We're unlocking the vault and inviting listeners to enjoy this exclusive episode.Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this exclusive episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack discuss three phrasal verbs with the verb "give."Give up - to quit or stop doing somethingExample: "He decided to give up smoking for his health."Give in - to surrender or yield to someone or somethingExample: "After hours of negotiation, they finally gave in and agreed to the terms."Give back - to return something to its ownerPodcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/unlocking-the-vault-vocabulary-spotlight-phrasal-verbs-with-the-verb-give/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack give advice to a listener with a problem.Dear Jack and Xochitl,I recently moved to a new country and am struggling with learning English as a second language. I feel embarrassed when I can't express myself clearly, and it's affecting my confidence in social situations. Do you have any tips or resources to help improve my English skills and boost my confidence? I really want to integrate better into my new community.Sincerely,Lost in TranslationPodcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/dear-jack-im-embarrassed-to-speak-english/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack talk about dog ownership in the United States, Mexico, and Korea.Transcript:00:00:55JackWelcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we have a topic talk episode and today's topic is dogs and like dog ownership in different cultures, like how people think about their dogs and.00:01:10XochitlYeah, yeah.00:01:16JackTreat their dogs and so soap. So why don't you kick it off here for us? And UM, like, what is your generation people your age? How do they feel?00:01:26JackAbout their dogs.00:01:28XochitlOK, so I would say I kind of grew up in a culture where dogs are dogs and people are people.00:01:35XochitlAnd this is a very Mexican thing. And it's also a very.00:01:41XochitlReal staple of older American culture. My dad is a boomer, and in those days, you know it. Dog culture was similar to how it is in Mexico. You kind of let your dog roam free.00:01:54JackRight.00:01:56XochitlIn the streets, he like has his own pack of friends.00:01:59JackRight. And if there's if there's like an order, it's like the dog is the last. You know, there's no, there's no babying the dog and stuff. Like it's an animal.00:02:04XochitlYes.00:02:10XochitlAnd they also kind of hold.00:02:11XochitlTheir own independent life, like they go out kind of independently. That's still a thing in Mexico. And also it used to be a thing in, in the US and my dad was a kid in the 60s and.00:02:23JackHmm.00:02:24XochitlYep.00:02:25XochitlAnd and they they're very independent. They're not really babied. And they're kind of seen as like the lowest caste working member of a family because you have them for protection or sometimes you have farm dogs just or, you know, it's a companion animal. But most of the time it it has a job to do.00:02:46XochitlAnd it has a plate on the pecking order, as we say in the US, which is like the top dog is, you know, maybe the mom and dad of the household and the kids and then the dogs at the box.00:02:56XochitlAnd and I would say that was very, very true for the older generations. But now my younger generation, I've see, I've seen it as a global phenomenon in Korea and the US in Mexico, that people treat their dogs kind of like babies. I'm.00:03:12XochitlI'm a little guilty of.00:03:14XochitlThis when I first had Wendy, I swore I wouldn't be one of these people. I didn't even want to sleep in the same bed.00:03:19XochitlHis.00:03:20XochitlBut he's so cute. It was like hard so.00:03:24JackHe worked his way into the into the bedroom, up on the bed. Yeah.00:03:26XochitlHe worked his way up into his then. Yeah, because he got big enough to be able to jump onto the bed. And then after that, just kind of game over because I couldn't keep him off. I tried to keep him off and he was smarter than me and found out how to get through every obstacle course that I've placed for him. So that's how a.00:03:32JackOK.00:03:46XochitlLike 4 LB. Dog outsmarted me my whole.00:03:48JackYeah, I I feel.00:03:50JackLike Americans now, and maybe Canadians, too, are dogs are like their four legged children.00:03:59JackYou know there's.00:03:59XochitlYeah, and I.00:04:00XochitlThink it it it? Sorry, Jack didn't mean to cut you off. I was just going to think because a lot of people are having kids later or choosing not to have kids at all. And I think that really affects the way that we see.00:04:02JackNo, no, no. Go ahead. Go ahead.00:04:08JackYeah.00:04:13XochitlDogs and for me, I kind of people only say the older you get, the more sure you are that you're going to want kids and actually the opposite has happened. Now that I'm well into my 27 bear on this planet, I have started to become pretty sure that I don't want kids actually and.00:04:30JackHmm.00:04:33XochitlDue to that, Dwayne is basically my kid and.00:04:38XochitlHe plays the part of my child, you.00:04:41XochitlKnow I medical everything.00:04:41JackHe feels that the void or whatever, that maybe not not void, but like if you were, if you're thinking that you wanna take care of of a child, you're like, well, if I take care of this dog, it it it kind.00:04:54JackOf feels.00:04:55JackLike I'm taking care of something.00:04:56XochitlI I never.00:04:56XochitlHave the desire to take care of a child. In fact, I've really never had a desire to take care of a dog. But when they kind of fell into my life and and I, you know, decided to take him in, so then I became responsible for him. I've never had a desire to take care of a kid. So for me it's kind of more like.00:05:12XochitlLike.00:05:13XochitlIf I barely have the energy and financial resources to take care of this dog, not barely. But like it's somewhere in my mid range of possibilities, I'm definitely not having kids. Like, if I can, at least I can put Glenn in back or I can put him in a room. I can leave him at home alone. I can go party for a few hours.00:05:27JackSee.00:05:28JackOK.00:05:33XochitlYou can.00:05:35XochitlPut a kid if you did.00:05:35JackYou cannot leave a toddler at home alone and just with a bowl of food and water and be like alright, enjoy yourself, you know, take care of yourself.00:05:40XochitlYeah, hours.00:05:44XochitlActually, yeah. Or like if he gets really annoying, I give him the timeout by just. I put him in the bathroom and close the door and he just chills out in there and stops barking like crazy. If the kid is crying and screaming, he can't walk them in the bathroom. That's like a child abuse and but so.00:06:02JackYou can, but you may go to prison. You may end up locked in a room yourself.00:06:06XochitlYou care, but you shouldn't. And you? Yeah. You probably will rightfully go to jail. So, you know, it's kind of.00:06:13XochitlIt's like that. It's like this is the the most I'm willing to expend energy on taking care of something else. And he already limits my possibilities a little bit as far as travel and stuff.00:06:25XochitlWell, I just it's an extra step I have to think about and I can't even imagine with kids. It's like a whole other obligation, especially when they're little, you know.00:06:33JackHmm I I feel like in America the the.00:06:36발표자The.00:06:38JackIt's very strange. It's like the, UM, expectations for taking care of a dog really increased in the last like 30 or 40 years. It's like if you don't walk your dog every single day twice a day, you know, yeah, you're a criminal. You're just you're a rotten human being.00:06:47발표자Yeah, yeah.00:06:52XochitlThey're a criminal animal.00:06:58JackAnd not and it's. It's weird because like in in Korea that that doesn't.00:07:03JackThey don't have that feeling. I I feel like this is a very kind of American thing, cause I'm I'm assuming Mexico. You're not gonna get judged too badly if you're if you're not like, let's say you skip a day to take your dog for a walk or you.00:07:16JackTake your dog for a walk. Couple times.00:07:17XochitlI don't even walk blending here because it's kind of dangerous because there's a lot of big dogs, but a lot of people let just open up the gate and let their dog out into the street to rob kind of freak.00:07:26JackThat's crazy, because that means they're gonna. They could bite somebody or hit by a car.00:07:28발표자Yeah.00:07:30XochitlYeah. And some people go to recipe. These dogs are really friendly and at that point it's OK, but some are pretty aggressive