Shadowing Practice: 221 - Firsts with Elise - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi, everyone.
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Hope you're having a nice day.
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Today, I have a very special guest named Elise, who has been my closest friend since I moved to Asheville, North Carolina.
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She's originally from Maryland, right next to D .C.
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She's half French, half American, Native English speaker.
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Today, she is on the show to talk about firsts.
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And I love this topic not just
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because it sheds light on somebody's experiences doing things for the first time
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and usually first have a story that go along with them, but it's also a great way to start using the past perfect.
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I'll give you one example in 2005 I went to Europe
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for the first time I went to Switzerland before 2005 I
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had never been to Switzerland I had never been to Europe I had never been to the Alps
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so yeah it's a great way to start practicing these things you can also apply this to the stories
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that you hear from Elise today, she's going to share a lot of fun ones.
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You'll hear about her experience at culinary school in France, living in Hawaii, working on a coffee plantation, and so much more.
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I hope you enjoy this episode.
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Hi, Elise.
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Hey, Shauna.
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How's it going?
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Oh, good.
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How are you?
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Good.
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Sorry the room is so hot.
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Oh, no, not bad at all.
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Not too humid in here?
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No. Yeah.
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I'm sweating because I'm nervous, but not because the room is hot.
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Yeah, it doesn't help having a microphone, I think, in front of your face and I don't know.
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It's the first time.
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First time, you know, firsts.
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Is this your first time on mic?
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Yeah.
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I mean, in this podcast format, for sure okay have you done any improv with um a little bit of improv no mics
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mics i don't something on stage announcing stuff i know
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that i've held a microphone before cool just
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so you guys know elise is my newest friend from ashville north carolina we met through other friends
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and now she's here on the podcast we're going to talk about first i'm really excited about it.
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And I'd like to start out by getting to know Elise a little bit better, I guess for the sake of you guys knowing who she is.
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So do you mind sharing a little bit about yourself?
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Sure.
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So I grew up in the D .C.
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metropolitan area in Maryland, one of Shauna's favorite states.
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Yeah, I suggested that she be on the Discover Maryland episode, but she's like, nobody needs to know about maryland just a lot of crabs
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that's pretty much it oh see that's already interesting blue crabs
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from the chesapeake bay it's it's a thing okay that's exciting
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can you eat them you can eat them they're a delicacy
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a lot of crab cakes as well did not know
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that old bay seasoning it's from maryland that's from maryland yeah what are you supposed to do with
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that literally put it on crabs and other seafood
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but mostly crabs i thought it was a very southern thing to have Old Bay.
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I always see it at the supermarket, but I've never known what to do with it.
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They may have usurped it, but it is definitely our seasoning.
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It's the one thing I can stand on.
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Yeah.
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So anyway, I grew up in the Maryland area.
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My mom was American.
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My dad is French.
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So I have like a bicultural thing going on, which you can relate to with your Brazilian
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and american sides with your kids yeah
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and elise also married a brazilian yeah married a brazilian yeah
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so she's got the french brazilian connection yeah yeah
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and she's also the owner of the french needle yeah
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which is an incredible business well that's very sweet yep it's
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a small online needle work boutique cross stitch embroidery all different kinds of goodies to to do
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that kind of stuff yeah Yeah, I'll link it in the episode notes if you guys want to check it out.
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Very cool stuff.
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Very beautiful embroidery on there and other crafty things.
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So let's hear a little bit more about you.
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You have a lot of interests.
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When I first met you, I was like, wait, she was a yoga instructor.
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She was a massage therapist.
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She was in culinary school.
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She went to, I mean, tell us a little bit about all of these different interests, because I think there's a lot of firsts that we can talk about related to these things. For sure.
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I mean, you summed it up very well.
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You have a great memory.
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So I went to a French international school.
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No tea, no shade, but it's very academically grueling.
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And sort of as a counter reaction, I really wanted to use my hands.
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So after high school, I really had my eyes set on going to culinary school
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with the long -term goal of opening a coffee shop or a restaurant one day.
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So that's exactly what I did.
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Not open a restaurant or coffee shop, but right after high school, I went to a school called the Paul Becuse Institute in Lyon, specialized in pastry.
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capital of France, right?
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Sure is.
