English Learners Club(ELC)

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the English Learners Club! Today, I’m sharing a story from our summer vacation on Thudufushi Island in the Maldives. It’s a cozy little island, but instead of talking about marine life today, I want to focus on the amazing people we met. First, we met a charming German couple. Even though English wasn’t our native language, we had the most wonderful conversations. They even came to see us off when we left the island, which was really touching. The wife is an amazing photographer, and I can’t wait to see the pictures she took and promised to send me. Next, I tried aqua fitness and met a sweet, shy Russian lady. Later, her boyfriend saved the day by helping me catch my wish paper before it missed the bonfire! Meanwhile, my husband skipped the whole event. What a party pooper! But the funniest encounter was with our neighbors—a couple on their honeymoon. They were from South Africa and were really friendly! I was pretty excited because one of my online English teachers lives there. I told the wife that I was interested in “braai,” the famous South African barbecue, and she excitedly told her husband about it!Awesome!There was another incredible encounter on this fabulous island...After we chose this island, we watched some YouTube videos about it. We liked the videos by a couple from England the most. The husband looked fun with his sky-blue shirt, and the wife was elegant with natural grey hair. Aaaannnnd, believe it or not, that couple was there!!  They were at the next table at the Lunchtime Buffet!! My husband spotted them first, and I immediately said hello! As you know, we chose this tiny island in the middle of the ocean, and it was easy to connect.  It felt like we were all on the same wavelength! I shared this podcast link with them, and the lovely lady told me that she followed the program right away!!  Brilliant!! When I excitedly told my husband how much progress I’d made in English conversation—and how I could now share our podcast with new friends from other countries—he simply said, “Isn’t it just that you’ve become a middle-aged lady who's shameless enough to talk to anyone?”Well, he might have a point! The old me would never have done that!Learning English has changed more than just my language skills. Talking with teachers from different countries and learning about their cultures has changed me, too.I guess I have become a little more shameless—and I'm actually quite happy about that! Thanks for listening! I’m off to see if I can finally change my husband’s stubborn mind... Sometimes I think his head is so hard, he could hammer nails with it!Keep learning! Keep practicing! And always remember to have fun. See you in the next episode! Bye for now.-----🏝 Special thanks to Anke for sharing her beautiful photos and kindly letting us use them in this video podcast! (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡

By "go-to songs," I mean those reliable favorites you find yourself choosing again and again, depending on your mood or the situation.For me, my choices highly depend on who I'm with. Generally, I pick songs that everyone knows. That said, there are fewer chances to go to karaoke with colleagues since the pandemic, and my mother and other family members are getting older. As a result, lately, I mostly just enjoy karaoke at holiday resorts.I have a specific approach to choosing songs: I carefully observe the other guests—their backgrounds and age groups—as well as the atmosphere before making my selection.  Kind of like a private detective!Two years ago, I sang Queen’s "Don't Stop Me Now," and the crowd got really fired up. Also, last year when I sang "Santa Lucia," performing the first verse in Italian and the second in Japanese. It was a huge hit not only with guests from Italy but with travelers from other countries as well!Karaoke is originally from Japan and is somewhat ingrained in Japanese culture. When I travel abroad, I think people sometimes underestimate me because of my small stature. However, after I get on the mic at karaoke, I have them eating out of the palm of my hand.  I often bond with people from other countries following karaoke. They look at me with newfound respect, thinking, "Wow, that Japanese lady really knows how to get the party going!”

