Want to Move to ANOTHER COUNTRY? — Conversation for English Learners

You know, when I finish university, I'm gonna  move to Brazil. I just decided in that moment,  

and sure enough, I finished my senior year  of university, and, you know, it was summer,  

I got a job. I was saving up money and  everything, and I had this plan to move to Brazil.

We grow up and we sort of think that the time's  passed, I should give up on that. Uh, and whether  

it's learning a language or pursuing any  other kind of goal, it's never too late.

So I'm joined in the global studio today, first  and foremost by the one and only Mr. V himself,  

Ethan. Hey, Ethan. How's it going? How you going? 

I'm good. We're kind of turning the tables here today, huh? 

Yeah. Yeah. We inverted roles a little bit  today. Yeah. So it's a nice experiment. 

So I can kind of like lay back, relax here  and, and just enjoy the flow of the podcast. 

Exactly. Just enjoy the talk. Yeah. So I think it might be worth, uh,  

explaining to the audience here, those  who don't know what Mr. V stands for,  

and where this nickname came from. Mr. V. Mr. V stands for, it's short for, I guess we'd  

say, uh, Mr. Vocabulary and I, I, I guess I got  famous in the early days of this podcast. Anyone  

who's an old fan that won't be new for, because  I used to use maybe more advanced vocabulary or  

I'd use a lot of expressions, which is deliberate  because, you know, I was trying to sneak in some  

different things that we can teach, but it's  stuck. That name, that name stuck. I think  

maybe Chad, who used to do the podcast with  us, uh, gave me that nickname and it stuck. 

And of course, uh, I gotta mention here  the most lekker teacher in all South  

Africa who's also joining us today,  the one and only Casse. Hey, Casse. 

Hey guys. And Casse, you do have some big  

news to share with us today, don't you? I do indeed. 

So, just to tease the listeners a little bit, we  are gonna get into it more in today's episode,  

but could you just briefly share  your big news with everybody? 

Sure. So I've recently made the decision  to accept a job offer in China, so I'll be  

teaching young kids and teens, um, in China. That's amazing. Yeah. Well, first of all,  

congratulations. Yeah. And, I imagine that,  uh, it takes a lot of courage also, yeah,  

to make such a, a big change in your life  like that, because, you know, dear listeners,  

sometimes all you need in life is a great  adventure. So today we are gonna be talking  

about moving to a country where you don't know the  language. Also taking a job opportunity abroad and  

how all of that connects to your identity. But, before we get started, make sure you  

hit that subscribe button and bell down bellow,  because every week we put out lessons or podcasts  

like this to help you go from feeling like a lost,  insecure English learner to becoming a confident,  

natural English speaker. So hit the subscribe  button and bell down bellow so you don't  

miss one single new podcast. All right? Casse, I have to say that, um, I know very  

little about Chinese culture. We do use a lot  of products from China here in Brazil, and it's  

even common for us to see that famous line on the  products "made in China". Yeah. But I know very  

little about it. So personally, I'm excited about  today's episode because I know that you have been  

learning more about the country, the culture, and  you have some cool things to share with us today.  

So I'm excited about that. But first of all, uh,  I would like to ask you, Casse, what inspired you  

to take this opportunity to move to China? What  is your deeper intrinsic motivator in this case? 

I, I would say that for me, there are multiple  reasons. I think when we make decisions like this,  

there's always a multitude of reasons to  do or not to do something. And in my case,  

I think the strongest push that I've had is  that this opportunity fulfills two sides of who,  

who I am, uh, on the one end, I'm a mom,  and this opportunity will afford me and  

my family to have a better life for  many reasons, of course, financially,  

um, just in general, like the, the cultural  experience to learn more, to grow more,  

but also it's sort of fulfilling a lifelong dream  that I've had, which was to be able to travel,  

to be able to work abroad, and to be able to sort  of link it to, I would say, my somewhat altruistic  

nature, which is to help and sort of be of value  in the world. And I think I thought that I could  

find that with journalism, but teaching offered  so much more, like, so much more fulfillment. And  

I think being physically in China, teaching in  person definitely fills that. And I think it's  

going to be wonderful for that reason. And, you  know, Thiago, as parents, as a parent yourself,  

I would say that, you know, when we think  about making decisions, the reason I mentioned  

my family first is because once you become a  parent, I think every decision you make is linked  

to your kid. You're thinking like 10 moves ahead.  If this was a chessboard, you're like, you know,  

I, whatever I do will affect him, will affect his  life, his future. So I felt a sort of aha moment  

when this opportunity came because I felt that  I would be able to, it would, it ties in with my  

identity and hopefully what I can offer him as  well. So this was really my strong motivation. 

