The A to Z English Podcast

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 etiquette surrounding first dates in the United States.Transcript:00:00:00JackHey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.00:00:03JackAnd if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.00:00:23JackAnd be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.00:00:42JackEach week.00:00:44JackSo make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.00:00:52JackNow let's get on with the show.00:00:55JackWelcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and today we are and I'm with my co-host social of course. And we are in the culture corner and we're talking about what do you do when you meet the parents of your, of your boyfriend or girlfriend for the first time, you know?00:01:14JackWhat's the what kind of etiquette do you like behavior? Should you display? What? What should you do? What shouldn't you do so social? Do you have like a list of dos and don'ts?00:01:24JackFor for our our listeners out there who may be like meeting their significant others parents for the first time.00:01:33XochitlYeah, I know. I we just had an episode talking about how you can dress like a slob anywhere in America, but a first date and also meeting a parent. Parents are two occasions where I would.00:01:39JackYes.00:01:44XochitlNever do that.00:01:46XochitlSo you want to go and kind of business casual attire, which means a nice dress shirt usually, or a polo. Or it could be a crisp, a clean looking solid color, no logos, no designs well fitted T-shirt and then neutral.00:01:54JackYes.00:02:06XochitlDone.00:02:07XochitlAnd a pair of either nice clean, no tears, jeans or a pair of slacks. Kind of casual khaki, black, neutral tone slacks. And you can wear, you know, a pair of clean, crisp white sneakers or some casual dress shoes. Don't.00:02:19JackYeah.00:02:26XochitlGo in as a man wearing like rocks or like sandals. And and if you're a woman, just go in a nice.00:02:37XochitlKind of also neutral toned or it can be.00:02:42XochitlPattern and it doesn't really have to be a neutral tone, but just kind of a tasteful dress. Nothing too crazy, nothing too extravagant.00:02:51XochitlMight wear something neutral, might wear something in a light pink or blue or something like that, but just a simple casual floral dress with a little cardigan is and your footwear is also more relaxed. You can wear a pair of clean tennis shoes like white, crisp tennis shoes, a pair of.00:03:01JackYeah.00:03:11XochitlLittle sandals if it's hot anything, but just make sure you look presentable.00:03:18XochitlAnd that's a big one for.00:03:21XochitlLooks duos.00:03:23JackAnd I'm going to say most of the time we we have an expression. Don't don't judge a book by its cover, but in this situation your, the, your boyfriend or girlfriend's parents are definitely.00:03:38JackJudging the book by its cover, so make your cover look good.00:03:40XochitlYes.00:03:44XochitlYeah, want to look.00:03:44JackBecause you are being judged.00:03:47XochitlYeah, you want to look presentable. You want to look clean. Clean cut is the phrase we use really often in the US, which means somebody who is, they're, well, shaved, their hair grew.00:03:57발표자 3No.00:03:57JackLook like me right now is.00:03:59XochitlYeah, don't have this crazy beard. Or like, if you're a woman like, you know, do your hair nicely. You don't have it, like, looking really disheveled, show up, clean, fresh, showered, looking simple, easy makeup for women and.00:04:14XochitlAnd just keep it really, really simple. Don't over complicate it, but just look nice. And then for other does for cultural and social does, I would say they're gonna ask you questions about yourself. So be prepared to answer questions like what your major in college is what you do for work.00:04:35XochitlHow long you've been working there, questions about what your parents do. They might ask you, oh, you know, what does your dad do? What did your?00:04:41JackAnd you what are your ambitions? What are your goals? Yeah.00:04:45XochitlYeah. One of your inventions, it's kind of old fashioned to be like. What are your intentions with my daughter back in the day, people did that. But and now I think you can be relaxed. They know that if.00:04:50JackYeah, yeah, yeah. Well.00:04:59XochitlYou're bringing someone to meet the parents is usually a serious relationship in the US and and so.00:05:06XochitlYou know, don't be too intimidated. Get to know them. Ask them questions about themselves too. What do they do for?00:05:12XochitlWork and and humor them. They're probably going to tell embarrassing stories about your significant other or show you embarrassing pictures. Just kind of chuckle along. Be a good sport.00:05:24XochitlDon't get into politics. Don't get into religion.00:05:27JackYeah, no politics, no religion for sure. Yeah, avoid that.00:05:29XochitlNever. Never. If they try to beat you. Like if you're from a different religion or other politics and they try to bait you into a conversation, which means they try to say something to upset you.00:05:41XochitlJust ignore it and change the subject.00:05:44XochitlIf they keep trying to do it, look at your SO.00:05:46발표자Like.00:05:48JackYeah. Get Me Out. Help me out there. Yes.00:05:49XochitlThat, yeah, you don't have any, you know, reason to stay if you're being disrespected. And I know it.00:05:55JackRight.00:05:55XochitlCould be but.00:05:56XochitlAlso keep an open mind because a lot of times.00:05:59XochitlPeople are going to be meeting you with the best intentions and they're not going to do anything to be intentionally rude, but because you're from two different cultures, they might accidentally offend you. So just keep a an open mind and if you find anything weird or offensive, just ask your significant other about it later.00:06:15JackYeah. And go see, listen to our other podcast about table manners, because all those table manners apply.00:06:22JackYou know, again, no slurping, no burping, you know, no chewing loudly with your mouth open, no cursing. Don't swear. Watch your language. OK, some people.00:06:22XochitlPlease.00:06:34XochitlIt's OK to accept a drink because a lot of times they'll offer you a drink. It's OK to say yes if they offer you to drink, but don't get drunk. You know, this is like a one drink of.00:06:43JackDon't get drunk. Yeah.00:06:45XochitlThere maybe a 2 drink. I would say one just stick to 1 drink. You know you won't get drunk and just stick to that.00:06:52JackYeah. And you and most likely you drove there. So you know you, you know, drinking and driving is you know it it might be a test like you know ohh is this person going to drink and drive with my daughter in the car or my you know that that could be another another thing so you know there there could be traps.00:07:13JackSet for you.00:07:14발표자 3That.00:07:15JackDon't fall into these traps, you know.00:07:15발표자 3Yeah.00:07:18XochitlRight. I think it's OK to accept one drink, especially if it will be a while before.00:07:21XochitlYou drive, I think.00:07:21JackYeah, yeah, yeah, one like you said. One, it's a one drink affair. It's not a party. It's not a party. It's not a cagar. Yeah.00:07:25발표자 3The one in one? Yeah. Instead of. Don't get lost. Don't.00:07:34XochitlCompliment do do compliment their home. Say oh you have such a nice home. Bring a gift if you know they drink. You can bring a bottle of wine or you can bring some flowers for them.00:07:44XochitlMom, those are two gifts that usually go over well, or you can bring something from your home country, like traditional candy, something like that. So.00:07:54JackYeah. Don't show up empty handed. That's terrible. Bring a gift. Yes, that's a good point.00:07:58XochitlIt's a bad match.00:08:01XochitlAnd gift and.00:08:05XochitlUh.00:08:07XochitlI guess that's pretty much it. Do a firm handshake. This is if you're a man. This is a really big thing in US culture. When Father offers a hand for a handshake, it has. You have to do a firm handshake. Don't give him a death grip like you're trying to rip his hand off, but don't give him this limp, weak handshake. They won't make a firm handshake.00:08:12JackYeah.00:08:25JackYeah, we call that the dead fish where your hand is like a dead fish, you know? No, you gotta. You gotta squeeze back. You gotta give a firm handshake back. That's uh, that's important. Yeah.00:08:26발표자 3Thing.00:08:28발표자 3But.00:08:35발표자 3Right.00:08:38XochitlAnd if you don't drink, UM, it's OK to say no. Like, if you are a person who doesn't drink and they are free to drink, it's it's OK to be like, Oh no, thanks. I don't drink. That's fine. And if you have any kind of restrictions of your diet because of your religion or your culture or your allergies or whatever, it may be, make sure to let them know ahead of time if you're going to be eating there. So, like, tell your significant other so they can.00:09:02XochitlInform their family.00:09:04XochitlAnd then you won't have to worry.00:09:07JackYeah. Don't let the mom prepare a a huge meal of pulled pork and then you show up and go ohh. By the way, I'm vegan. It's like that should have been told to her a long time before. So.00:09:14XochitlRight.00:09:18XochitlYeah, or I'm Muslim or something. And then they're like, oh, my gosh, I'm so sorry. And they're embarrassed. You can watch that if you've ever seen twilight the movie, you can watch the scene where she meets Edward.00:09:20JackYeah.00:09:31XochitlFamily for the first time. And then she eats before going because she knows they don't eat because they're vampires and