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1:19Hello, and welcome to bonus episode number
164 of the Culips English Podcast. How is
1:26it going? I hope you're doing OK. My name's
Andrew. I'll be your host and your English
1:32study buddy for today. And in our bonus episode
series here at Culips, what I do is I tell you
1:38some stories from my everyday life. I'm
a Canadian, but I live abroad in Seoul,
1:42South Korea. And I hope that by listening to these
stories, you will be able to grow your vocabulary
1:48and build your English communication skills and
ultimately become a clearer and more confident
1:54communicator when you're speaking in English.
So, if those are some of your goals,
1:58then you're in the right place. And to accompany
this episode, there is a 100% free for everybody
2:05interactive transcript and vocabulary
glossary. Plus, if you're a Culips member,
2:10then we'll also throw in a comprehension quiz.
So you can get all of those goodies just by
2:15following the link that's in the description.
OK, so everyone, for this week's story,
2:21there are going to be two parts. The first part
is Desk-Trail. Part one is called Desk-Trail,
2:28and part two is called Sick. OK, not very
creative chapter names, but chapter one,
2:36Desk-Trail, and chapter two, Sick.
OK, so let's start with chapter one,
2:42Desk-Trail. And the reason that chapter one of
this story is called Desk-Trail is because that's
2:48been my life here for the first, well, I guess
now we are almost two weeks into the new year,
2:54right? So, for the first couple of weeks here of
the new year, I haven't really been doing much.
3:00It's winter, it's cold, it's not too exciting
outside. And so, pretty much I have just been
3:06going from my desk and working, and I've been
doing a lot of cool projects for Culips. I don't
3:13have anything I can share with you yet, but I've
been working quite hard, and I think you're gonna
3:18be excited and really into some announcements
that we can make soon here on Culips.
3:23So I've been doing a lot of desk work, doing stuff
for Culips, preparing episodes, preparing lessons,
3:30and just doing a lot of cool things for Culips,
like I said, that I can't talk about quite yet,
3:35but that's been a lot of my time consumed
with just desk work. And then I figured
3:42that I need to go outside and get some fresh
air. So, usually in the evening around 7 p.m.,
3:48then I finally get up from my desk and I
go outside and go for a run or bike ride,
3:53nothing too crazy because it's winter and cold
and dark, but then that's my daily exercise.
4:00Then I go to sleep and then I repeat, so I don't
really have too many interesting updates for you.
4:06However, when I was out for a recent bike ride,
I guess this happened just before Christmas,
4:12something cool happened. I was riding my bike
along the Han River. We have this great pathway
4:18of trails by the Han River where I
like to ride. And it was a cold day,
4:23but it was a very beautiful, sunny day with
a nice blue sky. And because it was so cold,
4:30there weren't too many people out on the
bike trails. So, it was kind of nice.
4:35Actually, I'm kind of lucky because when I was
dating my wife before we got married, actually,
4:42we were just dating. She gave me this incredible
Christmas present at the time of some really,
4:49really high quality bike clothes. However, those
bike clothes are winter bike clothes. So it's like
4:57these insulated, warm bike tights and an insulated
jacket to match, and a nice hat. And yeah, it's
5:05awesome. When I ride my bike in the winter, I love
it because I look really pro and I've got this,
5:11like, really high-end gear for riding my
bike in the winter. She was really, really
5:15generous to give me that awesome gift. So, I love
riding my bike in the winter, and it was cold,
5:21but I felt so warm and just perfect wearing those
nice bike clothes that she gave me. However, when
5:28I ride in the summer, I don't have that high-end
gear and those high-end clothes in the summer. So,
5:33I always prefer to ride in the winter. I can
really, like, flex my sweet outfit that I have.
5:40So, I was out for a winter bike ride. It was a
cold day, sunny day, beautiful day, but not too
5:46many people out there on the trails. And I was
just riding my bike, minding my own business.