You did mention a nice word there, which  was altruistic. Could you define that? 

Sure. So if you tend to be more  altruistic, you're someone who,  

your desire to help others sort of outweighs or  trumps your desire to, you know, for personal  

gain. So I tend to always want to help, always  want to add value to others in whatever way I can. 

You mentioned an aha moment there. What is that? An aha moment is a moment of sometimes profound  

realization, uh, where things just start to make  sense. Uh, we also say like, things start to  

fall into place. Like the, the reason starts  to fall into make, start to make sense. 

That's incredible. Yeah. It's a bittersweet moment.  

Of course. I think that I should add because  it's not like I'm like, yeah, bye guys. Like I,  

yeah, I I definitely, it comes with its  negative, uh, you know, negative side as well. 

Uh, Mr. V I gotta ask you, Casse just used a  very nice word there. Yeah. Bittersweet. Uh,  

she says this experience is  bittersweet. What does that mean? 

It's like bittersweet chocolate,  for example, right? We say this as  

a flavor of something that has both those,  those notes of bitterness and sweetness,  

but then we can use it in a more figurative sense,  just like Casse did here to talk about something  

that has both sweet aspects to it, or positive  aspects and negative, or could be, not necessarily  

negative, but in this case I'm sure Casse is  referencing - you have to leave your family, maybe  

you have anxiety related to this big change going  on in your life. So it has some more tumultuous  

or more complicated emotions that come along with,  it's not just all sweet or positive notes, right? 

And Casse, I totally relate to what you're  saying about being a parent and wanting the  

best for your child. Uh, and it's true. Yeah.  We tend to have a vision for our children,  

I guess, yeah, as parents. And we start  making decisions in the present moment,  

keeping that vision in mind. So yeah, I totally  get where you're coming from. Casse, one last  

question I have about this is, would you say that  this, uh, desire to live abroad and work abroad  

is something that has been on the back burner  for you for a while, has been on the back burner? 

It sure has, but before I get  into that, what does it mean? 

Oh, I'm gonna throw it to Mr.  V again. Ethan, please define  

for us when something is on the back burner. This comes from, for example, if you have a stove,  

maybe you put something on the back burner that  you just need to simmer. You just need it to be  

kind of warming and stuff while you're  cooking other things. And then when we  

use it in a figurative sense as, Thiago did  here, it means that you're not prioritizing  

something right now. You're thinking someday  I'll do that thing. But you have other  

priorities in your life that you're doing first. So that's exactly it. This decision has been,  

or this desire has been placed on the back  burner, simmer over there. Um, but you know,  

like I said, being a parent, you know, having  a job and we grow up and we sort of think that  

the time's passed, I should give up on that. Uh,  and whether it's learning a language or pursuing  

any other kind of goal, it's never too late. By the way, dear listeners, in case you don't  

know, we do have the RealLife English app and  we highly recommend you download it because you  

can listen to this week's episode while following  an interactive transcript. So you can read along  

everything that we are saying here. Alright. So  in case you haven't downloaded the app yet, make  

sure you go to your favorite app store, Google  Play store or App store, search for RealLife  

English. And also, I'm gonna leave the link here  in the description in case we're watching us on  

YouTube. So do check it out. Alright. Now, Ethan,  onto you. You know, one thing that I admire about  

you is the fact that you are a very well-traveled  person. You have been to many places in the world,  

many countries, and uh, I think that gives you  this more, let's say broad perspective of things,  

of different cultures, different, uh, countries.  So I know that you have been around a lot,  

but I wanted to ask you specifically about your  experience moving to Brazil. I know that you  

moved to Brazil in the past and not even once,  but twice I believe. So I'm (Right) curious to,  

to learn more about how the experience went for  you, starting with your motivation. What motivated  

you to leave the US and come to Brazil at that  time? Could you share a little bit about that? 