they're making this big Italian meal for her and then everyone gets angry. So yeah, just avoid. That's a great example of how to meet the parents because she dresses nicely and they're trying to be polite and everything. So just kind of.00:09:52XochitlGo with that.00:09:54XochitlNo, not too much PDA.00:09:57XochitlIt's kind, it's inappropriate, so please first time.00:10:00JackMaybe holding hands about, that's about it. That's the most you do, yeah.00:10:02XochitlYeah, holding hands is even like that's that's that's a good level to keep. Only at that you know.00:10:09JackThat's the highest level. Yeah, holding hands.00:10:11XochitlThat's the highest level.00:10:15XochitlYeah. And again, just just take it as an opportunity to get to know them. If there's a serious relationship, you'll probably be seeing a lot of their families. So you want to get to know them and complement, Slattery gets everyone places you want to flatter the mother. That's the easiest route.00:10:28JackYeah, this is this. Food is amazing. This is delicious. Thank you so much. You know? Yeah.00:10:29발표자 3So.00:10:34XochitlHave such?00:10:34XochitlA beautiful home. This food is amazing. You.00:10:37XochitlLook so young.00:10:39JackYeah, you don't wanna. You don't wanna. You don't want to. You don't want to pack it on too thick there or whatever. But.00:10:40발표자 3Look at.00:10:46XochitlYou don't want to be too obvious, like if the lady looks 80, then don't say wow. You look so young. But if she actually looks young, like if she's 15, she looks 35. She's gonna be over the moon to hear that. You know, so don't do the cheesy line. The man walks and he goes. Oh, are you your sister? Please.00:10:48발표자Yeah.00:10:56JackYeah.00:11:06XochitlDon't do that. That's so cheesy.00:11:06JackYeah, don't do that. Yeah, that one.00:11:12XochitlAnd yeah, just you know, compliment her on her home, her food. Uh, thank them for their generosity at the end.00:11:19XochitlOf.00:11:19XochitlThe night? Yeah. And try not to overstay your welcome. Be that a reasonable hour.00:11:25JackThat's usually not a problem usually. Usually you want to get out of there as soon as you possibly can, yeah.00:11:28발표자 3There's still.00:11:31XochitlYes, you smell good, right? But you know, so, yeah, I think those are the big meeting, the parents dues and don'ts. If it, how does meeting the parents go in your cultures? I'm really curious to know because in the US, once it's a serious relationship.00:11:46XochitlThat's when we progress to meeting the parents. I know in other cultures you might meet them right off the bat. The parents might actually meet each other, and then you'll meet your significant other later. You might not meet the parents at all until the wedding. It just depends on the culture. So we're very interested to know, leave us a comment down below at AZ englishpodcast.com. Shoot us an e-mail at AZ English.00:12:06XochitlPodcast@gmail.com.00:12:08XochitlAnd join the WeChat. What's the group? So you can talk to Jack and I directly and see you guys next.00:12:12XochitlTime. Bye bye.00:12:14JackBye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/culture-corner-first-date-etiquette-in-america/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 tests Xochitl on her knowledge of Canadian slang.Canadian Slang Terms: Toque - A knitted winter hat, often with a pom-pom on top.Double-double - In the context of coffee from Tim Hortons, it means two creams and two sugars.Mickey - A small bottle of alcohol, typically 375 ml.Loonie and Toonie - The Canadian one-dollar coin and two-dollar coin, respectively.Keener - Someone who is overly eager or enthusiastic.Poutine - A dish originating from Quebec consisting of fries, cheese curds, and gravy.Hoser - An affectionate term for a foolish or inept person, made famous by the comedy sketch "Great White North" on SCTV.Chesterfield - a term that used to be more commonly used in Canada to refer to a sofa or couchPodcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/vocabulary-spotlight-canadian-slang/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 an Jack talk about table manners in America.Transcript:00:00:00JackHey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.00:00:03JackAnd if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.00:00:23JackAnd be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.00:00:42JackEach week.00:00:44JackSo make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.00:00:52JackNow let's get on with the show.00:00:55JackWelcome to the agency English podcast. My name is Jack, and I'm here with my co-host, social. And today we are doing a we're in the culture corner. I believe we're in the the culture corner and we're talking about table manners in America, American table manners and we.00:01:14JackWe kind of made a list of five kind of golden rules and uh, what? What are they? So. So what's #1?00:01:22XochitlDon't put your elbows on the table, so if there's like the tablecloth surface, don't eat with your elbows like on the table. And that's so different in other countries and cultures because like in Mexico, there's no issue with putting your on table. In America, your wrist putting your wrists on the table is OK, but elbows is.00:01:28JackYeah.00:01:42XochitlIt's just considered rude for some reason. I'm not really sure why.00:01:45JackIt's so arbitrary. It's so dumb, like there's no reason for it. You know? It's like my why? Why, you know, don't be comfortable, you know.00:01:49XochitlAnd then there's.00:01:50XochitlA children.00:01:54XochitlYeah, yeah. There's a children's line that's like in certain name, like Amy. Amy, Amy, if you're able to take your elbows off the table, this is not a horse's stable.00:02:06JackYeah.00:02:07XochitlAnd it's like, I don't know why that even exists. I didn't know it was rude until I read it in like a book sometime in like the third grade.00:02:11JackYeah.00:02:16XochitlUM.00:02:18XochitlSo whatever.00:02:19JackI'll. I'll do it. I I don't really care. I I find that, like the least offensive of the of the table manner crimes. So you know when I'm eating, I'll. I'll probably do it. You know it it depends on where I am. If I'm in like a fancy schmancy.00:02:35JackWearing a tuxedo. OK, I'm going to follow the all the taper table manners. But you know, if I'm, like, eating at a friend's house and some, you know, the.00:02:46JackThey're.00:02:47JackThey don't really care. I'll. I'll. I'll put my elbows on the table.00:02:50XochitlYeah, I don't care if you're if you're, like, meeting your girlfriend or boyfriend's parents for the first time and they're American, like your elbows on the table, or if you're going to like a fancy dinner or like a work party or like a work party for your significant other or your own work party or whatever. Some kind of formal event, then I would say, like, steer away from it because there's some people in the older generation.00:03:12XochitlLike boomers and older that still?00:03:14XochitlHair. But otherwise, if you're just at a casual house party or hang out with some friends at house warming or something, but it doesn't really matter, I don't think.00:03:24JackYeah. Keep your knees off the table. That's a bad thing. Yeah, your feet. Yeah. Don't put your feet on the table.00:03:27XochitlYeah, that's better. Your feet altered. The other cultures don't. That's like even more American to, like, put your feet on stuff like other cultures don't really do that, but yeah.00:03:37JackI know, and I've learned that the hard way, yeah.00:03:41XochitlI knew that already. Thank.00:03:43XochitlThank you, mom. Mexican mom.00:03:46XochitlTwo, don't talk with your mouth full if you absolutely have to. One way that I do is like I cover my mouth when I'm talking, like when I'm eating, I'm talking. I just do this because no one like the worst thing that can happen to you is that you're chewing and talking and like a piece of food flies out and hits someone else.00:04:06JackOhh, right in there glass or something, you know?00:04:09XochitlOhh God are like in their face on their hand. It's just or in their plate. It's just it's so cringy. So you you want to avoid that and that's why it's like no one wants to see.00:04:20JackYeah, this is a tough one because you know what will happen is that as soon as you put take a bite of the food your you know your boyfriend or girlfriend's mother or father will ask you a question immediately.00:04:20발표자Your soup.00:04:31JackSo what do?00:04:32JackYou do for a living, and you've got this mouthful of mashed potatoes and the best thing you can do is you'd like social set, take a take a.00:04:40JackA napkin and put it up over.00:04:41JackMouth two. Finish, Swallow, take a little time and you know usually people will try not to ask you questions right as you're.00:04:51XochitlAlways happens, like always happens for me. I'll be like.00:04:53JackAll this.00:04:54JackYou know.00:04:56XochitlLike once I can please kind of thing like signaling that and and finish or like another thing if I'm in a less formal setting I just kind of cover my mouth like if I'm talking with friends or something like yeah blah blah and just have my hand over my mouth.00:04:59JackYeah.00:05:13XochitlWhat's the other one using a coaster? Not every country has coasters because we yes, we use a lot of wood designs and like wood and tables and stuff.00:05:23JackWith tables, yeah, yeah.00:05:26XochitlYou your glass can sweat. We also have, like, a lot of cold drinks or hot drinks and so.00:05:32XochitlYour glass can sweat or or the bottom brim of your cup can be hot, so you want to