5:52I actually had my AirPods in and I had some music
going, and it's just fantastic. I was just really,
5:58really enjoying the day and really, really
enjoying the ride. Every time I get on my bike
6:03and I go for a ride, I always think, like, there's
never a bad time when you're on a bike. Like, I
6:09don’t think I’ve ever had a bad time on a bicycle.
It's just something that I always really enjoy.
6:14So, I was out there riding my bike, and I passed
somebody who was wearing a Santa costume and they
6:23were riding their bike with a Santa costume,
and I thought, oh, that's kind of cute,
6:28and just kept going, right? You just like, oh,
OK, it's a couple of days before Christmas,
6:32somebody is riding with a Santa costume.
Cool, didn't think much of it, kept going.
6:37And then a couple of moments later, I got
flagged down by the Santa. I could hear them say,
6:44excuse me, excuse me, hello, hello. And I kind of
looked over and I saw out of the side of my eye,
6:50oh, it's the Santa. And, I was like, yeah, can
I help you? I don't know. Maybe I have, like,
6:57a flat tire or something that I didn't notice.
Maybe there's a bike problem that I didn't notice,
7:02but the Santa flagged me down and I stopped
my bike and she stopped her bike and we spoke,
7:11had a little conversation with each other.
And it turns out that she's a YouTuber and she
7:15was handing out, like, Christmas presents to other
cyclists, I guess, just for fun content for her
7:20YouTube channel, I would imagine. So, she gave me
a cookie and she asked me a couple of questions,
7:26and I asked her a couple of questions. You
know, what are you doing? Why are you dressed
7:30like Santa? What's your channel name? This kind
of thing. And yeah, it was just a fun little
7:34conversation. Made my day. It was really nice.
I don't know. It was just kind of this random
7:39thing to happen to you while you're riding your
bike. Never expected that that would happen. And
7:44then I was back on my bike and back on my ride.
So, when I got home, I didn't eat the cookie at
7:51that time. I just sort of put it in my pocket
and kept riding. When I got home, I took it
7:57out and looked at it. And the Santa had prepared
a handwritten note saying like Merry Christmas
8:02and plugged her YouTube channel and stuff.
And so, guys, this is my dilemma. I am curious
8:12about the interview, obviously. However, I'm
so embarrassed. I don't think that I can go
8:18and actually watch the interview. Like it feels
so cringy. And I think maybe for you, you think
8:26that's weird. Like, here I am on a podcast and
this episode will also be played on YouTube.
8:31So I'm in front of the camera right now. I'm
talking on YouTube. And this is fine for whatever,
8:36this is fine. But when I think about appearing
on somebody else's content and like, you know,
8:42it was a cold winter day, I have probably
a little bit of a runny nose and you know,
8:47I'm flushed from exercising and probably
not looking my best. And then, yeah, kind
8:52of a surprise interview in Korean, of course, as
well. And so, afterwards, you always at least me,
8:59I'm always like, ah, did I say the right thing?
Did I say this word correctly? I don't know.
9:03It's kind of this surprise interview situation.
So, yeah, although I have her YouTube channel,
9:09and if anybody wants to know, just let
me know, and I'll definitely pass it on
9:14to you. And maybe you could look for me, but I
can't do it. I can't watch myself. I think I’d
9:20die of embarrassment. So it was cool. It was a
nice gesture, but I don't want to see it. So,
9:27that was a kind of cool thing that happened to me
out on a bike ride recently. But other than that,
9:32like I said, it's just been riding my bike, going
for runs, and coming back and sitting at my desk
9:37and working. Super boring stuff, unfortunately.
So, let's go to part two of this episode,
9:44chapter two, which I called Sick. And maybe
this is another reason why I've been a homebody
9:50for the start of 2026, and that is my wife
got the flu. My wife got the flu. In fact,
9:57just after Christmas, she wasn't feeling so
good, and she thought, this is another kind
10:03of funny story that just popped into my mind.
But, we have been doing some exercise together.
10:10There is a YouTube channel, another YouTube
channel! Today, we're talking a lot about YouTube.