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Yeah.
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So that's the place to be to go to school and learn from all the specialists out there.
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Yeah, yeah.
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There's sort of a rivalry, actually, between Ferrandi in Paris and l 'Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon.
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They're sort of like the top schools, whatever, but it's all sort of silly.
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But yeah, it's where I went.
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And so that brings me to my first question, I guess, because it fits right into this.
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What was the first food you learned to cook?
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Because you don't just go from graduating high school and then just saying, hey, I'm going to culinary school, right?
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Or did you start with some eggs, some omelets?
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Yeah, I actually, I always liked to bake.
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So when I was about 12, my grandma and I were trying to create some cream puffs.
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And I spent a really long time perfecting this recipe.
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And it's the one I use to this day, despite having, you know, more professional recipes from school.
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I just love that recipe.
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So cream puffs were my first thing.
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It's a very intense first food to make.
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Yes and no. From a French background, I think that makes sense.
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Yeah.
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And cream puffs in general, what are you supposed, is that like a cafe d 'atargi, like afternoon snack with coffee?
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Or when do you eat those?
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Yeah, I would say probably afternoon or maybe when you would have dessert, if that's after lunch or after dinner.
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I don't know.
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We're like three times a day dessert people in my household.
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Oh, wow.
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So coffee in the morning with cake?
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100%.
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It was a mid -morning snack, usually sweet thing with your coffee.
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Yeah.
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Afternoon bite of goyabada.
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sure yeah love
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that yeah i actually just bought these tartlets with guava from
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not whole foods trader joe did you want those two okay what do you think yeah uh very crumbly
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and yeah it's not the same as the flavor in brazil
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and i was trying to decide i was going to actually ask you guys
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if you wanted to try some oh funny yeah we just
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got a box um okay all right sorry we went off
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sorry going on a tangent here also related to this first job
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because did you just go straight into culinary school
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and then start working from there and that was your first job no so
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when i brought this dream to the table my mom said absolutely not you're going to go to business school
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and do the sensible thing and my dad sort of saw the sparkle in my eye and he said okay, like, let's try to find you a job in the professional environment
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and make sure it really clicks before you put all your eggs in one basket.
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And so, yeah, when I was 16, we, we used to spend summers in a small village in France called Beugneux.
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So we were going to the same village and there was a newish restaurant that had opened up called L 'Erebleu.
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And yeah, I mean, I met with the chef.
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My dad had sort of negotiated things beforehand.
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Like it wasn't nice.
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I walked in and whatever, but, um, yeah.
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And then I worked there.
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That was my first real job with a paycheck.
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Okay.
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So two things, two follow -ups for that.
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What did you do with your first paycheck?
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And what was that environment like working in a restaurant for the first time?
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Because I don't know if I ever shared this with you, but I used to work in a French restaurant.
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Oh, my gosh.
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No, tell me more.
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So when I when I graduated from UC Santa Barbara, there was a restaurant opening called Cafe Stella in Santa Barbara.
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And the owner owned a very, very famous like French restaurant in Montecito, which is a really rich area of California called Stella Mari.
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And I think it was named after his wife and his daughter, maybe something like that.
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And he wanted to create a restaurant that was American diner experience, but really good quality food at like a decent price point.
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But as a hostess, I was running back
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and forth with the plates helping clean up when there was not people at the front coming in.
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And, yeah, I can imagine being in a high -quality restaurant.
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I don't know what you would technically call it.
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High -quality.
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Fine dining.
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Fine dining.
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It seems even more intense.
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Yeah, I mean, the fast -paced, it sounds like you're describing sort of like a brasserie setting.
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Okay.
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Which is very fast -paced.
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Usually it's a big room, so you have a lot of tables.
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Yeah.
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That's kind of one of the characteristics of that style of restaurant.
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but yeah people come in just for comfort food they you know they know it's consistent
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so that's really fun you got to have your hand in there yeah
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but i mean i feel like the clientele's a little bit different
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when you have fine dining do you have a lot of
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complainers yeah fine dining is is different usually it's you know
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much smaller a much higher price point usually it's coursed out
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there are many table side rules you know the waiters have
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a lot more to do usually there's sort of a performance aspect to it.