make sure that you use like a coaster, which is just like a flat little usually round, sometimes square piece of like tile or what have you. That's like set there for you to put your glass on. So like if a restaurant or someplace.00:05:53XochitlHas a coaster available or you go to someone's house and they have coasters like just make sure you use it before you put your glass down on like their wooden table because it can leave a mark.00:06:03JackYeah, that's right. It leaves like a ring around the the wood and then they have to refinish the table.00:06:09XochitlYes.00:06:10JackI just. I just.00:06:11JackThought of a couple other ones, this is your pet peeve. Push your chair in after you're done.00:06:15XochitlYes, yes, yes and.00:06:17JackThat's good at it, yeah.00:06:19XochitlMake sure push your gear in. The other one is is eating noises. I know in Korea, Jack. It's like that's showing that you're enjoying the food kind of anyway like.00:06:26JackRight, slurping noodles, right the. Yeah.00:06:30XochitlAll good. You know, like that the huge Koreans are so animated when they eat. And I really enjoyed that about Korean culture. But if you're from a culture where people are pretty animated when they eat, like when you go to the US, don't don't make those like slurping noises.00:06:46XochitlDon't make loud chewing noises like smacking like.00:06:50JackYeah, chew with your mouth closed and keep it as quiet as you possibly can. Like, that's basically the.00:06:50XochitlWe're like 15.00:06:56XochitlYeah.00:06:57XochitlBecause being loud and stuff and making these eating noises, a lot of people in the US are so offended by it. Like there's even a word for it, which is like misophonia.00:07:07XochitlOr something like.00:07:08XochitlThat I I'm not super super believe that's right. And when people.00:07:08JackOh, right.00:07:11JackThey get nauseous or sick from like food. Sounds like they can't take it, yeah.00:07:15XochitlSome people snacking. I honestly think that's.00:07:17XochitlIt's. I'm sorry. I think it's ridiculous.00:07:20JackYeah, they're just weak people, like. Yeah, they deserve the suffer. Yeah.00:07:23XochitlOhh your phone. You can. Yeah, but for some people it can be really serious. Like I I knew kids who would, like, eat lunch at the principal's office because they could not be around it, like around listening to other people eat. So yeah, the US is a weird culture in that way. So just try to keep it as quiet as possible.00:07:42JackOhh, one more. Uh, don't clean. Don't pick your teeth. No, no toothpicks.00:07:47XochitlOh well, sometimes there are toothpicks up, but.00:07:48JackAt the table that's.00:07:51XochitlDon't. Yeah, don't do it at the table. Sometimes you'll see toothpicks available to you at a restaurant, but yeah, just do it like in private because it's like very cringy.00:08:00JackWell, in Korean.00:08:01JackSometimes I'll I'll cover my mouth. You know you can cover your mouth and and do it, yeah.00:08:03XochitlYeah.00:08:05XochitlI think that could be OK my dad does that.00:08:10XochitlBut uh.00:08:13XochitlYes, it can be very cringy and.00:08:17JackYeah.00:08:18JackYou don't wanna you you wanna make a good impression with the, you know, with with.00:08:22JackYour, your, your yeah.00:08:22XochitlIf you are.00:08:24XochitlSeeing in laws or at a work party or having lunch with your boss, don't do it. Don't even cover your mouth and do it. It's just it's not worth the risk. You know what? Yeah, it's not worth the risk to be in the bathroom or something. Yeah, I think that's fine. But no, if that is such a rude one.00:08:31JackNo, just take it into another, into the bathroom or something. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.00:08:41JackYeah.00:08:41XochitlUhm.00:08:43XochitlYou can go wrong quickly, so yeah.00:08:46XochitlI think that's pretty much.00:08:48XochitlIt I would say there are other ones like.00:08:50JackYeah. No, no, no. You know, body sounds, you know, like belting. Yeah.00:08:52발표자7.00:08:56XochitlBirthdays helping at the table. People try to keep their mouth closed and either cover their mouth like this or with a napkin. Like if you burp, you know, don't like burp loudly and.00:08:58JackRight, right.00:09:04JackHmm.00:09:07JackIt doesn't mean you're enjoying yourself, or it might mean you're enjoying yourself too much. You know you're too.00:09:10XochitlNo, it's.00:09:14XochitlYeah, people are definitely going to make a face at you if you burp at the table, so.00:09:20발표자Yeah.00:09:21XochitlYeah, I think those are those are it? Well, let us know if you have any other cultural questions. I would actually really love to hear whether any of these things are rude in your country, in your culture, or what things are considered rude in your country, your culture, and even things specifically that you notice Americans doing like in movies or American.00:09:41JackYeah.00:09:42XochitlThat you have that are considered root in your culture. I'm I'm really interested to hear and know about that. I know in in Japan there's something that they say horse laugh.00:09:51XochitlAbout Americans, cause we laugh with our head back, like ha ha ha. Like there's like a horse. Yeah. So I I definitely do that horse laugh. Apparently in Japan is in play. You're supposed to, like, cover your mouth when you laugh and do kind of a dainty laughs.00:09:56JackI just. I just did it.00:09:57JackI'm like.00:10:07XochitlI have that boisterous laugh though.00:10:10JackYeah, that one's going to be hard to change. I don't know. I guess would just be the the horse. Laugher. Yeah.00:10:13XochitlYeah.00:10:16XochitlYeah. So yeah, just let us know what it's like in your in your country. I'm very curious to know.00:10:22XochitlLeave us a comment at A-Z englishpodcast.com it really helps with visibility. Also shoot us an e-mail at A-Z, englishpodcast@gmail.com, Jack and I would love to have an episode dedicated to talking about things that are rude in your culture and we can definitely do that through and it can be easier sometimes to sort through the emails than it is to sort through all your responses in the group chat.00:10:43XochitlAnd make sure to join the group chat, the we chat and the WhatsApp group so that you can talk to us directly. And we love chatting with you guys on there. See you guys next time. Bye bye.00:10:51JackBye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/culture-corner-table-manners/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 with lifelong English language learner Johnny from China.Transcript:00:00:00JackHey A-Z listeners, this is Jack here.00:00:03JackAnd if you would like to become a an exclusive subscriber to the show, you can hit the link in the description and that will take you to our Red Circle page, where for $1.99 a month you will get access to an extra two or three episodes each week.00:00:23JackAnd be careful, don't hit that donation button if you want to become an exclusive subscriber because the donation button is just a one time donation. However, the exclusive subscriber button will give you access to the extra two or three episodes.00:00:42JackEach week.00:00:44JackSo make sure you hit that exclusive subscriber button if you want access to the extra episodes.00:00:52JackNow let's get on with the show.00:00:56JackWelcome to the AC English podcast. My name is Jack, and today we have a very special episode for you. I am doing an interview with Johnny and Johnny is from China and we're just going to have a conversation today. And, you know, leave and see where it leads. So Johnny.00:01:16JackTell us a little bit. Like where, where?00:01:17JackAre you from in China? Exactly.00:01:19JohnnyHi. Hi, Jack. Hi. The audience of AZ English podcast. My name is Johnny and I'm from China and I'm living in China at the moment, so it's a it's a great honor to me to be on the show with Jack. Yeah.00:01:35JackIt's. It's an honor to have you here. You're a long time listener and you know you always, you know, send us, you know, comments and things like that. And we really appreciate your support. It's it's.00:01:39JohnnyExactly, yeah.00:01:46JackAwesome.00:01:47JohnnyWell, that yeah, yeah, yeah.00:01:49JackWhere where in China?00:01:50JackAre you from exactly like what city?00:01:51JackDo you live in?00:01:52JohnnyOh, I'm. I'm from. I'm from the city called Fuzhou. That's like the the southern part of China. And so I'm in the South of China, basically. Yeah. It's like the coastal city here. Yeah. Yeah.00:02:00JackOK. OK. OK.00:02:04JackYeah. Oh, I'm. I'm sure they've got amazing seafood there.00:02:08JohnnyYeah. Yeah. So I don't know if you heard of the place, but we've actually got a lot of fellow countrymen, everyone, especially you, will find a lot of my people from my hometown in in New York. OK. So in Chinatown, a lot of them.00:02:23JackOh. Oh, really.00:02:25JohnnyAre from Fuzhou.00:02:26JohnnyActually, yeah. Yeah. So and they speak.00:02:26JackOK. Interesting.00:02:28JohnnyAnd and they speak still speak the the, the native native language. And it's like a dialect, yeah.00:02:37JackRight. So, so a lot of people there speak that dialect. OK, you sing. That's fascinating. OK.00:02:40JohnnyYeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.00:02:43JackYeah. Well, Johnny, a lot of our listeners would love to know, you know, they just from listening to you talk right now they're they're probably in awe because you have such a strong command of the English language. And when we do interview episodes like this, we'd love to, like, ask our our guests.00:02:57JohnnyThank you.00:03:03JackLike, how did