10:15A YouTube channel that… there's this couple
in Korea and this is a Korean YouTube channel.
10:21And they do, like, they're a married couple, and
they do exercise videos together. Like stretching
10:27videos and different aerobic videos. And so my
wife and I sometimes, we did a lot last year
10:34and then we kind of stopped and now that we're
starting again. We like to follow this video and
10:40just do some of the exercises. It's really fun.
The couple are funny and they play some funny
10:46music in the background, and it's just good to,
like, move around and stretch. And so we follow
10:51this couple's exercise videos. And yeah, I'll put
a link to their channel in the description. So,
10:57if you want to follow along and try some of these
aerobic videos, then you can go ahead and do it.
11:03However, last year when my wife and I were
really religiously following these exercise
11:09videos every day, we were doing kind of an easy
like beginner-level video. But now we thought,
11:16OK, you know, my wife swims a lot, I run a lot,
so we can graduate into the intermediate level,
11:22right? We don't need to do the beginner one
anymore. So, we went to the intermediate level
11:27upper body exercise. And you're doing just a lot
of simple movements in these exercise videos,
11:34just kind of moving your arms up and down and
back and forth. No weights or anything like this,
11:39just movement with your arms. However, the video
is about eight minutes long, and guys, I kid you
11:45not, it feels like your arms are gonna fall off
when you get to the end of the video. It is almost
11:51like torture. It's really, really difficult
to do this intermediate-level video. And yeah,
11:56I found it really tough and challenging.
And so we did the video, did the routine,
12:02I think two days in a row. And then the next
day, my wife was complaining that she had a
12:08lot of muscle soreness and she was really,
yeah, had like a body ache. And I thought,
12:13oh, of course, it's because of the exercise
video that we followed. Like, we followed
12:19these videos for a while last year, and then we
took a break, and now we're starting again. So,
12:24your muscles are not used to them, and probably
that's why you have the muscle soreness. So,
12:29I said, let's just take a break from the videos,
we'll recover, and then maybe we'll go back to the
12:35beginner level and work our way up again. So we
just figured, yeah, it's probably because of the
12:40exercise video that she had the muscle soreness.
However, she was also really tired and just kind
12:47of yeah, lethargic, no energy. And I thought, oh,
maybe she overdid it, or maybe she's getting a
12:54cold. I'm not so sure. Just rest. I told her
to rest. Next day, she still felt the same,
12:59but then now she had a headache as well. So, she
decided to go to the clinic. Went to the clinic
13:06and came back, and the doctor said she just had
a cold. She said the doctor talked to her for
13:12maybe fifteen seconds and diagnosed her as having
a cold, gave her some medicine, and sent her home.
13:19And so, OK, I told her just to relax and rest,
right? I firmly believe that some of the best
13:27medicine out there is just rest and relaxation
and sleep, the restorative power of sleep. So,
13:32I told her to sleep as much as possible.
However, later that afternoon, she's like,
13:38I don't think this is a cold. So, she went
to a different clinic. And at that clinic,
13:43I guess she did a test for the flu, and it
came back as positive for the flu. And yeah,
13:49she was in pretty rough shape and just very, very
lethargic, low energy, couldn't really do much.
13:55So, it was my turn to step up as nurse
and caretaker of the home. So, yeah,
14:03I don't know if I'm a great nurse. Of course,
I really try to to do anything, like if my wife
14:09would ask for something. Of course, I would get
it for her. I would do all of the dog walking,
14:14all of the home responsibilities. But yeah, I
don't, I wouldn't say I'm the greatest nurse.
14:22I don't know. My wife, you know, if she wanted
a specific food or something, I would prepare
14:27that for her. But she said she just wanted this
rice porridge that a lot of Korean people eat
14:33when they're sick. It's just kind of like rice
and chicken together, it's called juk. And yeah,
14:38so I prepared some of that for her. But I mean,
she actually ordered it for herself online and
14:44it was delivered. And when I say prepare it, I
mean heat it up on the stovetop and then give it
14:50to her. Not really the hardest work, but yeah, she
was at least able to get some rest and relaxation.