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Like they're going to come pour the soup in your bowl or light something up on fire in front of you or, you know, kind of make a show of it.
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Yeah.
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Sort of like the performance you did for me at our first lunch at your house.
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No, Shauna, that was very low stakes.
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No, no, no. Very different.
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No.
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I had no idea that you once worked in a Michelin star restaurant
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and I went over to her house
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and she had actually grilled her own croutons for the soup
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a proper like all the details were to a t appetizer
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salad main dish perfection that's very sweet i was probably very excited to host you
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but yeah making your own croutons is an attainable goal yeah
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if you're out there thinking can i do it you can
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do it are croutons it sounds like something it sounds like a french word do they have croutons there yeah
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so it's it means like hard bread oh like okay crusty
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yeah crust right crust yeah well it was a very nice
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meal oh that's that's sweet i'm glad you enjoyed it yeah okay
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so we jumped from the first thing you learned to cook
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your first job You didn't answer the question about your first paycheck, which I'm curious about.
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I mean, it's probably because I'm not too proud.
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Listen, I was 16 in Europe, and that means you can have beer if you want it.
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Yeah.
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So I'm pretty sure that's where that money went, just like hanging out with the crew.
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I think we talked about this, but you can order a pint of beer.
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So you say une demi -pêche.
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So it means like a pint of beer with a little bit of peach syrup
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or une demi -malt or whatever so
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that is what i was drinking with my paycheck money very nice yeah it's funny how they do
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that in europe in general like in germany it was the
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banana soft like the banana juice i guess it's nectar technically
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because it's not very liquidy it's very syrupy and it's good is it clear no no No,
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it's, yeah, I mean, it's just the color of a banana.
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But then, yeah, they pour it in the bottom of the big, I guess they use like half pint?
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No, not half pint, half liter glasses in Berlin.
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And then, yeah, the rest is filled up with, I can't remember if it's Hefeweizen or some sort of beer.
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it's good though is that in a schooner
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or in a what are they certain no yeah i wish
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my internet was working properly otherwise i would show you an image of it
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but it's the tall skinny glasses okay yeah kind of more narrow at the bottom yeah
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and then yeah is this like any type of any time
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of day you would drink it yeah okay yeah i mean at german university they actually have beer in the cafeteria.
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Wow.
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And it's very cheap in the cafeteria in Germany.
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So people are like taking advantage of that.
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Fun.
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Yeah.
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So my next question for you, because I think this is just fun for everybody.
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Do you remember your first driving lesson?
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Yes.
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So at our school, we had the option to take a driving course.
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So it was, you know, X amount of money and you stayed after school and there's, you know, this mandatory classes before you could get behind the wheel.
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I distinctly remember that teacher.
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He just had like a fun accent and he would tell us to be careful.
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Look at the markings on the road.
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Like he had a very slow voice and he was really worried about our safety.
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But once I got behind the wheel, that went right out the window.
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And I'm like, You know, you don't have the notion of how hard you can press on either the gas or the brake.
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Yep.
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And so I remember being in the Holy Redeemer parking lot with my mom, which is like a Catholic church down our street that we used to go to.
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So it's like, potentially I could run over my priest.
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But luckily, nothing bad really happened.
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I just remember that.
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Like speeding around the parking lot.
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Yeah.
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And just how that little power really makes you go.
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So, yeah, that's actually what the guy, what would we call the person that goes with you typically when you're in driving school?
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The driving instructor?
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Driving instructor.
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Yeah, that's it.
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There's probably a better name.
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No, that's it.
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He said that I had a lead foot, which is basically, yeah, you step on the gas, you go a little bit too hard.
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One of the things I remember from driving school were the horrible videos.
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Did you guys have to watch a lot of car crashes and DUIs and people getting arrested?
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Yeah, they really drove the DUI point home.
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But I don't remember video footage.
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Okay.
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I want to know, did you have to parallel park for your driving test?
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I don't think so.
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No, we did not have to parallel park.
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No, I had to think about it for a second.
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Because I was really worried about this you had to back up 100 feet and not hit the curb.
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So you're backing up straight into the curb and you just can't hit it?
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Or you're backing up like this and you can't?
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Yeah, you have to back up straight, like looking over your shoulder and using your mirrors properly, and then back up 100 feet as part of the driver's test.