you like? What was your language journey like starting from when you were young? When did you Start learning English? What was your trajectory?00:03:14JohnnyYeah, like on uh, so, you know, in China. So I think it's pretty much the same in in Korea. So we started learning language in perhaps in in our primary school. So we have like text.00:03:25JackI think it's third.00:03:26Jack3rd grade in Korea is when they start.00:03:28JohnnySo great. Yeah, the same. No, it's it's. It's just thing to find out. Korea is the same. Yeah. So it's like third grade and we'll learn it all the way up to.00:03:38JohnnySome people to high school high school, so we have the in the in the big exam, you know for entering university you will be tested in your English, just like Korea, right in Asian countries.00:03:41발표자MHM.00:03:47JackJust like Korea, but but that test, am I not mistaken? Because I do teach some Chinese students that test is very grammar based. I mean, so it's a lot of just grammar, grammar, grammar, right.00:03:58JohnnyExactly. Yeah, that's the.00:04:02JohnnyYeah, and well, actually, we don't really learn spoken English in China. So it's not that focused on spoken English, so.00:04:13JohnnyThey can. Well, like it's, you know, I've been.00:04:16JohnnyPreviously I I have been learning English for many years, but I can barely speak three words of English because I've never spoken to anybody in China, so we don't really have the, you know, the the language environment here in China. That's that's the problem. The same in Korea.00:04:31JackI think it's the same in Korea. I think that they've they've implemented certain strategies to try to overcome that problem.00:04:39JackBecause there are a lot of private academies in Korea, which I'm sure there probably are a lot of private schools in China as well, where students can Start learning English at a younger age and have exposure to like a native English speaker from Australia, America, Canada, whatever, yeah.00:04:55JohnnyHmm.00:04:59JackUmm, but you know those are expensive. You know, not everyone can afford those. So you know, some kids are stuck with the public school system where it's like a.00:05:10JackA Korean teacher or a Chinese teacher lecturing in Chinese or in Korean, but they're teaching English, which is doesn't really make a lot of sense. You know when you're, when you think about it.00:05:22JohnnyYeah. So I I still, I I think we're we're we're in desperate need for some good English teachers like you in China so.00:05:30발표자But.00:05:30JohnnyUnfortunately, we don't. We don't have that many.00:05:33JohnnyOf native speakers who teach spoken English in China. Really. So that's. That's basically the situation here and.00:05:39JackOK. So take us back. So you're so Johnny's in primary school. And are you going to a private Academy or are you using the public school system?00:05:42JohnnyYeah.00:05:51JohnnyYeah, I'm. I'm pretty much using the the the public school system. Yeah. So just like, just like anybody else in in China. OK. So I wasn't in any language training school or anything. I didn't.00:06:02JohnnyUh, I I didn't like English all that much, to be honest. I was like, yeah, right, that was. That was just a.00:06:06JackI was just gonna ask you that question. I was like, I bet you hated it passionately being, you know.00:06:08JohnnyLot of fun, yeah.00:06:11JohnnyYeah, in, in a sense. Yeah, in a sense like it was just another subject for me, OK. And I and I, well, I think I I did OK in in middle school, but in.00:06:23JohnnyIn in high school like it fell, it falls off, I think pretty badly in in high school. So. So I didn't do so well in the the college entrance exam.00:06:34JohnnyFor my English.00:06:35JohnnyOK so so I didn't didn't wasn't a really good English speaker.00:06:42JackYeah, that's that's.00:06:43JohnnyProbably.00:06:43JackShocking to us, you know, because listening to you right now, this conversation I'm like, how is this possible? Like what?00:06:45JohnnyProbably not. Not even.00:06:49JackSomething, obviously something.00:06:51JackHappened along the way there. That was like a a real watershed like moment for you where you you did something dramatically different than you know.00:06:54JohnnyYeah, right.00:07:02JackFollowing the school curriculum.00:07:05JohnnyYeah, like, yeah, I I I wouldn't say I, I I wasn't even a good English learner, let alone a speaker. OK. So I think things got changed when I.00:07:16JohnnyUh, when I decided to go to Australia and for for a further study. So and so I think and I started learning English like proper learning.00:07:29JohnnyEnglish before that because you have to, you know, you have to pass the exams, you have to pass English exam before you can go there. So.00:07:40JohnnyI I think that's that's where I got started. But I notice, OK, so this this is actually kind of interesting so.00:07:47JackSo did did you make the decision to go to Australia before you started learning English, you know, or were you already in the process of learning English, you know?00:07:56JohnnyNo. So that was, you know, that was all after the.00:08:00JohnnyAfter I decided to go to Australia.00:08:02JackWow, that's real. Like trial by fire. You're like, oh, my gosh, I've made this commitment and now?00:08:08JohnnyYeah. Then you're sort of, you know, force yourself to, to be committed to this.00:08:13JackYeah.00:08:14JohnnySo you got to do.00:08:16JohnnyWhatever you can you.00:08:17JohnnyKnow to because this is the. So you, you. This is the choice you made so.00:08:21JohnnyYou've got to commit to that.00:08:23JackRight, right. Umm, what was it like when you first arrived in Australia? How was your? How was your English at that time?00:08:29JohnnyWell, uh, I think I think things got changed. Uh, a bit after I I uh, you know, I went to the language school before I go to Australia so.00:08:39JohnnyI think I can't discover that I have this interest in in spoken language because I decided to started to really see if if if your English Movies OK, I think that's.00:08:45JackMHM.00:08:53JohnnyWhat? What, what?00:08:54JohnnyWhat started me off in the first place?00:08:57JackWhat kind of movies were you into I like.00:08:59JackLike.00:08:59JohnnyOh, OK, that that, that's it. That was great because that was so many years ago. OK, so the the one I I can. Well, you know this sort of giving it away. Well, how how many years ago. So I I think that was like.00:09:05JackOK.00:09:19JohnnyUh movies? Well, actually, I when I started off I I watched some of the older movies, OK like that the the the movies from from someone from the 90s like Terminators because that's one of my favorite. Yes. So Terminator two. Yeah.00:09:28JackOhh yeah, sure. Terminating. Well, Sonny, that that I was in high school when that came out. So that gives away how old I am.00:09:40JohnnyYeah, and terminate that because that was the all time classics. So I started seeing all those classic films like I, I don't remember. This one's called the negotiator. I don't know if you have seen this one.00:09:51JackYeah. Sam Jackson. Yeah, that's a.00:09:53JackGreat one, yeah.00:09:54JohnnyYeah.00:09:55JohnnyYeah.00:09:56JohnnyRight, Samuel Jackson and and Kevin Spacey. I, if I remember right. Yeah. So that that was the the sort of the movies that I I watched that at the time. OK. And then I kind of started me off and I and I think I followed a a TV program in China and that that was called Learning English with movies.00:09:59JackYeah, exactly.00:10:16JackOhh, I like that. That's cool.00:10:18JohnnyOK. So yeah, that was that was many years ago. OK. So and I I stumbled across that that that show on TV and I think that kind of started my you know that was that was very that was really mind blowing to me.00:10:33JohnnyYeah, I can. I can actually learn something through movies when watching movies.00:10:37JackSomething fun language learning can actually be enjoyable. It doesn't have to just suck all the time, you know? Yeah.00:10:39JohnnyIt can be fun, right? It's like studying is fun.00:10:46JohnnyYeah, it's because to me English is all about exam before, so you know about exams before. So yeah.00:10:54JohnnyThat that kind of.00:10:57JohnnyUM introduced me to a whole new world.00:11:01JackYeah. Yeah, that's that's great. I'm. I'm so glad that you brought because I think these like.00:11:02JohnnyIf you like, yeah.00:11:07JackThis idea that like if it's fun, it's not learning, and if it's painful, it's learning and I I I really I I just, I get disgusted by that kind of philosophy where if it doesn't, if it isn't boring and it isn't painful and tedious, then you're not really learning anything.00:11:26JackAnd it's so funny because it's like when you really started learning is when you actually started enjoying the process and and discovering.00:11:36JackEnglish language movies and you know things like that where you can actually be entertained and also learn something along the way. That's a really great.00:11:46JohnnyExactly. Yeah. That's how I felt. That's exactly how I felt. So that's.00:11:51JohnnyNelson with mind blowing to me at a time so going.00:11:54JackYeah, I'm just picturing you. Sorry to interrupt you. So just to get back, so you, you you went to Australia?00:12:03JackAnd you, you you had a pretty, like decent command of the language when you got there, you felt pretty comfortable.00:12:03JohnnyYeah.00:12:08JackWith like like.00:12:09JohnnyI I wouldn't. I wouldn't say that I had a good command of the language. I still, you know, I would. I I was able to I I guess I was able to order something in