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0:00Hello, everybody, and welcome back to a brand-new
Culips episode. This is our update for July,
0:07our community update, and joining me as my
co-host is our amazing study guide writer
0:13and Discord moderator extraordinaire. I think
that's how I introduce you every time, Alina,
0:20Discord moderator extraordinaire.
It's Alina! Alina, how's it going?
0:26I think this intro will never get old.
Yeah, it's fun. I like it.
0:31I'm doing good. Thank you. How are you?
I'm doing awesome. Actually, my wife and I
0:38just finished eating some watermelon. It was our
first watermelon of the summer. It was delicious
0:44and really sweet and just awesome. So, I'm in a
good mood because of the watermelon. And yeah,
0:51Alina, I know you are not at home in
Ireland right now. Where are you actually?
0:57So, yeah, I am in Hungary, of all places.
Hungary. OK. Why are you there? What
1:04are you doing?
Well, I mean,
1:06I've been getting kind of itchy feet, I guess. And
I think I mentioned some visa issues. If somebody
1:14is using the Discord server, they might have seen
it. And finally, as soon as I was able to travel,
1:19I couldn't wait. I got the ticket. I hopped
on the plane. And I'm here to see Editke.
1:27OK. Awesome. And I love that idiom that you
just used a second ago. "Itchy feet." Maybe
1:34some of our listeners don't know that one,
but it would be a great one to add to their
1:38vocabularies. And it's actually rather easy to
imagine if you think about it. Could you break
1:45it down? Could you tell us what that means?
Sure thing. Yeah. I mean, I guess it's like,
1:51obviously, it's an idiomatic expression, so it's
not like I was actually sitting there scratching
1:55my feet because they got itchy.
Right.
1:57But it’s the feeling you get, you know, when
you really want to travel, you really want to
2:02go somewhere.You’re just like, you know, I stayed
in Ireland for such a long time. My visa expired
2:07in January, actually, and, you know, having to
hear all these stories from people on Discord
2:12about their trips. So, all of this kind of makes
you feel like, "Oh, I want to do that, too." It's
2:17almost like, yeah, some kind of delirious feeling.
Right.
2:22You really want to go somewhere. You know,
you need this change of scenery. You want
2:26to see new places. So, yeah, that's
basically just this desire to travel,
2:31if you were to describe it. Itchy feet.
You know, I'm just thinking now,
2:37I wonder if because so many people like
learning English because they want to travel,
2:44right? Or doing an international trip to a
different country. I wonder if that means that,
2:49like, the percentage of travel lovers who are
also English learners is higher than, like,
2:58the general population. So as a result, we talk
a lot about traveling. You know, maybe if, Alina,
3:05our Discord was not centered around English
learning, but it was centered around, like,
3:10studying math, then we probably wouldn't talk
about traveling at all, right? Because people
3:15like to learn English for traveling, then
we end up talking a lot about travel. And
3:20then maybe that's why you got the itchy feet
hearing about other people's travel stories.
3:26I mean, you talk a lot about that,
too, like, you know, on the podcast.
3:30Yeah, I travel a lot, too. Yeah, it's true.
Yeah. OK. Well, anyways, I hope you enjoy your
3:38trip there, your time on the continent, as we
say in the UK. Or do they say that in Ireland,
3:44as well, "on the continent"?
I mean, I think so, because,
3:47like, you know, living on an island, yeah, you
would probably want to make this distinction.
3:53It's not just Europe. It's the continent.
Yeah. Right. Continental Europe, as opposed to,
3:57like, the UK or Ireland, which are on islands,
right? So, yeah, enjoy your time on the continent.
4:04And you said you were staying with Editke, who
is one of our Culips members and also a fantastic
4:12participant on our Discord server, as well. She's
pretty active on there and always sharing funny
4:18stories. I feel like she's one of the funniest
members of our community. Always makes me laugh.
4:24In person, when I talk to her during our classes,
and then also when I see her comments, they're
4:29always really funny. So, how did it end up that
you're staying with her? Did you guys first meet
4:35on the Discord server? Is that how that happened?
