#speech competition

[tolerablepalindrome]

I entered a bloody stand up poetry competition, i have no clue what to write about and I am running out of time to write it!!! I don't knoooooow, it needs to be from the soul, something inspiring, but I just haven't thought of anything, ergh.

[incognito-princess]

I've has several Grand Champions of the District Speech Competition over the years... but I've never had 2 at the same time!!! If this years' 5th graders hadn't been such jerks and refused to sign up (they have to completely write their own speech and that was just too much for them), I would have swept the podium!

[incognito-princess]

I knew that as soon as I made my 1/2 day sub-plans for the speech competition tomorrow they would call a late start and it would be canceled! Which is actually a good thing b/c I'd like to rehearse the kids a little more!

[pussy-connoiseur]

Speech competition tomorrow- doing extemp. If I have to talk about impeachment one more time I might break down on the spot from sheer spite.

[autism-asks]

Posi Friday! I'm tye anon who asked about subtle stims for a speech competition weeks ago and well, I got 2nd place and the medal they gave me is so shiny and heavy and the inscription is fun to scratch so it's like the ultimate stim toy. So double positivity

Oh, congratulations! Go you! And that does sound super fun and stimmy!

-Kath

[mykanjijourney]

Through to the finals of a national Japanese speech competition!

So a few months ago I applied to a national Japanese speech competition for university students after being suggested (forced) by my Japanese teachers at Oxford. I was really apprehensive because the applicants for my category are usually 4th year university students who have just come back from their year abroad, and as a 1st year I didn’t really think I stood a chance, but anyway I applied, somehow got through to the phone interview stage in December, and a few days ago I found out that I have a place in the finals!

My phone interview was pretty damn awful (I started rambling about my speech topic when he asked for my name, I accidentally hung up mid-conversation, and basically everything that could've gone wrong went wrong) so I threw away all my notes afterwards as a form of therapy, only to find out I’m now in the finals...*cries*

ANYWAY! I’m honestly so overwhelmed and excited! My speech is going to be about Japanese aesthetics and their relation to national identity in Japan, so I’m in the process of writing my 10-minute speech which I have to memorise by 4th March (the date of the final!). 

Even if I don’t win I’m just so pleased I actually made it this far, but I’m really looking forward to it. I’ll update you with how writing this speech goes!

[initulisanku]

Gender Equality

Many people mistaken feminism as a belief that women should have more rights than men do. Feminism actually means a belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. Being equal seems peaceful but to make it happen seems rather difficult. We have to face a lot of different hurdles such as people with lack of education and of course the patriarchist culture.

Feminism is not only for women, believe me, it is also for the men. I often see that men are getting mocked for crying in public or wearing the colour pink. Society would degrade them or saying that they are not “man enough” for doing so. Of course there is nothing wrong with expressing your feeling in public or being sensitive and pink is just a colour. A man is a man because he has a penis, what he does doesn’t define his gender. Those are just simple examples of why feminism is also for men.

I have been told that men and women are different. This is true, we have different genitals and we have different needs, but we do have the same rights. We all have the rights to get paid according to our job and not according to our gender. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO)’s Global Wage Report 2014/2015, women’s average wages are between 4-36% less than men’s. In Indonesia, in 2012, the pay gap was still approximately 19%.

We also have the rights to vote—which we have acomplished, to express our opinion, to choose our own lover be it the same or different gender from us. We do also have the same rights to decide our own future.

I’ve seen some women are forced to be a stay home mom. There is nothing wrong being a stay home mom actually, but forcing someone to be one is wrong. Let the woman decide. If she wants to be a stay home mom, let her, but if she wants to get a degree and work, then let her. She knows what she’s doing. I want people to remember this: women were not created to be a stay home mom, we were created to be ourselves. You can’t expect that every woman will get married, have a kid, always please the husband, cook for the family every day, clean up the house, or obey the husband all the time; we have our own choices.

We have the rights to decide whether we want to get married or not, same thing goes with having a kid. Those are choices, not obligations. If a woman decides not to get married and/or not to have a kid, then appreciate her choice. In the end, she’s the one who has the womb and she has the right on what to do with it. A woman is not a baby machine.

Another right that we also have is the right to be respected. It’s not that we want to be hailed or praised, we just want to be respected. Respect our opinion, respect our decision, respect our body, and respect ourselves. We wear mini skirt not because we ask to get raped but simply because we like it. We have our voices that should be heard. We have our plans ahead us and nothing should stop it. We matter too.

Through this speech, I want to tell other people especially the women that we have to stand up for ourselves. Stand up if your rights are taken away. Speak up if you need to state something. Don’t be afraid telling the police that you are abused. Make a change if you want a change, because everything has to begin from ourselves.

[rockorbanana]

The 10th annual English Speaking Contest was held last week. After being here for four years, it’s no surprise that I see many of my students in various settings, but it’s always nice to see them demonstrate their abilities, even in this competitive/rehearsed/non-demonstrative-of-true-fluency type of setting. This year, the first place winner was not one of my students, but I had 8+ students participating in various ways.

Possibly my favorite moment was when one of my students discussed procrastination in her impromptu speech, and I had to help some of the judges, who are also Chinese English teachers at the Uni, translate procrastination on their phones.