McDonald's, yeah.00:12:22JackOK. OK. OK.00:12:24JohnnySo I was I didn't have to staff myself. That's I think I I I would say that's the level I've I've gotten. And at the time.00:12:30JackKind of a we.00:12:31JackWe would call that like in. Yeah. So like a surface level of understanding where you can kind of navigate, you can get around in taxi, go straight, turn right, turn left. This is my house. This is my stop. Give me the 2 cheeseburgers with large fries. You know that.00:12:42JohnnyYeah.00:12:46JohnnyYeah, probably even.00:12:46JackKind of stuff.00:12:48JackThat's where my Korean is right now, you know.00:12:50JackTo be honest, I've been stuck there for a decade.00:12:51JohnnyOK.00:12:52JackRight. So yeah.00:12:54JohnnySo I probably I I I couldn't even like name the the correct cheeseburger that I wanted. Yeah, I I can order a cheeseburger. Yeah, I I you know the the first thing I say is that you can even say.00:13:01JackYou could just point.00:13:06JohnnyThis one, that one is something like that.00:13:08JohnnyYeah, yeah. I didn't even know how to say how to how to get a straw, you know? So in, in, in our language, we we call it a sucker. So The funny thing, you're.00:13:16JackSo yeah, you don't want to ask for a sucker at McDonald's in Australia, you might you might get in trouble over there to see if.00:13:17JohnnyNot not get a.00:13:22JohnnyYeah. Can I get a sucker or something like?00:13:23JohnnyThat. So that's quite funny.00:13:25JackThat is funny. Yeah, that's that's that's hilarious.00:13:29JackSo how long in?00:13:30JackAustralia, before you really started to like, you know, feel like you were in your groove, you know, really like making progress.00:13:37JohnnyHmm.00:13:38JohnnyI I think that was I think the first major change or you know it's it's gone to a point where you realize that OK, something has changed. OK. So I have I have improved, OK that that moment came, I think about half year after I arrived in Australia 6 months later, OK.00:13:56JackYeah.00:13:58JackSix months, yeah.00:13:59JohnnyHmm.00:14:00JohnnySo I I think I you know the the the the sentences that that came out of my mouth was a little different. You know I can I think I can sort of.00:14:09JohnnyUse the the relative cost in my in my sentences. So that was a big that that was a that was a big change.00:14:12발표자MHM.00:14:17JackYeah, this is the place where that's the person who.00:14:20JohnnyThis is a place where, yeah, so you can actually add a little description after the after the NUM.00:14:25JackRight.00:14:26JohnnyAnd and that that was, uh, that, that that was like a game changer.00:14:31JohnnyOK, so you can add significant amount of information to your to the, to the things that you say.00:14:31JackYeah.00:14:38JackAbsolutely. Absolutely. And that because it's instead of short, choppy sentences all the time, you're able to, like you said, add description to a noun and to, you know, build on that and and make your sentences longer and longer. So it's really funny that you bring up like relative clause because it's like.00:14:54JohnnyYeah, it's still longer.00:14:58JackYou're going back to your grammar roots, you know, in China.00:15:02JackWhere you learn.00:15:02JohnnyYeah.00:15:02JackFrom relative clauses, but you're like now I can use a relative clause, which is. You know, that's really different to me. Yeah. And you know what it means exactly. Yeah.00:15:07JohnnyNow I really understand what it means.00:15:13JohnnyAnd I understand.00:15:14JohnnyWhy they did native speakers use it OK, because you need to. You need more. You need depth in in your language you need more information description.00:15:17JackYeah.00:15:24JackAbsolutely.00:15:24JohnnySorry, yeah.00:15:26JackI'm so yeah, I'm. I'm just, you know, I'm. I'm thinking about your your your story is really.00:15:32JackMaybe making a lot of like I'm making a lot of connections to other students that I've that I've met and that I've talked to and interviewed. They find that like when they, I I I equated to like learning the guitar or something. When you're learning the guitar or learning a language.00:15:53JackYou improve quickly in the beginning.00:15:55JackAnd then you hit a plateau.00:15:57JackAnd you get kind of stuck on this one level and you feel like you're never going to.00:16:02JackBump up another level and then suddenly one day out of the blue, like you said, you're just making sentences that are longer and more descriptive. And it kind of does that kind of light a fire with within you to be like, wow, this makes me wanna learn this even more because I'm seeing the improvements.00:16:23JackObjectively, you know.00:16:24JohnnyYou know. Yeah, certainly. Yeah. So I think I've, I've got more confidence after after I I know I what I can do.00:16:36JohnnyBut interestingly enough, like not long after that, you know, I think I kind of hit another ceiling.00:16:43JackOK.00:16:44JackThat's normal. That's normal. Normal, yeah.00:16:45JohnnyThat's not. Yeah, that's that's not there for. So I I I can.00:16:52JohnnyYou know, I I.00:16:54JohnnyI think I passed that phase where I can only, uh, say very simple sentences. OK, so uh, so I can have, uh, more meaningful conversation with, with some with a native speaker.00:17:07JohnnyOK, but I still uh, I'm so.00:17:12JohnnyUh, I'm still not confident. I'm not confident enough in in some of the the more deep conversations, right. And I think I I kind of stuck there. It's just like you said, you know, so yeah, that was a really good analogy like learning guitar. It's like kind of stuck there for for a long time again.00:17:32JackGood.00:17:33JohnnyOK, I didn't see any. I didn't see any improvements in my language. So I think that that's that, that that lasted.00:17:39JohnnyAbout I think maybe.00:17:43JohnnyA good one or two years. OK. So that was, uh, kind of suffered because.00:17:49JackBut I I wanna. I wanna just talk about this a little bit because I I think I I don't want to listeners to misunderstand that you're.00:17:58JackYou felt like you're not making progress and maybe when it comes to like producing utterances, but but things were happening inside of your brain during that entire period of time there were you were you were immersed in English language, you were internalizing rules and patterns and things like that. You just weren't able to.00:18:19JackKind of convert it into utterances that were, you know, you know, speech perhaps. But I think that you were improving. I I just think.00:18:30JackLike it's it's part of the process is like you feel like you're stuck, but you're actually not. Things are happening and and progress is being made. It just might not be as obvious as you know. Perhaps we would want it to be, you know, because we we want like in two weeks later we want to.00:18:50JackYou know, show people look what I can do, you know? But it's it takes.00:18:53JackA long time.00:18:55JackTo get to that next level. And so I think a lot of people give up during that time. And it's sad because they're actually they are improving, it just maybe isn't showing the way that they want it to.00:19:01JohnnyYeah.00:19:06JohnnyThat I think that that's a fair point because.00:19:08JohnnyProbably you know, I I I I would have given up at A at a point, but you know I was.00:19:16JohnnyI was not in China, you know, I was in another country, so there's no way. There's no way you can get around.00:19:18JackYou couldn't give up you. You were in. You were swimming with sharks. You know you. You were. You. Like sink or swim right here.00:19:27JohnnyYeah. So there was, there was so everything. Everything you do, every every time after you, you know, you wake up, you have to speak English, otherwise you you know, otherwise you wouldn't be able to do anything. So. So I I kind of got lucky there. So at at that point.00:19:39발표자Sure.00:19:44JohnnyYou you're in that environment, so there's no.00:19:46JohnnyWay you can give up.00:19:48JohnnySo I kind of got me through that period where you feel, you know, a little disappointed about yourself, OK, about not making any progress.00:19:58JackSo Johnny, we talked about that you're like long plateau. That was like maybe two or three years.00:20:03JackOr maybe one?00:20:04JackOr two years where you got kind of stuck. Yeah. And so how how long were you in Australia by the?00:20:04JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:20:06JohnnyOne or two years.00:20:10발표자OK.00:20:12JohnnyJust a couple of.00:20:12JohnnyYears like three to four years, yeah.00:20:14JackOK, OK. And and what did you like when when you made that second jump up after that one to two year plateau, were you able to like have deeper conversations with people? Did you feel like like when you're sitting in a circle at a coffee table in there, you know the native Australians are are kind of you know?00:20:34JackBantering back and forth and you before you were kind of lost in the conversation, did you feel like now you understood what was going on? You were able to understand kind of a more on a deeper level what they were talking about?00:20:47JohnnyActually, no, actually no. No, because you know, you know Aussies because they have this very strong Australian accent. So as long as they they have the, it's like almost like they.00:20:48JackOK, OK.00:20:55JackRight.00:21:00JohnnyYou're not really speaking English, right? So there's systems like totally different use different words, you know? So they are a lot different when the slings are strong and slang so.00:21:05JackThey use a lot of different words, yeah.00:21:11JohnnyYou will not be.00:21:12JohnnyYou get.00:21:14JohnnySo