Oh, yeah, for sure. I think I remember she joined,
4:41oh, gosh, maybe the, OK, the Discord server
exists for two years, I think, has been.
4:48Yeah, about that. Yeah.
And I think she joined maybe,
4:51like, half a year later after we, you know,
launched the server. And ever since then,
4:55we just kind of started chatting. I don't know
how it even happened. You know, you never… you
4:59look back, you're like, "Hmm, I don't even
know how it all started." Just you know…
5:03It just happened.
One thing led to another. And,
5:05yeah, we just kind of chatted so much, you
know, on the server, because she's, as you said,
5:09you know, extremely active, maybe one of our most
active members, for sure. And, like, ever since,
5:14you know, she joined, she never really took any
breaks, you know. So that's impressive. But, yeah,
5:20we just kind of spent a lot of time chatting. And
then she actually visited me in Ireland last year.
5:26So she was in Ireland in June.
That’s right, I remember.
5:29So she was first to kind of, you know, see me
in person, come all the way to Ireland. And
5:35then I was like, "OK, I have to do the same, you
know, eventually." And, yeah, she's been kind of,
5:41you know, being like, "Yeah, you should come over.
You know, you're invited." The invitation was
5:46there for a while. So, I was like, "OK, I got to,
you know, take her up on that and finally accept
5:51that invitation." And, you know, she doesn't live
in Budapest. I guess when you think of Hungary,
5:55you think of Budapest, right? It's like that
famous place. I never really even, you know,
6:00looked anywhere beyond the capital. But she lives
in the city called Szeged. And she's talked a lot
6:06about it on the server. It's no secret, I guess.
She is very proud of it. She tried to, I guess,
6:11promote it. Which worked, since I'm here.
An ambassador, yeah.
6:16But it's a lovely place. It's really like,
honestly, if, you know, I have been to
6:21Budapest before, many, many years ago. I went to
Budapest seven years ago, I think. And it's like,
6:26it's lovely. It's beautiful. You know, the
architecture is just amazing. But it's very, like,
6:31it's hectic. It's noisy, you know, of course,
touristy. And I feel like Szeged, you know, here
6:36is just like, it's just as beautiful. You know,
there's also beautiful buildings, architecture,
6:41all of that. But it's so much more quiet, you
know, calm. And like, I didn't really see a lot
6:46of tourists around here. So it feels like more, I
don't know, laid back, kind of. I think it's also
6:52cheaper. So that's a bonus as well.
Sure.
6:54So I feel like if somebody, you know,
wants to go to Hungary, but then,
6:57you know, Budapest is a bit too much, I would
definitely recommend Szeged. Because it's like,
7:02I don't know, like a mini version of Budapest,
maybe. But just as nice, just as good.
7:07How big of a place is it? Is it like
quite a big city or a smaller village?
7:12That's a good question. I think it is actually
officially a city. And don't quote me on that. I
7:18think it's about 200,000 people, like, population.
I'm not sure. I think I remembered something
7:23vaguely. Because my hometown has more or less the
same population. I could be wrong, though. So.
7:28OK.
But it feels bigger than I expected,
7:31for sure. For some reason, I expected some kind
of like more village-like place. But it's quite
7:36big. Yeah. If you just walk around and the center
is just gorgeous. It's like just, you know, any
7:42European city, you know, that like has all these
like restaurants, cozy cafes, kind of like a bit
7:49of a holiday vibe, you know, with all the people
just sipping on their, you know, Aperol Spritz.
7:54Yeah, yeah, yeah. Enjoying the summer weather.
Ice cream everywhere. Because, you know,
7:59the weather has been actually insane. It got close
to 40 degrees on one day. We were just melting. We
8:04were just like, we couldn't move. It's incredibly,
yeah, unbearable heat. I'll be honest with you.
