Here Without You

Here Without You
By: Le Tat Thang (Romeo)

Day by day for a long time, I haven’t seen you so I want to write my feelings about you just to let you know: How much I miss you!The first time I arrived here in the Philippines, I didn’t know what to do. Everything is very difficult to me. My days would be so empty and the nights so long. I usually wish you can stay here with me. But after all I make friends. I enjoyed each moment with them. Now everything with me is ok but still you are bothering me. I am thinking of you each moment I am awake and you’re always in my dreams everytime I am asleep.
I can’t stop myself thinking of you and one thing is for sure even if we’re miles apart, you’re always in my heart.

Story of Shoji Sato

Story of Shoji Sato

In CELI, there are many great experiences. First, you can have a lot of chances to speak English. In my case, I wanted to improve my speaking ability and vocabulary. So I told these things to my teacher. In the class, my teacher gives me a lot of activities to practice speaking English and learn new vocabularies. I can talk about anything I want. Teachers here are very good listeners. You can use English not only inside but also outside the class. Here in CELI, everyone is your English teacher. You can talk with school staff, receptionist, security, housekeeper attendants and so on. Through the conversation, you will understand a lot of things, you can talk with your friends from other countries. In CELI there are many nationalities. This is the second good experience for me. I could make friends from Korea, China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Russia. Through talking with each other or playing, you can notice some differences between cultures. Finally, you can do a lot of things in Cebu island. There are many kinds of restaurants, shopping malls, beautiful beaches and other islands on weekends. I often go scuba diving, island hopping, visiting tourist attractions or traditional places like tops and others. Tops is a place where we can view all over Cebu City. I went there with my friends, enjoying the views and star gazing which was a great experience for me.
In CELI, you can experience a lot of things that you can do only in the Philippines and not in other countries, so if you want to have the same experiences that I had, come to CELI.

Thank you.

Story of Nguyen Phi

Story of Nguyen Phi

On 13th June 2009, my mother and I arrived at Mactan Cebu International Airport and then went out of the airport. We could easily find CELI driver with a big board among the flock.
It was about 9p.m. We got our room from one front office staff with a smile. He gave us the keys, some “house rules” and some advice for our stay. That was kind and hearty.In the next few days, my mom and I decided to go to “Save More” and I lost my ID card there. I was very surprised that I couldn’t explain to the customer service staff. She said she couldn’t understand me. I used to think that I had good English speaking skill because I was the best in my class before. I told all my teachers about that experience. And they helped me a lot. I received the pronunciation lessons, speaking and other skills. Now, that I have been here in CELI for 3months, there are many things that have changed. A lot of teachers and students left. New students and new friends came and the biggest change is my English improvement. But there is one thing that has never changed -- that is the kindness, sincerity and the cheerfulness of each teacher and staff here. I think this is what I will never forget.

Diary of Park Sung Jun

Diary of Park Sung Jun

Last Saturday, I had no plan. So I spent my time eating, sleeping and watching TV whole day. At first I had no schedule on Sunday. But on Saturday night my classmate called me. He told me, “Let’s go to the beach tomorrow.” I said, “yes.” So I went to the beach with our friends. But it was not the beach I expected because the sea shore was too short. So we swam in the pool. After lunch I rode a jet-ski with my friend. That was the first experience in my life. I felt so great and excited. After that we came back to the hotel. I saw my back was burned. I didn’t know that my back I had sunburn while I was still at the beach. I felt confused that only my back was burned. I regretted that I didn’t apply sun block cream on my back. I realized that when I’ll go to the beach I must apply sunblock cream on my back.

Japanese Traditional Festival

Japanese Traditional Festival
By: Sanae Yamaguchi

In my town, there is a festival in October every year. It’s a festival for children. First of all, children start with parades while shouldering “Mikoshi” on the street. Mikoshi is a Japanese traditional portable shrine. And they are given some money and offerings by adult. It’s a very happy festival for children.

Lunar New Year (Vietnamese “Tet” – Tet Nguyen Dan)

Lunar New Year
(Vietnamese “Tet” – Tet Nguyen Dan)
By Truong Van Chinh (Bruce)

Time: The 30th day of the twelfth Lunar month of the previous year to the 3rd day of the first lunar month of the New Year.
Place: Nationwide
Object of Worship: Grandparents and ancestors

Tet is the biggest and the most sacred festival. It’s the most attractive to a majority of the Vietnamese.