Yeah. It's kind of a long story, but I'll try  to be brief. I was fortunate to get to live in,  

while I was in university, to live a year in  Spain, in Mallorca, and while I was there,  

I made some Brazilian friends, and this was, I  believe, the first time I met Brazilians. And  

I'd hear them speaking to each other in  Portuguese, and I was just like, wow,  

what a beautiful language. And, you know, I  got to know them and got closer to them and  

just found the place that they came from,  the culture so fascinating. And that was  

kind of, it just piqued my curiosity. I started  learning a little bit of Portuguese from them,  

and I even downloaded Rosetta Stone and did, uh,  some Portuguese while I was living there. And  

then coincidentally, I went back to the States,  because I had, my brother was getting married,  

so we had his wedding, and a bunch of my family  flew out to Colorado. And I just remember that  

we were sitting down at lunch, you know, before  the, the actual wedding with all of, uh, my mom's  

family. And coincidentally, I had a cousin, she  and her husband had just gotten back from living  

in Recife Brazil for, I think it was six months  or something, for several months they were there,  

and they were talking all about their experience  and everything and how life-changing it was. And  

those things kind of connected in my head. And  there was just a spark, maybe an aha moment,  

like Casse said earlier. And I was like, you  know, when I finish university, I'm gonna move  

to Brazil. I just decided in that moment, and sure  enough, I finished my senior year of university,  

and, you know, it was summer, I got a job. I was  saving up money and everything, and I had this  

plan to move to Brazil, and I was applying for  jobs. I didn't hear anything because, you know,  

I was fresh outta university. I didn't have any  relevant prior experience. And also in general,  

it's kind of difficult because you're competing  with local people. They'd have to pay for a visa  

for me and whatnot. So I said, you know, I can  teach English, you know, I, I've learned languages  

myself. I had some experience tutoring English  in, when I was living in Spain, and so I did the  

TEFL exam, which I felt like it didn't prepare me  at all for the realities of the classroom once I  

got there, but it's okay. And I also was really  proactive about researching, trying to look up  

other English teachers from the States that were  teaching specifically where I was planning to go,  

where I had some friends in Belo Horizonte. So  I went, I was, I was a few days in Rio first,  

because, you know, you gotta go to, you gotta go  to Rio, and Rio's a really spectacular city. Uh,  

and then after a few days, you know, I was couch  surfing there. After a few days, I went to Beagá,  

couch surfed with a guy there as well. And,  you know, eventually was finding an apartment.  

But when I was doing my research before going  in Belo Horizonte, I found, uh, one teacher,  

I found a woman, she referred me to these RealLife  English guys. She's like, oh, you should write  

them, you know, they do these events and stuff.  They're like, they, they, they really know what  

they're doing about teaching in BH. So I reached  out to them, and that's how actually I met Justin,  

and when I went there, I went over to their, their  place and everything. And, you know, we hung out  

in person. I started going to the, the parties.  I'd get there early and help them. And then after,  

you know, I'd, because I just found this to be  the most amazing thing, just to, uh, in Belo  

Horizonte, there's not a lot of foreigners. So it  was like a room full of Brazilians all speaking  

English. This was pretty, pretty mind blowing.  And, you know, I'd, I'd stay late and help them  

to, you know, kind of, clean things up, tidy  things up after, and yeah. And then eventually,  

because I was always there helping and everything,  they just asked me if I, if I wanted to join. And,  

you know, the rest is history, as they say. But if  people wanna (Nice.) learn more about just kind of  

that journey and how we got started with RealLife,  RealLife English, having a tongue twister,  

uh, then you can listen to, we'll link in the  description or in the show notes as well, uh, past  

episode where Justin and I talk all about that. Uh, Ethan, you mentioned the TEFL certificate. Uh,  

in preparing to come to Brazil, you took  a TEFL certificate. Maybe some listeners  

might not know what that means. What  kind of certificate is that? The TEFL. 

Yeah. So it's for, I believe it's specifically for  native English speakers, but it's Teaching English  

as a Foreign Language certificate. And basically  it, I believe Casse is actually doing this now,  

so it's been a very long time that I did this, so  she can probably give the, the details a little  

bit better than I can. But basically they give  you some preparation for being in a classroom  

and teaching, like, you don't even have to have  prior, like a degree in teaching to do it. So it  

kinda gives you an introduction to teaching and  specifically to helping people learn English.  

But like I said, for, for my experience, at least  once I got into the actual classroom, you know,  

I just realized that I really, really was, uh,  we could say naive at this whole teaching thing. 

And, well, you didn't see much validity  or practicality maybe in the course. Would  

you say that you were bored to tears in  some of the lessons there? Some classes? 

Yeah, I, I'd say that would be a valid  description that I was bored to tears. 

That means to be really bored. 

Yeah. If you imagine you're  so bored, you're crying. 

Casse, still talking about your, uh, preparation  now, yeah, uh, to move to China, I do have a  

question about that, but before I ask you that  question, what country would you like to move to  

one day, guys? You know, have you thought about  that? If you could live anywhere in the world,  

where would you like to go? And why? Share  your comment here in the comment section below,  

because we are curious to see, I mean, your  destination. So where would you like to go? 

