*** Intro ***
K: What’s up everybody this Keiran the crazy Canadian, and welcome to another podcast of unnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnncensored English! Where we talk about whatever the hell we want to talk about.
So goodmorning, good afternoon, good-evening, goodnight, to whoever you are wherever you are, and thank you for joining us.
So today were lucky to have peach, David Peachy back on the podcast with us, how's it going David?
D: Hey how's it going it's good to be back here Keiran.
K: Yeah great thanks for coming, it's been a long time.
D: Oh yeah yeah, too long
K: laughing** Ok and today David and I are just going to have a really casual conversation.
D: Nice
K: So you guys can just listen to some native speakers, you know I guess what we would call shooting the shit.
D: Shooting the shit, having a chinwag chewing the fat
K: Yeah, chewing the fat. We're just going to have a little fun fluffy conversation. So you guys can hear some native speaking patterns.
D: NIce
K: So David before we started the podcast we were talking about travelling and living abroad and I know you've done quite a bit of that.
D: mmm hmmm, yeah so like um I love to travel, so I've been around Europe a few times, quite a few times, and um mainly South East Asia. I haven't got over to the Americas yet but, yeah one day soon and yah.
K: Ok so what countries specifically did you live in while you were travelling?
D: I spent three years in Slovakia, and like right on the Slovak Czech border.
K: Ok
D: That was interesting because I got exposure of, like I could literally walk to the Czech republic in half an hour. That's how close I was.
K: Oh cool.
D: Different language, different currency, different country really.
K: yeah
D: Yeah and I took a year in Turkey. And also last year I was in Russia for a year, just outside of Moscow.
K: Oh cool man that's great.
D: Yeah it was very cold.
K: Yeah yeah don't come to Canada we're essentially the same country as Russia, we have the same climate.
D: Ok yeah.
K: One thing I always realize when I talk to someone about a country I travelled to is, there always fascinated by the small, cultural oddities. Like in South Korea I got in a lot of trouble for lying down on the grass in a public park, people thought this was rude.
D: Ohhhhhh
K: So when you were in Slovakia,we're there any strange cultural differences that you just thought were interesting.
D: Yeah there's one that came to mind and it actually irritated me a lot. Like there's a little cultural thing if someone offers you something, for example tea or a beer, and you, what you must do is politely refuse.
K: Really
D: But that's not a definite no, it's your obligation as the person who's a guest, to politely refuse. Which basically means yes you want the tea or the beer or the cake, but you're too polite to say yes, if you say yes it's too greedy. Um..
K: That's, that's interesting.
D: Yeah so um you can imagine I would be in a Slovak pub, quite normal. And I've had a few beers, and I think ok I can slow down a bit. And somebody says Dave I'll buy you a beer. And I'll say no I'm fine. Then they ask me again. A few minutes later and I say no, no no I'm fine I said no, then they ask me again. Then I say no no seriously I'm fine, I've had enough, I'm about to go home.... bang in front of me a beer. Now
K: WoW
D: It's nice
K: Yeah it is nice but I think in a lot of other countries you would have lost your beer right?
D: Probably yeah, yeah exactly.
K: yeah that's interesting.
D: Quite, quite funny knowing that, how do you explain that you actually really don't want it. You've had enough, you're full. But you're being polite and they'll take it as you're refusing just to be polite and they'll offer you this drink or meal again in a few minutes.
K: Yeah I guess you have to really turn them down several times to actually refuse the beer.
D: Or run away as quickly as possible.
K: Or maybe, or maybe you have to accept the beer on the first offer to refuse the bear * beer because than they would think your rude for accepting the beer or something, you're breaking the tradition.
D: Yeah I'm a bit greedy that way yeah. Something really nice also in. Oh yeah so something fairly nice that I noticed in Slovak and the Czech Republics is because the food there and the beer is really quite cheap, ah were talking about 1 euro for a large beer. Um typically
K: ah that's a good price.
D: Yeah, really good price. So um, typically if you go out for drinks with someone, or even as a group. Only one person would pay for the group because it it's so cheap. And yeah I was happy to do this a few times. I'd pay 10 or 15 euros and I'd look after a whole group of people it was wonderful.
K: Wow, yeah that's, that would never happen in Canada I promise you. If your with 10 or 15 people you would be paying upwards of 200 dollars or something
D: Exactly.