Tet falls on a time when the old year is over and the New Year comes by lunar calendar. This is also the time when the cycle of the universe finishes: Winter ends and spring, the season of birth of all living things come.

Tet is an occasion of pilgrims and family reunions. It’s a time when one pays respect to his/her ancestors and grandparents who have brought him/her up. It’s an occasion when everyone sends each other best wishes for a new year, stop thinking about unhappy things and say good things about each other.

On the 23rd day of the twelfth month by lunar calendar, there is a rite to see Tao Quan (kitchen God) off. The rite to say goodbye to the old year is held on the 30th or 29th day (if the month has only 29 days) of the twelfth month by lunar calendar. The rite to welcome the New Year is held at midnight of that day. The rite to see off ancestral souls to return to the other world is often held on the 3rd day of the first month by lunar calendar when the Tet holidays finish and everybody goes back to work.

During this season, there are a lot of good and delicious food (Vietnamese food) which all of the family does. And go to visit another person’s house on the first day of the New Year, wishing everybody a New Year happy, fun, successful, lucky…

And to say Happy New Year!

Island Hopping

Island Hopping
By: Joe Dae Seop

When I was still in Korea, I thought that if I’d go to the Philippines, I could snorkel and see Nemo. The time came when I could experience these things. Last night, I was looking forward to island hopping like an excited child. The destination is Olango Island. It sounds fun. I couldn’t wait and I went to bed with a good feeling.
Finally, I could see a beautiful sunny day. The day was busier than other days. Our assembly time was getting near. I could see students who were also expecting to do snorkelling. CELI group arrived at the port on time. The boat was able to accommodate all of us. It brought us to the beautiful sea. We could see the blue sea and Nemos. It’s very picturesque. I couldn’t explain by words the feeling at that time. I was touched. Lunch was served while we were snorkelling. The food had a good taste. We sailed more then took a rest. From where we anchored, we could see Bohol Island. It seemed that Bohol was just very near. I tried to swim going to Bohol without life vest. That was a big problem. I felt like dying at that time and I couldn’t swim anymore so my friend tossed a life-saving equipment. The sea is very beautiful but it is dangerous. Finally, our trip was almost finished but we were already missing the sea. It was time to go back to CELI. I felt like I had a trip just like the one in a children’s book.
It feels like it’s just a dream but sometimes when I look at my pictures, I notice that it’s not a dream after all.

Life Experiences in Cebu

Life Experiences in Cebu
By: Saori Tanaka

Last summer, I came to the Philippines to take care of orphans. At that time, I really liked this country because there are many kinds of delicious foods, fruits and the people were very friendly. Therefore, I came back to the Philippines to study English.
I decided to come to CELI alone, so I was really nervous at first. However, my worries faded away soon because my roommate, Heather, was very kind. Like my mother, she took care of me all the time. Moreover, other teachers and friends are really nice. It’s been two weeks only since I came here but I learned a lot of new things from teachers. In addition, many of my friends want to improve their English skills, so they also serve as motivation for studying hard.I’m planning to visit the orphanage where I used to work as a volunteer. I also went to Sto. Nino Church to take care of streetchildren And visited their houses. They are very poor but are very friendly and cheerful. I want to stay in CELI much longer and I also hope to take care of children but I don’t think I can because I have to go back to Japan in two weeks. I will be starting my job hunting. I want to have a job that has opportunity to use English and deal with children. I’ll continue to study English harder after I go back to Japan.I really love CELI and Philippines.

My Experience in CELI

My Experience in CELI
By: Dang Thi Doi

When I arrived in CELI three months ago, I couldn’t speak English and didn’t understand anything. At first, I felt very bored and stressed in group class. My teacher and classmates spoke about many things and I didn’t understand anything. I was very sad and I thought that it must be very hard for me to study English. But I have self-confidence. My teachers help me a lot and I practice everyday. Now I can understand English and I have improved my ability in speaking. I’m very happy and thankful to my teachers.

YOGA Class in CELI

YOGA Class in CELI
by: Yasuhiko


To improve one’s health, create balance and relax the mind, CELI offered three yoga sessions. Benice Lin, a Taiwanese student, dedicated two hours for each session. We are grateful for her generosity in imparting some breathing techniques for health improvement, creating balance and relaxing the mind.

