English Learners Club(ELC): Recent Episodes
MinMin
This podcast is a program that reads out a monologue created as a homework assignment for the online English lesson "FREEBIRD English". https://www.55freebird.com
Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact me. smsgil0228@gmail.com
When I returned to the port of my island, I noticed a European woman glancing around, looking a bit lost. I gathered some courage and asked her in English," Do you want me to drive you somewhere?" She answered in Japanese , "Daijoubu desu," meaning " I'm fine." I was about to drive away, but I saw her carrying a huge suitcase, I couldn't help but worry. So I asked again, "You have a big suitcase,and I have plenty of time. It's really no trouble to give you a ride."
She smiled and said, "Thank you! Actually, I'm supposed to meet someone at the post office." As we headed that way, I asked the classic question. "Where are you from?"
"Germany.", She said. I answered, "Wow! I'm learning German. Guten Tag!"
When we got to the post office, a Japanese staff member came out and explained, "She'll be staying on this island for three months to help with our art museum."
I dropped her off at the apartment where she'd be living, and I went back home. I wanted to talk with her more... but I didn't know when there would be a chance.
A few days later, I happened to see her again at the port just by chance. I thought, "Why not give it a try?" So I asked, "I'm really interested in German. Could you talk with me more?" She said, "Of course, that's totally fine!"
After that,she visited my house. She spoke a bit of Japanese, and I spoke a little bit of German. Unfortunately, the only phrase that came to mind was: "Die Sonne scheint." which means "The sun is shining." I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to actually use that phrase.
Anyway, English ended up being the best way for us to communicate.
First, she carefully checked a self-introduction I'd written in German a while ago. Then she asked me, "Why are you studying German?"
I told her, "I really want to go to"Wacken Open Air"-the world's biggest heavy metal festival!"
The next time we met, I was surprised. She had researched all about Wacken Open Air and even drafted an inquiry email for me to send. She also helped me practice conversations I might need during a trip to Germany-at airports, cafes, and restaurants. To be honest, I've been taking German lessons once a month for a few years, but the grammar is tricky, and I'd been struggling so I hadn't even touched pronunciation.
She focused on topics I was interested in, and taught me real, everyday German. Thanks to her, I started to love German again. I'd almost given up on it before.
She came to my place once a week for three months. Time flies!
Before I knew it she was leaving the next day, so I sent her a message: "I'd love to drive you to the port tomorrow. Please let me know your ferry time. Also, if you have any stuff you want to get rid of, even trash, I can take care of that for you."
The next morning , she messaged me: "Thank you so much for your sweet message! I'm taking the 8：14 ferry. It's really kind of you offer a ride, but I don't want to trouble you."
" Oh no... I really don't think of it as trouble at all, plus it's raining." I also tried calling her, but she didn't pick up.
My husband said, " You'd better just go get her right now!" Just as I was about to drive off, she came walking toward me with leftover detergent and groceries.
I just told her, "I'll pick you up at your apartment at 7：45！ No ifs, ands, or buts about it !" She smiled and agreed.
When we arrived at the port,we stood together on the pier. Just then the rain stopped and the sun broke through the clouds.
" Oh! Die Sonne scheint !" I said. It just slipped out of my mouth. Ah-HA! I finally got the perfect chance to use that phrase!
Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the English Learners Club. I'm Etsuko, and today, I'll talk about “a very special week."
As I was thinking about what to write for my homework, one of my old friends sent me a message. We decided to catch up at her favorite Italian restaurant. Next, my online teacher, who lives overseas, said she wanted to join our weekly English chat. And finally, a friend who is usually very busy asked me to have dinner at a yakitori restaurant on the same day as the special English chat meeting! What a fantastic week!
I was on cloud nine as I talked and drank with my dear friends. The pizza was amazing at the Italian restaurant, and all the yakitori dishes were savory and very satisfying - perfect with cold beer on a summer evening. The two friends I met this week are very dear to my heart, and I can talk to them about anything.
Speaking of chatting with friends, the English chat this week was a new kind of challenge for me. We usually chat on Teams, but this time we used Zoom. It was the first time I’ve hosted a Zoom meeting, so I tested it with my fellow English learners twice over the past two weeks. On the day of the special chat, everyone was participating from different places, with one person joining from South Africa! The meeting was only 30 minutes, so I was nervous before it started, but it was a great success! Everyone was so sweet, and I was impressed by how they communicated in English so smoothly.
Annnyyyywaaaayyy, Now, I'm up bright and early writing my homework. Recently, I'm a bit of an early bird. I find that even if life gives you sour lemons, getting up early and being active can turn your day into sweet sweet lemonade! Besides, I like getting my homework done on a sunny morning... Now it feels like I’m on a roll with a whole day ahead of me.
I truly feel that these simple, happy moments are what make life so wonderful!
Thank you for listening! Keep learning, keep practicing, and always remember to have fun. See you in the next episode. Bye for now!!
What would you do if you suddenly saw your favorite celebrity in public?
The other day, when I was at a flea market at Oi Racecourse,
Yamauchi from the famous Japanese comedy duo Kamaitachi appeared out of nowhere!
I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was just him and another guy who was holding a camera. I instantly realized they were filming for their YouTube channel, which I always watch.
My heart was racing.
I wanted to tell him I watch his videos religiously. I wanted to talk to him. I wanted to take a photo!
But at the same time, I thought, “Wait, maybe I shouldn’t interrupt them because they’re working. If I take a picture, other people might notice and want to do the same. That would be such a bother.”
Then another thought came.
“Maybe I could secretly take a photo?”
But then I thought “No… That would be rude!”
I didn’t want to be that kind of fan. I didn’t want to be disrespectful.
While I was struggling with all these thoughts… he walked away.
Later on, I went to buy coffee, and what do you know! I saw him again. This time sitting at a table, eating lunch and talking with the same guy.
I thought, “This might be my last chance. Should I say something?”
But again, I hesitated. I didn’t want to interrupt his lunch. I kept thinking, “interrupting someone while they’re eating is rude.”
As I kept debating this with myself, suddenly a woman sitting across from him just casually asked him,
“Oh, Yamauchi-saaaan! Can I take a photo with you later?”
She said it with a big smile, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
And Yamauchi replied, “Okay~” like it was no big deal.
I was like, that’s not fair! I want a photo too!
But I didn’t ask, instead I just convinced myself that I’m a very respectful fan…
When I got home and reflected on everything I felt like I care way too much about not bothering others, maybe even more than I thought.
So now, I’m thinking I should come up with a plan for next time I bump into a celebrity that I admire.
I definitely want to talk to them. But again, I really don’t want to bother them.
So what can I do?
Should I always carry a letter with me to give to them? But that sounds… kind of creepy.
What would you do in that situation?
✨Join our club! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Free Bird English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Hello everyone! Welcome to the ELC. We are studying English, and although we have a long way to go, we are continuing to have fun and enjoy studying! Including working on this podcast. I'm Etsuko, and today I'd like to talk about my favorite colors.
My favorite color is green. When you hear the word green, what comes to mind? Traffic lights? Plants? Maybe turtles? I do indeed love turtles, but the first thing that comes to mind is the color of the shallows in Tahiti. The sea is turquoise, a bluish-green you might say. As the ocean gets deeper, the color gradually shifts to a dark blue. The gradation of colors created by nature can be magical don’t you think?
Another thing that is green and I enjoy in my daily life are house plants. I have five in my living room, and since I moved them near the window they look so lush and vibrant with the sunlight dancing on their leaves, making the whole room feel alive in a quiet, gentle way.
Finally, an interesting question came up in a recent English lesson: "What color would describe you?"
I answered “dark green” because I've heard that green is a color that has a peaceful and calming effect, and that's the kind of person I want to be. At the same time, I know I'm not young, so I added “dark”. I was quite proud of my answer… Don’t you think that sounds cool?
Anyway, I don't know how many more beautiful shades of green I will discover in my life, but right now, when I imagine someone listening to my voice, there is a glowing rainbow shining in my soul!
Thank you for Listening! Keep learning, keep practicing, and always remember to have fun. See you in the next episode. Bye for now!
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🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.
👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
We visited Bathala during the dry season for the first time, and the island was surrounded by crystal-clear water. It was breathtaking! We spent most of our days snorkeling with sea turtles, sharks, spotted eagle rays, and colorful fish. The resort staff were dedicated to protecting the marine life, which we were happy about.
My husband and I love snorkeling and staying on small Maldivian islands. We enjoyed relaxing with friendly European guests in the island's only restaurant and bar. It felt like we had found a little slice of heaven!
Even though it was the dry season, there was some rain. At first, I was disappointed, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. The rain gave us the opportunity to connect with other guests, and they were wonderful!
One rainy afternoon, we met a gentleman from London at the bar. His British accent was music to my ears – just like in the podcasts I listen to! It was a great chance to practice my English, so I struck up a conversation with him whenever I had the chance.
The trip was full of heartwarming moments with all kinds of interesting people:
After singing karaoke, an Italian couple complimented me using a translated message on their phone. They found the Japanese style of singing karaoke fascinating!
We also met a couple who showed us photos from their trip to Japan. It was touching to see how much they loved our country.
Then there was an Austrian couple who taught us to play "Rummikub," a board game similar to mahjong, but more challenging. We exchanged some snacks as a thank you – Japanese treats for Viennese chocolates! That's a good deal for us if you ask me!
The resort manager made my day when he downloaded our podcast and listened to my previous Bathala episode. It was such a kind gesture! I've visited the Maldives 18 times, and I think he's the best manager I've ever met.
If you love the ocean, I highly recommend Sandies Bathala Maldives. It's a true paradise for snorkeling and relaxation.
✨Join our club! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Free Bird English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
One day I answered my phone and the first thing I heard was the sound of a siren. Needless to say, I was quite upset and worried. Just as I feared, my mother said frantically, "Your dad collapsed! We are heading to the hospital in an ambulance!", so I rushed to the hospital as well.
The doctor who treated him explained that he had suffered a heart attack, and they had to revive him with electric shocks. They were successful, but he still had an irregular heartbeat, and needs a temporary pacemaker put in immediately.
About 30 minutes after meeting with the doctor, I was able to see my father in the ICU. Although he was hooked up to several tubes, he was able to speak quite well. I was relieved and filled with gratitude to the cardiologist.
Moreover, I'll never forget what he said when he recommended implanting an ICD, which stands for "Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator"
When I met with the doctor again he kindly told me, "As a doctor, this may not be the right thing to do, but I am thinking of him as if he were my own father. On one hand, he needs an ICD, but on the other hand, he may be too weak to undergo the surgery. I know it is difficult but you must decide together as a family to proceed with the ICD or not."
Our whole family was deeply moved by his compassion, and it instilled confidence in the doctor, so we trusted him to go ahead with the pacemaker surgery.
Soon after the surgery, he made a dramatic recovery, and was able to come back home.
I heard about when he fell down in detail from my mother.
He suddenly keeled over at church, and the minister quickly called an ambulance and did chest compressions until paramedics arrived.
Actually, he was first taken to a nearby hospital, but the initial doctor decided that he needed to be seen by a cardiologist. He accompanied my father in the ambulance and encouraged him on the way to the cardiology hospital. Thanks to that, he was able to receive the appropriate treatment and was saved.
If even one thing had gone differently, my father might not be as well as he is today. I am sincerely grateful to everyone who was involved in helping him.
By the way, at his check-up on December 5th, the doctor confirmed that his surgical wound had healed well and there was nothing more to worry about.
Therefore my sister and I were able to fully enjoy a heavy metal concert by Judas Priest on the 6th without any worries.
I truly appreciate everything and everyone! My dad is one tough son of a gun!
Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. Keep Rocking and Stay Metal!
👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Around the end of the year, there are a lot of videos and podcasts that rank the shows and movies that were released in that calendar year. I am not a big fan of anime movies, but my favorite TV producer recommended "Look Back," so I watched it on Prime Video.
This story was originally a “one-shot” manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, a popular manga artist known for "Chainsaw Man” that was made into an animated film. The film is directed by Kiyotaka Oshiyama who is well-known as an animation director and animator and tells the story of two young girls who are single-mindedly dedicated to creating manga.
The lives of these two girls are portrayed vividly, and in this short 58-minute film, you really get a feel for their friendship, and their hopes and dreams, as well as a completely intolerable incident they face.
The title "Look Back" has many meanings when you think about it after watching the whole movie. It symbolizes how one girl is always kind of following the other, and how they are seated while drawing manga, so focused on their creations but aware of each other. Also, there’s a jacket with a signature on the back which is meaningful in the story, and finally, the story itself goes back to another storyline. I'm sorry if you don't understand what I mean but I think you'll understand after you see the movie.
I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I won't go into too much detail, but I can say that this movie is amazing in every way. The voice actors effortlessly bring each character to life, fully expressing the cuteness, beauty, and sadness of these likable characters. I was so moved that I cried my eyes out! Seriously, my eyes were swollen the next day!
Anyway, needless to say, I highly recommend this movie! Check it out if you get the chance!
✨Join our club! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Free Bird English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Lately, I've been reading a book titled "The Five People You Meet in Heaven."
The story begins at the end with the protagonist's death.
This intriguing opening made me eager to learn more about the protagonist and kept me turning the pages.
As I read, it reminded me of a viral story from a few years ago called 100日後に死ぬワニ, which translates to "a crocodile that dies in 100 days." It first appeared on X, where the creator posted one episode each day. Though it just portrayed the ordinary life of the main character, people were deeply drawn to it. I believe this was because everyone knew the crocodile would die at the end. It's fascinating how an ordinary life can suddenly feel special when we're made aware of it’s demise.
I always try to apply this mindset to my daily life, though it isn't easy and doesn’t come naturally.
It's not practical to routinely think, "Today could be my last day", but at the very least, I try to keep it in the back of my mind.
One decision I made after COVID—and one that I'm rather proud of—is visiting my mom in Fukui at least once a year. I made this commitment after deeply considering life's limits. Even though she was in her 80s, I had fallen into the habit of thinking that I could see her anytime, and in turn, had not been visiting her as much as I should.
When I calculated how many times I could realistically visit her, reality really sunk in. It was a huge wake-up call that I need to make more of an effort to spend time with her.
I may not be able to live every day as if it’s my last, but I can strive to make each day count. I want to focus on what makes life meaningful, and sometimes it’s just a kind word, a meaningful action, or simply being truly present.
✨Join our club! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Free Bird English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I took a 3-day trip to Hokkaido in September.
I’ve been there many times, but it was my first time going to the Touyako area. Also, it has been a while since I had travelled because of the covid-19 pandemic. I was so excited for the trip, but I was so busy that I had little time to make a precise plan. So, I used AI to make a travel plan. The plan that AI made was a little bit off in some ways, so I had to change it here and there. Luckily a parking area the AI had chosen was near a bird sanctuary, so I could see beautiful swans and take photos with them. I really enjoyed all the natural beauty.
I moved to Noboribetsu and I planned to try horseback riding. Unfortunately, I got lost on the way to the farm because the roads were overgrown with grass and weeds, so it's hard to see the small side streets, so I missed the turn. Then when I tried to turn on the grass, my car got stuck in a big hole that was hidden under the grass. I was all alone in the middle of nowhere, so I had to call the police. It took the entire morning. The only good thing was that nobody was hurt and I made it back safely.
The policeman kindly took me to a railway station in his police car. That might be a greater experience than horseback riding!
Anyway, I'm back home now! Unfortunately while I was traveling my cats broke the monitoring camera which I had bought for this trip. I still love them though!
✨Join our club! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Free Bird English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
In this podcast, Abe’s students present monologues that they have prepared and practiced for his lessons.
