The Jingdou Language Centre in Macau

Macau --- I am very grateful for the opportunity to see nearby Macau, almost a year ago, to get to know more about the Jingdou Language Centre. Managed by the Far Eastern Education Association (FEEA), the language center caters mainly to Macau locals who wish to improve their English proficiency. They are also offering Mandarin and Cantonese classes, programs aimed at expatriates and foreign nationals residing in Macau. Thanks to SKILLS, the technical-vocational school of Primary Structures Educational Foundation, Inc., I was given the chance to benchmark the English as a Second Language (ESL) Course being offered at Jingdou, in the light of the upcoming ESL Program to be launched in SKILLS sometime this year.   

Macau is about three hours away by plane from Manila. It is an autonomous region on the south coast of China, across the Pearl River Delta from Hong Kong. A Portuguese territory until 1999, it reflects a mix of cultural influences. 

I left Manila at 7:30 AM and arrived in Macau a little before 12:00 NN. I was met at the airport by May Chan, one of Jingdou's coordinators. She was so kind enough to bring me to Wahn Tihng Study Center where I stayed while I was there. We met Mary Anne of the Administration, and Iris, the director of the center. I was so happy to be there!

This is how the houses along the sidewalks in Macau look like.

After settling down and doing a bit of unpacking, May said we'll just walk going to a nearby Chinese restaurant where we'll have lunch. So we did. It was a pleasant walk, and I didn't mind the humid air while going through the streets of Macau. Doing so reminded me a bit of an area in Binondo, Manila where many Chinese nationals are residing, living in buildings where they operate their own businesses. What I find so nice are the quaint houses, vertical condominiums, government buildings still breathing the beauty of Portuguese architecture. As you may know, Macau was a colony of Portugal for more than a hundred years or so. The way the street signs are put up, plus the lamp posts and the flowers in each of them, make the streets of Macau a pretty sight to behold.

In the Chinese restaurant, we waited a bit for Joan Wallace to arrive. Joan is a British national living in Macau for quite some time now, and is handling drama classes for young students at Jingdou. The impression I got while having lunch was that the Chinese are really a healthy race, because of the abundance of green leafy vegetables in the menu selections. Plus the bottomless hot green tea served in all the meals. We enjoyed a hearty lunch. I was grateful to May and Joan for making me feel welcome in their country.

After lunch, we then headed for Jingdou, again, walking! May explained to me that since most of the areas here are walkable, it is more convenient to do so than taking the bus. I really didn't mind because by just looking at their buildings, I was already enjoying myself, holding in awe what a rich culture Macau has.

With May (left) and Marilou (center) at Jingdou

Finally, when we reached a certain intersection, May pointed out to me the building where Jingdou is located. We crossed the street and entered a not-so-new building, and just took the stairs up the second floor where we rang the doorbell. A smiling lady greeted us, and talked to May in Mandarin. I had a warm welcome from Jingdou's professors. I was really moved. She introduced me to Marilou Ygoa who used to live here in our study center in Cebu. And then to the rest of the team composed of Americans and British expats. Joan brought me around and let me observe in her drama class. She has 6 young students, who really look so cute with their chinky eyes. I was hoping I could have a photo opportunity with them, but it seems that it is not encouraged among the visitors. After the drama class, I was brought to the high school English conversation class of Kenneth. It was fun because he made me part of the discussion. He had about 8 boys and 8 girls in his class. I must say that most of the students could already speak in English satisfactorily. They could describe what happened to them in clear English, and they also got to use complex verbs and adjectives. After this class, May brought me back to their office where she gave me a sample course curriculum of the ESL program they run. She explained to me that the way they do it is really heavy on demonstration, promoting activity-based learning. Not so much relying just on books and pure lecture. I thanked her for being very accommodating, and for sharing with me details of their language program offerings.

At Coloane with May, Adalina and Veronica 

I was so glad to have met the other ones from Wahn Tihng: Emily and Peggy. And I also got to meet Monica from Hong Kong, who was in Macau at that time for business reasons.  May also brought me around: we saw the beautiful parks in the city where we rode the cable car, visiting The Ruins of St. Paul's, and the trip to the quaint town of Coloane, where we had excursion together with Adalina, a Portuguese, and Veronica, a Macanese. We ate in a Portuguese restaurant there, took the famous egg tart dessert at Lord Stow's Bakery, and visited the conference center in Hac Sa. It was Monica who invited us to see Hac Sa Conference Center where a seminar which she was assisting was going on. I never thought I'd see Our Lady of Macau up close. I am ever grateful for that gift.

Going up Penha Hill during the May 13 procession 

The highlight of this trip, I must say, was the opportunity to see Macau's Our Lady of Fatima at the Se Cathedral, around 2 kilometers from Wahn Tihng. It was really a memorable experience for me to attend the solemn mass at the cathedral, join the May 13 procession and go up Penha Hill, till we reached the Chapel of Our Lady of Penha where you have a beautiful view of the whole Macau. We were celebrating 100 years of the Fatima apparitions while I was there. I actually didn't know that the weekend I decided to be there coincided with the centennial celebration of the Fatima apparitions! It was nearing 12 midnight when May and I separated. I went home with Emily who was also in the procession with a friend. We walked all the way home, passing by a mini-grocery where Emily picked up some purchased goods for her Administration.

I am very grateful to Iris, Peggy, Emily, Marilou, Joan, Adalina, Veronica, Monica, and to May especially, and to everyone who made my quick stay in Macau so pleasant and enjoyable. God willing, I can go back there again.