14:57I took care of all of the household duties for
a few days, and thankfully, now she is much,
15:03much better and pretty much back to normal
now. Thankfully, I've avoided getting sick so
15:09far. Knock on wood. I haven't been sick this
winter season at all. Usually at least once
15:16every winter around Christmas, New Year's time,
I get sick. But it hasn't happened this year. So,
15:22I'm super excited about that. And it seems like
I haven't caught the flu from my wife either.
15:29Now, the other member of our family is our
dog O’Wall, and she's also been a little bit
15:37lethargic. Actually, only today. And the reason
why she's a little bit lethargic is because she'll
15:44be staying at a hotel soon. A dog hotel, believe
it or not, there is a thing called a dog hotel.
15:52When I was growing up, we used to call it
a kennel, but now it's called a dog hotel.
15:57And the reason why O’Wall will be going to a dog
hotel is my wife and I are going to take a short
16:03little trip together in February. And while we're
gone, just for a few days, she'll be staying at a
16:09hotel just because it's really, really difficult
to get somebody to… it's not really difficult,
16:16it's like we feel burdened to ask our friends
to take care of the dog or family members to
16:21take care of O’Wall. It's just a big hassle,
and there are these great pet hotels here in
16:28Seoul and not too far from our home. So, we're
gonna take O’Wall to the pet hotel for a couple
16:33of nights while we are away on our trip.
And so, before O’Wall can actually stay
16:40in the pet hotel, she needs to have a certain
vaccination done. I'm not exactly sure what
16:46kind of the vaccination it is, but it's to
prevent, you know, illness from spreading
16:51in a place where there are several dogs being
kept at one time. And so we got the notification
16:57that before O’Wall can go to the hotel, she
does need to have this certain vaccination.
17:02So, we took her to the vet yesterday and she got
the vaccination. And it's always heartbreaking. I
17:11know it's like something that you need to do
for pets is get them vaccinated so they can
17:16stay safe and healthy, but it's heartbreaking
because you know they don't know what's going
17:20on and it's painful for them, and yeah. It's
unpleasant for everybody involved, I think.
17:27So, O’Wall got that vaccination, and the vet
said, yeah, maybe later today or tomorrow,
17:33she could be a little bit lethargic. And
yesterday, the day she got the vaccination,
17:40she seemed totally fine. But today, she's a
little bit lethargic. In the morning, wasn't
17:45too interested in her food. And wasn’t… she did
get excited when we went out for her morning walk,
17:52but usually she's super excited to go out for the
morning walk. And today she wasn't as excited. So
17:58I think she's maybe feeling a little bit of,
like, the vaccine hangover. So, that was what
18:05she was like in the morning. But actually, now
that I'm recording here in the evening, she's
18:09almost bounced back to her usual self, her normal
self. So, I anticipate a full and speedy recovery.
18:16Probably by tomorrow, she'll be back to 100%.
So, yeah, a little bit of sickness going on
18:21in our house with my wife and my dog being a
little bit lethargic and low energy recently,
18:28but everybody's on the mend, and I
anticipate full health in my home soon.
18:38OK, everyone, that's going to bring us to the
end of this week's story. Thank you so much for
18:42listening all the way to the end. I hope you found
it helpful for building your English fluency.
18:48Don't forget about the free interactive transcript
and vocabulary glossary that's available for this
18:54episode. And also, don't forget to check us
out on Discord. You can join our Discord by
19:00just following the link that's in the description
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19:05community gathers and hangs out. We communicate
and practice English every day together. We're
19:11talking about so many different topics, every
topic under the sun over on our Discord. So,
19:17if you would like to connect with other Culips
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to join, of course. So, guys, please take care.
19:34Don't get sick this next week! And I'll catch you
in the next Culips episode. Until then, bye-bye.