and but it's kind of part of the culture. People just let their dogs out for a few hours. The dog comes.00:07:41XochitlBack and they have like their own intention life.00:07:43발표자If it comes.00:07:44JackBack. It's mine. If it doesn't come back, I guess it wasn't meant to be.00:07:48JackYou know, yeah.00:07:48XochitlGo on to the streets or someone else picked it up any already got hit by a car and died. Sad but true. So it's.00:07:55JackYeah.00:07:58JackThey're animals living in, in, in, in Mexican culture and Korean culture. They are animals and and and that that's the thing that I came to realize when we had a dog and then.00:08:08JackWe had a kid.00:08:09JackAnd I was like ohh this is just a dog. Like this is not even you know close to the value of a human being like a human life. And I feel like that line is that that distance is a little bit shorter in American culture. It's like, no.00:08:29JackIt's still, it's still your child. You need to take care of it, even though it's a dog. And I'm like, I just. I can't get there. You know? I'm like, no, it's.00:08:35Xochitl1 * 3.00:08:38XochitlSorry, my dogs running out here. People sometimes treat.00:08:44XochitlDogs better than they treat human children in the US, and sometimes they have like more privileges than the US and people like like them more than human children. And that is crazy. Another thing I think is that's really different. And I don't know if it's the same way in Mexico and Korea. I mean, in Mexico, it's still fairly like.00:08:47JackYes.00:09:04XochitlOK. For I wouldn't say it's OK, but I would say it's still commonplace for especially the older generations to hit their dogs. Nothing crazy like people aren't beating.00:09:15JackLike smack it on the snout, it was a.00:09:16XochitlTheir dogs up.00:09:17XochitlYeah, yeah, yeah. You know, or snacking on his **** with the newspaper if it pees in the house and in the US, like, you've been yelling at your dog is like you're an abuser.00:09:17JackNewspaper or whatever, yeah.00:09:25발표자Like you.00:09:26JackI know.00:09:27XochitlYeah, and.00:09:29JackAnd here's the thing. It's like, OK, like animal abuse is wrong. It's it's it's not good. I I'm. I'm totally against animal abuse, obviously, but abusing a a human child is worse than abusing an animal. Like I'm gonna. I'm gonna level. I'm gonna put those on different levels, you know? And it's like, I feel like it's getting all blurred.00:09:29XochitlYeah, go ahead.00:09:47XochitlRight.00:09:49JackTogether in American culture, it's like it's to the point where almost people care about animals more than they care about human beings. There's like, yeah, you know, a whole orphanage of of kids that, like, don't have.00:10:00JackEmily's and yet everyone's like, you know, you gotta rehome this dog, you gotta, you gotta.00:10:06JackAdopt this dog.00:10:06XochitlPeople say the criminals are rehoming a dog in the US Now. It's like if you if you don't have, let's say you adopted a dog and then you realize it was more obligation than you had or or something came upon you and you no longer have the financial resources or the physical capacity to really care for your dog the same way or something happen, whatever.00:10:26XochitlAnd you have to rehome it and you're trying to rehome it responsibly. People will eat you alive.00:10:31JackWow.00:10:31XochitlUhm, I had a friend. Who?00:10:33XochitlTo her baby, her dog bit her baby.00:10:38JackYeah, that's it. I'm done.00:10:40XochitlYeah. And she she's like I I'm going to rehome him because I can't. And I understand completely where she's coming from because you just don't feel safe with your baby and your dog in the same home anymore. Even if you try to keep them separate or whatever. It was kind of what she'd been trying to do up to that point. And it's just so hard living in the same home in a smaller space.00:10:59XochitlAnd UM.00:11:01XochitlShe was getting.00:11:02XochitlEaten alive for lying to rehome the dog, even though the dog bit her baby.00:11:06JackThat's crazy to me, because a dog bites my baby that that dog will find a new home on the moon when I.00:11:17JackLike kick it.00:11:20JackAll the way up there. No, I'm. I'm joking, of course. But I mean.00:11:25XochitlIt would be hard to.00:11:25JackI don't know. I just.00:11:27XochitlTemper about it, it would.00:11:28JackIt would be so it would make me so angry. And it's it's my fault. I didn't train the dog properly or I left the dog alone.00:11:37JackI mean, I mean, I do think that we blame dogs for for bad owners, you know, for being bad owners. But at a certain point, it's kind of like, well, yeah, maybe I didn't train this dog properly, but this dog is bit my kid. I'm done like this dog is out of here because.00:11:51발표자Hmm.00:11:56XochitlYeah, and they can be kind of unpredictable like she adopted that dog. She was the second home and he I was actually, she was my roommate when she first adopted the dog, and he was a menace. Like when he came from the first home, he would just, like, attack randomly. He had serious issues.00:12:14XochitlAnd aggression. And she worked with him and trained him really well over a number of years. But when she had her baby, he kind of regressed, which is can be normal because they get jealous and.00:12:25JackStuff, but he's like he's now. He's different on a different pecking order, you know. Down. Yeah.00:12:30XochitlYeah.00:12:31XochitlAnd he bit her and bit her baby. And that was it for him. Well, she rehomed him, but she got rid of that and I think that's absolutely insane.00:12:34JackWolf.00:12:37JackYeah.00:12:43XochitlI just can't fathom that.00:12:44JackNo, they're, you know, ultimately at the end of the day, they're animals to. To me, it's like, I love my dog. My dog is very sweet, but it's an animal, and it's not a it's not a human. So I'm I'm OK with that. You know, if my daughter needed, you know, a $5000.00:13:03JackLife saving surgery without even batting an eye. I'm getting. I'm paying for that surgery. You know what I mean? Like, whatever it.00:13:12JackTakes, but if my dog needs a $5000 surgery, my wife and I are having a conversation. You know, it's like you've had a good life and you know, like, let's, you know, maybe it's it's, you know, nature takes its course, you know, cuz I think people will spend a lot of money to just keep their.00:13:20XochitlIt's like what?00:13:27XochitlMaybe it's time to go.00:13:33JackDogs limping along.00:13:35JackAnd I'm like, you know, it's a it's a dog. It's an animal, so.00:13:39XochitlAnd their quality of life really decreases and it's different than for a human because they don't have like that capacity to rationalize and find new ways to enjoy the quality of life either. So it really affects them negatively too. But a lot of people just keep them.00:13:50JackReddit.00:13:56XochitlTrotting along for the sake of it.00:14:00JackYeah, I don't know. I hope I don't get a lot of hate mail from this this episode.00:14:01XochitlAlright.00:14:04XochitlI don't. We will. I I I don't think we will cause I think the US culture is really unique about it, about how we think about like dogs and you know animal abuse and.00:14:16XochitlThe culture around dogs is just completely different than it is like anywhere else in the world. And again, my generation is getting more.00:14:25XochitlWe're becoming more kind of like dog and cat parents because we don't have children.00:14:31JackYeah, that's an interesting insight. I think you're right about that. I think you, I think you.00:14:31XochitlAnd most of the.00:14:36JackNailed it, yeah.00:14:37XochitlYeah. It's like most of us don't want to have children. I blend is pretty much the the He's the my maximum capacity for what I can take care of and I didn't. I didn't set out to take care of him. It was like he kind of fell on my doorstep and at that point, you know, I'm still going to do everything I can. I I cover his medical expenses, his travel expenses and everything but.00:14:57XochitlWhen I see him running around barking in a circle and grabbing shoes and chewing on them and stuff, I'm like.00:15:04XochitlCan you imagine having a kid do this for like 6 years or eight years? And essentially I know they don't chew on shoes.00:15:10JackWelcome to my but.00:15:13JackNow my kid's 15, so I'm done. I'm through. You know, the gauntlet. But you know, yeah, it was.00:15:18XochitlYeah. And that's the thing though. It's like your dog is like in your home with you all the time. And when it passes, it passes. And with a kid, like, they're gonna outlive you, and you're going to worry about that kid for