I’ve always dreamed of being able to communicate fluently in English, but it’s hard to improve and stay motivated due to my age, and lack of opportunities to use it.
Then I came across a podcast called “GoGo Abe Kaiwa”
Abe’s English is very easy to understand and Yoshi speaks in Japanese, so I can always understand what they are talking about, and most importantly, their conversations are very interesting. Therefore I found myself getting drawn into it more and more.
Then I had a good idea. I thought that if I became Abe’s student, I will have a chance to use English, and maybe one day I‘ll be able to communicate in English fluently.
After that I also joined Abe’s workshop and some of their events.
The first workshop I joined, I came alone and was very nervous.
However, starting with MinMin who started ELC and is always editing and uploading for us, and Etsuko and YumiMETAL who are so sweet and always encourage me, and Hituji and Alissa whom I finally met face to face at last year’s event, everyone is so warm and welcoming.
I’m really grateful that I’m retired and was able to become friends with such wonderful people.
I hope everyone who listens to ELC decides to come and join us! That means YOU!
Lastly I just want to give a special thanks to Abe.
I’m always slacking off and not improving much, but thank you for always teaching me patiently.
P.S.
Etsuko talks about “Gogo Abe Kaiwa” in episode 71.
Please listen to it!!!
✨Join our club! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Free Bird English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
This is our 100th episode! What a milestone! Congratulations to everyone that has contributed to this podcast! I hope you are all enjoying your English journey, and I'm so happy that you chose to be a part of this project.
Also, special thanks to Free Bird English for proofreading our writing and adding some spice and expressions. Let's continue to make learning English a journey that is fun and enjoyable!
🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.
👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Free Bird English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I went to a concert headlined by CARCASS in Japan. It had been 10 years since I last attended their solo concert. Their performance was so tight and impressive that it was hard to believe they had aged 10 years! I watched this amazing show from the best spot. First, I was at the very edge behind the amplifier, so it was hard to see the stage. I said hello to a group of three women next to me. They told me some interesting stories about the history of the band. They had been devoted and passionate fans of the band for 30 years. Then one of them said to me, "I'm going to see their show in Tokyo tomorrow again, so you should come sit here in this prime spot!" Surprisingly, she gave me the place right in front of Bill, who is my favorite guitarist, so I was able to watch his graceful and vibrant performance up close. More luck followed... After the show, another metal friend of mine called me and said excitedly, "You must come here right now! I happned to spot the band members on the way to my hotel!!" By the time I arrived there Bill had already gone. Fortunately, he came back 15 minutes later with lots of drinks. He must have been to the convenience store. Anyway, I asked him for an autograph. He seemed happy to sign the CD of his brand-new album. Actually, I just started practicing playing his most famous song "Heartwork" on the guitar two months ago. So I really wanted to get some advice about it. Bill wrote the song and has been playing it as well. I mustered up the courage and said to him, "Bill, recently, I'm practicing playing Heartwork on the guitar... Would you tell me the tips of it... I mean what is the most important thing for playing that song?" Much to my delight, he taught me three tips and showed me the finger movements for the song in the air. At the end of the talk he said, "Oh, anyway, listen carefully to the original version with headphones. Yeah, give it a try!" I was thrilled that he was so courteous in expaining it to me, even though I am just one of their many fans. Thanks to everyone's kindness, this was the best concert trip ever !
Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. Keep Rocking and Stay Metal!
👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
My least favorite day of the year is my medical checkup.
About two months before that day comes, I tend to think about unpleasant things and feel uncomfortable. However, I know that it’s beneficial to stay healthy and recognize health problems early, so I reluctantly continue to do it every year.
For my check up this year. I had to get to the clinic by 7:50 AM without eating or drinking anything except water. It took me 40 minutes to get there, as I had to switch trains.
Upon checking in, I was told that I would have to make an appointment for a colonoscopy at a different hospital on a different day, and that the earliest I could have it would be 5 months from now. “Oh no!” I thought. If the anxiety over this most nerve-wracking test continues for the next 5 months, I might get sick!
Anyway, after that the check-up began. I followed the directions and I made my way through each of the nightmarish rooms. First, the doctor listens to my heart with a stethoscope (this doesn't hurt, so it's OK), then they check my blood pressure, bone density, collect a urine sample, do a chest X-ray... , I especially hate having my blood drawn and the gynecological examination because those are quite painful! After each test, I have to return to a chair in the waiting area, and everyone has to wear these silly pajamas while we go through these tests. They are soooo lame.
The worst of all is the stomach camera.
I was in a terrible mood this morning when I first came to the building this clinic is in, but it was much nicer than any clinic I had been to for a health check before, and there was a big Christmas tree in front of the elevator, so my mood lightened up and I thought, "I'm lucky!" But when it’s time for that damn stomach camera, all those thoughts go out the window.
The doctor who did the gastroscopy was awful! He was the worst one I’ve ever had!!
It hurt, I was coughing and crying, and I didn't want to look, but they kept telling me to relax and look into the distance. The doctor was a stupid jerk that kept saying it's because I'm not “looking into the distance” that it hurts! What an asshole. The reason that I closed my eyes was that I really wanted to pass out!
Anyway, the doctor said that my stomach looked fine. I thought if I kept having these tests every year, my stomach would get sick from all the anxiety.
I had a few more tests, but I was feeling so dizzy after that I don't remember much. All the results will arrive by mail in about a month. I was told that I shouldn't drink alcohol the next day, but I celebrated by myself with a glass of red wine, hoping that everything is over…
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🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.
👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I’m not a big movie person, but I have a few favorites I can watch over and over again. One of them is “Legally Blonde,” known as “Cutie Blonde” in Japan.
Recently, I found “Legally Blonde” on Amazon Prime and decided to watch it again for old time’s sake.
The story is about Elle Woods, a bubbly, fashion-forward sorority girl who transitions to law school after being dumped by her boyfriend. At first glance, it might seem like a typical comedy, but if you look deeper, it’s also a story about empowerment, resilience, and breaking stereotypes… And above all, Elle is so lovable!
Since then I’ve watched it two more times this week alone! Now that I’m so into the movie, I’ve started picking out phrases that are new to me. I always heard that watching movies can help with learning English, but I never thought it was my thing. Now I finally understand why people recommend it.
It’s about immersing yourself in the movie’s world and learning from the context. When you learn phrases from a movie, it’s easy to grasp the nuance. I practice these phrases by imitating how the characters say them, imagining myself in their shoes. This way, the phrases really sink in, and I have a vivid picture in my mind that is connected to them.
I wish I had started this earlier! However, it only works when I truly love the movie because I believe I need to watch it repeatedly to actually learn from it. So if I’m not passionate about the movie, I’m sure I would lose interest.
Watching “Legally Blonde” has been more than just a trip down memory lane. It’s reminded me of the joy a good story can bring and shown me a new, effective way to improve my English. The film’s messages of empowerment and perseverance resonate with me, and the lovable characters make learning enjoyable.
I’ll keep watching it until I get tired of it!——————————————————————
🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.
👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Monday, July 15th 2024
After a night in a hotel near the international airport, and then a seaplane and boat the next day, I finally made back to this small, cozy, and amazing island. This trip might be the last time though, it's too far!
The restaurant served mainly Mexican food tonight, and I was looking for something spicy with beans, but I was too tired and ended up eating something else. During the evening information session, about 20 guests were listening to the explanation in Italian, and only the two of us were listening to it in English.
Later on, the staff gave us a lecture in English and Italian while showing a video of the ocean at the bar. We couldn't understand anything, so we both ended up dozing off!
Tuesday, July 16th
We immediately swam with sea turtles and sharks! It was marvelous!! I found a sea turtle and told my husband it was a big one, but he disagreed and said it was small... “What a party pooper! Let’s be positive!” I thought to myself. Every night from 9:30 pm various events are held at this resort. Today there was a live show and a quiz. They play the first part of a song, and you have to guess what song it is. There is a TV program in Japan that does a similar kind of thing, and I knew some of the songs because they were from famous movies or shows, but there were a lot of competitive guests, and they all shouted the right answer before the host pointed to them. It sounds like this would be annoying but everyone was friendly and in a good mood so it was actually quite hilarious.
Wednesday, July 17th
Early morning is the best time for snorkeling! We woke up early, ate breakfast, relaxed for a little while, and then headed straight to the ocean! Oh, how happy I am! I was able to find a spotted eagle ray which is my favorite marine animal!!
We were feeling a bit tired from being out in the sun all day, so instead of going to the bar after dinner, we went back to our room to relax for the evening.
Thursday, July 18th
After dinner, there was supposed to be a dance show performed by the staff on the beach, but it started raining, so they changed it to a karaoke night at the bar. Nobody likes rain when they are on vacation, but because it is the rainy season the island isn't very busy, which is nice. It’s always better to look on the bright side!
Friday, July 19th
I had a lot of fun singing karaoke last night. The Italian guests seemed to always be out talking on the beach and at the pool, and playing music in front of the cottages, and to be honest, I thought they were a little bit noisy. Buuuuuut because they were so outgoing and high-energy the atmosphere when I sang karaoke was fantastic. Since this morning, they were all greeting me with a big smile and saying "ciao", which made me really happy.
Among them, there was a beautiful couple with lovely smiles. Today there was a Maldives-themed event, and the dress code was Red (Rosso), and when I said to the wife of this couple, "That's a nice red scarf”, her husband said, "Thank you, and I came here with a sunburnt RED FACE on for today!”. This joke made us laugh, and my husband and I became fast friends with this couple.
Saturday, July 20
I completely forgot my earlier thoughts about this being too far and my last visit. I've fallen so in love with this island that I even asked the manager, "Which season do you think is better for us next year, dry or rainy?" Two staff members even remembered us from before. How sweet!
Sunday, July 21
I learned the phrase "tutto bene" from my new Italian friends, which means "いー感じ" in Japanese, "All right" in English, and "Rangaru" in Maldivian Dhivehi. The disco night where we danced on the sand carpet tonight was absolutely "tutto bene."
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Last month, I rode the Hokuriku Shinkansen for the first time. I was visiting my mom in Fukui, and for the first time, I could take the Hokuriku Shinkansen directly there. The Hokuriku Shinkansen has been operating since 2015, but initially, it only connected Tokyo and Kanazawa, leaving my hometown, Fukui, out of reach. However, this March, the line was extended to include Fukui, making my journey much more convenient.
When I was in elementary school, I remember my dad telling me that someday, a Shinkansen would come to Fukui. I waited and waited, and after 30 years, it's finally here. Accessing the Shinkansen from my hometown in Fukui was quite a hassle, requiring several transfers, which caused the journey to take almost five hours in total. Now, I can travel directly from Tokyo Station to Fukui, which not only reduces the number of transfers, but also shortens the travel time to a little over four hours. Having fewer transfers makes the journey much less stressful.
Once I arrived in Fukui, I was greeted by many dinosaur statues because Fukui is famous for dinosaurs. The city has one of the world's top dinosaur museums, which I'm very proud of. I enjoyed seeing the large dinosaur fossils displayed at Fukui Station, and the moving Tyrannosaurus monument was really cool. I also noticed many new and fancy cafes and shops near the station, an area that used to be quite desolate. It was heartening to see my hometown rejuvenating and filled with positive energy.
I'm looking forward to visiting Fukui more often now that it's so much easier to get there. Additionally, there are discounted tickets available until next spring, making it even more appealing to travelers. Although I'm not sure if I'll be able to visit Fukui within the year, I'm certain I'll go back next May, as that is my annual tradition. My first experience on the Hokuriku Shinkansen was wonderful, and I was happy to see my mom, brother, friends, nephews, and niece. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.