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That was not a problem for me.
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Did you have to parallel park?
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I did have to parallel park.
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Oh my gosh.
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Yeah.
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And I couldn't tell you what it is, but a three -point turn yeah is that
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when you back up into a space i actually don't know
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okay we should not be driving um oh man yeah no
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but did you pass the first time i did not me either
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because i couldn't parallel park girl
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but that's actually probably really important on the east coast i feel more
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so than the west coast we have like ample parking spaces i feel in most in most areas
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Maybe not in San Francisco.
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That'd be really important to know how to parallel park in San Francisco.
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So you got an automatic fail?
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Automatic fail.
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That's a rough way of putting it.
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But yeah, essentially that's what happened.
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And then the second time, I sort of didn't stop at a stop sign, but the person was cool.
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And we just kind of finished the thing and I passed.
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Oh my gosh.
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That's funny.
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Which one should we do now?
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What was your first part?
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I mean, I learned to drive in my mom's Nissan Altima.
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And then I didn't drive for many years.
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And when I went to school in Europe, I just rode the trains and walked, took the bus.
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How was that coming back from Europe?
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Well, I mean, yeah.
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So I sort of jumped to Hawaii, which is very different than Europe.
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But I was told that it was super easy to get around and you can even hitchhike sometimes.
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It's no big deal.
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Everybody's so cool.
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And that's a total myth.
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I mean, it may have been true in like the 80s or something.
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So were you hitchhiking around?
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To get your thumb up at the gas station and hoping someone would pick you up?
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Yes.
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Really?
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The first chapter of Hawaii when I was working on a farm
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and like living with five or six other girls
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so i was never alone hitchhiking we were always just like
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trying to make it to town okay uh can you share a little bit more about
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that because people are probably like how did you end up in hawaii yeah was
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that your first time going to hawaii
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when you ended up there uh -huh yeah and was
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that your first time visiting a coffee plantation yeah definitely your
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first time working at one probably totally yeah not my first cup of coffee
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but everything else was a first for sure yeah i moved to hawaii
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because again with this long -term goal of opening a coffee
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shop i wanted to learn the bean to cup route
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and understand the agricultural side of things
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so after a summer in pennsylvania sort of doing a rotation
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a self -made rotation on different farms like a dairy farm
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and then i did a lot of like gleaning do you know what gleaning is no but i'm confused right now.
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I just made the connection that this all goes back to opening a coffee shop and there were all these phases.
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Yeah.
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There was once a logic, but we've now lost the plot.
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Wow.
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Sorry.
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Continue.
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Yeah.
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No, no. So that time in Pennsylvania opened my eyes to this thing called woofing, which is Worldwide Organization of Organic Farmers.
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And that's when I saw that I could travel and work in exchange for cool experiences.
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And so you did multiple experiences.
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One with a dairy farmer in Pennsylvania.
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Was it an Amish farm?
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It was not.
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No. So those were actually not through woofing.
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I just had some really good friends in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania who knew some people.
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But through those different experiences, I heard about woofing.
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And then my first woofing experience was moving to Hawaii to work on a coffee farm in Kona.
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Okay.
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Wow.
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And what was like the best thing about that experience?
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Or the worst?
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I don't have a lot of great things to say.
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No, no. It was fun.
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It's very tiring as a lot of agricultural activities are.
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Sorry to interrupt, but what was your day like?
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Did you have to wake up at like four in the morning with the farmers?
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There was an early morning for sure because it gets hot and humid.
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So you kind of want to be done with your work day at like two.
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And then I'm sort of forgetting, but like the stakes of the week, it was all sort of building up to this market that happened on Friday.
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so there were normal coffee activities you know picking cherry pulping the cherry laying out the parchment
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so it dries kind of rotating that and then
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when it was ready roasting which is really fun you like wait for the first crack
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and it smells like that coffee oil release is really special
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so that that was always kind of going on
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and then there was also this whole other side
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and why I was attractive to them was to bake goods to sell with their coffee at this market on Friday.
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No way.
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So did you do that?
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Yeah.
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When you were there?
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Yeah.
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I did that for maybe six weeks.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Why only six weeks?
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Was that how long the experience was?
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Yeah.
