Birthday Aktibidades Part 1

Just had my 26^th birthday yesterday and it was hmmmmmm… It was alright.

I already told you about the awesome gift that I got for my birthday right? "Ze' Sewing Machine". And I also mentioned that it would be perfect for what I’m planning to do.....

Now can you guess what it is?? Clues are: Sewing machine, sewing, clothes.... If you still didn’t get it, lemme call Captain Obvious to help you!

Captain Obvious to the rescue!!!

I'm opening my own tailor shop!!! Gasp!!

Nah just kidding, I don’t have the money yet. 

It's a sewing class! I enrolled in a sewing class!! Charaaan!! Nice noh??

It's only a dress making class for beginners, DRESSMAKING 101 kumbaga. 

The idea came when I was browsing the net for hobbies that I can do here in Dubai. I was focused on looking for dress making or craft making classes when my cousins told me about Filipino Digerati Association. It's an association formally established on 29^th December 2007 by the Filipino community here in U.A.E. Its aim is to gather talented individuals, who are willing to volunteer, to share their ideas and gifts to further cultivate the hidden talents of Filipinos. Sounds heavy huh? 

They offer a variety of courses, from Basic Photoshop to Advance Balloon Décor, with each course running for 3 months. Tuition fee is at 120AED. They have sites in Karama, Deira, Sharjah, Ajman, RAK, and Al Ain. So that means you can pick a site nearest you and just attend the class there. I think it’s a very affordable deal. And don’t worry, they operate under the Philippine Embassy, Philippines Consulate General, Overseas Workers Welfare Aministraion (OWWA), Workers Resource Center - Dubai and Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), so you can guarantee that it's not a sham. Check out their website: www.dpinoy.org.

So going back, I enrolled for the "Dress Making Core" class in Karama. The class started last Friday, 4th January. It was held at the 4th floor of President Hotel. Now for the sake of honesty, and because i'm such a blabbermouth, i'm gonna share what happened there and my thoughts about the class. 

First, it was very noisy.

I knew beforehand that the venue is a bar / club at night, it's called Maharlika Bar, but no one told me that it turns into a "palengke" during the day! Haha!

Six classes that hold the same time slot, (1:00-2:30PM), were ALL in the same room. 

Each class were divided by thin curtains that hides the nearby class. Unfortunately, it doesn't do anything about the noise. And our class was so fortunate to be seated right next to the "Communication and Presentation Skills" class! Haha. You can hear a lot of loud talking and people almost yelling. And add to that, our teacher's voice is so weak that I need to stand next to her just so I can hear what she's saying.

Second, it was disorganized and too informal.

Aside from the fact that the seats are scattered everywhere, it seems like our teacher's mind was also in disarray.

In the middle of the class, she held up this dress making book, asking us to buy the same book, or in her term, something like it or anything just as long as it's a dress making book. Say what?! Vague much?? How are we supposed to learn together if we use different books right?! Good thing one of the students suggested to copy the teacher's book and give a copy to each of us. 

And oh! She also gave us a list of materials to bring for the next week's class. Well actually, amidst all the noise and despite her very weak voice, she had told us the list of what to bring. And I saw her effort, I really did... But I also saw a white board with a marker just right behind her. Why did she not use it was beyond me. Maybe she doesn't like writing....??

Anyhooo, i'm still willing to finish the course despite these "circumstances". I reaaalllyy wanna learn how to make clothes! And I still have hope that next week will be better. It's too early to tell, maybe next week's class will be more organized and a bit peaceful. Oh God how I hope this happens...