the rest of your natural life until you die. And that's something I don't think I'm ever going to be prepared for because.00:15:20JackIt was tough.00:15:33JackYeah.00:15:38XochitlI don't want to sound like a pessimist. The world can be such a a horrible place.00:15:43XochitlAnd.00:15:44XochitlAnd I'm so scared to have kids and them to go out into the world and potentially suffer, especially women, all the horrible things that can happen and and are not exempt, you know, but.00:15:55JackYeah. No, I don't. I don't blame you. Yeah. No, these are these are things that keep me up at night, you know?00:16:00JackSo just the parent.00:16:01XochitlYes. Yeah. You have a daughter, not, you know, not trying to scare you.00:16:04XochitlAnything but.00:16:04JackNo, no, no. I've you. You couldn't scare me more. I've I again. You know, I my my a lot of the real estate in my brain is dedicated just to worrying about my daughter.00:16:06발표자But.00:16:08XochitlYeah, you're right.00:16:16JackSo and very little is is worrying about my dog, so.00:16:22XochitlYeah, it shows the difference. Alright, listeners, we'll let us know what is the culture around dogs in your home country. I'm very interested to hear. And also for your generation, does your generation or does your country treat dogs differently based on which?00:16:37XochitlGeneration the person or the owner might be because for me I do notice a difference in in between probably people, millennials and Gen. ZI would say, which are our generations like 35 and under. I would say in the US people mostly like in their 20s to very early 30s.00:16:58XochitlIt's kind of a different.00:17:01XochitlBreed of.00:17:03XochitlLine of thinking. Cultural thinking. So yeah, I'm curious. Let us know in a comment down below at A-Z englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail at AZ English podcast at Gmail.00:17:13XochitlCom or join the conversation? Or we chat. What's up groups and we'll see you guys next time. Bye bye.00:17:18JackBye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-dogs/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We're unlocking the vault and inviting listeners to enjoy this exclusive episode.Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this exclusive episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack discuss superstitions that are common in America.Exclusive You Tube link: https://youtu.be/MH9WlyMngIUTranscript:00:00:37JackHeadquarter.00:00:38JackYours. It's really, really helpful and we appreciate your generosity. So social today we're talking about.00:00:48JackAmericans and whether or not they are superstitious.00:00:55JackAnd maybe you could explain what superstitious means first, just for our listeners.00:00:59XochitlSuperstitious is someone who believes in kind of good luck, bad luck and.00:01:07XochitlThose sorts of things. So let's say uh.00:01:11XochitlIf you do.00:01:12XochitlXYZ. It will have a consequence of XYZ in the sense that.00:01:17XochitlThey believe in some larger sense of luck and karma and cosmic energy. Yeah. Jack, can you explain any better than nothing because.00:01:27JackThis magic, you know, like. Yeah. Magic or irrational kind of thinking or not non scientific. Let's call it non scientific thinking.00:01:33XochitlPlease.00:01:37XochitlYes, non scientific thinking.00:01:39JackYeah. So for example, if I flip this coin.00:01:43JackAnd it lands on heads. I should accept the the the job, but if I flip this coin and it lands on tails, I should reject this job. And so you're you're basically putting the power of your choice into this coin.00:01:50발표자Right.00:02:03JackAnd so that would be considered superstitious. You know you're not using logic and reason and science to make your decision. You're using luck. Like social said, just luck.00:02:16JackYou know.00:02:17XochitlAnd there are a bunch of little kind of superstitious sayings. When I was a kid, a popular one was step on a crack as in a crack in the sidewalk or whatever. Break your back. So it's like.00:02:26JackOK.00:02:28XochitlYou had to.00:02:28JackOK.00:02:28XochitlJump over cracks in the sidewalk because you didn't want your mother's back to break. I don't know why that exists.00:02:36JackI think because it rhymes, you know, back and and cracks, you know? Yeah.00:02:36XochitlBut.00:02:40XochitlAnd back. So there's a lot of little superstitious thinkings, or, for example, Friday the 13th. That's a very popular one in the US. You can go out on Friday the 13th. It's a bad luck day.00:02:49JackYeah.00:02:54XochitlYou know, if you have a job interview, don't schedule it for Friday the 13th. If you have a wedding, don't schedule it for Friday the 13th. A little superstition. Things like that are still, I would say, sort of prevailing in US culture, but on the whole, I would say.00:03:14XochitlWe're not a superstitious.00:03:16XochitlCulture, what would you suggest?00:03:18JackNo, we're we're not. Not compared to like places. I've lived like Thailand, you know, which is very, very much like like instead of car insurance, you'll have like, a, like a Buddhist shrine, you know, in your car on the dashboard, basically set up. And that's. I mean, I'm sure they do have car insurance, but I mean, it's just like that's going to that's going to protect me.00:03:23XochitlFor myself.00:03:31XochitlOhh.00:03:35XochitlSo the help, yeah.00:03:38JackMore than like anything. Is this this shrine that I've built on my on my? Yeah. And I'm not. And I'm not trying to malign our our listeners out there, who who believe in in who might be Buddhist or believe in that but.00:03:45XochitlCar dashboard.00:03:54JackUMI would I would put that in a kind of superstitious uh basket, whereas like actual car insurance is probably much more useful than some kind of spiritual belief or something like that. That that may or may not protect me.00:04:05발표자Right.00:04:14XochitlAt least in non superstitious thinking, that's your. That's what we subscribe to.00:04:18JackRight. There you go. Yeah, non superstitious thinking, you know. And I'm. I'm superstitious in some ways. I've got my own like, weird little superstitions. Like, for example, if I break a mirror, you know, I don't. I'm not happy.00:04:32JackThink about it, you know.00:04:34XochitlYeah, those are seven years of bad luck for our listeners.00:04:36JackI know, I know. I think I'm. I feel like I'm still paying off, like 17 years of old mirrors, you know, like, I've still, I've. I've got, like, a life sentence of of bad mere luck that I'm just gonna be paying off for forever.00:04:37XochitlYou have great compare.00:04:52XochitlThink my good luck comes back this year? Because the last mirror I broke was when I was like 21. I believe so.00:04:58JackOhh good for you. Yeah.00:04:59XochitlMy luck finally comes back to me once more.00:05:03JackYou'd buy that lottery ticket.00:05:05XochitlYeah. Because supposedly. Yeah. So yeah, there's little superstitious things.00:05:13XochitlBut mostly they.00:05:13XochitlDon't even pay attention. For example, Friday the 13th. I really usually don't even notice when it comes and goes.00:05:20XochitlUM.00:05:21JackIf you don't notice it, I feel like you can. You've almost you win like you. You got if you get through the whole day and you don't even think about it. Like, if you start thinking about it, then you're gonna start making mistakes. You're gonna start screwing up, or you're gonna start noticing things that went wrong. And you're gonna attribute that to the 13th.00:05:33XochitlRight.00:05:38XochitlWhich is a huge part of superstitious thinking.00:05:42XochitlIs seeing like a chronology of events, so like a series of events and then attributing it back to something that caused you to have bad.00:05:52XochitlBlood.00:05:52XochitlOr seeing things go well and attributing that to something that caused you to have good lucks, for example, another big superstition in the US is carrying a rabbits.00:06:02XochitlBut for good luck, and let's say you took the rabbits foot to your job interview, put it in your pocket and you knocked the interview out of the park, meaning that it went really well. So you're attributing it to that rabbits foot, but it was probably the confidence.00:06:03JackYeah.00:06:16XochitlThat you got from carrying that thinking, you do well, that inspired you to actually do well.00:06:18JackOhh great OK.00:06:23JackYeah, that's interesting. That's interesting that, that, that object actually changed your it's, it's almost like, uh, I don't, I don't know if I'm right here, but like a confirmation bias type of a.00:06:34JackThing or