Here is a comment from a student:

Yoga is very good practice for our body and mental health. During practice I realized my circulation became active and my stomach and intestines also started to move. After that, I felt my body lighten and my mind relaxed and released.

Thank you teacher Benice!

Experience in Cebu

Experience in Cebu
By: Lee Seong Hun (Hun)

I arrived in Cebu 6 months ago. I first met with Vietnamese students. Their names are David and Romeo. We made friends with each other. We always had fun in Cebu. In my opinion, Cebu is a serene city. Sometimes it gets boring but sometimes it’s interesting. So searched for interesting places. Cebu has many beautiful beaches. We like the beaches and the ocean in Cebu. The ocean water is really clean. We spend less time on having fun and more time on studying. It’s true. Trust me!
Experience in Cebu
By: Choi Yun Hyun (Yun)

I arrived here 3 weeks ago. On the first week, I went to Save More and exchanged my money. I had a good memory about the beach and scenery. During the weekend I went to Cebu Beach Club. It is a very nice beach and it has good scenery.
During the second week, I went to Tops. Tops has a good view. In tops, we can see everything in Cebu City. I could clearly see the landmarks of Cebu City.

On the third week, I had an experience in the sea. The sea is very beautiful. I have never seen such a beautiful sea. I could see things under the sea. It was a very amazing experience.
Last week, I went to Mountain View. It was my best experience in Cebu. The place is very amazing. I couldn’t go there by taxi because the fare is too expensive. So I went there by motorbike. It was very good. Tops has a better scenery than Mountain View. But in my case, I felt that Mountain View is nicer and more romantic. I don’t know why. I think that Mountain View is the best place in Cebu. I can’t forget the scenery there. I want to go there again.



Experience in Cebu
By: Lee Won Ho (Neo)

I arrived here two months ago. First, I tried many things – going to the beach, casino and shopping. And then I tried scuba diving. This was a very good experience for me.
On the second month, I went to Bohol island. I was a little bored and lonely during the second month because my friends graduated.
Now that I’m on my third month, I sometimes regret that I didn’t do much in the last two months. So I will try to experience more things like visiting islands, bars and clubs. Most of all, I am satisfied with meeting many friends. I am an old man. Sometimes I feel empty but I have some impressions on things. And it is a good memory for me to study in CELI.

CELI Activities

CELI celebrated the the FESTIVALS 2009 by assigning different countries to the teams:

GREEN – KOREA

BLUE –VIETNAM

YELLOW –CHINA

RED –JAPAN

The teams were tasked to decorate their sections in the campus according to their assigned
country.

Mind Destroyer

Choose the answer from the words on the box.

1 Longest words that can be reversed

2 Word with the longest run of vowels

3 Longest word with only one vowel

4 Longest one-syllable word

5 Longest word with no repeated letters

6 There is no synonym for the word …

7 A pregnant goldfish is called a...

8 The dot over the letter ‘i’ is called a ….

9 Only three words have entered English from Czech:

10 The shortest word in English that contains the letters A,B, C, D, E and F.

11 The word _____ has more definitions than any other word in the English language.

12 The word ________ in chess comes from the Persian phrase “Shah Mat,” which means “the king is dead”.

CELI Trivia's

* "Whence" means "from where," so "from whence" is redundant.

* The word 'news' did not come about because it was the plural of 'new.' It came from the first letters of the words North, East, West and South. This was because information was being gathered from all different directions.

* In 1945 a computer at Harvard malfunctioned and Grace Hopper, who was working on the computer, investigated,found a moth in one of the circuits and removed it. Ever since, when something goes wrong with a computer,it is said to have a bug in it.

* Clans of long ago that wanted to get rid of their unwanted people without killing them used to burn their houses down hence the expression "to get fired."

* A "Blue Moon" is the second full moon in a calendar month (it is rarely blue).

* Dreamt is the only English word that ends in the letters mt.

* Underground is the only word in the English language that begins and ends with the letters “und.”

* "Muscle" stems from the word "mouse." People believed watching muscles move looked like a mouse crawling under the skin.

* "Q" is the only letter that does not appear in any of the names of the 50 United States.

References:
http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/long424.html http://www.ojohaven.com/fun/trivia.html http://www.dy-tech.info/Language/language.htm

Tips for New Students!

Tips for New Students!

Written by Ami, Din, and J

Welcome to CELI!! We would like to give you some advice for your school life. We hope you find this useful for your stay in CELI.