 One of the things I really enjoy about traveling abroad is connecting with locals, so I studied a little Italian before the trip.  I learned phrases like, “Vorrei un cappuccino e un cornetto, per favore.” It means “A cappuccino and a croissant, please.” When I actually used it at a café and the staff understood me, I was so happy. I also practiced simple words like “Scusi,” “Buongiorno,” “Grazie,” and “Mi dispiace.”  But the most useful word I learned was this: “Aiuto!” It means “Help!”  We took a high-speed train from Rome to a port city called Salerno. I went to use the restroom in the station, and there was an old man collecting money from people to use it. In Japan, that would be unusual, but in Italy, even station toilets aren’t free. I gave him one euro, and he let me in.  The women’s restroom was occupied, so he pointed to a handicap restroom, like “You can use that one.” I went in, closed the heavy sliding door, and locked it… The lock felt a bit shaky, but I thought nothing of it.  After, I was washing my hands, even humming a little, feeling relaxed. Then I tried to unlock the door… and—wait… what? It wouldn’t open! The lock just kept spinning, no matter how many times I turned it.  I started to panic. “Oh no, I’m stuck in here?!”  So I shouted, “Aiuto! Aiuto! AIUTO!!!” while banging on the door.  Then the old man from outside came and started shaking the door, and somehow forced it open. He was saying something in Italian, but I couldn’t understand. He looked happy when the door finally opened.  I was just so relieved. I said, “Grazie!” and even gave him a big hug.  That experience made me think—when I travel abroad, I should definitely remember the words for “Help!” and “Thank you” wherever I go! 

So, our bathroom faucet had been dripping for a few days, no matter how tightly I turned it off. My husband called a repair service, but since he had to go into the office, I was left to hold down the fort and handle the appointment. The moment the repairman walked in, he completely ignored the leak and went straight into “full-on salesman” mode. He was like, “Hey, if you buy this brand-new, fancy shower set right now, I can give you a massive discount!” I instantly got bad vibes from him and thought, “Okay, this guy is sketchy as hell.” I couldn't believe my husband had hired someone like this! The energy in the room became incredibly awkward. To protect myself—and our wallet—I had to play hardball…I called my husband right in front of the guy, demanding a formal quote, which I knew the guy couldn't produce. Then, as he was practically running out the door, I blocked his way and demanded his business card. The best part? A week later, my husband called a different company, and they fixed it perfectly. He was so happy and thrilled with their service. But honestly?Seeing him look so satisfied after leaving me with that nightmare made me absolutely furious!

We started sightseeing by taking the subway to the Vatican. The problem was, we didn’t have any coins or small bills, so we put a 50-euro bill which is about 9,000yen into the ticket machine. We didn’t really understand how to use it, and the moment my husband pressed the cancel button… the bill slot started flashing red, and the touchscreen completely froze. Of course, the money wasn’t returned either. I was like, “Oh no, it’s broken!” So I went to the staff member standing next to the ticket gate and explained the situation in English. But he just snapped at me, saying something like, “I’m not in charge of the ticket machine! You deal with it yourself!” — mixing English and Italian and kind of shouting. I didn’t know what to do… Then, suddenly, two really cool guys in uniform walked by. They had “ITAPOL” written on their backs. I asked them for help, and they were so kind. They listened carefully and even called the ticket machine company for us. But the company said they would come in three hours… which was impossible because we had a reservation at the Vatican. So, sadly, we had to give up on getting our money back. The two cool guys felt sorry for us and even helped us buy two tickets for 1 and a half euros each using a credit card at another machine. To say thank you, we gave them some Japanese rice crackers we had brought from Japan. We said, “Molto molto grazie!!” and everyone was smiling when we parted ways😊 Even though it was a rough start, Rome was absolutely beautiful. The whole city was just like the place I had dreamed of. We took so many photos! At the Trevi Fountain, a tiny old lady handed me her phone and asked me to take her picture. I had heard that there are a lot of pickpockets around there, so I was a bit cautious… but honestly, I thought, “Well, I can probably handle this grandma if anything happens,” so I took the picture. She gave me the sweetest smile, and when I showed her the photo so she could check it, she got super excited, saying “Grazie, grazie, grazie!” with big hand gestures. Then she joked, “I’m cheap, right?” and tossed a 10-cent coin into the fountain. We laughed, and we also threw a 1-euro coin in for good luck, hoping we could come back to Rome someday.