8:09I'm not used to it. I'm not designed for it. I
don't really know how people handle it here. But,
8:15you know, at the same time, Editke and I kind of
were talking about it. And we said, "It's better
8:19than the rain." You know, it's fine. It's all
good. We're enjoying the sun, getting some nice
8:23tan. And, you know, good vibes. Holiday feel.
Good. Well, I'm glad to hear that. And, Alina,
8:32I think this perfectly transitions to the
next part of the episode. Because you just
8:37mentioned hanging out and spending time in the
summer there with Editke. And she's one of our
8:43fabulous Culips members and a great part of
our Discord community as well. And, guys,
8:50this is going to sound like it was preplanned. But
this is not preplanned. Actually, I wanted to give
8:56a shout-out to Editke because she sent me an audio
review to share with our listeners. She said,
9:03"Andrew, can you share this audio message with
all of the Culips listeners out there?" So,
9:07I'm going to do that. But I had no idea that,
Alina, you guys were hanging out this week. So,
9:13that's kind of, like, very strange and
coincidental. But, yeah, Editke works with
9:20audiobook recording and editing. So, she's
got this really great audio recording setup,
9:26like this mic setup, almost a studio. If you're
watching the YouTube version of this video or
9:32this episode right now, guys, you can see Alina's
sweet microphone. That's actually Editke's. So,
9:38she's got a great recording setup. And she
recorded a review for us to share with everyone.
9:44We're going to do that now. We'll listen to it.
And, yeah, shout-out to you, Editke. Thank you
9:48so much. So, let's listen to the review right now.
Editke: I thought I'm not going to write a review,
9:55but send a voice message to tell all of you
guys how grateful I am for the Culips team's
10:01work. I've been listening the episodes and thereby
following Andrew's life from the very beginning. I
10:09started to listen the stories through Google
Podcasts during my cooking time. You know,
10:14killing two birds with one stone. Then
two years ago I joined the Culips server,
10:20which is free for everyone. And the next month
I bought a membership for myself, as a Christmas
10:26present. It's crazy, right? But I did it just
because I wanted to show my appreciation and at
10:34that time I didn't even care about the benefits.
But that was my best decision. I noticed that
10:42becoming a Culips member and joining the weekly
speaking sessions helped me more. Everyone on
10:49these Zoom lessons are so nice and we always have
so much fun. Of course, for this, just for the
10:57first time, we need to step out of our comfort
zones, but there is no progression without doing
11:03that, right? And the groups are so receptive and
we can practice and speak about the episodes and
11:10about our lives using the new expressions we have
learned. It helps me to improve my speaking and
11:18listening skills and it builds confidence. I'm
not so shy anymore when it comes to speak English.
11:24Honestly, it's very beneficial to all English
learners to join and it is on an affordable price.
11:32And something else. I cannot imagine my days
anymore without having conversation on the
11:39server. It has truly helped me improve
my English. The environment is friendly,
11:45supportive and full of people who are eager to
learn. And we help each other. I've learned so
11:52much, not just grammar, but also from the real
conversation with people around the world. I feel
11:59these groups are my second family. I love you
all. Thank you for Yoshi, Andrew, Alina, Kassy,
12:08Indiana, and Anna and the whole community
for making learning English feel exciting
12:14and achievable. Thank you very much. Bye for now.
Very, very kind. Amazing. I love that. Thank you
12:22so much, Editke, for that just very, very
heartwarming review. And Alina, I love to
12:29hear that people are not just learning English
with Culips. But also being able to use English
12:35in their daily lives. Right? Now they have an
opportunity to speak. And to make friends and new
12:41relationships. And be social with their English
as well. And so, yeah. That's what I really,
12:46really loved about hearing that review. Is to
hear how Editke's not just building her English
12:52fluency. But how she's also able to use it as like
a tool to communicate with others in her life. So,
12:59yeah. Amazing. Thank you so much, Editke.
Yeah, the best part.
13:04All right. Alina, why don't we move on to the
next item of business here. Which is talking
13:10about the meetup that will be happening at the
end of July. I believe July 26th in Prague.
13:18That’s correct.