that was that was the problem there.00:21:16JohnnySure, sure.00:21:18JohnnyYeah, and no. You have problem with overseas students. So the overseas students usually hang out.00:21:25JohnnyWith the overseas students.00:21:26JackYes. So you we always tell them that we always, I always tell my students, don't hang out with your Korean friends like, don't do it.00:21:27발표자I didn't really.00:21:31JohnnyExactly.00:21:33JohnnyI I tell I tell myself that but you.00:21:35JohnnyKnow it's just.00:21:37JohnnySometimes it's, uh, it's uh. Well, you know, you know, uh, it's something you should do, but you just not be able to do it, right. So you.00:21:43JackRight. And it's comfortable and it's familiar and it's comforting and it's so it's so tempting. It's so tempting.00:21:46JohnnyIt's kind of, yeah, it's familiar, right? So you? Yeah.00:21:51JohnnySo when you.00:21:52JohnnyWhen when you, when you talk to the native speakers and you when you hear so many words that you don't understand, it's just so frustrating. Right? I I guess it's frustrating for for anybody. You know, it's funny thing is I I found like a French class.00:22:00JackSure.00:22:05JohnnyThey they they hang out with friends as well. That's what happened.00:22:09JackOhh yeah, this is not yeah, this is not like a Korean or Chinese. You know, I don't wanna say problem, but like situation, you know it's it's something that a lot of exchange students will do because when you're when you're feeling lost and completely rudderless, you know just you alone in the ocean.00:22:18발표자Yeah.00:22:29JackThe first thing you're gonna do is is go towards something that's comfortable and familiar.00:22:34JackAnd you're gonna find people who are from your, you know, your country, and you're gonna latch on to them and hold on for dear life, you know, because it's. It's.00:22:44JohnnyLike. Yeah, yeah, I I guess because I think you you probably share the same experience cause you're you're in career. Yeah, so you.00:22:44JackScary. You know to do that.00:22:51JackYep, Yep.00:22:53JohnnySo I don't know about that. When you put the life there.00:22:54JackMy my I hung out with a lot of Americans and Canadians and.00:22:58JackThe.00:22:59JackWent to a lot of places where there were a lot of other Canadians and and Americans and.00:23:04JohnnyExactly.00:23:05JackYeah.00:23:06JohnnyYeah.00:23:07JackI guess I tell my students do do as I say, not as I do you.00:23:08JohnnySo.00:23:11JackKnow so yeah.00:23:13JohnnyYeah. Well, that that's basically what happens everywhere. Yeah, so.00:23:16JohnnyI guess that's that's why you know, I I hit the second ceiling because I.00:23:20JohnnyDon't have enough conversations with the real native speakers. Now I go to classes. OK, yeah, we we use English in the classroom, and we'll probably do some food assignment scaling and uh, you know that that's it. OK, so so you don't actually. So.00:23:34JackYeah.00:23:38JohnnyYou, you, you have a lot of input.00:23:41JohnnyBut not not enough output. I understand this like in many years. Many years later. I don't understand the the understand the theory at the time.00:23:43JackYes.00:23:49JackRight, right. Not so many students don't understand the theory, and there are a.00:23:53JackLot of lot of.00:23:54JackTeachers have kind of older I'm going to use a big word here, antiquated for our listeners out there just means like old fashioned. Yeah, old fashioned kind of philosophy on education where.00:24:01JohnnyWhat does that mean? Old fashion OK.00:24:09JackYou know, the students are sitting in a desk pointed at the teacher, and the teacher is speaking English to them.00:24:14JackThat they're supposed to, you know? Shut your mouth, be quiet. Listen and and don't disturb my classroom, you know.00:24:21JohnnyYou know what that that that's the the. That's the kind of educational system we've been using for more than 100 years and still going.00:24:29JackI know it's still going. You could put a PPT. You know you can put a a projector in a classroom and but it's still. I still find myself standing in front of a room full of people with their chairs pointing at me. And I I wondered to myself, why are we doing this? You know, 100 years.00:24:44JackTwitter it's it's it's terrible. So.00:24:46발표자Yeah.00:24:48JohnnyOh yeah, I almost fell. You're. You're a universal teacher.00:24:52JackRight. I teach university here in Korea. But yeah, it's still, you know, the this whole setup is is very familiar. Yeah, it it's it's the same almost everywhere. So how do we get to Johnny today, you know, with, with your wonderful eloquence and and speaking ability?00:24:57JohnnyIt's 9.00:25:11JohnnyYeah, I can only say I'm still learning, still learning to go still long way to go.00:25:14발표자Well.00:25:16JackYeah, sure. I mean, it's a, it's a, it's a never ending journey. You're never going to get there. There is no final destination.00:25:22JackAnd you know there, there's always, there's always even for me as a native speaker, there's still more words for me to learn and more things for me to read and understand and and to. But but that's kind of the beauty of of teaching I find is like.00:25:32JohnnyExcellent.00:25:40JackYou you realize that?00:25:43JackThe more you learn about something, you think that it's going to get closer to you. But as you look on the horizon, it just gets farther and farther away. It's like the deeper you that you go into English, the the horizon is moving away from you, the you know, it's getting farther away. And and you realize, oh, this is a never ending process.00:25:59JohnnyYeah.00:26:01JohnnyYeah.00:26:04JackUntil you know the day I die, I'll still be learning English, you know, and.00:26:08JohnnyYeah, we call that the A lifelong learner. OK, so you're learning for a lifetime.00:26:11JackYep.00:26:13JackAbsolutely. Absolutely. And I think that's that's a better way to look at yourself as or a better way to.00:26:18JackLook at it then to say ohh this is my destination and when I get there I'm going to stop.00:26:24JackIt's like, no, you it it's be a lifelong learner. It's a much better way to think of yourself.00:26:26JohnnyYeah, no.00:26:31JackSo how how did you?00:26:32JackGet how did you get to where you are now?00:26:34JackLike what? What was your? What's your secret?00:26:36JohnnyI think the uh the 2nd, so now I'm coming to the the the second big game changer in my journey in my journey in in Australia. OK so.00:26:42JackOK. OK, right.00:26:43JackRight.00:26:44발표자OK.00:26:50JohnnyI a well I I got a a part time job at the time. OK? So because I I think, OK, so something has to change.00:27:00JackYeah.00:27:00JohnnyYou have to work out. You have to work out your comfort zone. You know, sometimes you just have to push yourself a little to work out the comfort zone so that I found myself a part time job there.00:27:10JohnnyYou know, uh, which is a salesperson at uh at a mobile phone store.00:27:14JackOh wow. OK.00:27:15JohnnySo yeah, so and.00:27:16JackNow you now you need some technical English because.00:27:19JohnnyYou have to learn. Yeah, you.00:27:21JackYou're not going to get by with hamburger and.00:27:21JohnnyHave to learn a lot of 2nd.00:27:23JackYou know. Yeah, that's not gonna cut it.00:27:27JohnnyMy name is. You're not getting away with those simple words. So because not only do you have to talk to the customer.00:27:34JohnnyOK.00:27:36JohnnyBut you also have to sell your products, OK? Otherwise you'll get fired.00:27:40JackRight, right.00:27:41JohnnyWell.00:27:42JohnnySo you not only have to to, uh, speak to them, you have to sort of get them hooked, you know, get them, listen to you. So so they'll they'll buy things right. So so establish this kind of connection.00:27:56JohnnyYeah, right. So again, it it really allows me to get into a deeper conversation with them and and you know, because it's a paid job, right? So it's a paid job. So. So you're more serious about this, not like you're fooling around with your mates, right? Yeah.00:28:12JackRight. It's not like the classroom, you know, project where you're.00:28:15JackJoking around and you know, you know.00:28:17JohnnyYou know.00:28:18JohnnySo sort of force myself to think about.00:28:19발표자Absolutely.00:28:24JohnnyThe some of the grammar, some of the the the terms that I use and I think I learned a ton from my my colleagues, OK, so.00:28:32JohnnyI think 1.00:28:32JohnnyOf my colleague is the is the best son. He's like 16 years old or something at the time, you know? So and.00:28:42JohnnyUM.00:28:46JohnnySo actually he he was using a lot of the teenager language, you know, still a lot of slang, the teenager slang saying and.00:28:50JackA lot of slang and yeah, yeah.00:28:54JohnnyI I still, but still you.00:28:56JohnnyYou learn, you learn a.00:28:57JohnnyLot.00:28:57JohnnyYou know from that experience.00:28:59JackYeah. Actually I think that might be the perfect kind of like practice partner is someone who's, you know they're they're not necessarily professional or established yet, you know, so they're not.00:29:06JohnnyYeah.00:29:11JackGetting and you know, he's they're also probably way more relaxed and chill than like, you know, the an older person might be someone in their 40s and so.00:29:22JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:29:25JackIt's much more comfortable.00:29:26JohnnyYeah.00:29:27JohnnyMuch more comfortable exactly.00:29:29JohnnyAnd and and I'm you know.00:29:31JohnnyI'm really thankful that he's not judging because I'm not so fluent in English. You know, because sometimes the teenagers, they're, they're the they, they can be, they can be