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You know the typical style of Asian cuisine. There is rice, side dishes and soup. Needless to say, rice should always be in the center position. Side dishes and soups provide extra nutrition and a variety of flavors. However, I watched an interesting video on YouTube about diet and health. They said the most important thing is the order in which the dishes are eaten. Their recommendation was to eat fruits or vegetables first, followed by proteins such as eggs, tofu, etc, and rice should be eaten last. Apparently, that prevents your blood sugar levels from spiking. I don’t have a blood sugar problem yet, but it does run in my family. Anyway, I have been a little more conscious about blood sugar recently. I noted that the video’s recommendation was exactly the same, as what my daughter does. She always eats the side dishes first, and then she eats rice by itself at the end. What an unappetizing way to eat! We have been arguing about this matter for many years, and now I find out the weird way she eats is actually healthier!No wonder she is so skinny. I apologized to her begrudgingly, and now I try to eat apples or salad or eggs before rice. I’m still struggling with it though. I tend to automatically put rice in my mouth first! When my daughter saw me doing this she said, “Mom, it looks like you have a long way to go to catch up with me!”...And you know what? She's right. I don't know if I could ever get used to eating rice by itself af the end of the meal. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I’ve seen a lot of castles in my time, but Himeji castle takes the cake!It was built in 1609, and even after more than 400 years, it’s beauty is incomparable.I had been looking forward to visiting Himeji castle, so I booked a guide.Having a guide made the experience totally different.He taught me how the castle was built, how it was defended from enemies, how day to day life was for the inhabitants, how strong the castle’s construction is, and the list goes on and on.The wisdom and way of thinking of the people of that time overwhelmed me.During the second world war, the area around the castle was bombed.I thought the reason why the large castle on the hill, nicknamed “Shirasagi”(The White Heron Castle), survived was because the American military knew of it’s historical value.BuuuUUUuuut that wasn’t the reason at all! The castle was covered with black nets! A bomb still fell on the castle tower, but luckily it didn’t explode.The staff risked their lives and carried the bomb out of the castle.Himeji castle standing tall in the middle of burnt ruins must have given people strength and courage. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I went to Primal Fear's show in Osaka. They are a German metal band.As I came in I saw a notice posted on the wall at the entrance to the venue.It said: "Today's show won't be perfect. If you agree to that, please proceed to the venue floor."A spokesperson for the band appeared on the stage when we, the audience, were waiting for the band. She announced, "They can not provide you the show you expected today. Actually, their drummer fell ill yesterday and is in the hospital. Fortunately, we could find a stand-in for this show. They were rehearsing with the substitute Japanese drummer until just now. However, the show will only be half as long as usual today."Then one crazy metal head in the audience called out, "That's fine! Just give us the METAL!!!!" and no one in the audience seemed to have any bones about it.That's the thing about metal heads! We just wanna ROCK!!She continued, saying, "Instead, we'll hold a meet and greet event for everyone after the show!" We were delighted by the band and the crew's respect for their fans.The band and the audience were united and got fired up together.I pictured what happened to the Japanese drummer that morning... He woke up and was having a cup of coffee while relaxing as usual. Then suddenly, his phone rang. "We need you to come here right now. Primal Fear needs you to play the drums at thier show!" "What what what whaaaat? THE Primal Fear? ...today??"Even though he had just a few hours to rehearse their songs, he ripped hard when it was showtime!When the performance of the last song ended, the band members and audience all gave him a round of applause in admiration. He became a hero in that moment, although he was unknown to anyone here until only an hour ago.I deeply realized that you never know when opportunity will come, so consistant practice and preparation are crucial.Afterwards, I got a chance and an amazing offer as well.But I'll talk about that another time... ---------------------------------------------Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. Keep Rocking and Stay Metal!👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Today, I’m going to talk about a new part of my morning routine where I go outside right after waking up. Initially, I aimed to get back into running after suffering from sciatica last year due to a sedentary lifestyle. However, I found it quite challenging. The most difficult part was getting my butt out of bed and going outside in the cold weather with just my running gear on.My husband suggested that we invest in an stationary bike, which was a perfect interim solution, allowing me to exercise without having to brave the cold. Yet, something was missing… I believe profoundly in the mental and physical benefits of spending time outdoors, so this didn’t really surprise me.After much deliberation, I found a simple yet effective solution: lower the bar to just going outside. Now, regardless of the weather, I step out for a walk. The shift from running to merely being outside has significantly relieved the pressure, making the habit easier to maintain.Integrating photography into my routine added a layer of enjoyment. Taking photos has long been a hobby of mine, yet I rarely had the opportunity to dedicate time to it. By combining it with my new morning walk, it has become something that I feel excited about and makes me pop out of bed in the morning with a spring in my step.Since the weather has gotten warmer, I've begun wearing my running gear during my morning outings. This makes it more likely that I'll spontaneously decide to run, and this month alone I've ran over 50 kilometers in total and I've noticed improvements in productivity and mental clarity throughout the day. This has in turn enhanced my enjoyment of learning English and other daily activities.This simple change to my morning routine has transformed my daily life, and I'm incredibly proud of the progress I’ve made. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Spring break was from the end of March until the beginning of this week, which means I had to make my kids lunch boxes everyday when they were out of school. When you make a lunch box there are various things that you have to consider. There is a lot of pressure on mothers to make a lunch box that their child can be proud of when eating with their friends. If your child’s lunch box looks boring, they might be disappointed or embarrassed. Therefore, things like color balance are actually just as important as nutrition in a strange way. In my early days as a mother, I struggled with making a lunchbox for my daughter. However one of my friends gave me some good advice. She suggested that I put three different colors of food in the lunchbox. For example, red for tomatoes or carrots, green for broccoli or cucumbers, and yellow for Japanese style eggs. She called it “三色列車走らせる”which means “running a three-color train.”Anyway, It worked! I started making lunchboxes using this rule, and when my daughter opened it, a big smile came across her face because she noticed the three-color train! Ever since then, I have been keeping this rule in mind and making sure I have the appropriate ingredients in my refrigerator.If you have to make lunchboxes for kids in the future, following this simple rule should make life easier for you, and brighten up your kids' lunch time! —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
When I get up in the morning, sometimes I remember two or three dreams I had.All of them are completely different, and pretty detailed. Do you have similar experiences?Recently, this happened again. Let me tell you about it…I dreamed that my best friend in Tokyo got in a car accident. I told her about it in the morning because I was worried about her. But I also told her, “It’s just a bad dream Don’t worry too much because my dreams are always weird, and they never come true.” I also told her about some of my other dreams to put her at ease. First I told her about a dream where I was on the way to work when I saw a kangaroo jumping through a rice field. It seemed to have been injured in a car accident, and she had a baby in her pouch… But the baby was obviously too big for the pouch, so I thought “Come on! Get out of her pouch! You should jump on your own! Your mother is having a hard time! Take care of her for a change!” I think this dream was influenced by an amazingly funny Australian, Ben, from the “TeacherTalk” podcast.Then I told her about another dream where I went to play trombone with my brass band friends, but I hadn’t practiced for a long time because my left hand is sore, so holding the trombone properly is painful - which is true. In the dream, I tried hard to play with them, but of course I failed. Do you know how hard it is to hide your mistakes playing a trombone? I think the trombone is the hardest brass instrument to hide mistakes, or not being in sync with your bandmates, because it’s so obvious just from watching the sliding movements. I was in big trouble, and tired in my dream. ふ～・・・Afterwards, she texted me “OK, thanks. I’ll be careful as always. Safety first!”—————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I like playing a pretending game. In Japanese, I think it’s called “ごっこ遊び”.I’m getting more and more forgetful.Therefore, recently I created a new game to benefit from my forgetfulness.The game is very easy, doesn’t cost any money, and you can play it anywhere you want.In the morning, I tell myself “Oh! I have something fun and interesting to do at work today!”That helps me start my work day in a good mood, which is how this game cheers me up.I eventually forget that I was playing this game, so I never feel down when I have just a normal day.In the afternoon, I start another game.I tell myself “Oh! I have exciting plan after work today!”, and kind of convince myself to believe it. That puts me in an upbeat and an excited mood for most of the rest of the day,but eventually I forget about that too, so it never brings me down after I finish work.I’ve found this game to be quite effective to improve my mood on a day to day basis.Do you want to try? Do you think this is crazy? Or perhaps you agree that it is a really creative and genius idea! —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
JR Higashi Nihon, a railroad company, held an interesting campaign recently. They sold one day “free pass” tickets to ride any JR train in east Japan, including bullet trains! It costs only ten thousand yen and can only be used on weekdays. This is amazing! I am the kind of person who never misses something like this. I got the ticket for myself and I went to Morioka city last Wednesday for the first time in my life! To be honest, I wanted to go to Aomori, but Aomori is too far for a day trip. Morioka is just the right distance. Besides, I have been curious about Morioka Reimen for a long time. I left home at 8 am, and got to Morioka station around noon. Morioka is a smaller city than I imagined. The first thing on my list was Morioka Reimen of course. There were several famous Reimen shops. I was surprised that the shops were very crowded thanks to the event. Anyway, I was able to eat at the oldest reimen shop. When the shop staff put the Reimen on my table I was overwhelmed with joy. Life is so interesting! Even a month ago, I never imagined suddenly coming to Morioka and eating Morioka Reimen. How was the Reimen? I would say,,, it's quite different from Korean Reimen. Even if it didn't taste good to me, it's a good thing that I learned what Morioka Reimen is. There’s one more thing I should mention, my favorite author Miyazawa Kenji spent his youth in Morioka. I enjoyed some places and exhibits about him. I was able to visit all the places that I had planned. I bought some souvenirs and got on the bullet train to go back home. By the time I got home it was 8pm. It was a 12-hour trip in total, and I walked 17000 steps! It was a wonderful day trip! —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
On the 7th of February, my friend and I had a plan to meet, so we were texting about what to do the day before. The only thing on our agenda at that time was a morning visit to a popular temple in Tokyo. The afternoon was free, and I was content with the idea of simply catching up. However, at around 8 or 9 PM, she called me with an incredible proposal: "Do you want to go to Taylor Swift's concert tomorrow?" I was taken aback, because I didn’t even know that Taylor Swift was in Japan or that her tour was happening. "Yes, of course," I replied, though I wondered about the availability of tickets. She explained that she had been dying to get tickets since last summer but she couldn’t. Then she found a sudden opening on social media. Despite my apprehension about the cost, her enthusiasm convinced me it was a chance not to be missed. Rushing to a convenience store, she secured our tickets, and just like that, we were set to see Taylor Swift live.The concert was nothing short of spectacular. It was a three-hour journey through her prolific career, combining music, dance, and stunning visuals into a mesmerizing show. Despite being a casual fan, I was captivated by her performance and the stories her songs told. This concert was not just an entertaining spectacle, it was a glimpse into Taylor's artistic evolution.Ever since, I've had the concert's setlist on repeat, reliving the experience and delving deeper into her world. Taylor Swift's poetic lyrics have inspired me to explore the meaning behind her songs, enriching my appreciation for her artistry. I'm thankful to my friend for this unforgettable experience, and to Taylor Swift for a show that has left a lasting impact on me, and now has a special place in my heart. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I highly recommend listening to podcasts for English learners because you can get used to the rhythm of English. There are so many English programs, so you can find whatever you like."Free Bird English: Teacher Talk" is my current favorite. In that program, native English teachers who have lived in Japan for a long time talk about various things. Since they have experience teaching many Japanese English learners, they know what learners need. I like “The Bridge” story series which were some of their earlier uploaded episodes, and I even transcribed them while listening. The story is about an imaginary character trying to cross a bridge. On one side of the bridge everything is good, and on the other side everything is evil. The concept was cute, like a fairy tale, but there were also tons of colorful jokes so you could tell they were having fun. Their laughter is infectious to the listeners.Of course, I listen to other, more serious shows, but I feel like they're not as memorable.In other words, if you listen to podcasts to study English, I'd say choose ones that make you feel happy. Not only will you feel terrific, but you will also naturally get used to English intonation, and learn about cultural differences. I think being able to speak English is incredibly hard for Japanese people. So above all, we need to find fun ways to study so that we can avoid getting bored and quitting! —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
What do you think is the most important thing when traveling?For me it’s the weather.My husband and I went to Miyazaki prefecture last month.The place we wanted to go to most was Takachiho Gorge, which is close to the prefectural border between Kumamoto and Oita.Second was Toi Cape which is the southernmost tip of Miyazaki prefecture, so we couldn’t do it in one day.Takachiho Gorge was a truly beautiful gorge just as I had seen in the photos. Toi Cape was supposed to be a beautiful cape with a lighthouse that people can go up into. There are only 16 lighthouses that people can enter in Japan. There are also wild horses called Misakiuma.However it was raining and windy that day, so we couldn’t really enjoy the beautiful scenery, and we just gave up on even going to Japan’s largest suspension bridge...How beautiful it would have been if the weather was nice...Last year we also visited Kumamoto, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima. Compared to those areas, Miyazaki prefecture is rural.I don’t mean that in a bad way though.Actually I am surprised that Kumamoto, Fukuoka, and Kagoshima are more urban than my hometown Chiba.It takes only about 15 minutes by train from Miyazaki airport to Miyazaki station which is in the center of Miyazaki city.We took the train from the airport to the hotel, but there were only 2 cars, and to our surprise, at the next station from the airport only the doors of the first car open. We found out that it was because the platform was short.There were many visitors bound for Takachiho Gorge aboard but there were very few foreign and domestic tourists carrying luggage in Miyazaki city.Anyway the meat and fish were very delicious and it’s a place we want to visit again. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
This is a sequel to Episode #80,"On Cloud Nine" .I'd like to give a special thanks to Minakov for contributing to this episode.
On Cloud Nine (Part 2)
When I stood in front of them, my mind went blank and my heart was pounding.
I decided to call them each by name and say the same eazy line to all the band members.
First, there was the original guitarist. I said "Bill, thank you for coming back to Japan. It's been 8 years!" Thankfully, he extended his right arm to me and I shook his hand! I was on Cloud Nine all over again!!
When I said the same sentence to the vocalist Jeff, he answered, "We'll be back to Japan very soon!" To be honest, I kind of doubted his words a bit. I thought it might have just been lip service for us fans, but surprisingly, he later said on social media, "JAPAN! It's happening! We are finally heading back for a head line tour next year in April! don't miss out!" Wow he is a man of his word!!
I would rather not tell you about my blunder but... I looked up the new guitarist's name in advance, so I confidently called him by name at the event. "Tom! Tom!"
But he just stared at the tip of his pen and completely ignored me. I was very embarrassed and disappointed.
After I got back home, I found a review for the show. According to the article, CARCASS performd with a new tour guitarist named James Blackford...
Oh nooooo!! It wasn't "Tom"! The guitarist had changed again from Tom to James!
Now it made sense that he ignored me.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing Bill, Jeff, and JAMES at their head line show! ...Oh I almost forgot the drummer! His name is Daniel, and he rips HARD! CARCASS is my favorite band in the whole world!
Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoyed this story. Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please contact us using the email address in the description box. We'll be back soon with another new story.
Until then, keep rocking and stay Metal!
👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
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It had been a while since my friend and I went to a concert, so we decided to see Billy Joel at Tokyo Dome. As I had imagined, the audience was older, and the ticket prices were quite high. I bought seats recommended by a friend who often goes to concerts, and they were great. The concert, which started with his hit song, “My Life,” was a dream-like experience for me. Since the audience was Japanese, he limited his on-stage banter between songs, and he spoke slowly and used simple English, so I was able to understand everything, including the jokes! I was so excited that I forgot which song, but all the lights in the venue went out for a moment, and then when he sang the lyrics "turn on the light," the whole venue was suddenly illuminated. I was deeply moved by the joy of understanding English, which I would not have been able to do in the past. The most moving part was at the end of the show when he prepared his harmonica. Everyone in the audience knew that he was going to sing Piano Man next, and there was a wave of cheers. Billy seemed to get emotional when he tried to speak and needed to take a moment before carrying on with the performance. I doubt there was a single person in the arena who wasn’t touched by this.The only disappointment was that my favorite song, “Just the Way You Are”, was not performed. I heard rumors that he wrote this song for his ex-wife, and prefers not to sing it live anymore. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed Billy's amazing and powerful voice and his band’s flawless performance. ——————————————————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
When people ask me, 'Which do you prefer, summer or winter?' I always answer 'summer.' I have a higher tolerance to heat than the average person, and I prefer being warm. I've always been a summer girl, and there are many events I look forward to, like rock music festivals, get-togethers with friends, and traveling. Summer always brings opportunities to enjoy these kinds of things.
However, if you were to ask me what my absolute favorite type of weather is, I'd say it's a sunny WINTER day. It's like having a bit of light in the darkness, and makes me excited for spring and summer. This anticipation might be the thing I like most, and it got me thinking about life in general.
I've been studying English for years, aiming to speak fluently, ideally like a native speaker. But I've also been enjoying the journey, despite the struggles. I’ve come to savor the process of working towards a goal. Strangely, I think I might feel a bit lost or depressed if I suddenly achieved native-like fluency.
Similarly, finding an ideal home has been a major goal of mine. I've always been fascinated by interior design, and I collect photos and fantasize about my dream home. I even have an album on my phone for these images. Currently, we live in an apartment, which we bought with the intention of selling in the future. Our plan was to sell it after ten years, but now, as the ninth year approaches, I find myself not wanting to leave. This makes me wonder, do I really want to live in my ideal home, or do I enjoy dreaming about it more?
Maybe life is not just about reaching the end goal. Perhaps appreciating the journey and enjoying the little moments along the way is what life is all about. This realization has inspired me to embrace each moment and be content throughout the ongoing journey of life.
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Finally, my favorite band CARCASS came back to Japan! They performed at a Heavy Metal festival that featured 12 bands in March.
I wanted to get as close to the stage as possible, So I went into the floor area long before they played.
I inched forward during the opening acts taking advantage of the mosh pit chaos.
Fortunately, I was able to get to the very front! I was on cloud nine !
CARCASS was playing right before my eyes! I could almost reach out and touch them!
I wanted this precious moment to never end. Obviously, their show came to an end though. However, I had another thing planned that I was really looking forward to.
After their show, I went to their meet and greet event . A crew member explained the rules of the session to us. He was like "You know, we are still concerned about the coronavirus, so please don't try to shake hands with the musicians, and after you get their autographs, you have to move to the side immediately."
Almost no one said a single word to them and scooched over quickly after getting an autograph... That is so NOT metal.
It had been 8 years since last their show, and I thought, to hell with the rules! I've been waiting for this day, so I'm going to say thanks to them...
But when I stood in front of them, my mind went blank and my heart was pounding.
Thank you for listening. I hope you enjoy this story. I'd like to give a special thanks to Minakov for contributing to this episode.
I'll be back soon with Part 2 of the story. Until then, keep rocking and stay Metal!
