We went to Cebu, Philippines to celebrate 11th anniversary of RONDHUIT’s birth during April 22 to 30, 2017. We had English lessons there. Here are the short reports from the participants.

A fruitful travel in Cebu by Koji

Unlike a large Japanese fashion maker or a large E-commerce company, I wouldn’t declare English the official language in RONDHUIT. Instead, I’d like to go to Cebu with my colleagues in order to concentrate on studying English and have a good time with them. We have this travel opportunity at the end of our fiscal year. It has started since last year, though it was a special event to celebrate 10th anniversary of the company. Just like last year, Cebu gave something interesting each of us.

The venue was Cebu City Marriott Hotel. I stayed there 6 days from Sunday, April 23. The room was the best one among rooms I’ve stayed in my life as I could book “presidential suite” in this year so that we can get together in one room when we have English lessons. The room was located 12th floor, the highest floor of this hotel. 11th and above are executive floors and guests who stay in executive floors can use executive lounge for their meals which is located on 12th.

Everyday, before starting English lesson, one of teachers took a leadership role in the ice break to reduce tension. For this year, they chose “Zumba dance” in YouTube. From Monday to Wednesday, I set my PC to show the video in TV monitor. On Friday, one of our consultants provided his PC to show the video. I noticed that he had already known the address of the video because he could recall it from the history quickly. I said “you must be in front of us because I know you must have practice the dance in your room!” He didn’t deny and we could know he had practiced it by observing his dance. He knew the next move of the dance and could move broadly!

As the students, we must have a short speech in English as summarizing three days learning. I was happy to know that they would try to improve their English skills even after the travel. I feel more confident in managing our team to accomplish the goal.

Other than English lessons and presentations, I had a chance to visit and see some universities in Cebu. April is generally summer vacation, I couldn’t see any real classes run by teachers, however, an admin staff kindly accepted my idea of participating in some of classes to see the classes and students in the near future. For a long term, if we can find some students who are good for us and interested in our business, some of them may join us as we are always struggling hiring consultants in Japan.

In total, travel to Cebu in this year was fruitful and full of fun!

Fun English Training Trip to Cebu, 2017 by Takeyoshi

The time has come again this year of a company study/incentive tour of Rondhuit – to Cebu, Philippines. At Narita, everybody had mixed feelings under seemingly relaxed face – looking forward to seeing familiar and new faces of instructors but worrying about diving into English-only environment for 3 days to put together an English presentation to give to others on the final day.

All the worries were gone as soon as we see familiar faces of smiling instructors. With the help of these experienced English instructors, each one settled quickly and hit the top gear studying and chatting with the instructors – with big smile from the first day! From then on, the 3 days – 4 hours everday – just flew by as everybody actively speaking English while I sat back and enjoyed listening to, and sometime joining, their conversation and word games.

The presentations by participants were magnificent and I really enjoyed seeing their progress. Everybody seemed to be ready for any speech at anywhere in the world representing Rondhuit.

Oh, I barely managed to give a presentation on the final day – without much needed help from the instructors. I’m hoping (though in vain….) they will help me next year when we go back to Cebu.

Salamat!

My English training activity in Cebu on 24-26 April by Hisashi

Our English lesson starts from ZUMBA dance which is popular local dance for young generation. To be honest, it was tough for my fifties body but nice start.

It is very good to have much time for speaking. In my case, we started from typical English school contents. 2nd and 3rd days, we focused on preparing my presentation.

We have 10 to 15 minutes presentation for each person. I presented my business experiences,FY2016 sales results and FY2017 draft plan.

It was memorial event and I wish I could have tropical island underwater activity next time.

Thank you for reading.

What I think about Cebu by Issei

Though it is the third time I’ve been in Cebu, I still find it exciting because every time I come here, I can experience many things I have never known in Japan. I am very pleased to visit to cebu again.

Our English training program in Cebu is very gorgeous with one-on-one by English teacher for 4 hours in the afternoon. It costs a lot if you take this kind of lesson in Japan, but it is reasonable in Cebu.

After the third day of English training program, I went to the beach for the first time. The blue sky and ocean made a big impression, it was when I felt the virtue of Cebu for the first time.

When I went the third time to Cebu, I felt it again. That is, Cebu is not a beach resort or a sightseeing area. Cebu is a poor country more than you imagine, and even the place which looks gorgeous is extremely sloppy compared to Japan when you look at the details. But I can’t say all the areas in the Cebu are sloppy. The young people who got a high education are more aggressive and full of dreams. That’s the most different part I felt from Japanese people.