Or if you're just listening to the audio,  you can write us at [email protected]. 

So Casse, talking about your preparation now,  yeah, in moving. So how have you been preparing  

to move to China? What kinds of things have  you been learning about studying, doing? 

Well, as Ethan mentioned, I,  I actually did the TEFL course  

four or five years ago, uh, when  I started teaching online. And  

I've never taught in a classroom, but that course  is focused on how to teach in a classroom, so it  

teaches classroom management and things like that,  which is new to me. And because I didn't use those  

skills, I'm doing it now as Ethan said, because  it'll be my first time as a classroom teacher,  

um, which is so scary. And of course there are,  there's a lot of paperwork to take care of,  

um, bureaucracy, of course, involved in  applying for the visa, uh, the clearance checks,  

like certifying my qualifications and things  like that. But that's the boring stuff. Then  

there's the fun things, like getting to know more  about Chinese culture, the language, the myths,  

um, the stereotypes, the things that people say  about the country that, I mean, there's one thing  

to ignore things like that and be uninformed  completely. And there's another thing, like,  

on the other hand, what I've been doing is reading  all about it and really just like looking at both  

sides, because I'm pretty sure a lot of it is  just made up nonsense that people who've never  

been to China, probably just have to say about  the countries. So I've been reading a lot of  

blogs and vlogs, people who've lived there from  different countries, but I have been focusing on  

South Africans who have taught in China and, you  know, who have shared their experiences relocating  

with their families. That's the bigger part.  Like if I was going by myself, adventure time,  

but I'm bringing along a little kid. So I, I did  a lot of research with regards to schools and  

options for childcare. Um, and of course I've  started learning Chinese as well. Mandarin,  

um, yeah, which is so daunting. Like one month ago  I was so excited about Portuguese, I was seeing  

growth, and now I've just like, yeah, it can wait. Leave it aside. 

Put it on the back burner. Pushed it to the side,  

put it on theback burner. There you go. 

What does daunting mean, Casse? But yeah, so if something is daunting, uh, it,  

it's sort of scary because it's, you don't know,  it's, there's uncertainty involved. There's  

perhaps risks, usually risks, and you're not sure  how things are gonna turn out. So it's daunting. 

And have you started looking  into accommodations there? 

Yes. So they will pay for the hotel for two  weeks. So I'll say no hotel for two weeks, and  

then they will help me find accommodation. So the  first month will just be me settling in and yeah,  

they'll basically guide me through, uh, all the  basic essential things, opening a bank account,  

um, familiarizing myself, getting a Chinese sim  card, because as you know, we cannot use our,  

you know, WhatsApp and other  things like that. So yeah. 

You used somenicephrasal verbs there. You  saidthey "sort everything out" and you said  

that they help you "to settle in". So  what do those two phrasal verbs mean? 

Yeah. So to sort something out is to make  arrangements for, so they take care of the  

arrangements, they sort everything out so that I  don't have to. (Nice) And to settle in means to, I  

always think of it as like a drink, a pretty drink  where there's like still pulp or something, and it  

starts to settle at the bottom of the glass. I  dunno. So this is what it means, like when you  

settle in, you're finding your place in a bigger  space, so you're finding where you belong. And if  

you think of moving and you settle in, you really  get comfortable. You find, you make it your home. 

And speaking of home, Ethan, what about you?  I mean, um, in terms of accommodation, where  

did you stay when you came to Brazil? Did you  rent a place? Did you share a room with someone? 

I had several different experiences there. When I  first got there, I lived with three roommates. Uh,  

and after a few months, I was paying quite a bit  of money. I realized later by Brazilian standards,  

and, um, with, with what I was making, it didn't  make that much sense to spend that much of my  

salary on that. So I ended up, uh, I was gone to  the States for a month for Christmas, and when  

I came back, I moved into a, what's called in  Brazil República, um, (Oh) which does not exist  

in the States, that, that concept. But I lived  with like eight guys in downtown Belo Horizonte,  

very crazy experience. So it was like, uh, seven,  seven Brazilians and one Italian guy. And, uh,  

and myself, and I had the maid's closet. So in,  in my tiny little room fit a mattress, a, uh,  

what do you call it, an, an armoire or like a  dresser and a meditation cushion behind the door  

so I could like meditate and that's it. And just  enough room for the door to open and close, that,  

that was it. That was the, the entire room. Actually you did share with us the other day  

a movie that reminds you of that experience  - of sharing the apartment with, you know,  

other Brazilian friends. And there's also, I  guess an Italian guy you said, right? (Right)  

Um, could you tell us a little bit  about that movie that you shared? 