K: Yeah that's interesting you know, in Korea they have um, I mean they have this whole culture of respect and a very rigid hierarchy when your working.
D: Ok yeah
K:, and when we would go out as a staff, basically my boss, everyone had to do what she said. And at the beginning I thought it was funny because the staff is mainly women, it was an elementary school teaching staff and she would say everyone down your beers in one shot and they would all drink and I would be like wow this would never happen in Canada like a women would never command like 10 or 15 people to drink like this.
D: Yeah especially in uhh like it's a relaxed setting, you're not at work, but you still have to respect her commands.
K: Right.Right, but then I felt like she started abusing it, she's was like ok Keiran another one down one shot. I'm like ok, then another one, alright no no this and I told her at this point I was a little drunk and I told her to fuck off.
D: Ok,
K: And she thought it was the funniest thing ever because in her I dunno 10 or 15 year experience of managing this school no subordinate had ever really challenged her authority right.
D: With those words of course.
K: Yeah, but I can't imagine it would have been a good thing to do if I worked in most other places there.
D: WoooW
K: Yeah. So so any other any other interesting countries you travelled to and there was very interesting cultural oddities that you experienced?
D: Um good question i'd say what's fresh in my mind is Russia. I spent almost a year there living right outside of Moscow. And like something I liked about Russia, and you might appreciate this as a Canadian is it's it's a huge country and after living for a year in central Europe which is a bunch of small countries. Which don't understand the concept of like taking a 5 or 6 hour flight and still not leaving the country.
K: Yeah yeah right.
D: Um Yeah it was very refreshing that um I could talk to yeah Russians um and they could say yeah I travelled for 5 hours and took a six hour flight and yeah you still haven't gone left.
K: Yeah all those Europeans countries the wouldn't be able to grasp that concept. Cause they just have smaller countries in Europe right.
D: Yeah flying for that long you'd leave the continent really.
K: Right yeah exactly. Right.
D: Yeah, um something in Russia, Yeah this is an interesting thing and this is very traditional. Um, there was the tradition of the man always pays and this sounds very old world chivalry
K: Right
D: But um yeah there was a whole social code behind this. That if I were to go out on a date. Ah especially say if the women is say 25 or older.
K: Yeah
D: It would just be a (assumed?) that I as the male would pay.Um this didn't always happen because the young females they'll prefer to be a little more independent.
K: Right
D: And pay their own way until their in a relationship for like a couple of months.
K: Right
D: Then they switch to ok you're the man you must pay.
K: yeah
D: Yeah um
K: Yeah that's one of the interesting things I guess about, I mean I'm pretty sure Australias along the lines of being just as progressive as Canada or maybe its more progressive. But some of these countries it's surprising. Like I had the same experience in Korea. Like I was just expected to pay for things and I was fond of that idea, I like I like the 50/50 split you know.
D: yeah, the feeling of equality.
K: Yeah the feeling of equality, I like it.
D: Um yeah after awhile I realized that it did balance out. Um, for example one of my female friends even though I would like do the share of paying for the um uh paying at the restaurant and everything. Uh she would normally do the organizing. She would actually get me into a private restaurant. Like a members only restaurant because she had a membership. Like not just anyone could walk in. Organizing concert tickets, so yea there's give and take. So on the surface it looks like I'm always paying but my female friends were always organizing things and setting things up and they had the ideas. So it balanced out in it's own way.
K: Good, good to know it balanced out for you over there in Russia. Alright guys so were going to wrap this up. So today we it was more of just a conversational class, David and I we talked about cultural differences while living in Slovakia, Korean, and Russia. Oh and oh my gosh, I almost forgot to say thank you to David. Thanks David for coming on again and joining us.
D: Cheers it's an absolute pleasure as always.
K: Oh and I should mention, David is a professional teacher on Italki, right?
D: Um hmmm by chance I am, yes yes. So um
K: And if
D: Um hmm..
K: And if any of these listeners want to take a class with you how do they do that?
D: I've actually made it very easy, you just go to Italki.com. but the slash symbol, then you write peachey-teacher. So it's italki.com/peachey-teacher.
K: Alright guys that's how you get in touch with David if you want to learn some English with him or improve your English and get to sounding more fluent.
D: Um hmm
K: And thanks for joining us guys and we'll catch you next time on the next podcast of unnnnnnnncensored english!