something?00:06:34XochitlYeah, it is a little bit, yeah, because you're.00:06:38XochitlAttributing events to something superstitious, again, either good or bad. So yeah, that's a big thing.00:06:44JackYeah.00:06:47JackBecause we could go, you could go to the end of the day every day, every single day. You can go to the end of the day and look back and look at all the bad things that happened and say, oh, this is a bad luck day. But if you if you twist your, you're thinking and saying look back at all the good things that happened that day, you could convince yourself today was a lucky day. I mean, it's all about your attitude.00:07:07JackBecause every day is a mixture of like kind of positive and negative things like good things happen, bad things happen.00:07:13JackAnd I mean, that's life, you know.00:07:14XochitlYeah. The power of positive thinking really. Sometimes I, I I don't subscribe. This is another super serious thing where people think, you know, positive thinking will cure cancer. I don't really subscribe to that. I think you better get into chemo or something, but sometimes for small things it can help. My grandmother, for example, the one who's still living.00:07:34XochitlSaid she accidentally somehow left the sink running in her house and it flooded the she realized it flooded the upstairs bathroom, and so she went down to the kitchen, where it's like the kid. The that upstairs bathroom is above her.00:07:52XochitlKitchen and when she went down the first floor, she thought ohh God the ceiling is gonna be on the floor. It's gonna be caved because it flooded and it it didn't. It just left a water stain above that kitchen. And so she said she was jumping for joy because she said anytime the worst thing doesn't happen. It's a good day.00:07:59발표자Yes.00:08:12XochitlIt wasn't like the worst possible outcome, and so I liked that philosophy because.00:08:16JackYeah.00:08:18JackThat's a good attitude. That's a good anytime. The worst thing didn't happen. Yeah.00:08:19XochitlYeah, it's good. Yeah.00:08:22XochitlYeah. Then you better be happy. And I felt that way today. I was yesterday. I fell.00:08:28XochitlDown on the sidewalk, because the sidewalks are very uneven here and today I slipped and almost fell, but didn't. And my aunt my aunt was like, oh, no. Like, she thought I was gonna fall again, and I was happy because.00:08:39XochitlLike I didn't fall this time, so.00:08:40JackLike that was a good day for me. I I didn't fall. I just stumbled and caught myself.00:08:42XochitlYeah.00:08:45XochitlYeah. Or my mom. And and my aunt were very worried yesterday when I fell. And I was just laughing cause I was so happy that I didn't break my knee. Like I I was completely fine. I just barely scraped my knee. I.00:08:55XochitlHave no blood.00:08:56XochitlOr anything. I felt fine. I was happy that I was OK because I fell on a cobblestone. It's cobblestone here and the sidewalks quite elevated.00:08:57JackYeah.00:09:04XochitlSo I slipped off the side.00:09:05XochitlOf the sidewalk and fell on.00:09:06XochitlMy hands and knees.00:09:08JackNow when you fell did.00:09:09JackYou step on a crack.00:09:11XochitlI think I.00:09:12XochitlShut the crack and fell. But I didn't bring him.00:09:13JackOK, so your mother is the one who's going to suffer for this.00:09:18XochitlThis incident? No, but they got worried and, you know, they really freaking out. And I was very happy because I was actually fine. And I feel fine today. I didn't have any bruising or anything. So I told them it's good to be 27. So.00:09:29JackYeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. When you fall my age, especially my height. Bad thing.00:09:36JackThat happened. So just a quick list of like, OK, so like superstitions in America. I would say the number 13 is like, you know, on lucky, I would say Friday the 13th is like really bad. Don't walk under a ladder. That's bad luck.00:09:38발표자OK.00:09:46XochitlSettlement.00:09:48XochitlFriday the 13th.00:09:57JackUh.00:09:57XochitlDon't let a black cat cross your path. That's better.00:09:59JackDon't let a black cat cross your path.00:10:03XochitlDon't step on the mother on a crack, not a mother's. Crack on a cracker 's back. That's another.00:10:06JackYeah, you're right.00:10:10JackRight.00:10:12JackEither way, your mother's back will be broken. Let's see. Yeah.00:10:15발표자Same.00:10:18JackI'll I'll edit that out, sorry, but I don't know what we're talking about anymore.00:10:21발표자No, I think that's the third.00:10:22XochitlOne, I think that, yeah, what's another one?00:10:26JackOhh, don't open an umbrella inside of a house.00:10:29XochitlOhh yeah, don't open an umbrella inside your house. Don't break a mirror or you'll have bad.00:10:33XochitlLuck for seven years.00:10:34JackYep, Yep.00:10:36XochitlAny other ones you can think of? What about some good, like omens? I would say carrying a rabbit's foot.00:10:42JackYep, carrying a rabbits wood 4 leaf Clover.00:10:44XochitlJumping the broom and.00:10:47XochitlPoorly Clover, I think. In African American culture, jumping the broom, which is something they did when they got married, was supposed.00:10:52XochitlTo bring good luck.00:10:53JackOh, OK.00:10:55XochitlIn Jewish culture, stepping on the glass that's wrapped at that fate, of course. Yeah. I think that really, it's it's good culture. Good luck. I mean, what are some other good luck omens?00:10:58JackYeah, yeah, yeah. They they stop on the glass at the beginning at the.00:11:04JackWeddings, yeah.00:11:11JackWell, everybody has like a lot of people will have their own ohh numbers. Lucky number seven. Yeah, the people will have like a lucky charm too sometimes.00:11:13Xochitl#7 lucky number 7.00:11:19XochitlYeah, a lucky charm or a lucky number. A lot of players have lucky numbers. And Speaking of subcultures that really believe in superstition, I would say a lot of sports teams and people who follow sports are very superstitious baseball players, football players, basketball players, all those.00:11:23JackWhat's your number?00:11:24발표자Yeah.00:11:35JackYeah, they won't wash their socks for, like, during the whole playoffs or something. They won't shave their beard. They will.00:11:45JackYou know where.00:11:46XochitlThey have lucky number assigned to them in their jersey is like their lucky number usually.00:11:50JackYep.00:11:51JackThey'll sometimes put their hats inside out, you know, until someone gets a hit and they'll they'll do all kinds of. They're very superstitious baseball players, yeah.00:12:01XochitlYeah. All right, listeners. Well, let us know what some superstitions are in your country. I'm actually really interested to hear about this, because I know there's got to be all kinds of different superstitions and different cultures. And let us know if your culture tends to be superstitious or not.00:12:18XochitlAnd and whether you're superstitious or not. And we'd love to hear your opinions. So let us know. Leave a comment on below at A-Z, englishpodcast.com, shoot us an e-mail at AZ englishpodcast@gmail.com. Don't forget to do that as Jack likes to read out these emails sometimes in the episodes and also comment on our WeChat or WhatsApp groups and we'll see you guys next time.00:12:38XochitlBye.00:12:40JackBye bye.Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack discuss the practice of tipping in American culture.Transcript:00:00:01JackWelcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we are in the culture corner and we're talking about tipping culture in America.00:00:14JackAnd social, what do you think about the tipping culture in America? I just visited America, not just like a couple months ago. It's.00:00:21XochitlOhh, that must have been so hard for you cause Korea hasn't has no tipping culture.00:00:26JackI know it's really. It hurts so much. We say this is gonna sound cringey, but we call it 00.00:00:33JackSee out of control. It's just.00:00:37XochitlThat was cringy. That's good. That was very good. But OK. The tipping culture is definitely inflated in the US, and it's for anything like any little service being a person who worked in the service industry.00:00:39JackYeah, yeah.00:00:42JackThat was just for you. That was just for you.00:00:58XochitlEven recently I can say that I I appreciate when people would tip me even just a buck or.00:01:03XochitlSomething.00:01:04XochitlBut.00:01:07XochitlIt should be up to the corporations to deliver a working wage to the point that we don't have.00:01:12XochitlTo depend on.00:01:13XochitlTips. Because if you're working in the food service or whatever, even if you're not