Yeah, that one, I'd say it reminds me even more of  my experience, uh, having lived in, in Mallorca,  

for example, when I was studying, or in Barcelona,  it's called L' Auberge Espagnole, it's a French  

movie. I probably butcheredthe pronunciation,  but it means the, the Spanish apartment. And it's  

actually about a French guy who goes on Erasmus.  Uh, Erasmus is a program that they have in Europe,  

which is exchange between universities. So he  goes on Erasmus, on an exchange program to live in  

Barcelona, and he's hunting for apartments for a  place to live. And he goes to this place that has,  

uh, and, and we'll, we'll roll, uh, roll, we'll  watch this scene together, but he goes to this  

place that's really cool because it's a mix  of all sorts of different nationalities living  

there in the same small quarters, you know? And  I've had many experiences like this where, when  

I was living in Mallorca, I lived with, uh, two  Spanish guys and one British guy. And we'd have,  

we, we spent a lot of time with the Erasmus  students. So, you know, we'd be having like a  

party and there'd be people from all over Europe  and, and even from different parts of the world,  

you know, like I had my Brazilian friends and,  and other peopleSo, uh, I love this movie because  

it really reminds me so much of being in that  kind of environment that's just a melting pot  

of different cultures and accents and stuff,  you know, and speaking Spanish and English and  

other languages. A lot of times what happens  when you move to another place, in fact, is  

it's easier to make friends with other people who  have also moved there than it is with the locals,  

because you're in the same boat. Right? And you,  you feel that empathy of a sharedexperience. 

That sounds fun and multicultural. By the way,  we actually have, uh, a clip from that movie,  

Ethan. So I'm gonna ask our producer Ice  T to roll it now and let's check it out. 

Yes. You see the rent is not so cheap, so  we have to be a lot. So it becomes much more  

cheaper. Um, but we have to organize things so  it becomes possible for everybody, you see? Yes.  

Yes. Okay. Now I have some questions, Xavier.  What are you studying? Economy. Ah, economy.  

And what do you expect your life to be in about  five years? <speaking Spanish> That's a ridiculous  

question. You can't ask... Why? We have to...  I dunno what I'm gonna be doing... Listen,  

this is a very normal question. I have a  list of question. Anybody don't like my  

question? Want to ask another question? Then  go. Oh, seriously... What does it matter? 

I thought it's funny that they're  interviewing him like a job interview  

almost. Yeah? But the environment is so  casual, it's so like, cool, you know? 

Yeah. They talk about, there's, uh, there's,  there's one girl who's like local. That's it,  

the only person who's actually, uh, she, she's  from Tarragona, and I think there's a German,  

a Danish guy, and Italian, uh, the girl is,  is British. There's another guy, I think who's  

British, and he also speaks French. And so  it's, and, and the guy who's interviewing is,  

and the main character of the movie is French.  So, uh, it's like, it's, it's such a cool sort  

of environment to be in where people all have  these different, they're coming from these  

very different experiences in life, right? Ethan, uh, do you have any comments about  

the characters' English there in the clip?  What, what could you say about their English? 

Uh, yeah. I think one of the really interesting  things about this is that we hear many different  

Englishes and, and levels of English. And I'm sure  even some of you listeners might have heard them  

making some mistakes, some of the characters, but  despite that, none of them have any problem. And  

us watching it have no problem understanding what  they're trying to communicate. Right? Even though  

some of the questions are a bit, are a bit funny,  right. Uh, but yeah, actually we, um, I noticed at  

the beginning, I think the guy is Danish or  German, the one who's kind of the, the head  

interviewer we could say. And he says the rent,  we have to be many so that the rent becomes much  

more cheaper. So it's kind of infamous in downtown  Barcelona, the apartments can be a bit expensive.  

If you're student, you don't tend to have a lot  of money. So this is a common situation, right? 

It has also to do with the comparative,  right? Because the word cheap is only  

one syllable long, so we tend to just add -er  for comparative there. Yeah. (Right) We tend  

to use more for like longer words. Yeah? Mm-hmm. Yeah. You could actually, yeah,  

you're right. If you said like, uh, beautiful.  It's much more beautiful, then that's correct. 