1. How to use “Jeepney”

“Jeepney” is the most famous public transportation in CEBU. If you get used to “Jeepney”, you can get close to enjoying CEBU life. Usually, the destination is written on the windshield of Jeepney. So, check it first, and then let the “Jeepney” stop. The minimum fare is P7.

Ex)
CELI ⇒ Marina Mall (Save More) P7
CELI ⇒ Gaisano-Mactan P8
CELI ⇒ Airport P14
CELI ⇒ SM Mall P20
CELI ⇒ Ayala Center Cebu P21

☆････ You need to transfer to another one. You have to prepare some coins to pay for it. Don't use over P50 bill because some drivers don't have any change.

《Be Careful!!》

1) Sometimes “Jeepney” drivers require passengers higher fare. Don't give in to what they’re asking.
2) Don't fall asleep while riding on the “Jeepney” and you must keep your eye on your bag.


2. How to use “Taxi”

The flag down rate is P30 ＋ P2.5 per 1km.

Ex）
CELI ⇒ City about P160
CELI ⇒ Airport about P100

As it is hard to catch a taxi at CELI, you had better go to “Marina Mall” and then catch the Taxi. Taxi drivers use a meter during daytime. But sometimes they don't use a meter at night. So you have to check if they use a meter. Otherwise, just tell drivers “PLEASE USE METER!!” If they don't use a meter, you should negotiate the taxi fare with the drivers. Especially taxi drivers can ask you for extra charge when you come back to CELI from Cebu City at night.

In my case, I tell the driver like “You use a meter after I will pay P30 more.” Usually around P30 is proper extra charge. But if they want more than P30, you have to find another taxi.

3. How to buy stationery goods

If you want to buy some stationery goods, I would like to recommend that you go to “Gaisano- Mactan” You can buy all stationery goods on the 2nd floor .You can also buy “USB memory”.

4. Movie theater.

If you want to watch movies, you have two choices.

① SM Mall ⇒ The movie theater of SM Mall has 8 screens. The ticket price depends
on the size of screen. It is from P140 to P200.

One thing that you have to keep in mind is that you can be disturbed by some groups of families talking to each other while watching movies. So if you encounter this kind of unpleasant trouble, do not get upset. That is also one of the Filipino cultures.

《Recommended food》

Try “popcorn”in the theater. It is delicious. Of popcorn, “Cheese” flavor popcorn never disappoint you.

② Ayala Center Cebu ⇒ Ayala has 4 screens. The ticket price depends on the movies.
Regular ticket price starts P150. Customers are more likely to be quiet and have good manners. You can enjoy watching calmly.

《Be Careful!!》

You can really enjoy watching a movie in Ayala theater. But don't forget!! It is so cold inside because an air-conditioner works too much. You must bring your jacket!!

5. Beach

I recommend that you go to beaches owned by hotels. There are white beaches and pools, so you can enjoy some activities.

① Tambuli Beach Club East and West
Entrance fee P350 but P300 are usable for meal charge.
② Cebu White Sands
Entrance fee P600 including lunch buffet.
Both of them are located in Maribago. You can take a “Jeepney” and it takes about 15 min.

6. FoodThere are a lot of local foods in the Philippines. You can try everything. But if you really want to eat your country food, you should go to Marina Mall. Marina mall has some restaurants such as Thai food, Korean food, Japanese food and Italian food. You can enjoy the food with reasonable price.

7. How to use ATM

The nearest ATM is located at Big Foot building. It is right next to the entrance so that you cannot miss it.

① Insert your card.
② Press your PIN
③ Press ' FAST CASH ' or ' WITHDARW ' on the screen.
④ Press ' SAVINGS ' on the screen.
⑤ Press the amount that you want to withdraw.

8. Money exchanger

If you want to exchange money, I would like to introduce three money exchangers around CELI.

① Money exchanger in Marina mall

You are supposed to go to this money exchanger after orientation in CELI.( It takes 13minutes by Jeepney.)

② Money exchanger in Gaisano mall

This money exchanger is located on B1F in Gaisano mall.( It takes 20 minutes by Jeepney. )

③ Money exchanger owned by Korean

It takes about 10 minutes on foot in the direction of Maribago. Then, you can discover this small money exchanger. The sign is written in Korean.

BIG CHANGE!

BIG CHANGE!

Cleverlearn moved its campus in Cleverlearn Residences.