The stimulus you can get in the Cebu is not English. The stimulus you can get when you meet the young people can be the most attractive in the Cebu.

English lessons and sightseeing in Cebu by Yasufumi

I visited Cebu during April 25 to 30. In spite that was my first visit to the Philippines, thanks to English teachers and my colleagues, I had quite good time.

During April 26 to 28, I had English lessons to prepare & make my presentation about my past works and future aims. As speaking Japanese was basically banned during the lessons, a few times I encountered the situations that I could not describe my thinking in English. This was the most impressive thing in this trip. Although that, by English teachers’ warm help, I completed my presentation.

Of course, in Cebu, we have some free time. In free time, I enjoyed eating, sightseeing and shopping. It was great help for me that my colleagues & teachers had told me their recommendation.

I hope we will come back to Cebu again. And then, I also hope to communicate with teachers and store clerks in English more smoothly.

WONDERFUL PEOPLE OUT OF MY BOX by Abby

“Differences in habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” J.K Rowlings(Novel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.)

Last April 2017 marked another wonderful moment of the year as RONDHUIT visited Cebu for the second time. Big Boss, Koji Sekiguchi together with his staff once again stepped in the Queen City of the South. Along with the scourging hot weather of the summer season was the most anticipated English lessons of the whole team.

I was greatly honored when I was chosen to be one of the English teachers. It wasn’t my first time though, but the excitement seemed like my first. I was with the whole team for only one English Session but the experience seemed like a lifetime. They were great people. I was able to make friends with people who weren’t my age, hang out with people whose first language isn’t the same as mine and got to know people who don’t come from my social class, yet I wasn’t intimidated. They were never intimidating. They were very friendly and very approachable.

Since I was with them for only one session, I can only name one favorite moment — the guessing game. I personally don’t participate in any parlour games but I played the guessing game. Not because I don’t want to kill the joy of the night but for some unknown reasons, I was excited and nervous. I really felt like I was a kid again, jumping and smiling during the game. But one thing is for sure, I was loving the feeling.

I was so happy that everything seemed surreal. Nevertheless, I clearly remember the night I was with them. They may not fit into my box but I believe they are wonderful people with wonderful hearts.

Peachy Days! by Anju

On April 23rd 2017 (Sunday), I finally met Mr. Koji Sekiguchi in person. Some of the teachers and I waited for his arrival at Mactan International Airoport and prepared a small placard saying “Welcome Back, Mr.Koji”. Yeah, it was his second time in Cebu, and it was my first time to see him personally. He came in Cebu last year. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of the lucky ones to meet him that year, for I was not one of his teachers. So, then, let’s continue with the happenings on that special day. From the airport, we went straight to the hotel where he was booked to stay for a week. We stayed there for almost an hour, I guessed, and had a small chit chat. After that, we went down and headed to Red Box Karaoke House where we planned to have dinner and had a singing session. Well, most of the teachers could really sing, except me, and Mr. Koji himself sang a few songs for us. We sang and danced a little.And before the night ended, Teacher Jecel handed the certificate of recognition to Mr. Koji for having finished the 10 stages of Callan. And when Mr. Koji was accepting the certificate we showered him with confetti. He was surprised. His gladness was painted all over his face, too bad the cameras weren’t able to capture it. The amazing night ennded with some tasty souvenirs from him. I was glad with what I got.

On the second day of our meeting which was on the 26th of April (Wednesday). Some teachers and I went to his hotel. I was assigned to handle Mr. Koji’s class on that day. I was nervous, I didn’t know what to do and what lessons to prepare. Thanks to Teacher Jecel and Paula, they told me not to worry and no need to prepare anything, for I would only be correcting and assisting Mr. Koji’s presenteation. Though they told me not to worry, I was still nervous. During the class, Mr. koji, did all the talking I was just an attentive listener all the time. Actually, I guessed I wasn’t a big help to his presentation (lol). In fact, It was me who learnt something on that day, I learnt a bit of software technical terms. Therefore, Mr. Koji was the teacher at that time, and I on my part was a commited student (lol).

Okay, let’s move on, after the presentation, we had a short game which was “guess the word game”. Mr. Koji and Teacher Jecel prepared the game. The game was interesting, amazing, enjoying and so on. I was running out of adjectives to describe the game. The game was divided into two teams “the students team” and “the teachers team”. All the teachers had so much fun playing including me. Well, I don’t know with the students. And guessed who the winners were…. the teachers. But, actually, the students won too. The game had two rounds with the first round the teachers won, and on the second round the students won. However, since there was tie, we had to sum up the points on the first and second round to come up for the winners. So, when we added all the points, it came out that the teachers got the highest points. On top of that, the students needed to do push-ups as the consequence of losing the game. Nonetheless, the students still did a good job in the game. A salute for them.

On Friday the 28th of April, was the final day of Mr. Koji and company’s stay in Cebu. We had a profuse dinner. During the dinner, we had some jokey talks. Basically, we talked about animes, especially the expression in the anime “One Piece” which was “gomo gomo” and a lot more. That night was full of laughter and delectable food. And before we bidded our goodbyes, we gave them some cute native souvenirs. I really hoped they liked them.

To Mr. Koji who looked so serious most of the time, but had a little humour.

To Mr. Takeyoshi who got a smile ready all the time.

To Mr. Hisahi who looked strict, but soft.

To Mr. Issei whom at first, I thought was very serious, but later on, I found out he was not.

To Mr. Yasafumi who looked very shy.

To all of you THANK YOU, especially to Mr. Koji. Those days we spent with all of you were all lovely. I was truly glad to meet all of you. I hope our paths will cross again.

There are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks them all by Jecel

This year is the second time for the RONDHUIT team to come to Cebu to study English with us again. In fact, it is Mr. Sekiguchi`s reward for his team members to commemorate the 11th year of the company`s existence. It was only a week (I recommend Mr Sekiguchi should make it to two next year, at least), but I saw what kind of people they are. Though there were several things I expected in this year`s travel, there were also ones that has surprised me till now. For example, I expected the two new staffs to come but the other one withdrew from it. I saw that the new staff is a very dedicated person. He is passionate for whatever he wants or has to do. I hope he stays in the company since I saw there`s something great and bright that he can do in the future.

But I was more surprised to witness Koji San did the 30 push ups so easily! We should give more difficult punishment to the loser of our English games next year!

I realized that the rest of the members have become more open-minded in a good way. Keep it up!

Moving on, they gave their presentation as usual. From company`s overview, achievements and goals, we the teachers have learned a few things or so as well. Indeed, teaching is a two-way process. We learned a few technical words. One of them talked about a language in his presentation. There is his one line that keeps ringing in my head. “A language is full of emotions.” I definitely agree with him. Grammar is just the basic part of a language. There`s just more than grammar. And as he said, it`s about feelings, emotions and intentions. That`s what connects us all. But as I have quoted above, “a smile” speaks all the languages. Anyway, with all due respect, I would like to give thanks again to everybody including the teachers with their heartwarming cooperation. You`re all the best! Hope we can learn together, laugh together and wine and dine together in the next year and in the more years to come.

MORE POWER RONDHUIT!!!!!!

The essence of greatness and camaraderie by Lina

Another year had passed. Another year to celebrate the existence of RONDHUIT. It is on its 11th year of founding.

It was a great honor to be part of the anniversary celebration for the second time.In fact, the experiences I had last year are still very clear in my mind – how we rock the world through music,sing and dance for example.

For us, language is not a hindrance for getting out of the box and exploring many things for the first time. It is neither a boundary nor a block for our hearts’ desire and aims for the future. Laughing, sharing, friendliness, understanding, helping one another and making great moments together are what matter most.

Invitation itself sounded the dearest to my ears. Without second thought, I told myself, “I must come.” During the first meeting,I managed to sing that Japanese song I promised to even if it was not at my best and despite having some technical issues. Doing that sort of serenade in the room warmed my heart to some extent. I felt more proud and looking forward to having a duo with Koji-san next time. Another gripping part was when having that “Guessing a Word” game through describing it. It was an optimum reminder of my childhood years that I kept stamping my feet/jumping due to overexcitement when playing something. It was indeed a fruitful, memorable and fun experience for us.

On the other hand, I had the chance to meet new faces I missed to come face to face before. Moreover, I had special time having conversation with them freely. At some point, Koji-san and his staff had each presentation rearding about the corporation – its background, situations before, at present and plans for the future. After everyone presented, they left me with a satisfying and convincing thoughts. They nailed it. They were impressive enough for me to say that everyone has great potential towards achieving their goals for themselves and for the company as well. Battling physical and mental(language used) tension is a pre-requisite for building more confidence in doing many things. I have this earger anticipation that everyone has this practice or strength. Keep up the good work!!!

“You can never be great to start, but you can always start to be great.” This is simple yet very meaningful thought I can share. We may have lots of grievances, failures,frights and other obstacles,however, it depends on how bold we are to overcome them. There is always room for improvement. As far as English language training is concern, it is not mainly about accurate uses of grammar, structures but it is about how authentic and creative we are when it comes to expressing what we wanted to express. In addition, it matters how we deliver something by heart and being understood by others.

By and large, I had an ultimate enjoyment in all those times being with Koji-san and the rest of the company including the teachers. I am very much hopeful to make more great memories next time.

MORE POWER RONDHUIT!!! MORE POWER KOJI-SAN!!! MORE POWER TEACHERS!!! MORE POWER PEOPLE!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!

PRODUCTIVE DAYS IN CEBU by Lovely

Summer has come again in the Philippines. Summer activities, seasonal businesses and the like are on the trend again. Temperature keeps rising each day so as electric and water bills. Summer got me like I am on two different planes of life- one gives me the drive to plan my summer vacation and the other gives me the motivation to earn more in order to achieve the summer I was hoping to have for this year. Luckily, an anticipated opportunity came and I had to grab it right away for this would make me productive and, in turn, would produce productive people in the future.

On the 25th of April, my lucky day started. This day was a very familiar situation I was in last year. Rondhuit celebrated its anniversary once more in Cebu. Headed by Mr. Koji Sekiguchi and his subordinates, the teachers were gathered again to help them commemorate their success and plans for 2017. Mr. Koji came to Cebu on the 23rd of April. The teachers went to fetch him at the airport. I could not go since I had a make up class at the University where I was currently enrolled to study DPE (Diploma for Professional Education). The rest of his subordinates came on different day intervals.

The rest of the week was full of activities and lessons. I would say there were more activities. The said activities were actually interactive ones than the lesson plans I made. Funny though, there were times when teachers shared their thoughts more than the students- Mr. Koji and the rest. I guess we could not help it. On the contrary, the time came for them to really speak for themselves formally i.e. to be able to speak English while giving their presentation on the last day of their trip. The presentations were truly fruitful. I learned a lot about the company and got to know more of the people working with Mr. Koji. Everyone was productive in terms of meeting their objectives. I wish the company more success to come and be able to produce more productive consultants working in the company, finding their call of duty. Hasta la vista!

Reunited And It Feels So Good by Paula

It was on April 23 when I finally had a chance to welcome Mr. Koji on his arrival day in Cebu for his second time of visiting the beautiful island. As far as my memory is concern, last year I couldn’t join in the welcome party due to limited time. Anyhow, I was happy to be part of the 2nd welcomeparty that was thrown for him by the teachers. We had a good time for eating, drinking and most especially, singing and grooving to the music. The part was ended with giving of certificate to Mr. Koji and an inspirational message to the teachers from him.

On his second day at Marriot Hotel, Cebu City, I met two of his staff. One was not new to me anymore since I already met him during their first visit in Cebu — Mr. Issei. The other guy is Mr. Yasufumi. It was my pleasure to meet him for the first time and it was great to see Mr. Issei again. By the way, I almost forget, I also met Mr. Takeyoshi, a very good friend of Mr. Koji.

We started the session with an energizer through a Zumba dance led by the teachers and with the help of youtube video. At first it was awkward to follow the steps but eventually we enjoyed it and made it a habit to start every session with Zumba.

I believe that all the sessions that we had throughout the entire week were fruitful and fun-filled.

One of the highlights for me during this experience was when I offered to cook dinner for the group. I didn’t cook all the dishes though, but I made a tuna pasta for us. It is one of my favorite food and I must say, one of my masterpieces (or my only masterpiece) in cooking. I was glad that they found it tasty and good. Just oishi! Some of the dishes were from the hotel’s restaurant. Before we started eating, Mr. Koji and Mr. Hisashi delivered their individual presentation. It was followed by a fun game which idea was originally from Mr.Koji. It was unforgettable! And finally, bon apetite! We all enjoyed the food, drinks, and random stories we’ve shared. The third day was spectacular because we were complete and everyone stayed up late feeling happy.

On the last day, the last three presenters successfully delivered their presentations. Since it was already our final meeting, Mr. Koji held a dinner party again for everybody. I was very satisfied of the sumptuous dinner buffet that the hotel had prepared for their guests.

As a whole, I’m very much happy and grateful for another opportunity that Mr. Koji had given me— to be a help for him and for his staff in their pursuit to learn, appreciate, practice and use the language (English) even more! I’m truly honored to take part in achieving their dreams and goals.

Ganbatte!