There you go. But Casse, don't feel left out  because I actually have a clip for you as well and  

it is about China. But before we actually watch  that, you know, uh, I thought it'll be cool to  

do exactly what I do with my students, which is to  try to get you to predict what the video is gonna  

be about. Yeah? They, uh, it's a couple. They're  talking about, uh, China specifically, and I have  

some words here that they mention in the clip.  So they mention Reminiscent, Stab and Curse in  

the clip. Okay. So before you predict, could you  define the word Reminiscent to our listeners here? 

So if something is reminiscent, it reminds you of  something or someone, an event. So you can say,  

today's reminiscent of the first time I did  something, I don't know, whatever it is. 

And Ethan, what does it mean to stab something? Can have a violent sort of connotation, right? Of,  

of someone stabbing someone with a knife that  you, if you see any like, criminal drama or  

something like that, uh, or it happens in real  life as well. Uh, but we can also say, you know,  

to stab something, like if you stab a tomato with  your fork, it's like you're kind of forcefully  

grabbing that tomato off of your plate with your  fork. So it's, it's like, has to do with, uh,  

it has to do with a penetration, right? Right. And finally, curse. How would  

you define curse, Casse? So a curse is bad wishes,  

you know, if someone wishes bad on someone else,  

they're generally cursing that person. But curse  can also mean to swear like a swear word. So,  

but I think in, I think you would use  that word obviously in different contexts,  

but don't you say cuss in American English? We can say both. We can say curse,  

but you can say cuss or swear. But Casse, looking at these words,  

reminiscent, stab and curse, what do you  think the clip is gonna be about? Any ideas? 

Someone is trying to, they're  describing a new experience  

and thinking about and comparing it to a  previous experience that they had. So like,  

they're experiencing something new and they're  comparing to something. Maybe they're using stab  

in the context of like, take a stab at something,  like trying something for the first time. Curse,  

curse of knowledge. I'm trying to think of  positive ways that they're, that they might  

use this word. Oh, maybe curse in  like swearing, like, don't curse here. 

You're hoping it's not like, don't curse  or else you're gonna get stabbed, you know. 

Great job with the predictions. Uh,  I'm gonna ask our producer again,  

Ice T, to roll the clip and let's check it out. Number three, chopsticks. Chopsticks are the  

primary eating utensil here in China, and there's  a couple things you need to remember about what  

not to do with them. The first thing is don't put  chopsticks in a bowl of rice with them sticking  

up, right? Normally if we visit our ancestors'  graves, um, there are three bowls of rice in  

front of us. We'll stick this chopstick on top of  it. So if you're eating with your Chinese friend,  

do not do that. They're not gonna appreciate  that. So it's kind of reminiscent of when you  

visit your dead relatives in the graves? Yes.  Okay. I can see what that's gonna look. You  

don't wanna curse them. Also, you never  want to take your chopsticks and point  

it at someone. Okay? I imagine in the west  it's kind of rude to do that with your fork,  

but it's much more serious here. You wouldn't  wanna point at anyone with your chopsticks.  

Yes. And some of the rude people, like we are  talking about the rude people, sometimes they are  

just using the chopsticks, like I think it's  like this. That's really, really scary to do  

that. If you can't use chopstick, you might  have a difficult time here in China because  

they're used everywhere. However, you are never  to stab food with the chopsticks. The whole point  

of chopsticks is that they are a non-violent  alternative to other eating utensils in history.  

So if you're stabbing your food with it because  you can't pick it up, that's probably a no-no. 

So how are your chopstick skills,  Casse? I'm itching to know now. 

They're pretty good. So Casse, any comments on the clip? 

That was quite, uh, funny. I found it funny  because I actually read about some of this. Um, so  

I knew about the chopstick no-no. Um, yeah, I knew  about that one. Uh, and pointing them at people,  

I also read that. And even with your fingers,  uh, I heard that you shouldn't pointat people,  

um, with your fingers either. You rather gesture  with your palm. (Interesting) So it's over there  

instead of over there. Oh, you, you, (Interesting)  (Interesting) (Wow.) Very interesting. 

Still on that subject, have you learned  any other cultural do's or don'ts? 