waiting tables, you might be making like $15.00 an hour and then the odd person might tip you a dollar for making their coffee or whatever that adds up substantially over the course of the month. And then you might make 100 or 200.00:01:14JackRed.00:01:31XochitlExtra dollars and that really helps, but at the bottom line, the company should be providing a wage where you can live off of that and $15.00 an hour doesn't really cut it anymore with how expensive things are in the US.00:01:46JackAnd the companies with tipping, they're basically letting you pay the salary of the worker instead of them. It's like, not only are you buying the product, but you're also paying part of their salary. How stupid is that? I mean, it it to me, tipping is just I do it because it's a social.00:01:53XochitlYeah.00:01:58발표자Right.00:02:05발표자Oh.00:02:07JackThere's a social stigma against not doing it. If I don't tip, everybody looks at me like I'm cheap.00:02:10XochitlYeah, you're very.00:02:14JackI'm a cheap guy, I'm a jerk and you know.00:02:18XochitlYou're like the male, Karen or whatever.00:02:21JackA male Karen, you know, crying about tipping. But it we the fact that the the fact that the government pays those people so low because of tipping, they're they're allowed like the the the law in America there's a carve out for the minimum wage for.00:02:41JackLike food workers, whereas they don't have to pay them as much as the minimum wage because they get tips.00:02:51JackI mean, how stupid is that? That's like the restaurant Workers of America or something like that. This, this group.00:02:56XochitlYeah, anytime you're a server, uh, like a waitress. Specifically, they don't have.00:03:01JackYou make like $2.00 an hour or something.00:03:03XochitlYou can make like $2.00 an hour, and in fact they don't make $2.00 an hour because that's all taken by federal taxes or state tax federal taxes, I guess. So you end up having $0.00 on your paycheck. You're only making tips.00:03:18JackRight.00:03:18JackAnd and they can make a good living. They can make a decent living off of tips, but it just doesn't make sense. Why is why does the restaurant get to offload their the salaries of their of their servers on to you when you're already paying for the food and you're paying for the dessert and you're paying for the drinks and all these things? It doesn't.00:03:38JackMakes sense. Tip stands for TTIP to ensure promptitude.00:03:45JackNot to pay salary TPS. Yeah, this is TPS.00:03:45발표자Hmm.00:03:48XochitlHTTPS.00:03:51발표자I.00:03:52JackYeah.00:03:52XochitlI have a question for you. Jack has tipping culture evolved in your lifetime? Like the percentage and stuff? Because for me, I remember when I was a little kid, I think 15% was was the norm, but now it has to be at least 20% or you're cheap.00:04:03JackYeah.00:04:08JackWell, here's The thing is, if you're paying with a credit card now they've got a tablet like an iPad, and it basically gives you a choice that says you can pay 20 percent, 25% or no tip.00:04:19XochitlYou know that there's there's.00:04:19JackAnd sometimes.00:04:20XochitlA place at the bottom that says custom amount and you can just.00:04:24JackOhh is there OK I didn't. I I I don't want to do math. I don't wanna do math. I just want to see.00:04:26발표자Yeah.00:04:30XochitlYou you can.00:04:31XochitlDo like 5 when you just custom an amount. You can put the exact amount of money.00:04:34XochitlYou want to give them and then.00:04:35JackOhh. OK, OK. Well, I I usually just do the calculation of 20%. I give the lowest, you know, but 20% is still like you.00:04:42XochitlAcceptable test.00:04:44JackNo, I I just, it doesn't. It doesn't mean anything. The person wasn't ensuring promptitude. It was a person. But I was buying a smoothie like, that's their job is to make a smoothie for me. And just like, you know, I I'm not sitting down at the, you know, spago Wolfgang Puck restaurant.00:04:45XochitlThat's fine.00:05:05JackAnd being, you know, seated by uh, you know, some fancy guy in a tuxedo. It was like a smoothie shop, you know?00:05:11발표자You can check.00:05:13JackUmm, it's it's completely gone out of control. It's it's off the rails. We need to get rid of tipping. We need to pay those workers a minimum wage. That's livable. So that it's like Korea where you don't tip at all, but they get a a certain wage to do their job. And we're and we need to get rid of all of this.00:05:13XochitlRight.00:05:31XochitlRight.00:05:34JackThis tipping nonsense, it's garbage. And also, why don't McDonald's workers get tips they they're serving you food.00:05:42XochitlAnd that.00:05:43XochitlI think you.00:05:43JackOh, they can now. Oh.00:05:45XochitlI'm not sure.00:05:45XochitlWell, I know that pretty much every fast food chain I was working on a Panera Bread and we could get tips. So it's it's out of control.00:05:51JackOK, maybe there's like, maybe there's, like, a really sad cup there that says mic tips on it or something like that. You can throw in 1/4.00:05:57XochitlYeah, actually I think.00:05:59XochitlYou're right. I think McDonald's still.00:06:00XochitlHasn't gone that low yet, but.00:06:03XochitlElse pretty much.00:06:04XochitlYou can tip. Yeah. It's it's weird. So the thing in in, in other countries, I'm curious, I know in South Korea you there is no tip and in Mexico there is tipping culture for certain things like going at a restaurant or something. But 10% is the expended expected tip amount.00:06:22JackOK, that seems that yeah, that would be the same as not tipping in America, it's like 10%.00:06:27XochitlYeah. If you shift 10%, people like spit on you, basically you cheat ogre.00:06:30JackYeah, exactly.00:06:34JackJust you miserly old man, yeah.00:06:35발표자So it's like.00:06:38XochitlYeah, I always usually tip 20% here in Mexico as well cause cause I feel bad.00:06:43XochitlDoing it and my parents don't go tip like 10% and I give them dirty look because they're they're not even like.00:06:51JackThey've never worked in the service sector before me, yeah.00:06:54XochitlYeah, that's true. That is true. Oh, I guess my mom maybe did briefly, but my dad did. Well, my dad did. But it's been so long, and he's like, 60 or something.00:06:59발표자OK.00:07:03JackYeah, back in his days when you gotta tip like 1/4 was like ohh boy, I got a whole quarter like.00:07:03XochitlSo.00:07:10XochitlYeah, that's that's true. It's great. Yeah. And I think it's like tip inflation. I think it used to be when I was a kid, 15% was a fine amount to tip and now 15% is like getting you dirty looks.00:07:11발표자Hmm.00:07:24JackBut the smoothie.00:07:25XochitlYeah.00:07:25JackShop never. You never tipped in the 1990s. In 2000, the smoothie shop. Now you do.00:07:28발표자No, no.00:07:30Xochitl2000, 2010 My childhood was mostly in 20 tens, I would say and and mid 2000s.00:07:32JackEverything, yeah.00:07:41XochitlAnd yeah, you you didn't tip in a smoothie shop. You didn't tip in a coffee shop, but tipping was for restaurants or like concierge at a hotel or what, you know what I mean? Certain like your.00:07:49JackYeah.00:07:54JackYeah, a bellhop at a hotel. You give them like a buck or a couple bucks or something.00:07:58XochitlYeah, certain luxury experiences.00:07:58JackLike that, yeah.00:08:04XochitlBut it wasn't a common thing.00:08:07JackExactly.00:08:11XochitlAll right. Well, let us know what the tipping culture is like in your country. I'm very interested to know.00:08:19XochitlShoot us an e-mail at at ozenglishpodcast@gmail.com. Leave us a comment down below at A-Z, englishpodcast.com or join our WeChat listed groups to join the conversation and we'll see you guys next time. Bye bye.00:08:32JackBye bye.00:08:32Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/culture-corner-tipping/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Xochitl and Jack discuss their pet peeves, those little annoyances in life which drive us all crazy.Transcript:00:00:01JackWelcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today we have a topic talk and today's topic is pet peeves and social. Maybe people, maybe our students don't actually know what a pet peeve.00:00:23JackIs it's kind of a weird word or kind of a weird phrase. What is a pet?00:00:27발표자Mm-hmm.00:00:28JackYou've.00:00:29XochitlA pet peeve is something that bothers you. Kind of like in modern slang you would say like an ick. It's something that like, bothers you but not to an extreme extent. It's not like something necessarily bad or like.00:00:46XochitlObjectively bad or horrible about someone or the OR a habit that someone does, but it's just something that irritates