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You sort of sign up for a term more or less.
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And so they made a lot of profit when you And then you left and they're like, no, a lot of able girls like nothing was crazy,
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but they definitely trusted me a little extra, which is nice.
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But there were just a lot of social dynamics.
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The farm was run by two women who were a couple.
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And, you know, some of the crunchy dynamics in their relationship.
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And then the cabin was full of girls from all different walks of life and
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so first time living in a sorority house pretty much yeah
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totally very different energy than the culinary school people not in
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a great way no it was in a good way like there were some great moments
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and then i was very much ready to get a car
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and get out of there yeah yeah make make sense yeah
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but i mean living in hawaii versus maryland versus north carolina i mean what's the
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big difference obviously it's different but like what are the things that stand out to you as very different.
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Yeah.
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I mean, not to bring it to the negative, but the cost of living in Hawaii is really crazy.
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So I got very lucky in a way to make it work for so long.
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I lived there for five years.
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But in terms of growing a life and establishing a family there,
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I think it's just difficult if you don't have the financial means or already some family there. But Maryland
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and north carolina environmentally look a lot alike okay where i
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grew up in here it's you know same trees same vegetation
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and like animals so not that different
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but definitely like a blue sky all year which is nice yeah
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when i think of hawaii i think of okay i mean obviously there's like different vibes on the different islands
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and stuff they're very very different you were on the big island right correct yeah yeah
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and then you go to oahu and it's very touristy
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and there's a lot of resorts and
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but the beaches are really nice yeah i mean that's what attracts people
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so many people for sure yeah i miss the pacific a lot yeah yeah we were i mean
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if you know the big island at all like ali 'i drive is pretty famous
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and so we were living on ali 'i drive
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and we had a little spot we would go i just jump in the water every day
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that i miss do you remember your first time swimming in the Pacific Ocean?
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Probably, yeah.
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We had secured a car with these girls from the farm.
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And we went down to this beach called Kua Bay, which still is one of my favorite beaches on the Big Island.
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It's really beautiful.
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And it was around sunset time.
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And they were sort of teaching me.
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I didn't grow up with the ocean.
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I'd obviously, you know, I've been, but these girls were from California.
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So they kind of knew what was up.
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They were telling me, okay, if you see the wave, like jump or go under, you know, depending on the height.
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So yeah, I remember kind of like wading in the water with them.
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So wait, do you?
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Yeah.
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Sorry.
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So before they taught you that, were you?
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i just like had first facing the wave
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and letting it pummel you no no but they they were like swimming out and
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so they were kind of like guiding me through it no
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no i no no i got you no i i had um
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that moment too with i had this friend heika
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and she was actually really into hiking which is kind of funny um
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and she was also really proactive like shauna you should do this you should do
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that like let's go surfing and in in santa barbara there's an adventure club
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and they had a backyard full of surfboards and wetsuits
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and you could just go in their backyard whenever you wanted put them on
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and go to the beach the opportunity was always there and
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so heiko was like no you have to do it come on let's go and
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so she also was the teacher of these sorts of things
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like go under you're gonna get really tired like make sure you're in like a good position
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so that you can get back out quickly
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and it's a lot of work to swim out in the ocean oh yeah i mean
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when you're surfing it's like 100 about your shoulders like paddling
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out is that's it yeah all right elise my next question for you is
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when was the first time you realized you were becoming an adult
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this question is really funny to me
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so i mean all roads really lead back to my 16
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year old self is what i'm realizing with this chat but it was that same era of working in a restaurant
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and at this point i was probably like a month in
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and i remember walking down the steps there's sort of a terrace
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and coming down probably going on my break
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and feeling in my body just pain and fatigue
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and i 16 yeah oh my gosh i mean you were
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working 12 hour days yeah you're on your feet all day
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and a lot of new foreign things coming at you
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and i just remember thinking oh this is what tired is
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like this is what adults have been saying like i'm
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so tired i never really understood what that meant until
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that moment wow and so you remember actually walking yeah
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that feeling like oh my love her back like oh
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so what do you do what did you do back then to alleviate the pain
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that tiredness just just kept going sleep for 24 hours
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and then do yoga did were you doing yoga back then
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uh at 16 i was not what was i showers napping
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you know comfort stuff eating cream puffs eating yeah drinking coffee that's i think
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when that really kicked in yeah yeah
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and wine too uh 16 no wine you know was always sort of available my parents were very you know
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if you want to try whatever
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so i was like oh this is lame they're asking me to do it um
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but beer kind of felt a little more like you're breaking
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the rules yeah like yeah oh that's too funny too good yeah yeah Yeah.