Czechia is the new name of the
13:21country. How we say it now. Czechia. And you've
got a venue sorted out. So, maybe you could share
13:29the details with everybody. The new updates.
Yes, we do have a venue finally. And shout
13:35out to Marky. Who helped us arrange everything.
Because, you know, she is there in Czechia. And
13:41it's definitely so much easier for her. You know,
because she knows places and stuff. So, she did
13:47book a pub. Restaurant slash pub. Called Praha,
actually. So, sounds like a good name for a place.
13:55Yeah.
That's what they call Prague, the capital. And,
13:59yeah. We have it booked for 6 o'clock. So,
it's definitely happening. And I can't wait
14:05to see as many of you there as possible.
Yeah. Yeah. So, amazing. I, unfortunately,
14:13I would love to go. But it's just a little bit
too far for me to go this time. But Alina will
14:18be there. Marky will be there. And hopefully
many others will be there as well. Just to hang
14:23out and chat and socialize. And, again, you'll be
able to use English as a tool for communication,
14:30right? This is one of the ways that you could
practice your English speaking in just a really
14:34fun way in a social event. So, I'll be there
in spirit, Alina. And I think we're actually
14:42going to make a Google Form, right? So that if
you are interested in going, then you can sign
14:47up. And we'll put the link to the Google Form
in the description for this episode. So, guys,
14:53if you want to attend and it's free to attend,
then just click the link and fill in, you know,
14:59your name and your email address. And then we
can send you the specific details that way. And I
15:04think that's the best way to go about doing that.
So, yeah. Check out the link in the description.
15:10I feel like it's actually very important.
Something we didn't mention last time. Perhaps,
15:14people weren't sure. But it is a
free event. You don't have to do
15:17anything. Just get there, of course.
Just, yeah. Just bring yourself, yes.
15:23There's no ticket or anything like this. The entry
is free. In case somebody, you know, wasn't sure.
15:32Yeah. Yeah. We're not at that level where we're
charging a ticket price or anything like that.
15:38No.
We're not rock stars. No. OK, Alina. Let's
15:43go on to our next and final item of business,
which is talking about the July challenge. So,
15:50in June, we had this awesome challenge where we
practiced using different phrasal verbs throughout
15:56the month. And then in July, we're doing something
totally different. We're kind of stepping away
16:02from the grammar and vocabulary challenges that
we've done so far. And in a way, putting it all
16:08together. Do you want to explain what's going to
be happening for July? For the July challenge?
16:15Sure. Yeah. I'm actually very excited for this
one. And I don't know. Like, I just got the idea
16:20kind of out of nowhere. And I was so pleased when
I thought of it. So, we are going to focus on
16:27controversial statements this time. Which means,
you know, that we're going to share our opinions
16:33on some statements which people often disagree on.
Like, you know, something like, "Should, you know,
16:40social media be banned?" Or "Should school
uniforms be, you know….” What's the word? Andrew,
16:46please help me with this one. I don’t know.
Mandatory. Yeah. Required,
16:51mandatory. Something like that.
Something like that. Or, you know, "Should
16:54you just wear whatever you like in schools.” Or
something like that. So, it is going to be, you
16:58will have 14 statements you will need to discuss.
And the most important thing here is to be able
17:05to introduce your opinion. And especially if you
disagree with somebody. To be able to, you know,
17:11introduce it politely in a way that doesn't offend
anybody. So, we are going to help you with that as
17:17well. You know, in English it's very important
to be, like, polite and not too direct. Maybe in
17:24some other languages it's totally different. Which
makes it so much more complicated, you know. And
17:29I've had situations, for sure, in life. You know,
maybe when I was just starting to communicate
17:33in English. When I was a little bit too direct.