you.00:00:54JackYeah, like if you have a friend that lies to everybody and they just lie.00:01:00JackThat's not really a pet peeve that's more like, uh, a character flaw. Exactly like everybody hates that because everybody hates lying, OK?00:01:02XochitlNo, that's.00:01:03XochitlYou said your boss.00:01:06발표자 3Right.00:01:12XochitlBut if you have a friend.00:01:12JackYeah.00:01:13XochitlWho doesn't push their chair in? That's my one of my pet peeves is people like you go to a restaurant with people and they leave their chairs on, pushed or whatever. I don't like that. That's a pet peeve. It bothers me when people leave their chairs on push and I might go and push everyone's.00:01:30XochitlThen.00:01:31JackOhh, you'll actually go and push in all the chairs of.00:01:34JackLike your family members.00:01:34XochitlDepends if if people have gone on and I have like an extra second back then I'll do it. I just don't like leaving it for the servers to like have to push everyone's chairs back in or whatever, you know.00:01:46JackYeah, it is kind of rude to like, you know, push your chair out to get up and just walk away.00:01:52JackOK, it's like push your chair in. It's. Yeah, it it's just a common politeness, right?00:01:53XochitlYeah.00:01:59발표자Hmm.00:02:00JackYeah, yeah.00:02:02XochitlAnd what's a pet peeve of yours, Jack?00:02:04JackUM, I don't know. I'm trying to think of like, what are some?00:02:07JackOf my pet peeves.00:02:09XochitlOh, another way to explain this to our listeners as well is that it's something that bothers you about other people.00:02:19XochitlUM, it's not like a habit of yours, if that makes sense.00:02:25XochitlIt's kind of like something that bothers you that other people do usually.00:02:28JackYeah. Like let's say that like you have a friend.00:02:34JackAnd she likes to.00:02:36JackEat baby carrots in like tiny little bites. You know, she takes like a little bite of a baby carrot, and then she's like, and then she's and then another bite and. None. None. None. None. None. And it's like it's it's just like her habit is annoying to you. Other people might not care at all. They're like, oh, that's OK that's how she eats, baby.00:02:42XochitlDone.00:02:44XochitlLike a rabbit.00:02:46XochitlNo.00:02:59JackThere it's, you know.00:03:00JackIt's fun, but for you it feels like someone scratching their fingernails on a chalkboard, you know?00:03:00발표자 3Right.00:03:08XochitlRight. It's really irritating.00:03:10JackYeah, it's really irritating. Yeah. One of my pet peeves is when people say, you know what I mean.00:03:19JackYou know what I mean, you know?00:03:20XochitlOhh that bothers you interesting.00:03:23JackYeah, yeah. When people say that to me, I I'm. And especially when it's like something really obvious, you know.00:03:31JackIt's it's like, you know, like the Earth rotates around the sun. You know what I mean? It's like, yeah, I know what you mean.00:03:42XochitlWait, Jack, let.00:03:43XochitlMe. Give this to you from the perspective of someone who who does this, who says like?00:03:46XochitlYou know what?00:03:47XochitlYou know what I'm talking about? I don't mean it because I think you or the other person is like, dumb or doesn't get it. I say it.00:03:54XochitlBecause I don't.00:03:55XochitlKnow if what I was trying to explain came out of my mouth and made any sense, even though it's really simple if.00:04:00XochitlLike I just.00:04:01XochitlMissed the ball or over, explained it to the point that it doesn't make any sense, so I'm like. Ohh did that make sense? You know what I mean? It's not like I'm questioning the other person. I'm like questioning myself. So maybe that'll make you feel better about people asking.00:04:12JackRight, right.00:04:14JackNo, no, no, no, I'm. I'm not. And I wasn't. I'm not. I'm not pointing the finger at you. I'm everybody does this and I think that I think you're right. Like the generous interpretation is that people are just trying to be clear. They just want to be understood.00:04:31JackRight. And so one of the ways that you are checking in with the other person to make sure to make sure that you're making sense is to say, do you, do you understand what I'm saying? Like, do you know what I mean? And I do it too. Like I. I'm. I'm. I'm guilty of my own pet peeve, you know. But it's just that sometimes.00:04:51JackIt just feels like.00:04:53JackYou know people, it feels like someone's asking me like like.00:04:57JackYou know, because you know Jack, you're so slow. I just want to make sure that you're, you know, are you able to understand what I'm talking about? You know, like 1 + 1 is 2. You know what I mean? It's like.00:05:03XochitlHey.00:05:11JackYeah, yeah, I I know what.00:05:13JackYou mean I I I know simple math, you know?00:05:13발표자No.00:05:16XochitlYeah, I was. I was more kind to reassure you that it probably has more to do with the person second guessing themselves than like guessing you. But I get it. It is your. It can be irritating.00:05:21JackI think so.00:05:25JackYeah. And again, pet pet peeves can be.00:05:26발표자OK.00:05:28JackIrrational like mine.00:05:30XochitlYes, they often are, or they often make you like way more annoyed than you have any right to be. That's kind of why it's.00:05:31JackYou know.00:05:37XochitlA pet peeve.00:05:38JackYeah, I have another. I have a lot of driving pet peeves, you know, like.00:05:44XochitlOhh, I'm interested to hear these cause since I don't drive.00:05:47JackYeah. I I I really another pet peeve of mine is like when people must back their car into a parking spot.00:05:57발표자You know.00:05:57XochitlAh, my dad always does that. He he does. He's easier to drive out. And I'm like, well, you're taking as much time backing it in as you would backing it back out like just.00:05:59JackYeah.00:06:07JackExactly. It's like, what are you doing? It's it's like, are you a bank robber?00:06:09XochitlIt's so annoying.00:06:15JackAre you? Do you need a fast getaway? I mean, from the grocery store, you have to.00:06:21JackYou know.00:06:21XochitlEven way like you're gonna take you, you would have just taken as much time backing it out when you're leaving as you did, backing it in when you get there. So you're not really saving time unless, like you said, you need to fast get away like a bank robber or something. But for other people, it just doesn't make sense. It's.00:06:36JackYeah.00:06:38XochitlNot a time saver at all.00:06:40JackFor bank robbers out there, those of our listeners that are bank robbers, I forgive you. You that's. You're not included in my pet peeve. Yeah, it makes sense that you would back into a parking spot. Another one is another pet peeve is scooters.00:06:47XochitlThat makes sense.00:06:59JackThey're everywhere, these electric scooters.00:07:03JackAnd people just leave them lying. They have a lot of like, I I don't know if this is just Korea or if this is in your countries as well.00:07:14XochitlWhen I hear this, I'm I'm like it sounds like Korean to me.00:07:18JackYeah, because what you can do now is you can rent these electric scooters and basically you just scan your credit card and then it activates this, the electric scooter. And then you just drive it around. But wherever you stop, you can just leave it.00:07:37JackSo they're just all over the street. They're all over the ground. They're they'll leave it in front of our building. Some people will leave it in front of a driveway and they're just everywhere.00:07:50XochitlWell, why? Why can't they just leave it everywhere? Like doesn't the company expect them to leave it so much?00:07:55JackThe company has a has a tracking device on them and so they'll drive around in a truck and they'll put that in the truck and recharge it.00:08:03JackAnd then just dump it back on the side sidewalk again somewhere so that somebody can walk by and pick it up and drive it. And so they're just littered everywhere, not to mention very dangerous because they're, you know, they're they're riding in front of us, you know, in front of your car.00:08:22JackAnd and and just it's. It's a real problem here in Korea, the electric scooters.00:08:28XochitlYeah, that's definitely.00:08:29XochitlA Korean thing we don't really, at least where I've lived in the US is not a thing in in Mexico is not a thing. But yeah, that I I know that I know what you're talking about. And yeah, that is a very common problem. But I can see why it would be irritating. I am.00:08:42JackIt's more common in big cities like New York, Chicago.00:08:45XochitlYeah, I guess that. But I think in the US they probably expect you to park it in a certain location