I have. Chinese culture is very reserved. So I  heard things like public displays of affection  

or just general, like loud laughing or being angry  in public. I mean, sometimes you're so angry,  

like, ah, man, I think I have to mute these  behaviors. I don't think I'll ever stop,  

but I could learn to mute them. Ethan, there's some nice connected  

speech also in this clip we just saw.  Yeah. Could you point some of the  

connected speech patterns there that we heard? Yeah, I noticed that. Uh, so he says a bowl of  

rice. He doesn't say it that way. He says, a,  a bowl of rice or a bowl of rice. I'm not sure  

exactly how he said it, but you would hear often  Americans say it both those ways: bowl of rice or  

bowl o' rice. Bowl o' something. Uh, there was  another one too, he said in, in front of us,  

this is a really good one because it's got several  elements of connected speech. We'd say - in front  

of us, in front of us. So you have the NT in  front. We drop the T sound the N connects to  

the OF which becomes a schwa sound UH, in front  of, and the 'v at the end of OF connects to US,  

in front of us. And then finally, the  last one, that I took note of is, uh,  

if you pick something up with your chopsticks,  so he said, pick it up, pick it up. You have  

an American T there. And all three of those  words really linked together. Pick it up. 

You know, listening to Casse sharing, uh, some  of these cultural, you know, differences, right,  

and also this clip, uh, it really reminds us of  the importance of getting to know other cultures.  

Yeah? And expanding our worldview, our perspective  of the world. And it just so happens that you can  

do that with our app as well, from the comfort of,  of your native country. Actually you can connect  

with people from all over the world, have a nice  short conversation and get to know more about that  

person's country, culture, habits, traditions.  So it's really, really cool. Speaking of the app,  

we do have some shout outs today here to  some of our followers, so let's get into it.

I'm pretty sure the Roman Empire lasted a very  long time, maybe T. can look up for us. Ice-T,  

how long did the Roman Empire last? Yeah, I'm curious now. 

Hey, guys, I checked here and the Roman  Empire lasted for over a thousand years. 

Wow, more than a thousand years? Okay! Go RealLife! 

Thank you so much. That's awesome, yeah! 

Long live RealLife! Long live  RealLife English, that's awesome!

Alright, so now it's time for the RealLife  Way moment of the episode. And I would have  

to say that a component that connects with  today's talk is definitely Connected. Ethan,  

what could you say about connecting your  English to this topic that we are discussing  

today about traveling and moving abroad? Well, I'll talk first of all about the  

part about connecting it to your why.  Because for me, that's been such a, a  

huge part of the reason why I decided to  live abroad in several different countries.  

And one of the big things for me is that native  speaker, native speakers of English don't really  

have to learn other languages to be able to  travel and live abroad. I've met a lot of  

British or American, Brits or Americans  that live here in Barcelona, and they,  

they don't speak Spanish. They in, you know,  they, they find ways to get by with the locals  

and stuff without knowing the language, but they,  they live here, they don't speak the language.  

And this, for me, defeats the whole purpose,  you know, of going to live in another country.  

For me, it's all about getting to experience,  as I mentioned earlier, a different worldview.  

And you really only get this when you learn  the language, when you can speak to people in  

their language. And there's a quote from Nelson  Mandela who's from Casse's stomping grounds, uh,  

and he says, "If you talk to a man in a language  he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk  

to him in his language, that goes to his heart."  And I'm not sure, maybe Casse can fill us in why  

he said this. Maybe I believe that in South  Africa there's many different languages. So  

maybe that was a goal he had, was to be able to  speak with different people from the country in  

their own language. I'm not sure exactly why,  but there's a lot of wisdom in that quote. And  

I'd say for me, living abroad has just been an  eye-opening experience because it allowed me to  

really see what my life would've been like had  I lived in, had I grown up in Germany, or had I  

grown up in Spain, had I grown up in Brazil, for  example. And to have so much gratitude, you know,  

just for where I came from, the, the opportunity  that I was given, and also to experience different  

ways of seeing the world, because there's no one  correct way. And I grabbed another quote because I  

think this also goes really to the heart of what  I'm saying, and the whole why of living abroad,  

or if you can't live abroad, finding ways  to connect with people from other parts of  

the world. That's really the highest purpose, the  highest thing you can use your English for is as  

a tool to get to know all these different cultures  and develop yourself into a global citizen. And it  

comes from Seneca, who was a philosopher, uh, and  he said, "I'm not born for one corner. The whole  

world is my native land." And this experience of  traveling, it really gave me this feeling. I had  

like a, started with kind of a, what we call, uh,  Wunderlust, which is, it's a word from German that  

means, uh, love of traveling, a love of getting  to see different places and, and wandering.  

But it started to give me this feeling, you know,  that I just because I was born in the States,  

it doesn't just mean that I'm American. It means  that I can, I can grab different identities, which  

Casse is going to, I'll let Casse talk about, but  I can meld into these different identities and  

everything and, and become this global citizen.  I can become someone who belongs anywhere. Casse,  

I'm curious to hear what you have to say about  the other element in Connected, which is identity. 