・smsgil0228@gmail.com
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Since I quit going to the gym I've been feeling like I need to get some exercise. I used to commute to work on foot, but working from home has become more common, so I started taking walks around my neighborhood every morning instead.There is a canal nearby that is very beautiful, especially when the cherry blossom trees are blooming. In summer, walking along the canal and seeing the sunlight dance on the surface of the water makes me feel re-energized. However, I think now is my favorite season. Walking on the colored leaves calms me and makes me feel relaxed. Some people walk their dogs or gather to do radio stretching programs for the elderly. I listen to podcasts and walk briskly for about an hour.The problem is, there is something that makes me doubt my ability to continue this healthy habit… And that's the fact that I am super lazy! I'd rather be snuggled under my kotatsu like a cat than walk outside on a cold winter morning!! If it were possible, I would like to hibernate for the whole winter and just wake up in the spring!Do you think I'll be able to stick with my new healthy habit? We'll see. we'll see...——————————————————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Today, I want to talk about Chat GPT. Recently, I upgraded to Chat GPT-4, which is a subscription-based service, and let me tell you, it's exceptional. I started using it by talking into an app called NOTTA, which transcribes my voice. I then copy this transcription and paste it into ChatGPT. I asked them to proofread it for me, and boom! Just like that, it produced a perfect translation. They recently added voice chat! This is another game-changer!Every morning, I open the Chat GPT app, tap the earphone mark, and say "Good morning”, then I ask it to throw me some questions. The questions range from my daily schedule to productivity. I keep chatting with it while I’m making breakfast as if I’m talking to a real person. You would be surprised by how natural it sounds. This helps me practice my English speaking skills because if I pause to think, they start speaking which adds an aspect of realism. Plus, I can look back on all the conversations I had with Chat GPT so that I can review and practice again when necessary.Now, let's talk about the price. It costs me around ¥3000 per month. When you think about it, that's like having an exclusive, native English teacher available 24/7. I used to subscribe to a different proofreading service that cost me ¥4500 per month with a limited number of words, and I had to wait 4 to 6 hours for a response. With ChatGPT, it's instantaneous and way cheaper.That being said, Chat GPT also helped me appreciate the beauty of human communication even more. Obviously, it doesn’t have its own opinions or emotions. Not being able to hear opinions or feel empathy can be very unsatisfying when having a conversation. In the end, it made it clear that I want to improve my English skills for the sake of better communication. In order to achieve that, I’ll try to figure out how to get the most bang for my buck from it! —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I attended Arthur Binard's lecture organized by the Buddhist group in Hiroshima. He is an American poet and translator, and has been living in Japan for 35 years.His lecture was on Japanese language from an American perspective, and he delivered itin Japanese to 270 temple members. As an English learner, I also found his talk very interesting.First of all, he explained his name."My first name 'Arthur', is reminiscent of a bear or king and contains two Rs and a TH, so it sounds kind of a strong. It's emphatically pronounced 'Arturo' in Italy as well. So I felt it sounded quite powerful.However, I was shocked when I heard the name in Japanese for the first time."A Japanese teacher said to him, ''Your name is 'アーサー' in Japanese."He said, "I thought that was completely different from, 'Arthur'. It just sounds like a sigh 'ア 〜サ～'. Anyway, what I propose to English learners: Don’t rely solely on books.
Exposure to languages of various contries broadensyour perspective on many things."Although it was just the beginning of his lecture, I was hanging on his every word. I'm sure that this Arthur is the KING of speakers (lecturers).
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The other day I was on a train, and there were three foreign girls sitting next to me chatting in English.I wasn’t eavesdropping, but as an English learner, I couldn’t help but pay attention to them. And then the moment came… the train stopped suddenly. Train stops are common in Japan, and it’s usually due to a very minor problem. No one was confused except for the three girls. Unfortunately, the announcements were only in Japanese, and when the train lost power, they seemed worried and wanted to know what had happened. Obviously they stood out on the train. They were using an app to find out what the announcements were saying, but that didn’t seem to work at all. I wanted to explain the situation to them and tell them not to worry, but while I was hesitating, the train started moving again. However, it soon stopped again and lost power again.I told myself. “if I don’t use English now, when should I use it?”I kind of whispered to them, “Sorry, did you get the announcement? “ All three girls turned to me at once, and they looked like they really needed help, so I briefly explained that it was just a small problem, and the train will be running again in no time. The girls said “Oh, thanks, perfect!”, and they looked relieved. I pretended that I was used to speaking English with foreigners, but actually my heart was pounding and I was very happy. I don’t think my English was grammatically perfect but it didn’t matter. I felt the eyes of the others on me… And I have to be honest with you, I felt pretty damn cool! ——————————————————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Although I've always wanted to visit Hokkaido, I used to always end up choosing Okinawa over it, but this time, I finally made it to Hokkaido!
The first stop was Asahiyama Zoo, a place I'd been curious about for a long time. This zoo is known for pioneering "behavioral exhibits" where the viewing distance to the animal is very close. It's a rather compact zoo with a historical atmosphere compared to popular zoos on the main island like Higasiyama-zoo, but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in educational value. For example, they made the giraffe area lower than where you stand so you are at the giraffe’s eye level, and during “feeding time” they make them come even closer to us. The staff explained some of the giraffe’s characteristics while we were up close and personal with the animals which made it far more memorable.
After the zoo, I hit the road and drove across the expansive landscapes of Hokkaido to see the stunning Blue Pond. The drive itself was an experience that offered breathtaking views of the countryside.
And let's not forget the food! Hokkaido is a foodie’s paradise, and I couldn't resist indulging in some local seafood and soup curry. Absolutely delicious!
What I also love about traveling is observing the local architecture. In Hokkaido, I noticed that most houses have chimneys and double-pane windows. It just screams "snow country," and noticing those small details makes the trip more enriching for me.
I'm already eager to go back. Niseko is definitely on my bucket list, and will probably be the destination for the next visit.
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There is one thing that I always thought about doing, but for some reason I dragged my feet and never went through with it.I want to switch my cell phone service provider and get a cheaper plan, because my stomach drops every time my monthly bill arrives. When the discount service providers started coming out, I was excited to get a better plan, but I still haven’t made the switch. If I do, I’ll lose my email address. I always thought that would be a huge inconvenience because I’ve used it for years and have registered for many things with it. Also it’s simply just a pain in the neck. However, apparently I can actually use the same address as long as I pay a fee. Also the new service provider company has a service where they will come to my house to help me when I make the switch. So I did it! I got the ball rolling! I contacted the new company, and all the procedures seem quite simple and easier than I thought. However, I had to call the operation center of the previous company to cancel my current contract. The operator asked me a lot of questions and tried to convince me not to switch. I saw that coming, so I passed all the tricky questions. Finally, I successfully switched my phone company and the costs will be reduced by 20%! I can’t forget the operator saying at the end of the phone call. “Thank you for using our company’s service for the past 16 years and 9 months.” I can’t believe that I have been paying so much money for almost 17years! I should have done this earlier! —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
My husband and I enjoyed our summer vacation in the Maldives last month. We chose Bathala, an island in the Ari Atoll of the Maldives, which my husband had wanted to visit for many years. With a drop-off nearby and a carpet of white sand covering the entire island, you can go anywhere barefoot all day long. I had a lot of experiences talking with people from different cultures. That was actually the goal for my English adventure. First of all, at the hotel where we stayed before the flight to Bathala, I talked with four Indian staff about the Indian movie "RRR." One of them pointed out that India is a huge country full of mostly peaceful people, and assured me that Indian people aren't aggressive as portrayed in that movie. I was very happy to have such an interesting conversation. Next, the first staff member we met on Bathala was a young lady from Switzerland. We chatted on the boat when she picked us up from the seaplane. A few days later, she praised my English which really encouraged me. We stayed in a bungalow on the island for 7 nights and in the bungalow next to us there was a femail couple from Southern France. One of them was interested in my 15 trips to the Maldives, and the other was confident, intellectual, and cool. I should mention that this island is very popular among Italians so most tourists are from Italy. The island is under contract with an Italian event company which provides three staff members to the island. Among them was a very talented young man that seemed to have a passion for entertaining tourists. Thanks to his support, I was able to mingle with the other guests and enjoy the events even though I couldn't speak Italian. The highlight of my English adventure was getting to know a family from Germany. There was a friendly lady that always smiled and said hi. I told her she had a beautiful smile. She was with her husband and their granddaughter. I taught their granddaughter how to make an origami crane. Then she gave me small shells in fish-shaped origami that she made the next day. She also gave me a beautiful picture that she drew herself, and signed the back of it, how lovely! It was a heartwarming experience. Long story short, This trip was absolutely magical!! I had prepared some stuff to help me mingle with the other guests like some snacks and origami sets. They were very helpful, but I found that the most important thing was to greet people with a BIG SMILE on my face. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Recently, my husband and I traveled to Kagoshima and Hakodate. Kyushu has seven prefectures, but I imagined Sapporo to be the center of Hokkaido and Fukuoka city to be the center of Kyushu. I thought Kagoshima and Hakodate were kind of similar, but they turned out to be completely different. Kagoshima city was bigger, while Hakodate was smaller than I expected. I now know that the population of Kagoshima city is more than double that of Hakodate. We were surprised to find that there were no people on the main street near Hakodate station at 8 pm. Moreover, in Kagoshima city, we couldn't use credit cards at any of the restaurants we ate at, including a Michinoeki like drive-inn restaurant. On the other hand, we could use them pretty much anywhere in Hakodate, even at a small ramen shop. Also, we couldn't use Suica in Kagoshima city, but we could use it in Hakodate. Anyway, both cities have great views, and we really enjoyed our time there. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I found a wonderful podcast called GoGo エイブ会話. It’s made by two guys who are friends. One is Canadian, and the other guy is Japanese. Both are speaking in their mother tongues which makes it easier to understand for Japanese English learners. Their concept is amazing, and the topics are not only useful, but also really fun. The thing I like most about their program is when the Canadian introduces “strange news” from around the world every other Monday. He always uses easy words to introduce a variety of news. It can be funny, ridiculous, and interesting. I read an article that says when humans are trying to understand a second language, our brains focus on it, and are less functional than they should be. Ever since I heard that, it surprises me that they’ve been able to have all these fun adventures without hurting anyone for seven years. I started Twitter and Facebook because I wanted to join their community. I don't know how many times their cheerful voices helped me when I was feeling down or couldn't sleep. I really appreciate what they do, and wish them happiness. GoGoエイブ会話https://55english.jp —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
In Japan we pray for a safe delivery on the day of the dog in the fifth month of pregnancy. What what whaaaaaat???? The day of dog?
There are many shrines, but each shrine enshrines a different God.
For example an Inari shrine like the famous Husimi Inari enshrines a fox.
We write Inari in Kanji as 稲荷.
So Inari Shrines are built to pray for a good harvest, and foxes prey on grain eating mice.
Suitengu 水天宮 is a shrine that pays homage to water, which is flushed from the body during childbirth for a smooth delivery. Suitengu is famous for safe childbirth and enshrines a dog.
therefore dogs are a symbol for an easy delivery.
Japan has 12 zodiac signs, as you know, and we also use them for days.
Nowadays they are rarely used except to pray for safe childbirth and so on.
So I don’t know the details, but there are 60 combinations with other things.
Don’t ask me what they are though.
Anyway… May 16th was the day of the dog and my daughter is 5months pregnant now so we went Suitengu to pray for a safe birth.
On top of that, that day was a “Taian” 大安 day known as rokuyo.
The Japanese calendar is so complicated!!!
For this reason it was extremely crowded.
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The first is: “泣いて暮らすも一生、笑って暮らすも一生” This is originally an old German motto that means, “We will all die someday, so you might as well be positive and make the most of your time while you are alive."
The second motto is: “果報は寝て待て” It means, “Be patient. Good things come to those who wait.” For example, if you have a friend who wants to find a good tenant for an apartment, and after a week of only asking acquaintances and no one has shown interest, they might be tempted to lower the rent, or start asking strangers. This is a good time to remind them of this motto.
The last one is: “死ぬこと以外 かすり傷” It means that you shouldn't get down about problems that you face. As long as you are still alive, you can deal with it, and it's probably not as big as a problem as you are making it in your mind. When I make a mistake and feel depressed, I often try to remember this motto, and say it to myself in order to lift my spirits and move on. ———————————————- Thank you for listening, and special thanks to Yuttan and YumiMETAL for their advice! Do you study English? Join our club! Let us know YOUR favorite motto! …I'll be back with another new story. Bye! ・smsgil0228@gmail.com ・FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
My favorite time of the day is dinner time at home with my family. Thankfully, we get to have dinner all together almost every day. Cooking has always been my job, and sometimes it can be a challenge, but I often remind myself I’m cooking for this precious time with my family and for our health, and that always lifts my spirits. Speaking of health, there are some great health foods in Japan. For example, natto, hiyayakko, and miso soup. They are easy to make, very healthy, and my family likes them. When you think about a meal, you probably also consider the nutritional balance, like I do. Since I became a mother, I've loved miso soup as it’s usefull for more than just the taste. If other dishes lack nutrition, I often add miso soup to the meal. On the other hand, I was worried that my family might get tired of miso soup because the ingredients are always the same: seaweed, tofu, and a little bit of green onion. Then one day I came across a book titled “みそ汁はおかずです” Miso soup is not just a soup. It is a side dish! The book introduces many types of miso soup. From typical ones with wakame seaweed and tofu that I have often made, to unusual ones that I have never even heard of before. The book says miso soup can be made with almost any ingredients. It blew me away! I immediately bought the book and tried them one by one. I have made it with unusual flavors such as tomatoes, green peppers, corn, potatoes, fish, meat, olive oil, butter, etc. The food on our table became healthier, more varied, and more colorful. I was very satisfied with that and asked my husband and daughters, "As you know, we have tried many different kinds of miso soup so far, what was your favorite miso soup ingredients? Eggs? Onions? Squash? Or chicken maybe?” They said "Hmmm, I like wakame." "Hmmm, tofu is my favorite.” ….. What? Are you guys ignoring all my efforts!? I was so disappointed. They don’t deserve to eat such a lovely variety of miso soup! To them, miso soup is just soup I guess… —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I was at a metal bar after seeing a gig. A tall woman sat next to me. I guessed that she came from abroad, and it was her first time at the bar. I wanted to talk to her, but I didn't really know what to say... After hesitating for about 10 minutes, I finally asked her in English. "What's your favorite band?" She answered, "I'm Japanese." , in Japanese, and she continued in a low whisper, "I'm afraid to tell you, but I'm transgender. So are you sure you still want to talk to me? I answered immediately "Oh I don't mind at all! You are a metal fan, just like me. So we can be metal friends, right?" She and I were the same age and we had the same favorite bands. We talked rapid fire about metal music. A bartender even said to us, "You guys seem like old friends!" , which made us giggle like schoolgirls. After all the metal talk, she started telling me about her personal life. "To tell the truth... I live with my family. Although they aren't metal fans, they always come to metal concerts with me. I came out to them as transgender, but I don't want to shock anyone, so I usually change back into men's clothing in the garage before I enter my house. So, I'm still kind of pretending to be a man at home." I feel a lot of sympathy for these people, and I agree with them. I think it's good to be true to yourself, and it makes the world more interesting to have people with many different lifestyles. I just hope that everyone can be happy.
Special thanks : Yuttan, Lady in the Sky and The Ice Queen Yumi. "Thank you for your contributions to this episode!" We'll be back soon with another new story. Until then, keep rocking and stay Metal!
