Student information: ◇ Name: Yuna ◇ Age: 26 ◇ Nationality: Taiwan ◇ Program: ESL ◇ Duration: 12 weeks
When I arrived in the Philippines, there were different pick-up times and I got tired waiting, so I tried having a massage in chair. It cost 110 pesos for the whole body in half an hour and it was really comfortable. So, I would recommend this to someone who does not want to go shopping and has to wait in the airport for a long time.
I chose an 8-hour classes a day, but I could not adapt in the first week because I must focus on each class using English in conversations. The environment is especially different from Mandarin to English which drains a lot of energy. By the second week, I was able to adapt to this kind of situation and environment, so I felt better.
The teachers are kind; when we don’t know the meaning of a vocabulary, they use easy words to explain. I can easily understand and be impressed by this way of teaching which especially helps me to know a lot of vocabulary after our review. Before classes, the teacher will ask you about your weekend or how your day was, and I think it’s a good way to improve your speaking skills because you need to answer these questions 6 times and practice listening as well.
The night market is wild and long and only in Baguio. The vendors sell almost the same products such as second-hand clothes and imitation products. We tried eating balut, which is a really famous local food. It is only sold in the evenings, so you won’t see the whole chick inside. In my case, I couldn’t eat balut because I can’t imagine eating a chick with feathers on it. The yolk, however, is eaten with salt which is similar to the salted duck egg in my country. I admire the Filipinos because they ate balut with sauce only. My friend is awesome because she ate a whole balut even though she vomited.
On my first weekend, I went to the public market which sells fruits, meat, vegetables and so on and they are cheap. In addition, we tried Oden, fish balls, and ‘one day old chicken’ which was recommended by the seller. It’s kind of cruel because the chick was only hatched for a few days and has no chance to grow up. By the way, it tastes like fried chicken.