again.00:08:46JackThose places have them, yeah.00:08:52XochitlLike the next drop, the closest to your.00:08:54JackYeah, I think. But here they just just you just stop where you are and you just put the kickstand up and then you walk away and then it's done, your times up.00:09:02XochitlWhy don't I don't think that's a thing in the US? I'm pretty sure you have to, like, put it back at your next nearest location or something, because otherwise.00:09:04JackYeah.00:09:11JackThere is a parking spot in Seoul called the Han River. I would like them to park all of those scooters right there in the water. Just throw it off the bridge. Let it sink to the bottom and be done with this whole scooter thing. But that's my again. That's my pet peeve. So you know. Yeah.00:09:26발표자And.00:09:30XochitlSo you're kidding, yeah.00:09:32XochitlI would be very irate with that as well. One of my other pet peeves is picky eaters. I'm not talking about people who can't.00:09:41XochitlTry different foods because they have autism or some other kind of thing. Food for yeah, people who like refuse to try something new. They're just like I just until I won't like that. I'm like, just eat it. Like it's just you.00:09:45JackOur allergies.00:09:57XochitlDidn't know and I mean.00:09:58XochitlI get it. If it's something like a something really sore.00:10:01XochitlYou like a scorpion or a cockroach or something? You know, I wouldn't want to eat that either, but if it's just, you know, I had a friend in college.00:10:05JackSure.00:10:12XochitlWe're actually still close friends. I love her to death, but this one really killed me about her. She was like, I think it was sweet potato or something that she wouldn't try because I know I won't like it in quotation marks. I like you. Won't try it cause you know you won't like it.00:10:27XochitlHow do you know? You've never tried it? It's detect your thing. I can just tell by the look of it and it just drove me crazy because I'm the type of person who will try something. I don't like multiple times to see if.00:10:39XochitlI like it now.00:10:40JackRight. And your and your and your taste changes over time too. I didn't like mushrooms as a kid. Now I love mushrooms.00:10:41XochitlIt becomes.00:10:46XochitlYeah, I hated sweet potatoes as a kid. Now I love sweet potatoes, but I just keep trying. Things cause things. Your taste changes over time. Sometimes you haven't had it prepared a certain way and you actually like it better that way. Or sometimes you had a bad example of that dish.00:10:50발표자 3Yeah.00:11:04JackYeah.00:11:05발표자 3And yeah, if you said.00:11:05JackIt could have been prepared poorly.00:11:08XochitlYeah, or poor ingredients or whatever. If you stopped and just did.00:11:12XochitlYou try. It's just you're limiting your life for no reason and that just irritates.00:11:16XochitlMe, I I.00:11:17XochitlAm Mexican culture encourages people to be kind of like good eaters, quote UN quote, which I think Korea also. And so it's very it's like prized for people not to be picky like that.00:11:22JackYeah.00:11:28JackNo Americans tend to be they eat like children. When you're older, you know? Ohh, I only eat corn dogs and French fries and you know Coca-Cola. You know, something like that. I know I'm going to like that. You know, it's.00:11:33XochitlYes.00:11:42XochitlRight.00:11:44JackLike it's like you're gonna eat. You're gonna spend your whole adult life adult life eating like a child. You're never gonna try feta cheese? You're never gonna try. You know, I don't know. Seafood. You're never gonna try just. I mean, you're limiting yourself your life experience.00:11:51XochitlYeah, I like this.00:12:04JackSo.00:12:06JackSuch a narrow little track of of really of garbage food, you know? Yeah.00:12:12XochitlRight. Bland garbage food just cause, you know you won't like something that is a huge pet peeve of mine. Anyway, listeners, let us know what some pet peeves of yours are. I would really love to hear you guys's perspectives for sure. I'm interested to hear what.00:12:17JackYeah.00:12:20JackYeah, same.00:12:32XochitlDifferent pet peeves are what common pet peeves might be in your country.00:12:37XochitlYeah. So leave us a comment down below at A-Z, englishpodcast.com shoot us an e-mail at A-Z, podcast@gmail.com and join our WeChat WhatsApp groups. Join the conversation and we'll see you guys next time. Bye bye.00:12:48발표자 3Bye bye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-pet-peeves/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Language expert Xochitl discusses the meanings of 'spicy, hot, and salty' with examples like salty food and pretzels. They explore the nuances of these words, from describing food to a person's mood, and how they have evolved in usage over time.

Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Jack explains the meanings of the expressions the silent treatment and the cold shoulder.The terms "silent treatment" and "cold shoulder" are often used interchangeably, but they do have slightly different connotations.Silent Treatment: This is a form of psychological manipulation where one person intentionally stops communicating with another person, typically as a way to express their disapproval, anger, or to exert control. It can be passive-aggressive behavior, often used in conflicts or disagreements as a way to punish or manipulate the other person without openly expressing their feelings.Cold Shoulder: This refers to a deliberate act of ignoring someone or showing them indifference or aloofness. It's often more overt than the silent treatment and may involve avoiding eye contact, turning away from the person, or giving short, curt responses. While the silent treatment can involve a complete cessation of communication, the cold shoulder can involve minimal or superficial communication but with an underlying sense of rejection or disdain.Both behaviors can be harmful to relationships as they undermine communication and trust. They can escalate conflicts rather than resolve them and often leave the other person feeling hurt, frustrated, or confused. It's important for individuals to address underlying issues in a constructive and respectful manner rather than resorting to these passive-aggressive tactics.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/idiom-academy-the-silent-treatment-the-cold-shoulder/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Jack talks about his love of recycling, reusing, and upcycling items that people have thrown away.Transcript:00:00:01JackWelcome to The A to Z English podcast. My name is Jack and today I'm doing a solo episode and today's topic is I love garbage.00:00:15JackAnd you're probably thinking to yourself.00:00:19JackWhat are you talking about, Jack? Nobody loves garbage.00:00:24JackBut recently.00:00:27JackI'm really into.00:00:29JackRecycling.00:00:31JackAnd.00:00:32JackUpcycling.00:00:34JackAnd reusing.00:00:37JackObjects that people don't want anymore.00:00:41JackAnd.00:00:43JackFixing them and using them myself.00:00:47JackAnd fixing items, selling them to make a little bit of profit or.00:00:56JackYou know, giving items that I can't use anymore to.00:01:04JackFriends or family that might you know, people that might.00:01:06JackWant those items?00:01:08JackSo let me explain a little bit more of what I mean by I love garbage. It started about a year ago.00:01:18JackI I wanted to get into exercise and I used to exercise regularly, but during COVID coronavirus.00:01:30JackDuring that time I I stopped.00:01:33JackGoing to the gym, I stopped exercising. I started eating unhealthy food and I started to gain weight and I've never really been able to go back to how I was before COVID before that time started.00:01:54JackAnd so I was in my neighborhood and I saw an exercise bicycle in the garbage. Uh, not not in a garbage can, but, you know, in the ready for the recyclers to take it and take it away and.00:02:10JackI thought to myself, I think this is a a pretty nice exercise bike. Uh, this is not a uh, a regular bicycle. This is an exercise bicycle, so a stationary bike stationary means it doesn't move when you pedal, it just stays in the same place.00:02:30JackAnd lots of people have these in their houses, and I noticed that there was one problem with this stationary bike. The handlebars kept the handlebars are the the things you hold on to while you're pedaling and they kept they were loose. They kept falling forward.00:02:51JackAnd.00:02:53JackI thought to myself, I think I can fix this and so I brought it home.00:02:58JackI took out my tools and Long story