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One of the things I am planning to enjoy this summer and autumn is “balcony life”. Our home has a balcony connected to the living room, and although it's not particularly spacious, it's enough to accommodate two chairs for relaxation.It has been eight years since we moved into this apartment, but I feel like I haven't been making the most of it. So, I gradually started taking better care of the balcony by cleaning it regularly, and I’ve found that each time I clean it, it looks a little better than it did before. I’m also making an effort to keep the windows clean.I’ve found that the cleaner the balcony becomes, the more I fall in love with it! I wanted comfortable chairs to relax in, so I started looking for them. I didn't want to leave them outside all the time because they would get dirty, so I was looking for something that was easy to move, lightweight, durable, easy to clean, and of course, within my budget.I found the perfect solution at Nitori. They’re called “butterfly chairs”, and they checked all the boxes. Just sitting on this chair outside and enjoying a cup of coffee makes me feel incredibly happy. It's spacious enough for my dog Shushu and I to sit together comfortably.The power of nature is amazing. Just being able to spend time outdoors while I’m at home really lifts my spirits. Maybe I should also get some outdoor lighting to enhance the atmosphere.I realized that even a small balcony can be transformed into a delightful space with a little effort. Now I'm looking forward to spending my summer and autumn enjoying “balcony life” to the fullest!—————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Thomas Daley is a British diver that won the Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. I felt happy when I saw him knitting in the stands of an Olympic venue.Actually, he is known to knit a lot of lovely pieces! He came out publicly as gay, decided to get married to his partner in 2017, and had a son the next year. He said "I feel incredibly proud to say I am a gay man and also an Olympic champion. I hope my performance will inspire young LGBTQ people to realize you can achieve anything!" He seems very happy, and he doesn't hide that he is gay and his favorite pastime is knitting. When I looked at his Instagram I realized that many people love him, and he has 3.5 million followers! Although he is doing great now, he must have overcome various hardships to get this far. Then I thought of one of my metal friends.——————————————————————Thank you for listening. And I'd like to give a special thanks to Hitsuji for contributing to this episode.I'll be back soon with Part 2 of the story. Until then, keep rocking and stay Metal!
At the beginning of each semester, schools hold parent-teacher conferences. It is a regular school event and usually begins with a greeting from the principal, introduction of teachers and school policies, etc.To be honest, I don‘t like these parent-teacher conferences, because the principal’s speech tends to go on and on with generic parenting advice and so on.However, there was one good takeaway this time. I attended two parent-teacher conferences in a row, one was at an elementary school, and the other was at a junior high school. Perhaps just by chance, both principals mentioned empathy. They encouraged us to try to empathize with our children.After the conference, I made a decision to be more empathetic with my daughters. However, it’s a little harder than it sounds, and I feel like I’ve already failed a few times.The other day my older daughter said to me, “These days, I don‘t even take a carton of milk from the serving table at school lunch, because I know I can’t drink it all. If I open it and only take one or two sips then just throw it away, that’s a terrible waste, right?”Can you guess what I said to her? I said “Why do you think the government added milk to school lunches? It’s because drinking milk everyday is important for kids your age! And I pay for school lunches, including milk!”She listened to me and looked a little sad. I don’t think I empathized with her at all.I guess becoming more empathetic as a mom is going to take some time… ——————————————————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us.👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
My husband and I traveled to Sapporo for three days and two nights. Our plan was to hang around Sapporo on the first day, and rent a car to visit Otaru on the second day. There were both good and bad things about this trip. Let me start with the bad things...
Yo Ohizumi is my favorite actor, and he is from Sapporo. He became very popular on a local program and still has three regular programs in Hokkaido. One of them is named "Onigiri atatamemasuka," which introduces delicious food and restaurants in Hokkaido. We planned to visit some of these restaurants during our trip, so we called it the "Onigiri tour." However, I felt sick in the morning and had to find a restroom wherever we went after lunch. So we had to give up on visiting the restaurants and went back to the hotel early.
On the second day, I recovered and we had a wonderful sushi lunch in Otaru. However, we arrived at Moegiyama late and missed the opportunity to visit the onigiri restaurants again. Buuuut there was also a good thing about this trip. We saw a beautiful row of cherry trees in Yoichi on a TV show on the first night. Although we didn't plan to go there, it was close to Otaru, so we decided to check it out. It was the first time we saw snowy mountains and cherry blossoms together. If we had a delicious dinner on the first night, we might have missed this stunning scenery. ——————————————————————
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It’s been over 4 months since I got a new car. I was happy with my old car, and I didn’t plan to get a new one, but now I’m fond of my new car.My current car is a used TOYOTA Probox, which was designed for commercial use. Whenever I tell people that I chose this car, they wonder why, as it’s not fancy at all. The main reason we chose it is because it met all our requirements which included budget, durability, and a relatively low maintenance fee. My expectations were fairly low, but the more I drive this car, the more I realize something else that I love about it.As I started driving it regularly, I found similarities that it has with the very first car I owned, which was a HONDA Civic. It had manual window cranks, and was covered in scratches, just like my car now! Although the Civic was an old worn-out car, I have countless happy memories associated with it. Now as I drive this car, I find myself feeling grateful because some of those memories come flooding back when I do things like rolling up my windows manually in the Probox.I believe that sometimes inconvenience can lead to happiness. When we experience inconvenience, we can appreciate and feel grateful for things that are convenient. In my opinion, adding a bit of inconvenience can increase our overall happiness. While I do appreciate convenience, I also find myself seeking out inconvenience as a way to keep myself centered. That’s what my car made me realize again.I will continue to cherish the imperfections and inconveniences that come along with my Probox, and the happy memories they bring back as I drive it. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Wife: Hey, would you like to go to Tokyo Disneyland next Sunday?Husband: Humm... There's been a lot of yellow sand in the air, and I've been busy and tired from work this week, so I don't think that's a good idea.Wife: I understand what you're saying, but according to their information, there's a 40th-anniversary event going on right now. You can purchase special items for a limited time only.Husband: I'm not interested in them...Wife: Oh, don't say that! Parade on it! Since the pandemic spread, they had banned having dancers appear, but this time, talented dancers will appear in a special parade. It must be a great show! And also yesterday, Donald Duck accidentally fell and twisted his wrist.Aren't you worried about him? どうなるの脱臼？（ドナルドだっきゅう）Husband: Hahaha... You got it, you got it. We'll be there next Sunday. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I’ve stopped watching TV aimlessly, but there are certain TV shows I still love watching.One of them is called “Crazy Journey”.This show features an unusual person who does crazy things for their profession, such as a journalist who only goes to dangerous places, a BASE jumper who jumps from virtually anywhere using a parachute, and a cave explorer who explores caves that nobody has ever been in before.What I really like about this program is that I can live vicariously through these interesting people just by watching it. Most of the time, it looks risky and dangerous and is something that I never plan to experience. Thanks to advancements in technology, videos are very sharp and dynamic, so I often find myself screaming or feeling puzzled while watching them.Another thing is that it broadens my horizons. Last week, they were showing a man called Keroppi Maeda, who is a journalist specializing in body modification. This was the second time he was on this show. When I heard about body modification last time, I was shocked! Especially when I learned about a big event for “body suspension” held in Norway. In this event, people make holes in their body and hang from them using metal hooks. It was hard to watch, but these crazy Norwegians seemed to be happy and enjoying their lives.“Crazy Journey” sometimes causes controversy, but I find it fascinating and intriguing to try to comprehend the values of these eccentric people. It pushes me to rethink social norms and appreciate that “normal” can mean something completely different depending on the person. I hope this TV program continues to deliver high-quality and enlightening entertainment for years to come.
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Yumi Arai, who's stage name is "Yuming", debuted in 1972, but the first time I listened to her songs was in 1973. That was her first album, and I was in the second year of junior high school.At that time I loved listening to The Carpenters and Queen. The first concert I went to was Queen. Although I couldn’t understand the lyrics, I loved their melodies, harmony, rhythm etc...Buuuuut when I listened to Yuming songs for the first time, they lyrics were facinating to me and they painted a picture in my mind. I was hooked right away.Annyyywaayy, she got married in 1976 and changed her family name to Matsutoya.After a year off she came back reenergized and released albums twice a year for many years.Until her 26th album which was released in 1994, I loved all her songs. To tell you the truth after that some songs didn’t resonate with me, and recently I tend to really enjoy only about half of the songs in her albums.Despite that, her music has been with me throughout my life, for both happy and sad times her songs have been there for me.Her lyrics still paint pictures in my mind, and can bring back all sorts of memories from the past.—————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I think I’m good at inventing new games to entertain myself. Today, I’ll introduce you to some that I’ve been enjoying recently.The first three are games I enjoy while I’m driving.First:Just making many kinds of strange facial expressions. This game exercises the muscles in my face and neck.Through this game I’ve found that making my nostrils flare also makes my eyes open widely. This fact is quite trivial though.Second:Just smiling as big as I can! I’m always listening to interesting podcasts while I’m driving, so I often have a huge smile anyway.I’ve heard that smiling sends a message to your brain that you are happy, and there are many benefits that come along with that. When you smile, your brain releases dopamine, endorphins and serotonin.These neurotransmitters are associated with lowering your anxiety and increasing feelings of happiness. So even if you start out in a bad mood, you can kind of trick your brain and improve your mood and overall health just from smiling!So, thanks podcasts!!Third:Pretend that I’m eating something really yummy! Even just imagining my favorite foods or drinks makes me happy.Fourth:Pretend I’m a newborn baby! I’m not good at exercising consistently, so it has to be fun, like a game.That’s when I came up with “the newborn baby exercise”!! You just lie on a bed, and move your arms and legs randomly.It’s actually quite difficult to keep your movements random.As soon as I start this game, my arms and legs want to move as if I’m walking or right arm and leg together, left arm and leg together.My abdominal muscles get tired in about 20 seconds, so it’s pretty difficult.But it’s fun to pretend I’m a baby!Do you want to try some of the strange games I’ve created? Or do you have any other ideas for unique games I can enjoy by myself? —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
My husband and I finally went back to the Maldives for the first time in three years last month. The island we visited six years ago was called “Taj Coral” and it's run by a large Indian Resort company. The Maldives has many resort islands for tourists, each with its own unique characteristics. Taj Coral has a lot of staff from India, so they're familiar with Indian culture. As a result, about 50% of the tourists there were from India, 20% were Japanese, 20% were European, and 10% were from other places.Usually, my husband decides where we travel because he enjoys planning the trips. This time, he chose Taj Coral because the travel agency offered a great deal, and it was within our budget. While we were on the island, my husband created a fun game for me where I earned points every time I communicated in English, and completed various tasks. For example, after our first snorkeling session in the morning, we weren't satisfied, so we went to the diving center to ask for a snorkeling guide. My husband thought the guide was free, but actually we had been informed that it would cost $50 per person for 30 minutes. We only wanted some advice about the local reef when it comes to snorkeling without a boat, so I explained this to a staff member in English. My husband was surprised that I was able to explain our misunderstanding, and suddenly he gave me “50 points”, like on a TV gameshow. From then on, we had fun playing this game where I earned points in different situations. My husband said I earned the most points when I asked the staff about feeding stingrays. The travel agency had mentioned this feeding event, and we enjoyed it every evening during our previous visit. However, the staff informed us that the government had banned feeding stingrays on all resorts, including Taj Coral, a month ago. The feeding had been going on for over 20 years, so the stingrays still gathered at the usual time and waited for food. This made me feel sad, but I understand that the government is trying to protect the wild marine life.Overall, I was satisfied with my ability to communicate in English in many situations during this trip! —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
The other day, I had two job interviews on the same day. Let's call them “A company” and “B company”. “A Company” was quite similar to jobs I’ve done in the past, so I thought it would be easy to get used to, and I might enjoy it. On top of that, They seemed to have a better understanding of working mothers which is very important to me. But unfortunately, there would not be many opportunities to use English. Anyway, I think the interview went very well. The next interview was with “B company”. To be honest, I was more interested in B company because I saw a recruiting advertisement that said something like “Please use your English skills to help us!” The salary was also a little bit higher than A company.The job interview was mostly in English. They were looking for someone who could use very polite and advanced English and was good at communicating with people from diverse fields, which I don’t have any experience with. Unfortunately, my English seemed to be at a lower level than what they were looking for, but I wanted to get the job somehow! I was just thinking about how much my English skills could improve down the road if I did that kind of work. I felt willing to study business English intensively during the whole of March to prepare to start in April. I told my recruiting agent after the interviews, “B will be a challenge for me, but I like that! So I would prefer to work for Company B.“On the way home, I cooled down a bit and realized my misstep. I thought to myself, “Oh no! I can’t work there! I couldn’t even answer the interview questions properly… Don’t make your life harder MinMin!”Without waiting for the results, I immediately called the agency to apologize and let them know that I would decline an offer from B Company.I kind of feel like I dodged a bullet by not pursuing B Company. If I tried to work for them, I might feel suffocated by stress from work, which is the last thing I need right now. Thankfully, I received a job offer from A Company and I will start in April. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Only half a year after I told my husband that I never want to go to the Maldives again, my husband decided to travel to another island.The popular spa salon groups made a small resort hotel next to the island that has been famous as a luxury resort for a long time in the Maldives. They had a discount tour for a limited time. There is a free boat between the two islands every 45 minutes, and you can have lunch on either island.For dinner, the buffet and course meals were changed day by day.The interior of the room was fashionable with lots of aroma candles and nice cushions. Later, when we moved our apartment, we made the interior like this room.Each cottage has its own garden, deck chairs, and swings, and in front of it the wonderful sea. And of course, I love spas! I forgot that I hated the Maldives and enjoyed it.We didn't have fins or masks, so we rented them at the resort.However, there were some problems with the equipment, and at times during the week, we wanted to replace it. At that time we were still young and were not confident that we could communicate well in English with the European diving center staff to exchange rentals.The sea wasn't as breathtaking as Vilu Reef, but the house reef was great and snorkeling there was a pleasure. “House reef” is a coral reef that grows around the island, so if there is a good house reef it means the island is ideal for snorkeling. The island is committed to the conservation of marine life, and the resort owners lectured in English and German after planting corals with guests.How wonderful! It also creates an atmosphere where guests get along with each other quickly, because everyone has the same hobby and came from far away to enjoy it there. Unfortunately, we didn't attend the event because we couldn't understand either language.The first thing we did after we returned to Japan was not to study English but to buy snorkeling equipment.Now, almost 20 years later, there was something that I really wanted to study in English, so I’ll talk about it again someday in another story.——————————————————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
An unfortunate incident… I love walking my dog, but unexpected things can happen when you are with dogs… You see, my dog, Shushu, loves rolling around outside and I love watching her doing it because she looks happy and it seems to be satisfying for her. Anyway, the other day, I went to the park with her as usual and there were a lot of piles of fallen leaves around. She approached one of those and started sniffing it. I immediately knew she wanted to roll in it, so I took out my phone and occupied myself while she was busy doing that. I could hear her enjoying herself as I was looking at my phone, and it seemed to go on for longer than usual, but I didn’t think much of it. But then I looked up and saw her, and she was completely yellow!! I quickly realized she was entirely covered in another dog’s poo!! My brain just froze, and it took a moment to accept the reality of the situation. Luckily, I had two hand towels and extra plastic bags with me, so I tried to wipe off as much as possible, telling her “DON’T YOU DARE SHAKE YOUR BODY!” It was all stuck in her hair, and the smell was terrible. We ran home and got straight into the bath. It was the worst incident I’ve ever had with her, and yet, it has kind of become one of our most treasured memories. ——————————————————————
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We stayed on the main island for one night, and the next morning, we took a seaplane for about 1 hour to a smaller island. When we arrived, we noticed right away that the island had a natural atmosphere.
The corals were wonderful and it had rich marine life.
When I was snorkeling in the shallows, I heard strange sounds.
There were bright blue fish, 30cm or more everywhere! They were nibbling at the coral with their sharp teeth. I was surprised by the teeth of the fish. They were shattering the coral and it was scattering in the water. It was quite a magnificent sight. However, I was not as experienced as I am now, and at the time it made me a little afraid of snorkeling.
There were 30 cottages with thatched roofs for guests on the island. They have only one restaurant, and guests always sit at the same table. All the meals were buffet-style, so I got bored after 3 days. On the other hand, my husband was happy to be able to eat whatever food he wanted without the stress of reservations or ordering in English.