And the reaction I saw wasn't exactly, you know,
17:40something I expected. And I definitely came across
as rude. And now I'm aware of it. You know, I look
17:44back and I'm so ashamed. But yes, look that's
just the way things are sometimes. So, yes, it's
17:51extremely important that, you know, especially if
it's something you don't want to come across as
17:54negative. You don't want to come across as, you
know, somebody who thinks they know, you know,
18:01better than someone else. So, we are just going
to, yeah, learn how to introduce our opinion, how
18:06to structure, maybe. You know, if you have, like,
a few arguments. And, yeah, I really do hope,
18:11by the way, that you will be able to disagree with
some things. Because, you know, that's the whole
18:15idea behind this challenge. If you just agree
with everything, I guess you will miss out on,
18:20you know, being able to practice how to disagree
politely. So, yes, it's all going to be about,
18:27yeah, trying to express your opinion. Agree,
disagree in a polite and the best way possible.
18:33You know, so that nobody feels uncomfortable.
And, hey, you could always play devil's advocate
18:40and argue for a position that you don't
agree with. Right? Like, maybe, maybe, yeah,
18:47you're like, "Oh, I agree with this. But I just
want to practice disagreeing. So, I'm going to say
18:51that I disagree with it." Yeah. So, guys, if you
want to lie and share an opinion that you don't
18:58actually hold, just for practicing. Like, feel
free to do that. That's OK as well. Of course,
19:04we're here just to practice. And, yeah, Alina,
you are correct that there... It is like a skill,
19:12learning how to share your opinion in a
way that's not offensive. And it is, like,
19:17one of those other things that maybe you don't
really think about when learning languages. But
19:22learning language is more about just vocabulary
and grammar. There's also, you know, how to,
19:28how to do something like this. How to express
yourself in a way that is inoffensive and polite.
19:34And we actually call this “pragmatics.” That's,
like, the linguistic-y term. But, yeah, this
19:40will be a great opportunity to practice how to do
that. Right? And so, we'll be there to help you
19:45guys out, of course. And, Alina, you also wanted
to mention that there was a document, right? To go
19:53along with this month's challenge. Is that true?
Oh, yes. I just wanted to make sure that, yes,
19:58if I could just ask you guys kindly to read
the instructions. You know, everything that
20:03is attached to the post about the challenge. I
know you're very excited. You just want to start,
20:08you know, doing it. And you don't really care
about, you know, exactly how. You might think
20:13you already know what to do. But the important
thing there is that I will attach the, you know,
20:19helpful file with the resources. You know, all
these phrases that you might want to, you know,
20:24incorporate and use to introduce your opinion
and stuff like that. So, please make sure if,
20:30you know, you definitely take a good look and
read everything carefully. And if there is a file,
20:35it's probably something you, you know, you're
going to want to open and use in this challenge.
20:40Because we did have a helpful file for the last
one as well. And unfortunately, I guess I didn't
20:45emphasize the importance of it enough. And it
turned out that a lot of people just, like, kind
20:49of didn't really notice that file. Even though it
was, you know, very helpful since it had all the
20:57detailed explanations for all the phrasal verbs.
Which, of course, you know, you want to see if you
21:02want to learn how to use them correctly. So, there
were dialogues and there were explanations. So,
21:07it's better late than never. So, it's fine now.
Everybody knows about them because I reminded them
21:11of, I reminded the participants of that file. But
for this one, I will try to make it more obvious
21:17maybe as well. Maybe attach it as a picture. So,
you know, yeah. It's more noticeable. But yeah.
21:24OK. So, guys, don't ignore the detailed file,
the attachment file for this month's challenge as
21:32well. It's there as an extra helper to guide you
through this challenge. So, definitely check that
21:39out. And we'll add it into maybe the pinned post,
the pinned post that will be at the top. Yeah.
21:47Perfect. All right. Well, I'm very excited. July
is going to be a big month here at Culips. A great
21:52challenge, the European meetup, and lots of summer
fun. So, Alina, I think this is probably where
21:59we're going to wrap up for today. So, thank you so
much again for your help and for taking some time
22:05out of your vacation to join us for this episode.
I hope you have an amazing rest of your trip. And,
22:13yeah, we'll see you next month for, I guess, the
August update. So, talk to you then. And goodbye,
22:20everybody. Thank you.
See you, bye.