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How was, I mean, you grew up in like wine country.
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Yeah.
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So wine was part of the conversation, right?
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Yeah.
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My first ex -boyfriend, my first boyfriend.
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Yeah.
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He owned a winery in my town where I grew up.
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And so we used to go out there and his dad always had a glass of wine, like swirling a glass of wine in his hand.
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And I remember, yeah, I was 16 and I didn't try.
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I feel like there was a lot of missed opportunity.
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Now I think about it and I'm like, man, that's crazy that we were right there.
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And now if anyone goes out there, you can actually go visit my ex -boyfriend's house.
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It was his house and it turned into a winery.
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So if you're in Green Valley in California, it's called the Blue Victorian.
464
And that's where I essentially hung out all the time
465
when I was 16 that's so cool yeah so is
466
that weird for you there's like a museum component to your
467
life oh no i went i went back probably i don't know sometime in my 20s
468
and i went back through like oh this is where this used to be
469
and this is where that used to be and
470
it's really cute anyway there's a lot of wineries out there
471
now it's turning into like a mini napa out there very
472
very cool wow yeah um a lot of white wines from your region or kind of a mix So, for example, if you go to Sonoma,
473
they have a lot of Chardonnay.
474
In Napa, it's like Cabernet Sauvignon.
475
And then like a lot of people jumped on the Pinot Noir train when like Santa Barbara was in that Sideways movie.
476
I don't know if you remember that.
477
It popularized Pinot Noir.
478
And so and then a lot of vineyards in like that general area started growing Pinot Noir, too.
479
Interesting.
480
Very profitable.
481
Yeah.
482
I know they do a lot of that in Oregon and Washington.
483
which to me makes a little bit of sense because of like weather wise it resembles a lot
484
like the burgundy vibe oh yeah yeah but where you are feels very warm
485
and dry yeah kind of worried about the pinot okay yeah well i don't know
486
if it's good or not i haven't tried too much
487
but you got to go out there
488
and you can you can tell me what you think i
489
mean i'm sure they're doing a great job yeah um is there any other last one
490
that you want to go through are you firsts
491
first movie you saw in theater what is the first movie you saw in theater the first one i remember
492
well i remember lion king and i remember going to see titanic with my parents
493
and i thought
494
that was a murder scene what was happening in the car
495
like he's killing her why is nobody freaking out that's
496
so funny i was really young oh no so there was
497
that you were only like a year old when
498
that movie came out oh
499
so you don't remember yours the first i don't remember seeing it
500
but i was told
501
that it was pocahontas okay not not too memorable i think
502
it's just really little i don't toy story maybe um do
503
you remember your first album this one is weird first album
504
or song you bought and i'm trying to remember
505
when did we buy songs so yeah i remember getting my ipod
506
and wanting some cool jams 99 cents and then they went up to 129
507
if they were really popular oh do you remember
508
that yes i do i didn't i did something bad oh lime wire no no
509
so i did something really lame not to the lameness i
510
used to go to the library the public library rent cds
511
put all them on my computer i knew sia before everybody wow
512
because of the library cd oh my gosh yeah anyway um
513
that was not i'm not sure if that's legal is
514
that legal i was renting it i don't think
515
and i was doing it only for myself i wasn't like
516
spreading music anyway i think that's fine okay do you remember your first album
517
that you downloaded i remember the first cd i bought okay
518
which was um asa bass the sign okay my all -time
519
favorite oh well um well the song the sign yeah that's
520
the one i probably played the most in my life um
521
my first cassette you weren't even around for cassettes were you not
522
so at least is younger than me she's barely she just turned 30
523
so but yeah that was alanis morissette oh yeah yeah is
524
that the the very famous one like isn't it ironic yeah all
525
that okay cool what about you what was your um i remember
526
so i had a boom box in my room
527
and i was gifted i don't even know it was like a mix of songs