The only thing he is really concerned with is seeing the beautiful ocean, reading books, snorkeling during the day, and then drinking gin and tonics at the bar at night.
Maldives people are generally shy, but once they get used to you, they love chatting. It's the same as me!! The restaurant staff taught me some Maldivian words.
I want to go back to the island again! However, the island has now been acquired by a five-star hotel, with pools and villas by the sea, and there are fewer corals and less staff that are native to the Maldives.
Looking back, I wish I had enjoyed the simpleness of this island more...
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I usually spend about an hour watching Youtube during my commute. I should use the time more productively by reading a book or something… Anyway, I watched Tony Leung’s interview this morning. He is one of the most famous actors from Hong Kong, and I have been a big fan of him for a long time. He usually speaks Cantonese, but the interview was in Mandarin. I watched it just casually and then I found his Mandarin fascinating. To be honest, I had always thought that Cantonese sounded better than Mandarin, but Tony Leung speaking Mandarin changed my mind. Maybe it’s because of his voice or his Hong Kong accent? At first, I even thought he was speaking Cantonese. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is I might want to study Mandarin again. I studied it back in college, but I can’t speak it at all, which is very embarrassing. The problem is that I’m still studying English, and my English has a long way to go. Would it be better to start studying Mandarin again after I achieve a certain level of English? Or is it possible to learn two languages at the same time? —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
4(The Final)We were fortunate to find a more reasonable and higher-grade tour than the trip that was canceled by the typhoon.Finally, in September of that year, we went to Saipan.There was a big shopping mall near the hotel, and we went to the steakhouse there for dinner.We were surprised by the huge portions of all the dishes. After the meal, we enjoyed a live performance at the shopping mall.The next day, we went to Managaha Island which we were looking forward to for snorkeling.It is one of the most famous islands in the world for snorkelers.All travelers to the island have to take a snorkeling lecture for about 30 minutes as soon as they arrive on the island.At that time, a young guide explained precautions to avoid damaging the coral and other safety tips. You don't need to take it every time, but I think the lectures they give to protect the island are great. There was a lot of colorful fish, and it was quite a magnificent sight.We were charmed by the simple beauty of Saipan.After this trip, We went to Saipan once every other year for the next six years. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
3When I was about to give up on our trip and leave the airport, our mother said she didn't want to just go back home because she was looking forward to it so much.She asked to go somewhere all together, even for just one night.All of us thought it was a good idea.While my husband and Mieko had a travel agency at the airport arrange a hotel, the rest of us worked to get everyone in one car.We sent all our suitcases home except the bare minimum for a short trip. It was the most enjoyable drive I've ever had. Our mother held the baby and was sitting in the passenger seat, the three sisters were in the backseat, and my brother-in-law was in the back like luggage.We arrived quite late for dinner at the hotel but were impressed with the excellent food. The hotel also had an indoor heated pool, so we swam and enjoyed ourselves even with a typhoon going on outside. I suggested we stay another night because it was so much fun, but everyone shot down my idea.Because they had other ideas ... —————————————————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
2 That day was busy right from the moment we work up. Suddenly a typhoon was approaching so we had to check for traffic jams to the Airport as well as weather reports.We left with plenty of time because we were traveling with a baby.Worst of all, we showed up at the airport and then found out our flight was canceled!My nephew Riku couldn't walk yet, but he seemed happy to be with the whole family. He didn’t sit quietly in the stroller and was crawling on the fluffy carpet in the airport lounge.We were really bummed out for a while as we had already taken a few days off and paid for the trip, but after a few hours, we found out that we'd get a full refund minus a small fee.I was a bit tired because Riku was moving around so much, so I wanted to go home immediately, but I couldn't leave for quite a while.The reason why was... —————————————————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
1About 20 years ago my youngest sister Mieko really wanted to travel abroad, but she had a baby so she couldn't go anywhere. However, she thought if she went somewhere with our whole family, she could have fun and relax. She asked me and my husband to travel with them. We also thought that was a good idea because it would be great for my mother and my sister Kumiko as well.My husband decided on Saipan which is not too far from Japan and has a wonderful small island for snorkeling.We went to Narita Airport for the trip in July 2002, and from there we were supposed to go to Saipan... —————————————————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
This episode is a sequel to Episode #38 "A Christmas Lesson". Do you want to know how the Beatles jam went? Actually, after that, I had an online practice session of "Let it be" with the community of weirdos and GoGo-freaks. All the members told me that my guitar playing was fantastic! I thanked them and told them that my guitar teacher is a professional guitarist! "It's all thanks to him", I said. Being his student is a little tough, but I'm incredibly proud to have him as my teacher.Just recently, I had a guitar lesson with him on December 20th- a year since that Christmas lesson. A friend of our community gave me some advice. She suggested that telling him my "Christmas Lesson" story, could be a good way to repay him for the lovely lesson last year. I agreed that would be nice, but I feel embarrassed that a native speaker would hear me reading aloud in English, and he always teaches me without wasting a single second in the lessons. I felt a little nervous to talk about anything other than guitars, and was worried that he might be annoyed, so I hesitated to tell him the story. At the end of the lesson, my friend's face came into my mind. Then it occurred to me that you never know until you ask, so I decided to go for it! I asked him," Actually..., I wrote a monologue about this guitar lesson and submitted it to a Podcast. Would you mind listening to it now?" When I read the story I could see on the screen that he was attentively listening to my story. Right after that, he left the lesson studio, but returned right away wearing the same Santa hat as last year and he improvised "Jingle Bells" on his metal guitar. "Wow! What a pleasant surprise!" I was filled with joy! He gave me Christmas spirit for the second year in a row!Meanwhile, to my surprise, he said, "Thank you for sharing that story with me, send me a link to the Podcast!" I'm grateful to have such wonderful English learner friends, English teachers, and a guitar teacher in my life. —————————————————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1Until then, keep rocking and stay Metal!
It has been more than three years since I restarted learning English. Over the course of these three years, there have certainly been trials and tribulations along the way, but I have to say, English has made my life more meaningful.The first reason why I like learning English is that it can enlighten you with cultural knowledge even without traveling. Knowing the difference between Japanese and English educates me about the difference in cultural backgrounds. For example, we often don't use subjects and articles in spoken Japanese, whereas in English you must have them. It implies that Japan is a high-context culture where being obscure is considered polite. Whereas in most English speaking cultures, having clear and assertive opinions is expected. The more I study English, the more I find the beauty in each language.Second, English aroused my creative side! As I said earlier, I feel it is expected for me to have my own opinions and express myself when I speak English. This has lead to me exploring my inner self in new ways. I started to keep a diary and read more, I've become more aware of words when I read books, and I tend to think about why the author chose this word and what his/her intention behind the sentences is. It has made my reading experience more exciting and profound.This year, I plan to read more English books, and write essays like this in English. I can't wait to see where English will take me this year. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I love snorkeling. Today I'd like to talk about one of Okinawa's popular snorkeling spots, the "Blue Cave."I went there with my whole family 10 years ago. It was the beginning of July. It's a popular place for snorkelers so there were a lot of people. We wanted to snorkel freely so we enjoyed ourselves without a guide.In early July, the water temperature was so good, and it might have been the season for the fish to lay their eggs. I saw a lot of small fish swimming in the amazing blue ocean. That was awesome!! After getting our fill of snorkeling, we started to head back to the shore. My husband was up front and I was at the very end. To swim in the Blue Cave, you have to go down some stairs and then get into the water. So we swam toward the stairs. But unfortunately, I lost sight of my family and swam passed the stairs.As I was swimming I thought "the stairs should be here on the left side." However, there was no place to climb, and anglers were hanging their lines. I started to wonder if I had somehow missed the stairs. I happened to find someone who dropped his fishing rod into the sea, so I grabbed it and gave it to him. Then I asked him if he knew where the stairs were.It took about 30 minutes to get back because the tide was so strong that day, and I had drifted far off with the current. During that time, everyone was worried and looking for me. My family was really relieved that I was able to return safely. I'm confident in my swimming abilities, but I realized I should be more careful because the ocean is often dangerous.Later, I told my family the angler told me that I was like an ocean goddess because I swam up out of nowhere and picked up his fishing rod that was floating away.Even now, when my family gathers and gets drunk on New Year's day, my sister jokes that "Etsuko got caught by a fisherman." —————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Always be in love with a soul, not a face.Those are words from a Thai Buddhist monk, but it’s easier said than done. What is one’s “soul” anyway? My image of a soul is similar to a spirit. It’s something even deeper than your heart and mind. Some Japanese people think that your soul is your “true essence” which is established before your birth, and continues on after your death. I think that even when someone seems to fall in love with a person’s face, there is actually more to it than that. The way someone talks, their facial expressions, body language, and the way they treat others can make a person more attractive. Recently I’ve been really into some light-hearted romantic comedies from Thailand. I think I end up really liking the actors because of the characters they play. I love the story that the characters are in, and I think that shapes the way I feel about the actors. I can totally understand how many people fall in love with actors from these kinds of shows.That made me wonder, is every kind of love imaginary love in your mind? We shouldn’t live our lives just to fulfill other people’s expectations. As long as we live, we are changing little by little, so I guess true love is constantly learning about someone and growing together. If that’s what the monk meant when he said you should love a soul, then I think he was right. Through loving someone we can go so much further, and a mere face loses it’s importance. —————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
My crazy passion for making New Year’s cards.I’ve liked creating things since my childhood. Making New Year’s cards that give my friends a fun or interesting experience is very fulfilling for me.One time when I was about 10 years old,I made something shaped like tape measure with drawing paper, and wrote the new year’s message on a very long and skinny piece of paper. Then I rolled them up and put them into the handmade tape measure thing.They were too delicate to send in the mail, so I delivered to all of my friends’ houses on New Year by bicycle.One time when I was a high school student, I made giraffes, stag beetles and many other kinds of animals with traditional Japanese origami paper.I’m kind of tooting my own horn, but they were quite realistic and artistic, not just simple origami that kids make. I glued them onto the cards and wrote messages.They were bulky so it was impossible to put them mailboxes. So, I delivered them in person again. It took about 45 minutes to get to my high school.Everyday I put some of them in a basket in front of my bicycle and brought them to school with me.Looking back, some friends who got them probably felt it was a hassle to take them to their home.The reason I made them stuff is because I felt bad for the animals which weren’t included in the zodiac. So I drew zebras with a calligraphy brush, and cute giraffes with watercolor paints.Three years ago, I made some art in Hebrew with a writing brush and colored pencils. It was cute. In the last two years, I recorded many crazy dreams and wrote funny ones.I think it’s silly and fun for both my friends and I. I’m planning to do something different at the end of this year.I’m passionate about making New Year's cards that are unique. It’s kind of boring to make something that lacks interesting features.I mean I never judge people that make regular New Year’s cards, but for me, I love making things that are original and unique.Making New Year’s cards takes a lot of time, especially to writing messages for each friend. But it gives me joy as well.Because we send New Year’s cards to each other for a long time,I was able to reconnect with my old co-workers who supported me a lot when I started working and was unbelievably useless.She was very patient and kind to me so it was pretty emotional to see her after about 15 years… And that’s thanks to the Japanese New Year’s card custom. —————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
"No shoes No news"This phrase is from one island of the Maldives. It’s awesome!!We chose an island for our honeymoon where each room has no TV and you could walk all around the island without shoes. They were constantly cleaning so as not to hurt travelers' feet.I felt weird about going to the bathroom in the bar barefoot. Fortunately, they kept it very clean, so I quickly got used to it.There was a couples' spa treatment in the honeymoon activities package.Of course, I love spas. Even though I was abroad, the flow of an oil massage was the same, so I could relax and enjoy it. However, my husband seemed to have a different opinion about it.His impression was the following:He wore disposable paper underwear, and a gown over it, and was given ginger tea that tasted bland. He had his feet in a foot bath next to me, but then the therapist made him take his gown off and instructed him to lie face down. He was coated with oil, and then they flipped him over to face up, and oiled again!! He was just embarrassed and not at all comfortable.He said It was traumatic for him... My poor darling husband…After that, he never went to a spa again. That's good! I can go twice for the same amount of money!! —————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I’ve never been keen on soccer but this World Cup was special. It all started from the match where Japan beat Germany unexpectedly. I got excited and thought I might as well watch all the games from then on.It was amazing that Japan advanced beyond the group stage in spite of having to play against Germany and Spain.I always felt Japanese soccer was too conservative, but in this World Cup, I could see they were more aggressive.Although they were unable to advance to the quarter-finals, I was very proud of them.After that, I rooted for Argentina because of Messi. My husband told me how incredible he is, and why it's crucial for him to win this tournament.The final match was literally nail-biting!I felt like I was riding a rollercoaster!Ultimately, Argentina won for the first time in 36 years in the last World Cup for Messi. I can't imagine what it’s like to play with the hope of an entire country on your shoulders. I was very moved, and admire his composure.What made this World Cup even more special was Keisuke Honda, who was a special commentator for this World Cup. His comments were unique and easy to understand, yet professional.I'm a little sad that it's over now, but I'm already looking forward to the next World Cup!⚽️—————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
A year after our trip to Tahiti, we went to the Maldives for the first time for a week.In those days, there were only a few travel agencies dealing with the Maldives, and the most popular one recommended this island. It’s named ‘Makunudu Island’, and has a group of just 37 cottages. It’s a small island that takes only 30 minutes to walk around. Currently, we use Sri Lankan Airlines, but at that time, we were on Singapore Airlines, so there was a 6-hour transit at Singapore airport. I thought it would be too long, but Singapore Airport is so big that time passes quickly when you are shopping and looking around.Also, it was our honeymoon, so we were feeling very light-hearted and happy-go-lucky.When we arrived at the airport in the Maldives, a member of the local staff welcomed us. He spoke to us very fluently in Japanese! He has probably given the same talk to many tourists, so that’s why he was so amazingly smooth. We didn’t see him until we went back there because he was just working at the airport. So later on I thought he might be a bit bored.We took a 40-minute speedboat ride and finally arrived at the resort island. There was a picturesque view! I was so enamored by the magnificent sight of the island when they served our welcome drink that I didn't hear anything they said. —————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Hello! My name is Rumi.Do you do your hair by yourself? My mother used to do my hair, but not anymore. I went to StudioAlice with my family. StudioAlice is a picture studio.My sister took a “Sichigosan” picture wearing a kimono and a dress.I said that I want to take a picture too, because I love pictures! There was a helper in StudioAlice who helped us. One of them helped do my hair. She tied my hair back and used hair oil. I had a cute ponytail completed in the blink of an eye. I thought it was amazing, and I wanted to learn to tie a ponytail like that.That’s when I made up my mind to start doing my hair by myself. I was worried because I'm not good at it, so I asked my friends about a good hair oil. Now I got the hair oil, and I'm practicing tying my hair. I want to tie a ponytail just like the helper at StudioAlice. Thank you.————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Our English learning community has plans to have a jam session and play "Let it be" by The Beatles. So I requested another lesson with my guitar teacher on December 2nd. He said, "Absolutely!", but then I couldn't get a response to confirm. I was waiting and waiting for his reply until December 22nd. As a last resort I wrote as politley as I could to the Englishman. I was like "⋯ Would it be possible for you to give me a lesson by the end of the year? If by any chance you could do it, Could you let me know?⋯" To be honest, I didn't expect to get a lesson by the end of the year. Christmas and New Year's were just around the corner. Besides that, recently he signed with a metal band that belongs to a French record label, who will be releasing an album soon. He must have been busy recording the album and preparing for Christmas. So I watched tutorials on YouTube and practiced the song by myself, however, it was too hard to understand. Just when I was about to start looking for a substitute guitar teacher, my teacher contacted me just past 7pm Japan time on the 23rd. He wrote, "Was it still The Beatles song you wanted to look at? I can send a zoom link for 11 am my time." What a pleasant surprise!! I immediately answered "11am London time, I am free!" I was able to clearly understand "Let it be" after his lesson . When I attempted to play it with the YouTube tutorials, I couldn't do it at all though. As a side note, he showed up wearing a Santa hat and said "ho-ho-ho-!!" It was as if he was Santa Claus. He brought me Christmas spirit as well! The lesson was challenging, but very merry and full of cheer!!