short I fixed it and now it's a perfectly good.00:03:06JackExercise bicycle and I got it for free. You know, usually you have to pay $100 or hundreds of dollars for these kinds of exercise machines.00:03:19JackHowever.00:03:20JackI got mine for free.00:03:23JackAnd so I have an an extra room in in our building, there's a an extra room that we have. My wife and I have turned into a kind of a gym, a a home exercise center.00:03:38JackAnd so I put the bicycle in there.00:03:41JackAnd about a week later.00:03:43JackSure.00:03:44JackI saw a bench, an exercise bench where you can do sit-ups and a sit up is where you you go back, you're on your back and then you lift up and you use your stomach muscles, your abdominal muscles to pull yourself up. And it was perfectly good except it was missing.00:04:05JackOnce.00:04:06JackI went to the hardware store, I bought a screw for $1.00.00:04:11JackAnd I fixed that and I put that in my exercise room.00:04:15JackAnd then.00:04:17JackI found another piece of exercise equipment perfectly fine. Someone was throwing it away because they were. They were moving out of their apartment and I live in a neighborhood with a lot of apartments, a lot of small apartments. So when people don't want items, they just.00:04:36JackThrow them away instead of because they don't even want to take the time to give them away or to sell them. They just throw them away.00:04:44JackSo I took it, I took it home.00:04:46JackAnd I've I've now got this like little gym kind of set up. And my wife there's a a website in Korea where people give away items that they don't want. And someone was giving away a running machine. So we drove over to their apartment. We put the running machine.00:05:07JackIn our car, in our truck, and brought it back, put it in the exercise room. So now the gym has.00:05:14JackIt was a running machine, an exercise bike, a sit up bench, some weights and things like that. So it kind of started with like I I'm starting to see that like in Korea, I think it's because people live in apartments, they just don't often take the time to.00:05:35JackEven sell things, they just they just throw them away.00:05:38JackAnd the other day I was walking along the street and I saw a guitar. So in a case someone had just.00:05:47JackPut a guitar.00:05:48JackIn the garbage.00:05:50JackAnd I went and opened it up.00:05:52JackAnd it was a perfectly good guitar.00:05:55JackAnd I threw it in my truck and I brought it home.00:06:00JackAnd I looked at it, I didn't have to do any fixing of the guitar. It was perfectly good. And so I have an extra guitar cause I kind of collect guitars. I'm a guitar player and I love that hobby. And so I I brought it home and.00:06:21JackI just now I'm kind of in the mindset of like, why buy something new?00:06:27JackWhen?00:06:29JackPeople are giving away or throwing away.00:06:33JackOld things that are still could be good for for me. So we have an expression in English.00:06:40JackOne man's trash is another man's treasure.00:06:46JackAnd for me, it's more of an environmental.00:06:50JackRead there. It's more environmental for me to be honest, because a lot of these things, they just end up being thrown into a hole in the ground, like that exercise bike. Just the handlebars are were broken and they could be fixed, but no one is going to fix those.00:07:07JackThey're going to the the garbage men are going to take that. They're going to throw that thing in the ocean or in a big hole in the ground, and it's going to stay there for 1000 years.00:07:19JackAnd what is the purpose of making new things and buying new things when we have?00:07:27JackOlder things that can just be fixed and used, and they're perfectly fine and they don't end up in a hole in the ground. You know polluting our our land or floating in the ocean, polluting our oceans.00:07:43JackI just really don't understand, so I'm very much in the mindset of, like, not buying anything. If I need something, I try to find it online for free or I look around my neighborhood or and I fix something up and and use it. It might not be.00:08:00JackYou know, my bicycle is not beautiful. It's not the most beautiful stationary bike. It's not going to win a beauty contest, but it works perfectly fine. It's great for exercising the guitar. Yeah, it's not a.00:08:16JackA A Les Paul or a Gibson, but it's a it's a perfectly fine guitar and I'm not. I'm not terrible guitar player to be honest. So for me I don't need anything fancy or super expensive when it comes to those kinds of items. I can just enjoy.00:08:37JackHaving different guitars that make that have different sounds and enjoy those things. And so I guess what I'm saying is going back to the beginning of my talk today is that when I say.00:08:52JackI love garbage.00:08:54JackI love.00:08:55JackTaking objects that are going to end up in a hole in the ground or in the ocean, and I like fixing them and using them, and it's deeply satisfying. It's more satisfying than like buying the item and bringing it home. If I give more joy out of finding something and it doesn't cost me any money.00:09:16JackIt costs me a little bit of time and a little bit of energy.00:09:20JackBut it you know it, it saves money.00:09:23JackAnd and it's and it's. They're all things that are that are making my life better. They're making me healthier. The exercise bike is going to actually make me healthier, live longer. The guitar is going to give me joy because I I get joy from playing the guitar and making music. And so I just really.00:09:43JackWant to encourage?00:09:46JackYou listeners out there to.00:09:49JackLove garbage like me.00:09:52JackAnd see if it doesn't make you feel even more satisfied when you find some object that you're able to repurpose and reuse instead of buying it new.00:10:06JackAlright, so that's my talk today. Jack loves garbage.00:10:11JackPlease, if you talk to social, explain what the meaning is, because she's probably going to be surprised when she sees the title of this episode. I love garbage.00:10:22JackIf you want to leave.00:10:23JackA message for us go to.00:10:25JackSend us an e-mail AZ englishpodcast@gmail.com. You can also go to our website azenglishpodcast.com and you can leave a comment on the website. You can join our WhatsApp group or our WeChat group and you can leave a comment there. We'd love to see you in the A-Z English WhatsApp group or WeChat group.00:10:45JackAnd with that said.00:10:46JackI will see you next time. Thanks everybody.00:10:50JackBye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/topic-talk-i-love-garbage/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Become a monthly subscriber for just $1.99 per month and receive an additional two to three episodes per week!https://app.redcircle.com/shows/9472af5c-8580-45e1-b0dd-ff211db08a90/exclusive-contentIn this episode of The A to Z English Podcast, Jack answers a listener's problem about her boyfriend using his phone too much while they are at dinner.Dear Jack,I've been dating my boyfriend for about a year now, and overall, things have been going well. However, there's one issue that keeps coming up: his constant texting during our dates. Whenever we go out to dinner or spend time together, he's always glued to his phone, checking messages and responding to texts. It's starting to make me feel ignored and unimportant. I've tried bringing it up gently, but he always brushes it off, saying it's nothing important. How can I address this issue without causing a big argument?Sincerely,Feeling IgnoredPodcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/dear-jack-my-boyfriend-uses-his-phone-too-much-during-dinner/Social Media:WeChat: atozenglishpodcastFacebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/671098974684413/Tik Tok: @atozenglish1Instagram: @atozenglish22Twitter: @atozenglish22A to Z Facebook Page:https://www.facebook.com/theatozenglishpodcastCheck out our You Tube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCds7JR-5dbarBfas4Ve4h8ABecome a member of Podchaser and leave a positive review!https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-a-to-z-english-podcast-4779670Join our Whatsapp group: https://forms.gle/zKCS8y1t9jwv2KTn7Intro/Outro Music: Daybird by Broke for Freehttps://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Directionless_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Directionless_EP_-_03_Day_Bird/https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcodeSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-a-to-z-english-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy