Tag: HSBC

at a glance

I bet you’re curious on who thecuriousme is? Get to know me at a glance… Read on!

I’m blessed with a very complicated name… to the point that I have to spell it all the time in order for people to understand it. What can I say, it’s a lifetime battle. 😉

I’m the kind of person who loves to smile and laugh. I enjoy hanging out with energetic and crazy people.  I’m addicted to Korean and Taiwanese Comedy TV Series.  Writing is one of my passions and it serves as an outlet for venting out my curtailed emotions.

My unending thirst for learning has driven me to take up and finish several courses. These are: BS Computer Science in Lorma Colleges (Philippines); MA in Technological Education at Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (Philippines); through a scholarship grant given by Netherlands Fellowship Program, a Post Graduate Diploma in Managerial Control and Management Information System in Maastricht School of Management (The Netherlands); and a 10-week London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Level 1 Bookkeeping course in Uptrend Business School (Singapore).

Education, work experience and traveling helped me a great deal to become a well-rounded individual. Teaching at the age of 20 helped me become more flexible, open minded and extremely patient. While in HSBC, I learned to become an effective team player. Dealing with irate clients can be irksome but it’s absolutely fulfilling when they end up being happy and satisfied on how their concerns were handled. Whereas, working in Singapore and studying in Netherlands ignited my interest in learning other cultures and languages.

One last note, I’m a self-confessed nomad. So far, I have travelled few countries in Asia, Europe and North America. I still have four (4) more continents and several countries to go. The three (3) other things that I want to do in this lifetime are: to sing one song without a glitch, become a DJ for a day, and get drunk like there’s no tomorrow.

a gift from Big Sis & Manager

English

I’ve always thought that if you have good command of the English language, it will be enough to make you “global”. Hence, I did everything within my mighty power to learn English even though I abhor the intricacies of its “technical” aspect.

A lot of people say I speak and write English well… Hmm.… I might have succeeded in a certain way but I know in my heart that I still have a long way to go.

My accent turned topsy-turvy after communicating with people having various mother tongue such as:

  • Filipino (Ilokano, Tagalog, Bisaya, Ilonggo, etc)
  • Dutch
  • German
  • French
  • Singaporean Mandarin
  • Chinese Mandarin
  • Cantonese
  • Hokien
  • Bhurmese
  • Bhutanese
  • Nepalese
  • Indonesian
  • Malay
  • Arabic
  • Ethiopian Language
  • Hindi
  • Tamil

I usually adapt the most prominent accent but my tongue seemed be confused on what accent to follow. Strange huh? Even so, I did manage to improve my accent  slowly and it got better when I worked at HSBC. We were dealing with American clients, so, we were taught to neutralize our accent to minimize communication barrier. After a few months, I can already speak English with that American twang.

However, when I went to work in Singapore, I needed to unlearn that American twang and speak English the “local” way inorder to get the message across and minimize receiving blank stares. (See related article -> Singlish).

Now, I need to unlearn the Singlish and bring back the North American way of speaking English. It’s a work in progress and it’s a bit difficult because I’ve also adapted the unresponsive nature of Singaporeans. It’s a total struggle!

Looking at the brighter side of things, I know things will work well in the next couple of months. The naturally bubbly, giggly. and chatty me will soon surface.

How to think English is also added in my to do list. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not removing Ilokano and Tagalog in my system. I’m a Filipino and will always be. I just want to improve myself and make my Mama proud (wherever she is now).   (Note: Writing is given. :p)

Thus, my mantra now is:
“I must speak English and think English.”

Why don’t we do this together? Aja! 🙂