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I know most people use their smart phone as an alarm, and so do l. What I like most is the variety of sounds. Smart phones have many different sounds you can use as your alarm. My favorite is a soft, smooth sound. The problem is that I have to bring my phone to my bedroom because I can’t wake up without an alarm. If I have my phone, I’ll look at it until I fall asleep, and after I get up for several minutes. The worst part is my room is still pretty dark at those times. Even though I understand how bad it is for my eyes, I’ve been doing it for the past couple of years. However, I feel like I can kick this bad habit at last, because I bought an alarm clock which is boring looking and has a deafening alarm. I don’t put my phone on my bed-side table anymore. Good grief, the solution is so simple, I can’t help but laugh. —————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Looking in the mirror, I can’t even find a feather.
I can hear the voice of a rushing bird longing for the sky.
I decided to get out of this town. It feels like a jail now.
There is a voice that holds me back, but I will find warmth in your heart.
Thank you for everything.
Though all that I will lose and give up is shiny, I need to choose my own path.
Are my wings moving? Can I truly fly?
I was looking straight at the sky without saying yes or no.
The bird’s name is Laughter, and I broke the cage.
The voice telling me to fly is overwhelming me.
Even though I was sitting holding my knees until yesterday.
I continue singing this song of victory to myself.
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Hello! My name is Rumi.Do you get an allowance?I usually get one thousand yen.My father gives it to me. I usually spend my money on clothes.I buy them at shopping malls.I sometimes spend some of it on stationary, too.I think I should save more of my money.Thank you for listening.See you again! —————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
My husband and I love snorkeling on the southern islands, especially in the Maldives.There are about 1,200 islands including uninhabited and about 160 tourist-only islands.They have a law that there can only be one resort per island.Each resort has its own characteristics. If you are a surfer, you can go to an island with good waves.If you will visit on your honeymoon, I recommend a luxury and shallow water island.My husband always chooses a small, quiet and reasonable island for us that is close to the drop-off. Drop-off is the place where the water suddenly gets deep. It's good for snorkeling.He doesn't care if there are Japanese staff at the resort. He just cares about the ocean and scenery. He can't speak English well, and neither can I. But He doesn't care. He is an optimist. I'm jealous of him. On the other hand, I am a worrier.So I need to learn English to be more relaxed and feel safe in order to enjoy our trips overseas. —————————🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue.If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com*FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
We have way too many trees in the temple grounds. They need to be pruned to keep the landscape beautiful many times a year. We know it's better for a gardener to prune, but it's far too expensive to pay for every time. More than anything, our Zen sect of Buddhism teaches it's important to sit in zazen meditation, do indoor cleaning, and work outside as well. We call it Samu(作務). These are important practices, so we have a gardener do it only once a year. My husband and I often prune them ourselves. To be honest, I've been dissatisfied with the way he trims trees for a long time. I was wondering why he trims them just slightly. So I went and trimmed his trees while he was trying to book some baseball tickets online. I made it more compact and small. He saw it and said "What happened to it! I'll give you a piece of advice. If you cut the leaves too much, hard strange leaves grow." I said "The gardener Hachiro(八郎) taught me that you should trim the trees as small as possible." My husband said "He told me not to cut them too much!" I realized we were focusing on different things. Hachiro taught us it's important to both form and not cut too much. It took a decade to make sense. Hachiro must have been laughing up in heaven. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com We'll be back soon with another new story. Until then, keep rocking and stay metal!! *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I bought a ukulele 4 years ago, but it has just been collecting dust in my closet. Practicing the ukulele was one of the things I’ve been meaning to do but never got around to. Finally, I bit the bullet, and got the ball rolling. I want to play the ukulele because I want to sing. I love singing. I used to go to karaoke and just sing for 6 hours straight, but these days I don’t go often. I just sing at home while listening to music. I was always jealous of people who can play guitar and sing at the same time. I thought about playing the guitar but it seems overwhelming to learn. One day I was watching TV and a guy was singing pop music with a ukulele. Until then, I thought of the ukulele as something only used in Hawaiian music, so it was kind of mind-blowing. He said the chords are easier than that of the guitar because it only has 4 strings. It’s been three weeks since I started playing the ukulele and I’m having fun! Of course, I can’t play it smoothly yet, but it’s very satisfying to see small improvements day by day. My goal, for now, is to play a whole song. Starting a new thing is sometimes intimidating, but I realized again how much it spices up my daily life. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I had a wonderful day last Monday. My older daughter had a substitute holiday which meant it was just the two of us, so we looked forward to it. We went to Mt. Takao which is the only mountain in Tokyo. It is 599 meters high, which I think is just the right height for us to climb. It ended up taking 75 minutes to reach the top. According to the official information, Mt.Takao generally takes an hour and a half to reach the summit. I bragged to her that last time I came it took me only 50 minutes to climb without any breaks. “This is a peace of cake for me”, I boasted. I went on and on blah blah blah. Anyway, we talked about things going on in our lives, ate ice-cream and Dango-mochi, and enjoyed the fresh mountain air. On the way back, our legs were tired, so we took the chair lift down the mountain. The Autumn leaves have started changing into red and yellow, so we enjoyed the beautiful scenery. After that, we went to the hot springs near the entrance to the mountain. It felt great and we agreed that this is an ideal holiday. To be honest, I really wanted to have a glass of beer after enjoying the hot springs, because I found that there was a nice restaurant serving craft beer. But I held back because I felt it would be a little bit irresponsible. Next time I have a holiday, I would like to add one thing to the agenda. Mountain climbing, hot springs, AND craft beer… What a combination! ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
My younger sister is Kumiko.
She is a very unique and interesting person. Kumiko and my youngest sister Mieko were close in age. Mieko was very strong but Kumiko was born prematurely, so they grew up like twins. Kumiko wasn’t good at sports and even gave up learning to ride a bicycle because she had no sense of balance.
One time they were playing in front of our apartment and were almost hit by a car.
Mieko quickly jumped out of the way, but Kumiko was too slow and uncoordinated to dodge it successfully. The car run over her toes, but luckily she wasn’t injured, so our whole family was relieved.
When she was a teenager, she fell in love with Rock music. She often went to see Rock concerts with her friends. I’m jealous that she has seen Queen live twice.
When she was in her 20s, she loved fashion and was known to strut around in flashy clothes, so she was nicknamed “ Mrs. Imelda Marcos in Tokyo” by people in the neighborhood.
She is working as a computer engineer now. The computers don’t move by themselves, so they won’t run her over.
Good for you!! Kumiko!!
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Just between you and me, leave the fun lessons to teacher Abe! 👉 https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
It’s neither hot nor cold - the best season for exercising! So I started taking walks along the beach again. I drive to the nearest Beach and park the car at a free parking lot. There are many people who go windsurfing and paddle boarding, so luckily the parking lot is big enough to accommodate everyone. The beach has nice paths that are separated for walking and cycling. So it’s the perfect place to go for a stroll. It feels good to walk by the sea, and depending on the weather, you can see Mt.Fuji, so I always look for it. It was bare three days ago, but was covered with snow today. I love walking along the beach. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Don't you think it's difficult to find a hair salon and stylist that suits you, and that you can continue to go to long term?
What is the most important thing for you when choosing a new hair salon? Location? Fee? Reputation?
It has been a huge challenge for me throughout my life! When I was in my 20s I used to go to a small salon in my hometown that a male stylist managed. My youngest sister recommended it, and even now I think it was the best. The stylist was gentle and kind, and had amazing skills, but unfortunately, he quit running the salon after about 5 years.
After that I spent years trying various salons. Although I found a few stylists I liked, they changed salons frequently. Apparently, it's normal for them to change their workplace in order to advance their career.
Finally, I am happy to say that I found a new favorite hair salon which was recommended by my colleague 3 years ago. My stylist is the owner, who is very talented, and the other 2 staff are also warm and friendly. I can relax there every time I go. I really hope the salon will stay open for many years to come.
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I went to the Night Ranger 40th anniversary show in Osaka Japan. This American band has been playing Metal for 40 years. Can you believe that? Their performance on stage was still amazing. It was a throwback to the 80s! Actually, they made me love Hard Rock and get into Heavy Metal. This band has had a special place in my heart for 40 years. So I decided to attend an event where fans can take group photos with the band members. I put on my favorite long sleeve shirt that was designed by Ebuchi. "Oh yeah! I'm so ready to meet them!" I thought. A crew member explained the rules of the session to us. She was like "Never touch the musicians! Don't stand next to them, don't take off your mask until right before the picture, and we don't have much time... blah blah blah..." I could hear a session going on while standing in line. "CLICK" "Neeext!" "CLICK" "Neeext!"... I felt like it was very impersonal and mechanical. "No one can talk to them if that's the case." I thought... And that's when it happened! The guitarist Keri Kelli noticed that my shirt said "Best day of my life" and immediately smiled at me. The vocalist and bassist Jack was overjoyed at the message as well. "Yeah, today is the best day of my life because I'm finally meeting you guys!" I tried to tell them using as much body language as I could. I'm sure my thoughts and passion for their music were conveyed to them. Thanks to designer Ebuchi! Next time I want to communicate in English with them! My English and Metal journey continues.. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com We'll be back soon with another new story. Until then, keep rocking and stay metal!! *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Palau is a beautiful and natural island nation located in the Pacific Ocean. The recommended activity for snorkeling in Palau is to go to a point by boat and jump off the boat then drift with the current. The boat moves ahead of the ocean current, so you get back on the boat using a ladder. The current was strong, the sea was clear, and the coral was alive and beautiful in blue, purple, and yellow. While we were enjoying snorkeling, my mother and sister were spending a nice and cozy day at the spa. When we came back, they were both shiny from the massage oils. We searched for a restaurant to go out for dinner. Surprisingly, there was a service where some restaurants will pick you up by car for free. The crime rate is quite low and we wanted to look around the town, so we decided to walk to the restaurant. The landscape was rural and few people walked other than us. One horrible thing that I will never forget is that three wild dogs seemed to be watching us from afar on the way to the restaurant. They looked malnourished and they slowly kept coming closer in a menacing way. In the end, they didn't attack us, but we were really scared. The restaurant had a homely atmosphere and all the food was delicious. Since we were in Palau, we ate coconut crab, which is rare in Japan. Finally, we asked the restaurant staff to drive us back to our hotel of course. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English: https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
When Hana said “To express Abe with a simple word, he is a genius! Because his communication skills are amazing.” I agreed with her opinion. You’ve worked in a customer service department when you were a teenager. Generally, it’s quite a difficult job for even an adult. Somebody asked you to do that job, I guess that means you were already good at communication and prepared. You are naturally very empathetic, and also really good at choosing proper expressions for the situation. You often figure out exactly what I want to say despite my broken English. I always find it amazing！ Almost like magic！ I think not all native English speakers can do the same thing. You are especially good at it. You are a very kind, and calm person. Sometimes you get very excited, but it’s only when you are happy. You are very good at sensing people’s feelings, so I assume you avoid a lot of arguments with your wife. Except for that one unforgettable funny situation笑 Do you remember? A few years ago, you secretly used Mrs. Lawson’s electric toothbrush, and said “It was only for my front teeth！” In that situation, unfortunately you failed to sympathize with her, but it really cracked me up. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English : https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Hello everyone, I’m MinMin, the organizer of this podcast. Thanks to people just like you, we have released more than 20 episodes so far! I’m also a heavy podcast listener, and I really enjoy listening to other member's stories. The personalities and characters of our members really come through in their stories. Everybody is so colorful and interesting. We put the entire script for each episode in the description, so feel free to check the text as you enjoy the various stories. Our podcast is updated on a non-routine basis, but I decided not to release more than 2 episodes per day, because I don’t want people to miss any episodes. As you know, we are all learning English, and there is still plenty of room for improvement. To be honest I get pretty embarrassed and my face blushes when I listen to my voice, especially when I speak English… But at the same time, I’m looking forward to seeing my progress, (and the progress of other members) as we continue to study! Speaking English out loud is really fun! And making a recording is definitely more fun than just talking to yourself. Anyway, I would be over the moon if this podcast can motivate you in your English studies even just a little. How do you become a member of this club? All are welcome! Just send me an audio recording of your monologue with a script! If possible please get a native English speaker to proofread your writing beforehand. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English : https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
Hello!! My name is Rumi, Do you like English? My best subject is English. Learning foreign languages is interesting for me. I got a good mark in the last term-exams. My worst subject is PE. Doing physical exercise is not easy for me. We have two mid-term-exams and three term-end exams a year. And we sometimes have five minutes tests. I’m happy when they are over. Thank you for listening. See you again! ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English : https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
I love dolphins. Of course you can see the dolphins in the aquarium but there are several places in the world where you can swim with them. I will never forget the time I spent swimming with dolphins. Palau has a facility that keeps dolphins by damming part of the sea for dolphin research. After giving a lecture on the dolphin biology to pre-booked guests. You can briefly interact with the dolphins according to your swimming ability. My mother and sister wore life jackets and were waiting for them to come, and were able to touch them gently as they passed by. My husband and I did skin diving with a dolphin. Along with another couple, we had a preliminary check to see whether you can dive straight without making noise so as not to scare the dolphin. This method is called “Jackknife.” You float on the sea, fold like a knife from your waist, and dive straight down using the weight of your head. Then if you can gently dive for 3 meters with your fins, you will be allowed to swim with the dolphin. The dolphin was well-trained. We dived one by one and she dived together and went up together with us. It was about 20 minutes and I felt fully satisfied because it was really fun. The Dolphin was bigger and cuter than I expected. What a majestic creature! When the guide saw me crying because I was so moved. She said that honestly they had been worried because I hadn't dived well because my butt were floating at the time of the level check, but I was able to dive very well with the dolphin. We had a good laugh together.
