, Banilad Cebu (just walking distance from the German Embassy Cebu). The building is complete with parking space, security guards and have establishments nearby such as korean hair salon, restaurants, banks, mall, gasoline station just to name a few. If you plan to take public transportation: no problem and abundant taxi and jeepney rides passes by the street. I did say its convenient right?

The rate for the German Class is 25,200php with the following breakdown:
Registration fee          500php
2 books to be used  2,900php
Tuition fee              21,800php

This may sound pricey but worth a shot as the school have a high percentage of its student passing the exam. Goethe Institut Manila rate is around 4,000php cheaper, best take it there if you live in Manila area. But for those people who live in other neighboring provinces (such as myself), this seem to be a good deal in the long run. Consider the expenses of a round plane tickets, food and lodging in Makati (where the school is located which happens to be the business district in Manila -- hint: not cheap!), time stuck in traffic (oh yes, its everyday business there) and so on. So yes, think it over.

Incase you did plan to study in Cebu, but have no place to stay: fear not and the teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth Seidenschwarz of Treffpunkt Deutsch Cebu, can refer you to a boarding house which is only 3-5 minutes by foot going to the school. I was told that its nice there: cheap, clean and safe. There is an internet coffee shop on the ground floor, as well as canteen, study room and big living room on the ground floor for guests. For a room of 4 persons inside: it costs only 1,500php per person plus 1,500php as deposit. The deposit will be given back to you when you leave. I also know that they have private rooms but cost a bit more. Unfortunately, I do not know the exact rate for this kind of room.

Hope it helps!