Yeah. But before I, I tell you a bit about  identity, I really just wanna comment on  

the Nelson Mandela quote. Um, and why  it's so powerful is because, because  

of his way of thinking, because of that,  um, that belief that he had and, and that  

understanding that he had, you know, with, you  know, how much the power of language, the power  

of learning to connect with people using their  language, um, it had to do more with, I mean,  

anyone who, who might understand the, the South  African history and apartheid and like racial,  

um, segregation and oppression. If you, if  you're interested in that, I recommend you,  

um, you definitely check out the many Mandela  movies out there. Um, but he used it as a way to  

unite the country. And I mean, it was horrible.  You know, there's a horrible history, which we  

won't get into, but the power of that quote is,  it stays, it rings truth, I think, for every  

South African, everyone who, who, you know, who  understands how, I mean, we have neighbors here,  

I have neighbors who I, who live next door, or  people I went to school with, and they speak  

languages that I don't understand. So, you know,  can I (incredible) ever truly understand them?  

I think when we talk about how travel connects  with identity or how it connects with who we  

actually are, we have to think about how  we see ourselves in the future. So who,  

what am I, how do I see myself? And if I can sort  of envision myself as a person who speaks Chinese,  

speaks Mandarin, um, makes new friends  from different countries, um, you know,  

gets to know different places, explores,  you know, new and unknown foods and, and,  

yeah, ways of life. I think once you can envision  yourself as something you can really change your,  

your life, uh, I think it works this, it  works with languages, especially, I think  

when you really be, feel that connection to the  languages. Ethan mentioned connection with people.  

Um, but I mean, we can feel that with a lot of  different things. It could be your job, your,  

your desire to improve in whatever area of your  life. I think when you feel that, um, that thing  

connects with you, when you can see yourself being  successful at it, when you can see how it will  

improve, how your future will be better, I think  your action, the action follows. I think when it  

comes to identity, it's those things. And, um,  for me it was really this idea of traveling and  

seeing myself, seeing my family, seeing my son,  you know, just envisioning this better future,  

the possibilities that this opportunity, uh,  will afford me or could afford me. I think,  

yeah, it, it's, it's really just filling me with  like the motivation to keep going, keep learning,  

um, and it's worth it at the end of the day.  That's what I, I keep reminding myself of, so. 

I really like what you were saying there too  about the, the connecting it isn't just to  

people. That's totally been my experience as  well with, with, especially as I've developed  

as a language learner and gotten different  skills. For a while I was learning French,  

for example, and something that was really,  I, I've never lived in France, but something  

that really helped me was really connecting to  the culture, to the cooking for a while. Like,  

I was really obsessed with French cooking and  French wines and, uh, connecting to the music,  

you know? And so it's like you can greet this  whole environment where you're listening to  

French music, you're listening to some Édith  Piaf while you're, while you're throwing together  

a, a Bœuf bourguignon, uh, what's it called? Bœuf  bourguignon? No. Now I'm forgetting the name of  

the plate. But whatever, you're throwing together,  you know, a French, a French dish, and you know,  

and enjoying that even with other people so you  can kind of create your own immersion experience. 

Yeah, that's certainly what I did when  I was learning English, yeah, creating  

my own immersion experience. But, you know,  listening to you guys now talking about that,  

it makes me wanna travel now and move abroad, that  is so amazing and inspiring. But just a, a word  

here to the listeners, maybe you don't have the  time in the moment or even the money to do this,  

yeah, to travel abroad, to live abroad. It's okay.  But use the app. The app is an amazing place for  

you to connect with other people from different  countries. Uh, think about it as a virtual travel.  

You know, you are traveling virtually via  the app by connecting to different cultures.  

And we actually have a challenge for you today.  And the challenge is first, go to the app and  

download it in case you haven't done it yet.  And learn about someone else's culture. Maybe  

ask that person, Hey, what is it like to live  there where you, where you, where you're from,  

and, uh, tell me more about your country,  your culture. And then maybe share one thing,  

one insight that you learned, one cool thing  that you learned from a different culture.  

You can share that here in the comments  section below. Or you can just drop us a  

line at [email protected]. We are  looking forward to hearing your insights  

and learnings. All right, so, uh, that's it  for today's episode. Thank you so much for  

listening. Stay tuned for next week's episode  and we'll talk to you soon. 1, 2, 3. Aww Aww  

Aww yeah yeah yeah!