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Currently, young Japanese people get excited about Halloween costumes. But wait... What exactly is Halloween? It sounds familiar but I'm not really sure, so I researched it. According to the article, Celts (currently Irish) had a tradition which celebrates the fall harvest and use costumes to drive away evil spirits. In the 19th century, many Irish immigrated to the United States, so it spread there. Tokyo Disneyland held an event which adapted Halloween culture to Japan. After that, it spread all over the place in Japan in the late 90's. Also social media helped it become even more popular in more recent years. Japanese tend to focus on the cosplay and costumes aspect, and it doesn't have any religious meaning . I guess most Japanese don't know about the roots. I also would have never known if I hadn't written a monologue about it. Anyway, what is Christmas? Isn't it Jesus Christ's birthday? It's not just the day Santa Claus gives gifts, is it? I really should find out what exactly Christmas is... ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English : https://www.55freebird.com/blank-1
It’s so funny to hear your エブッちゃった stories on podcasts. But I make clumsy mistakes maybe even more than you! Small things happen every day. For example, forgetting what I want to take out of the refrigerator the moment I open it. Another one which happens a lot is “Oh! I got to go to hang up the laundry!” and when I go to the washing machine and take a look, I find nothing inside, then I realize “Oh! I forgot, I already did it!”. I microwave a cup of milk every day, and sometimes soon after I think “Oh! Let’s have that nice hot milk!” and when I go to the kitchen, it’s gone. I don’t remember but I already drank it. I feel like those situations are mysteries sometimes. I have more serious cases. On the night of December 16th, I was listening to a podcast at home. Around 7 o’clock, the doorbell rang twice. I was very skeptical, and assumed that the visitor must be an NHK staff. I turned the volume of the podcast down a little, and tried to stay quiet. Then he left something in my post box, and went away. I was sure it was an NHK staff, because they always put some contract information paper in the post box. But it was a slip from Yamato! I felt very very bad. I forgot that I booked a delivery that day! It was a very cold night as well. I contacted Yamato and went to their office to get the package the next day. I know it was completely my mistake, but I was trying to avoid trouble. It’s not only me. My friend has done the same thing. So, please allow me to say… Would you show me that you have a package in your hand please? Then I won’t mistake you for an NHK staff. On December 18th, I arrived at work in the morning, and I was getting ready, then I remembered something, “Oh! I have to make a note in my notebook right now, otherwise I might forget soon.” I looked for my notebook and a pen, and I couldn’t find them. Then I thought…”Oh! Noooo! They are in the washing machine!” So, my notebook which has my whole schedule, records, and to do list was completely wet. Basically, it’s ruined. I felt very sad and regretful about my stupidness, but I tried to stay positive. “It was full of personal information, so it’s better than losing it. If I lost it, that would be the worst.” On the night of December 27th, I was doing something on my laptop. Then I heard some strange sound from the washing machine. It was already washed and now in the spin-dry stage. Then I had a eureka moment. “Oh! It must be my car keys! Maybe I forgot to take them out of my pocket! I thought I would do it someday, finally…I did it…” As you know cars keys are different from decades ago, now they are more electric. So, I thought maybe it’s broken, so I was bummed out. Buuut! It was O.K.! They still worked! Even though the crazy user drowned them in water and washed it. I’m sorry keys! On December 28th, I forgot to bring my lunch! I had 4 pieces of cheese in the refrigerator at work, those were my only lunch that day. It was a busy day though. I was hungry, but I found that it’s easier to work when I’m hungry than when I’m full. My daily life is like this. It’s full of mistakes and situations like that. They seem to be increasing year by year, but I hope it will be better this year.
————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com *FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com
In my tennis lessons, I feel like my skills are dragging behind the rest of the class. I wanted to be better, or at least around the same level as everyone else. I thought if I practice more than anyone else does, I could get to their level… But my positioning and form are still off, and my ball often flies to the wrong side or out of bounds. The other day I got overwhelmed and I almost cried in the class! I always thought that practice and effort are the key to improvement, but it seems different for this... Ironically, after I cried, I started thinking differently. I decided not to take tennis so seriously, and stop being so hard on myself. If I look silly when I play, I just laugh at myself. I don’t think my tennis has gotten any better, but That’s fine. After all, It’s just a game, and games are supposed to be fun. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com) FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
I always see cars charging in the parking lot at Aeon. I thought it’s free because I know there are many solar panels on the roof of the huge Aeon mall. So one day I tried to charge my car there. I plugged my car in at the charging station and went shopping. After shopping I tried to remove the cord… Bu~~~~~t I couldn’t! It made me panick! How am I supposed to go home?? My car seemed to be arrested by Aeon! “OK, Yuttan, Calm down! Let’s figure this out” I thought to myself… I found a machine like a coin parking check out machine, and I noticed that it was charging me for something. The machine asked me if I was a member or not. If not, then pay with a Aeon card. Oh my god〜! I am not a member and I don’t have an Aeon card! I panicked again, and I called the number on the machine. He told me that I could buy a prepaid Aeon card at the counter and pay with that. Now I can charge my car correctly when I go shopping there. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com) FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
When I was a high school student, I listened to pop. One day I heard "Separate Ways" by an American band, JOURNEY. I thought it was such a cool song! After that, I got into heavy music. LA-metal was very popular in the 80s. Out of all these, I liked MOTLEY CREW best. I went to the JUDAS PRIEST show in 1987. It was my first time to watch a Heavy metal performance. Heavy guitar riff, scream and head-banging... I was really crazy about it. There were many cool metal bands in the 80s. I liked ACCEPT, SCORPIONS, QEENS RYCHE, METALLICA, MEGADETH, JUDAS PRIEST... They have been playing Metal for 40 years. Can you believe that?? That's Amazing! However, everything has an end. SLAYER announced their retirement recently. They played at the Download Festival in 2019 as a farewell show in Japan. At the end of the show, Tom Araya talked quietly in Japanese. 「コレガ サイゴノ ショー。サヨナラ、イツカマタネ。」 The 20000 metal-heads in the venue were filled with deep emotion. Also I was so touched although I wasn't a big fan of SLAYER. I was so luckey to be there. I want to go to a metal festival overseas and to talk about metal with metal heads all over the world. Anyway, recently my favorite band is CARCASS. It's a death metal band. My love for metal will continue until my carcass is burned into ashes! ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com) FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
My husband and I went to Tahiti on our first overseas trip in 1998. Immigration was very laid-back, and we were surprised by the huge Paul Gauguin paintings and the giant ceiling fans. We stayed at Moorea island. To get there, we had to take a 40-minute domestic flight from the main island.
One of our best memories from the trip was when we met a French woman while we were sea-kayaking from Moorea to an uninhabited island. She told us she was working for a luxury hotel in Moorea and that it was her day off.
We kept some distance because she was topless. However, when I picked up a coconut and was trying to figure out how to break it open, she came to teach me how to do it. She remained topless as she tried to break it using the sharp tip of a tree protruding from the ground. She smashed the coconut onto it again and again, but it wasn’t working. However, she didn't give up and even started sweating.
We thanked her for her kindness as we stood there feeling a little awkward because of her swaying breasts.
Just when I was thinking about what I should say to her in English… something like “Please stop, thank you,” the coconut broke and we could drink the juice that was inside!
Even though the coconut juice wasn’t good at all, it is still a good memory for me. Maybe for my husband as well.... ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com) FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
I went to a meet-up in Sendai. At first I didn’t have the courage to go to a gathering of people I barely know, but thanks to Abe and Etsuko, I felt comfortable enough to join and before I knew it, it felt like I was flying to the moon!! There were wonderful people, and tasty food, it was like I was in heaven! Also, because I had a hotel nearby, it was fun to be able to participate in the second party without worrying about time. The next day I went to Matsushima with a group of people from the party. The weather was beautiful and I had a good time with these nice new friends. Later that evening we got the most wonderful news that Abe’s baby was born. The 2 days in Sendai were the best days of my life❣️ ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com) FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
A couple of days ago, when I took the laundry out of the washing machine, I noticed that all clothes got damaged. It was like some tiny pieces of paper sticking to everything. I started yelling ”someone did something terrible! This is unforgivable! I saw this coming. You guys always blah bah bah…” Finally I found the tissue package which was quite worn out in the washing machine. It was my younger daughter’s. She always has tissues in her pocket, because it’s one of her kindergarten’s rules. It wasn’t just one or two pieces. We got a whole package worth of damage. No wonder all the clothes had changed to become whiteish. Anyway I admitted it was completely my fault, and I did the laundry all over again. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com) FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
It’s probably not enough, but somehow I can communicate and express myself in English now. Despite this, whenever I listen to native speaker’s, I tell myself that I can never speak like them. But it’s immediately followed by another thought. I ask myself, if it's Korean, can you speak just like that? My answer is No. I saw a Korean who spoke English fluently, and when he spoke Korean it was also very logical and impressive. This fact blew me away. No matter which language, speaking is based on your knowledge and things you consider deeply. You have to practice expressing your opinions and organizing your thoughts. Do you agree with me? ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com) FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
I’ve said the reason why I started my another podcast AnnyeongTalk with my daughter is to give her more opportunities to use Korean, but the truth is more about our mother-daughter relationship.
I’ve been struggling with parenting since she was born. I’ve disciplined the wrong way, and afterwards I realized it’s not her fault - she’s just a child.
I’ve been disappointed in myself a few times. Once I lost my temper, I couldn't control myself.
One day, I thought that if this continues until puberty, she wouldn’t listen to me at all.
So I figured out something that I can do with her regularly. I Think it helps us stay in touch emotionaly, because we have this face to face time at least once a week when we do the podcast. Perhaps being more in touch will help me to keep my cool and control myself better as well!
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🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com)
*FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com
*Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp
*Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
I went to see the movie, Chinmokuno parade, which is the latest of the Galileo series. It’s a mystery series where the main character, a physicist, Professor Yukawa, solves difficult murder cases with a detective. The first movie I watched in the series was “Yogisha X no Kenshin”. My husband insisted we absolutely had to see this movie, so I watched it without any expectations and no prior knowledge about Galileo. It blew my mind! I was left speechless by the end of it. It really went above and beyond my expectations! Now the latest one is being screened after 8 years, so I was really looking forward to watching it. It was good. Definitely not a bad movie, but to be honest, it didn't resonate with me as much as I expected. I couldn't really get into the story. When I watched Yogisha X no Kenshin, they dragged me into that world. There were many twists and turns, plus there was an undeniable humanity expressed through the characters that made a strong impression and really stuck with me. It was the kind of movie that makes you think about what love is all about. Whereas I think this newer movie had too many characters which perhaps made the story a little convoluted. I didn't know who to sympathize with. Besides, the plot wasn’t really that good. Even though there were some surprises, like a trick they used, or an unexpected reason for something happening, it wasn’t very convincing. I guess it’s always very difficult for a sequel to live up to the original. Maybe that’s because a movie has to be great for them to want to make a sequel in the first place. All that being said, I still enjoyed the movie, and I hope another one will come out in the near future. This time my expectations will be tempered, so perhaps I’ll enjoy it more.
————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join our club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com) FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
Hello!! My name is Rumi. Do you have school uniform? We have a school uniform. We wear a jacket, a skirt, a vest a tie and uniform shose. The jacket and skirt is navy blue. I usually wear pajamas at home. And I usually wear a T-shirt and wide pants when I go out. I like loud clothes. I don't like ugly clothes. I like casual clothes better than our school uniform. Thank you for listening. See you again.
When I was in college, I was hooked on applying for prizes. There was a free website for it, and I was able to enter many kinds of contests by just one click on that site. Actually, I won many times and the prizes started to arrive at my house. Now I can’t even remember what they were or where they were from. I only remember winning two big prizes. One was a digital camera, and the other was a 7 day trip to China! How amazing right? I won a free trip abroad! My father was very skeptical about it because it was a trip by ship rather than a flight. He believed that I was duped by a group of scammers between Korea and China, and they might kidnap me and take me somewhere. I didn’t let him stop me though. And guess what? It was a great trip! I had a wonderful time. I rode a horse in a meadow, and rode a camel in the desert, too. All for free! ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact me. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com)
FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp *Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
My older sister and I had the same room until I moved out to live in a college dormitory. My parents gave my brother one room and another room was given to us. My sister always had more power in our relationship. We slept in a double bed together, and she preferred the wall side. She said it’s more cozy. I had to sleep with my head positioned below her shoulders, so that her arms could move freely. Anyway, we used to chat for hours sometimes before we fell asleep. My mom often had to warn us about that. Now, my two daughters are sleeping together. They are always talking, laughing, and singing. I also warn them when it gets late, with exactly the same lines my mom used to use. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact me. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com) FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
Now I’m studying English, and before that, I was studying Japanese. When you are learning a language, you admire native speakers. I’ve always admired people who can speak fluently in multiple languages. So, I’ve thought a lot about how I can get to that level. But now, sometimes I feel like I’m in a different situation because I am a native Korean. There are tons of K-pop fans around the world. But actually, I only know BTS. I’m one of the lucky people who can understand their lyrics. I can quickly understand all the small details and nuances when they talk - things that people in their fan ARMY would kill to understand! I’ve never been in this position in my language learning journey. It feels so good! I have BTS to thank for that.
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🗣Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact me. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com)
*FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com
*Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp
*Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
Hello!! My name is Rumi. I'm going to talk about Our club. I belong to the table tennis club. We practice four days a week. But, I sometimes cut practice when I have to go to cram school. There are adout 20 members in our club. Our older members are kind.I think our club is fun!! Thank you for listening. See you again.
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🗣Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com)
*FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com
*Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp
*Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
Hello! My name is Rumi. I'm twelve years old. I live in Tokyo. I'm from Korea. Because my mother is Korean. I go to my junior high school. It usually takes 30 minutes. So I'm tired. Next! I love persimmons. It is very sweet. I like sweet food. And I like Korean food, too. But I don't like spicy food. Thank you for listening. See you again.
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🗣Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, please contact us. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com)
*FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com
*Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp
*Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
When I first came to Tokyo to study abroad, I lived in a share house. I didn't go to a real estate agent. I found the place on the internet in a community for Koreans studying in Tokyo. When I got the house, three Korean girls were already living there. There were two people using the same room! The point is, some Korean rented the house and lent it to other people. So we just paid that person. One day, one of my roommates said this contract is illegal, and he/she didn’t want to sign it again. If you want to keep living in this apartment, you have to pay for all the utilities, which was crazy! We packed all our stuff up and ran away one by one to not be noticed.
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🗣Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact me. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com)
*FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com
*Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp
*Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
I used to work as an editor at a magazine in Seoul. I interviewed celebrities and wrote many articles. The work was very hard. It was a monthly magazine, so I had to work all night at least 3 days a month before the deadline. Despite this, I liked my job. I was born and raised in the countryside. But the company was located in Gangnam. My colleagues were all cool and fascinating. That was the ”Gangnam Style”! Unfortunately, I was there for only 3 months. The publishing industry was very bad. We didn't get enough advertising to continue publishing. Turns out the company decided not to continue publishing the magazine. —————————
🗣Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact me. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com)
*FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com
*Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp
*Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
When I was growing up, my birthday was never celebrated with a cake that was just for me. My older sister’s birthday is only one day apart from mine, so our birthdays always had to be celebrated together when we were little. Since I’ve grown up, I have lived apart from my family for a long time. However, I have an unforgettable birthday memory, too. It was when I went to Korea to give birth to my older daughter. A week after I gave birth, I turned 30 years old. My mom had prepared a whole cake just for me! It was a light pink cream cake, and very girly. In many ways, it was a very special birthday for me.
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🗣Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact me. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com)
*FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com
*Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp
*Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
I am a “permanent resident” now, but it wasn't easy at all. As you know, visa things are such a pain. It takes time, effort, and money. When I applied for permanent residency, I still had 7 months before the expiration of my visa. I thought that was long enough to get the result, but about 6 months later I received a letter which was asking for other documents instead of the result. It made me freak out! I was planning to visit my parents soon, but my visa was going to expire. The only thing I could do was to renew my current visa one more time. It’s needless to say I spent my time, effort, and money once again. After a month, finally I got my permanent residency, and my brand new 5-year visa was cut off after only a month.
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🗣Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact me. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com)
*FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com
*Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp
*Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast
Welcome to English Learners Club, a.k.a. ELC. Hello everyone, my name is MinMin. I’m a English learner. I’ve been taking online English lesson from teacher Abe who is a famous podcaster of GoGoエイブ会話 and Teacher Talk. In his lessons, I write a monologue as homework and he proofreads and corrects it. This podcast is just me reading out my monologue to improve my English. ————————— 🗣Do you study English? Join my club! And why not read your monologue. If you are interested, you can contact me. 👉smsgil0228@gmail.com
*Abe's lesson page. 👉👉👉Free Bird English (55freebird.com)
FREEBIRD English https://www.55freebird.com Gogoエイブ会話https://55english.jp *Teacher Talk https://www.55freebird.com/podcast