the.00:29:41JohnnyUh, some little demons, but they can be can also be the nicest person in the world, so you know, I just happened. I'm just so glad that I that I met the the, the, the the nicest person.00:29:46JackRight.00:29:51JohnnyIn the world.00:29:52JohnnyThey will be not judging and but it could be daunting sometimes, you know, to still face the face the customers, because they they can ask your questions, right. And they're they well. And I mean, I wouldn't. I don't want to say.00:30:02JackABC.00:30:02JackAbsolutely.00:30:06JohnnyBut sometimes, as customers, they don't, they do not forgive you because because your native language is not English, right? Because.00:30:14JackThey're just going to get frustrated. They're going to complain.00:30:16JohnnyYeah, if you can't. Yeah, they they. If you can't explain something thoroughly, they're just gonna get complaint. It's very natural.00:30:23JackWell, it's a we we call them. That's a a Karen behavior social and I talked about. Yeah. One of our podcast well, I mean, but you you're gonna eventually you're going to get a Karen. You know what I mean? Like you're gonna get someone who's gonna.00:30:30JohnnyThe shopping game.00:30:39JackThe.00:30:39JohnnyOK.00:30:40JackVery impatient and frustrated because maybe they're not going to give you that extra like I don't know space to like kind of catch up in the conversation. They want to be understood immediately, and if you're not meeting their demands, they're going to start complaining. And so that that could be scary.00:30:57JohnnyYeah. Yeah. And it was. It was. Yeah. And I'm going to just. I'm just going to.00:31:04JohnnyThis, on behalf of all our audience here I are. You, a male, Karen Jack.00:31:10발표자I'm like, yeah.00:31:11JackTo be honest, actually I'm I'm very far from a male. Karen, you know I'm not. I'm not. I don't, I don't.00:31:20JackI I don't practice Karen like behavior in my in my regular day I'm pretty. I'm pretty patient and pretty, pretty laid back when it comes to those things. So yeah, yeah.00:31:26JohnnyAnd I'm just joking, just playing.00:31:32JackYeah. So that was that sounds like that, that job, your part time job was again.00:31:38JackYour philosophy is kind of like, I mean, I'm starting to see a pattern here in like your in your life.00:31:44JackYou first you decide to go to Australia, then you're like ohh. Now I have to learn English, you know. And then you're learning English in Australia and you're like, I'm gonna get a job. Ohh my gosh. Now I have to start speaking on a deeper level to these customers. It's like you put yourself in these situations that are very high stress and then you.00:32:05JackRise to the OK.00:32:06JackVision, which I think is you know, I mean that's like a a trade for of like very successful people will do that they'll they'll jump in first and then they'll be like now I have to figure this out whereas cautious people will you know I'm going to study for 10 years and then maybe I'll apply for that job it's it's much better to just do it your way.00:32:27JackRight. Just jump in and go for it or swim.00:32:29JohnnyWell, I I I guess I I I.00:32:31JohnnyGuess I I I got lucky. I got lucky that I have this opportunity.00:32:36JohnnyMy as my family has been able to support me financially and which allows me to go to another country.00:32:40JackYeah.00:32:44JohnnyTo study so that that's what you know when you're in this country, when you're in this environment. So you could sort of.00:32:51JohnnyTake away your your safe, safe net so you don't have the safe net to fall back on. So you, you.00:32:55JackRight.00:32:59JohnnyYou you have to, you have to.00:33:02JackAnd but you know it, it doesn't have to be extreme like what you did. I mean, what you did is pretty extreme, but.00:33:08JackI'm going to.00:33:09JackI'm going to say to our our listeners out.00:33:11JackThere, you know.00:33:12JohnnySo.00:33:14JackIt's also scary to introduce yourself to a native speaker.00:33:18JackYou know, if you if you see one in your neighborhood, you know, like, that's scary. But you know what? Go introduce yourself. Just take that leap of of faith. And so that's like kind of doing it on like a micro level of what you did. And you don't have to move to Australia. You don't have to get a job.00:33:26JohnnyYeah.00:33:35JackYou know selling mobile phones, but you could just introduce yourself to someone who speaks English, try to befriend that person and and that could be another Ave. to success that doesn't require money. It might require a little bit of time and energy and you, you know.00:33:53JohnnyExactly, yeah.00:33:54JackBut I think.00:33:55JackI think these little things are, there are little ways to do to be, to take risks that will actually benefit you.00:34:02JohnnyHmm. Yes, totally agreed. Yeah. So. So I I think it has to. Yeah. Yeah, I heard this. You have to start somewhere, right. Everything has to start somewhere. So.00:34:14JohnnyI think it's the the, it's. It's really crucial that.00:34:18JohnnyI think it's better.00:34:19JohnnyIf you're determined to to learn this language.00:34:23JohnnyYou better start somewhere or say whether that's uh, that's a really simple sentence. And maybe just saying hello, just like you're saying hello to.00:34:30JohnnyThe to the foreigner in your.00:34:31JohnnyIn your neighborhood? Yeah, something.00:34:34JohnnyYou know, we're not gonna eat.00:34:35JohnnyYou right, so why not? Why not?00:34:37JackThey're.00:34:38JackGonna.00:34:38JackEat you. That's. I like that. That's.00:34:39JohnnyNo. Why not? Yeah.00:34:40JackTrue.00:34:42JackYeah.00:34:43JackUM, that's fascinating. And So what do you? Are you a teacher now? Is that if if.00:34:47JackI'm not mistaken.00:34:47JohnnyI am. Yeah. I I I, I.00:34:49JohnnyAm a teacher. I have a.00:34:51JohnnyI am the Niles teacher.00:34:52JohnnySo I think from that you know.00:34:54JohnnyYeah.00:34:55JohnnyUh, from a mobile phone job many years ago, and I found my interest in learning the language and speaking the language so.00:35:05JohnnyI you know.00:35:06JohnnyWell, I you know, I.00:35:07JohnnyWound up in different.00:35:07JohnnyJobs later, you.00:35:08JohnnyKnow so that that's a long story, but anyway, so I eventually I was able to.00:35:09JackYeah.00:35:15JohnnyFind a true interest which is language and language teaching, I guess.00:35:20JackYeah.00:35:20JohnnyHmm so so I am a teacher now.00:35:21JackThat's amazing.00:35:23JackYeah, I I love your story. I think it's fantastic and I think it's very inspiring. A lot of our listeners out there are going to appreciate it. And and I think some of them have had similar experiences and maybe you know, like you said, a lot of it is luck too, right? The fact that you met the.00:35:24JohnnySo this.00:35:39JackRight, people at the right time.00:35:41JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:35:42JackBut you know, if you.00:35:44JackPut yourself out there. Opportunities are they're floating around, you know, and if you don't try you, you you 100% chance of failure. So you know you you you got to take you got to take a risk.00:35:55JohnnyExactly, yeah.00:35:58JackUM, so Johnny, you're you're interested in podcasting, if I'm not mistaken, this is something that you're aspiring to do. Yeah. And you said you had some questions for me, so yeah.00:36:04JohnnyYeah.00:36:09JohnnyNot only not. Yes, and thank you, Jack, for.00:36:15JohnnyYou know, actually, I want to thank you to inviting me and thank you for inviting me today here. So I could be on the show and ask you about all these questions.00:36:24JackAbsolutely.00:36:25JohnnyAnd so, yeah, you're you're saying that exactly. I'm. I'm I'm interested in starting a podcast. You know, I've been thinking about that for a long time and actually not not only broadcasting because.00:36:39JohnnyI'm I'm I'm actually.00:36:40JohnnyQuite new to podcasting because it's not the I guess it's not as popular as it is in.00:36:46JohnnyAnd you know basically.00:36:48JohnnyOutside China. OK, so in China it's, it's not a thing.00:36:50JackYeah, yeah. And and these days it's always evolving because what I've noticed is that podcasting without youtubing or being a YouTuber or in China, Billy, Billy, you know, without doing something like that, you know, people want to be able to see you and listen to you. That's what I've I've, I've I've come to realize, is that they really want to see.00:37:03JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:37:12JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:37:12JackAnd listen.00:37:14JackAnd so I I would recommend if you do, you know if I were to do it all over again, I would have made more of an effort to be a podcaster slash like YouTuber and really put the effort into like the video as well, which we haven't, you know, for the last couple of years, we've been mostly just an audio podcast.00:37:14JohnnyExactly.00:37:25JohnnyOK.00:37:34JackI don't know how you did. How did you find us, by the way?00:37:38JohnnyOh, oh, yeah. That's that's an interesting word as well. I think the first summer class.00:37:46JohnnyYour channel on the on the channel, unbelievably.00:37:50JackOh, OK.00:37:51JohnnyYeah. So I was. Yeah, I yeah. So because I was, I was trying to find some of the some of the materials for my students because I don't think they have enough input. So I think they should listen to more of the native speaker conversations and.00:37:52발표자All right.00:38:05발표자Right.00:38:10JohnnyWell, trust me, I I've tried a few a bunch of different. I've tried different things, try different channels. OK so. But you know, because I I teach