528
uh from my godmother
529
and it was like i could i could sing them from like the first second to the end
530
but i couldn't tell you the name of the song but there's like what's new pussycat was
531
that tom jones okay uh wild thing i know exactly what
532
mixes you're talking about like now now five now six yes something like
533
that kind of more for kids okay like kids bop yeah more in
534
that okay environment or whatever and
535
so you still listen to them on repeat like yeah
536
that was a fun one
537
and then i got into shania twain i broke into my mom's cabinet
538
and i was just like full -on performing with my hairbrush in front of the mirror yeah maybe that's
539
when I became an adult
540
yeah that's a great song oh I like Shania that's fun I sort of wished my name was Shania
541
when I was younger I was like I'll just need to
542
add an I in there yeah I mean you're really close I know
543
and you've got some Shania Twain like physicality really yeah now
544
that I'm like yeah doesn't she like all i remember is
545
the the music video like she wears like a red pants oh yeah
546
or something yeah her looks are wild yeah maybe i should lean into that
547
oh god uh is there anything else you would like to share
548
today i'm wearing my bronzer for you could you tell
549
no nothing you look really good no shauna thank you for
550
having me this is um this is my first podcast
551
so yeah thank you
552
so much for coming on the show you're always welcome back
553
careful what you say i hope you enjoyed today's episode
554
and until next time bye guys thank you for listening to
555
this episode of the american english podcast remember it's my goal
556
here to not only help you improve your listening comprehension
557
but to show you how to speak like someone from the states If you want to receive the full transcript, for this episode, or you just want to support this podcast,
558
make sure to sign up to premium content on AmericanEnglishPodcast .com.
559
Thanks, and hope to see you soon.
560
Vocal warm -ups?
561
What's a vocal warm -up?
562
White.
563
She sells seashells by the seashore.
564
Okay, it's working.
565
Go again.
566
Seashells red yellow leather red leather yellow leather gotta be
567
a little closer i think seas seashells she sells seashells okay yeah all right yeah i think it's good
568
why do i feel like this is gonna be really funny
569
it's gonna be funny i was told i have a voice for radio
570
so you do you know you're meant for this not to brag
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MOVING OUT FOR THE FIRST TIME
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What You'll Learn from This Video
This conversation is a goldmine for practicing past perfect tense—perfect for talking about "firsts"! You’ll hear how to frame experiences like "Before 2005, I had never been to Europe," which is key for sharing life stories. It also builds conversational fluency—listen to how Elise and Shauna transition between topics naturally, asking follow-up questions like "Can you eat them?" to keep the chat flowing. Plus, you’ll pick up cultural vocabulary, like "blue crabs" and "Old Bay seasoning," which makes your English more relatable and real.
Listen For These Sounds
Pay attention to connected speech in phrases like "right next to D.C."—the "t" in "right" softens, and "next to" links smoothly. You’ll also hear reductions such as "I'm sweating 'cause I'm nervous" (where "because" shortens to "cause"). Notice how "a lot of" becomes "alotta" in "a lotta crabs"—this casual linking is common in everyday talk. These sounds are tricky, but practicing with a shadowing app can help you mimic them effortlessly.
Say It Like a Native
To mirror the speakers’ rhythm, focus on stress: in "culinary school," "culinary" gets the emphasis, and in "coffee plantation," "plantation" stands out. Elise’s tone is friendly and relaxed—she pauses slightly before sharing a fun fact, like "Old Bay seasoning—it's from Maryland!" This pause builds anticipation, making your speech more engaging. Use a shadowing site to repeat her lines, matching her pace and intonation. Whether you’re using a shadowing app or practicing with videos, the key is to imitate—copy the way they stress words and link sounds. Over time, you’ll sound more natural, just like a native!
Learning English with videos like this one makes practice fun and practical. By focusing on real conversations, you’ll improve your pronunciation, fluency, and cultural knowledge—all at once. So grab your shadowing tool and start mimicking Elise and Shauna’s dialogue today!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| “Used to” used to + verb — a past habit or state that is no longer true | used to spend · used to work · used to go |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | Montecito, which is · mom, which is · foot, which is |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was named · is filled · was told |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | has been · i've held · I've never known |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.