out.00:38:15발표자Sure.00:38:17JackYeah, yeah.00:38:20JohnnyRight, so I'm not speaking. It's sort of a, it's very conversational English, you know.00:38:27JackRight.00:38:28JohnnyRight, so a lot.00:38:29JohnnyOf students are familiar with the the sort of uh monologue type of uh speech type of English.00:38:36JackMore toic or something like that, where it's like a a kind of presentational or something like a.00:38:42JackLike a.00:38:42JohnnyPresentation or. Yeah, yeah, yeah, something like that. Right. So, but not not, you know, the conversational English. So that that's that's.00:38:48JackRight.00:38:50JohnnyI came across your channel and I and I think wow this so this is just fantastic.00:38:56JackThank you so much. We are the least like academic of the podcast that I've come across.00:38:57JohnnyThis is this is.00:39:02JackYou know we.00:39:02JohnnyAnd that that.00:39:04JohnnyHappened to be exactly what I needed.00:39:06JackThat's fantastic. I I love hearing that. It makes us, you know it. It kind of validates, you know, things for, for social and me because we do we have kind of found our lane in which is it's not the most beautiful polished you know kind of podcast.00:39:25JackBut we do just love to have, like, real, genuine conversations with each other. And I feel like that's something that's missing. It's everything's all planned out. It's so clean and so crisp and, you know, conversation is messy and ugly sometimes it's not, you know, it's it's not this like.00:39:43JohnnyYeah, but that's, you know.00:39:44JackBeautiful, yeah.00:39:47JohnnyWell, it doesn't have language, doesn't have to be beautiful. That's that's my take.00:39:49JackRight. Yeah, exactly. We can't all be Shakespeare. It's not all poetry, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah. So if you, you know, if I. If I were in your your shoes. Well, let me ask you a couple of questions. First are are you thinking of doing like an aisle?00:39:55JohnnyNo, no, no, no.00:40:06JackThe style of podcast or something are you are you going to focus on?00:40:08JohnnySo yeah, that that you.00:40:09JackSomething specific like that.00:40:11JohnnyKnow Jack, that that's where I got stuck. You know, that's kind of where I got stuck because.00:40:17JohnnyThere are some many.00:40:19JohnnyThere are many competitors out there who are doing this kind of content already. OK, so.00:40:25발표자Right.00:40:27JohnnySo if I were to do it now, OK, would I be able to ever compete with them because they started earlier?00:40:34JohnnyOK, so and and and and in doing that I kind of limit myself to uh, you know, to this group of audience that that they are only interested in in outs knowing you know this kind of small group of people you should know that.00:40:35발표자Yeah.00:40:47JackYeah.00:40:49JohnnyYeah. So that's that's that's what I've done.00:40:53JohnnyThat's that's what I'm worrying about. OK, so I I I, you know, in a way, I don't want to.00:40:55발표자Mm-hmm.00:40:58JohnnyLimit myself to only.00:41:00JohnnyThis screwed up audience and I want to. I want a bigger audience but.00:41:04JackYeah, exactly. I, no, no, you got to be greedy because it's there's only, you know, there's only so much bandwidth out there that people have, you know, for for this kind of.00:41:06JohnnyIs that not too greedy?00:41:15JackContent and uh, you know, I mean social and I were still plugging away two years later and we've made some progress. But you know, there are times where our downloads are not as as good as some months. And you know we wish we were more successful like some of the bigger, you know, ESL podcast. But you know we stayed.00:41:36JackYou know, we try to be genuine. We try to be authentic, we try to be true to ourselves and what we enjoy doing.00:41:43JackAnd I guess that's what I think that's my the best advice I could give you is find out like what your what do you authentically enjoy doing, you know like what are are you you know, if if teaching a lesson is your thing then then you know you could take some of your lessons from your alts class and you could actually.00:41:55JohnnyYeah.00:42:03JackYou know, convert those into like podcast form, you know, and do it that way, if you're you're a conversationalist because we're have we had, it's already been 45 minutes. We've been talking. So we're we're having this great conversation.00:42:20JackSo you could go down that lane and or you could do all of those things, you know, and and just and and see what clicks with the, with the audience as well. Because once you get something that people like, you have to follow that, you know, follow that lead that trail because they're they're telling you what they want.00:42:33JohnnyYeah, yeah.00:42:39JackAnd you have to follow it. You know, sniff it out.00:42:42JohnnyYeah, yeah, I know. It's not. It's.00:42:44JohnnyIt's not about, yeah.00:42:45JohnnyDoing the right thing the right time.00:42:47JohnnyAnd uh, so I I guess, uh, videos, uh, the the the short videos are a thing you know since since the.00:42:55JohnnySince TikTok I guess.00:42:57JackYes.00:42:57JohnnySo you have seven other point, yeah, I was.00:42:59JohnnyThinking about maybe I should do a TikTok or should I?00:43:01JohnnyDo TikTok.00:43:02JohnnyOr YouTube, or because YouTube is isn't really a you know, available in in China. So so should I be a YouTuber or so?00:43:07JackRight, right.00:43:12JohnnyA lot of things you have to take into consideration at the moment so.00:43:15JackYeah. Yeah. Well, I I would tell you, you know, honestly do it for a while because you'd love to do it.00:43:23JackAnd don't worry about the downloads and the success, because if you, you know, you find that that you really enjoy doing it. Like for me this is like very much.00:43:35JackA kind of a hobby. I I always call it a job. It's a jobby. It's like a.00:43:38JohnnyYeah. OK. Is that is that a word?00:43:42JackI just made that up, but it's it's between, yeah.00:43:44JohnnyOK.00:43:47JackYou know it. It's it's, it's something that I would love to do and generate income and survive on, but I'm not there yet. But I keep doing it. Not for for money or for fame or anything like that. I just really enjoy it, you know, it's just something that is really, really good.00:44:06JackAnd I think it's and you're you're doing something good for.00:44:10JackYou're not just wasting people's time, you're actually giving them something that they they need, which is, you know, more, you know, content for language learning. Cause I think there's just, there's never. There can never be enough of that. To be honest, in my opinion, because people are always looking for more ways to learn English and they're connecting with certain personalities.00:44:30JackAnd you know it, you may just resonate with with certain people and and but I would, you know, follow your instincts, be yourself. Don't try to be you know somebody else.00:44:36JohnnyYeah.00:44:41JackI am.00:44:42JackYou know, I tried that in the beginning of podcasting where I tried to have a better broadcasting voice, but the truth is, I stammer. And I I I, you know, repeat myself and I, you know, you know, I do all that kind of stuff. And and that's just who I am, you know. And if if people don't like it, then you know, they they'll tune.00:44:55JohnnyJust feed yourself.00:45:03JackNo, but I I think people will forgive you if they think you're being authentic and genuine as as a, as a presenter, as a podcaster.00:45:12JohnnyYeah, I think.00:45:13JohnnyBeing genuine that that's that's really crucial.00:45:15JohnnyYeah, well, you know, I share the link of your your podcast to many of my students, and I think they they think it's absolutely fantastic. So a lot of my students been listening to. Well, thank you, Jack. Well, thank you for creating such a great.00:45:26JackOh man, thank you so much.00:45:31JackYeah.00:45:33JohnnyAll these great content. OK. Thank you for you. And socials and Kevins and effort. You know, we're actually listening to some of these earlier, earlier episodes where you feature.00:45:46JackYeah.00:45:47JohnnyKevin and I mean.00:45:49JohnnyMaybe someone else. I don't remember the name.00:45:52JackYeah, you're you're going into the deep cuts. Yeah, we had some really good conversations at the beginning, you know, Kevin and I started it together, and then he got too busy and social was a guest on our our podcast. And then she became a my full time podcasting partner. So. Yeah, just kind of funny how that happens.00:45:53JohnnyAre you sure? Yeah.00:46:08JohnnyOh, OK.00:46:12JackUM, but uh, you know. Thank you, Johnny. It means a lot to us. And thank you so much for spreading the word and for our listeners out there. This was my my conversation with Johnny. John. If Johnny gets a podcast started, I will be the first to promote it to all our listeners out there. Of course. Of course.00:46:29JohnnyThank you. Thank you, Jack, my name is.00:46:33JackAnd if you guys want to listen to this episode, go to our website A-Z englishpodcast.com if you want to leave us a message, you can send us an e-mail at at Oz English podcast at Gmail.00:46:43JackCom you can talk to us in our WhatsApp group or in our WeChat group for our our Chinese listeners out there. And with that said, Johnny, thanks again man and listeners. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.00:46:53JohnnyThank you.00:46:55JohnnyThank you.00:46:57JohnnyBye bye.Podcast Website:https://atozenglishpodcast.com/culture-corner-my-interview-with-johnny-from-china/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 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