Shadowing Practice: English Listening Practice - REAL Native Conversation! (B2 - C1) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Hello everyone, my name is Dylan and welcome back to a brand new video.

So today I'm going to be hitting you with some realistic everyday small talk

and I want you to see how much of it you can understand.

So throughout this video I'm not going to try to speak particularly slowly to make it easier to understand me.

Instead I'm going to be speaking at a very natural native pace and that does tend to be quite fast at times.

This is because when you do come to an English speaking country this will help you to adjust

and it will be a really good test of your English listening abilities.

So I'd say this video is probably going to be at

a B2 to a C1 level however you can of course adjust the speed on YouTube to make it harder or easier.

Finally I am going to be using quite a lot of native expressions

and advanced pieces of vocabulary so

if I say something useful It will appear here along with a brief description

and everything that does pop up will be included in a completely free PDF

and the link to that is in the top comment.

You just need to hit the link, enter your email and I will instantly send it to you.

This worksheet is going to be a really good way to start integrating these words into your everyday speech

so I would highly recommend it.

Right then, let's do this.

Okay, so as always I have a random question generator in front of me.

And we actually have about 25 different questions here

and I'm just going to be trying my hardest to work my way through them.

Now just to warn you I will be going on some tangents, I will be rambling quite a lot but trust me

that is actually a good thing because that helps to replicate realistic everyday small talk.

So let's get into this question number one.

Have you ever let someone else get punished for something that you did?

Oh so we're starting off with quite an incriminating question then um yeah kind of I do have a story

that comes to mind so

when I was about 12 years old I was at my friend's house for a sleepover

and I'm sure you have sleepovers in your country it's basically

when you go around your mate's house and you stay there for the night

and yeah so I remember I accidentally broke one of my friend's lamps

and I'm not too sure how I did this I must have accidentally knocked it off

and it hit the floor and smashed into loads of different pieces so what did I do?

How did I rectify this situation?

Did I go and say, hi, Mrs. Friend, I'm really sorry, but I accidentally broke your lamp.

I offered to pay for a new one.

No, I was 12.

I did this instead.

I got my backpack.

I scooped up all the broken pieces of glass.

I put it in there, zipped it up and just left it.

So I was trying to be stealthy with it.

But unfortunately, it didn't quite work out because for some reason, my friend's mom noticed that their lamp was missing

and then they noticed that when my bag was in the way right

and it was next to where the lamp was

so I probably wasn't that stealthy with it but anyway so

when they went to move it they heard with this broken glass

and they realized the lamp was missing they put two and two together and

yeah that led to quite an awkward conversation to be honest.

So yeah I didn't necessarily try to get someone else punished for what I did but it was my intention.

I'm not gonna lie.

Anyway, have you ever saved someone's life?

Wow.

I don't think so, to be honest, maybe indirectly, just from the sheer quality of all of my videos.

But that's a bit of a stretch, to be honest.

Another thing that comes to mind is, right, hear me out, hear me out.

So when I was quite young as well, I think maybe I was about 10 here, I went on a family holiday to Scotland

and Scotland just side note by the way Scotland is absolutely beautiful

if you do come to the UK go to Scotland firstly it's absolutely deserted there's no one else there

but the trees in particular are so green and luscious

and dense like the forests are incredible

and they have all these lovely rivers as well anyway

that is where the setting of my story takes place I

was next to a river we were out on like a family walk

or something and don't ask me why because I don't know why

but for some reason I decided to pick up a rock

and throw it at my brother's head and it hit him

and he started bleeding so um he didn't die which is good

but yeah I haven't tried to save someone's life I'm sorry I haven't saved someone's life

but I tried to take someone's

but it's all good it's all good um we're okay now yeah I do realize

that is the polar opposite answer of what this question was demanding

but yeah it's all good can we get a less incriminating

question please what is something you are really looking forward to

I know the answer to this next Friday Friday the 11th

of April I am launching my own British English course

and I've worked ridiculously hard on this thing it's five different modules

so we have the expressions of vocabulary we have British accent

training we have listening we have speaking then we have like a bonus section as well, which covers like British culture and how to make cup of tea and fun things like that.

It's launching next Friday.

So the 11th of April, the link will be in the top comment.

And yeah, guys, I'm so excited for this.

I've obsessed over this course for so long.

And now it's finally, it's finally ready.

Yeah, so just look out for more details about that.

Sorry for this plug.

But that is genuinely what I'm looking forward to.

You know, you've been working so hard on something for

so long and finally you have something to show for it

so yeah next Friday more details to come it's going to be amazing

right have you ever had to complain to management

and why you know what I don't think I ever have complained to management

which is a bit crazy actually that's certainly a British thing though

so British people you may

or may not know this I'm sure you do like we tend to be quite reserved in some areas

and there's something about complaining that we don't well we love complaining absolutely we love complaining

but by complaining to someone else like saying sort of like causing some sort of conflict

or making a scene is um i think it very much goes against what it is to be british

so i'm no exception to

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that rule i'm pretty lenient with this sort of stuff i

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think it would have to be the let's talk let's look at like a restaurant, for example, or a hotel,

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they'd have to do something pretty abhorrent for me to feel the need to actually complain to the manager.

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Don't get me wrong, I'll leave like a Google review or something.

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I'll give you an example, right?

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So a few months ago, I was at a restaurant and I ordered a steak.

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And this was one of the worst steaks I've had in my life.

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And bear in mind, the steaks, they tend to be the most expensive thing on the menu.

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So I had high expectations, right

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and yeah they were not met this thing was like luke

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it wasn't even lukewarm it was cold it was tiny

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and it took ages to come out as well

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so I was pretty disappointed did I go

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and complain to the manager no

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because what's the point honestly what is the point I did

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leave a review though I left a three-star google review

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which is like the British equivalent of a one-star review so yeah

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whereas obviously in like america they're so much more outgoing with this type of stuff

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and they're like we need to speak to the manager right now

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but it's it's a lot less likely in the uk i think

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has someone ever done a random act of kindness for you

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uh yeah i'm sure they have actually one okay there's one

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that happened quite recently so about a week ago

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so i was at the airport

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so yeah guys I'm not currently in the UK I've gone for a few months I was at the airport

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and my bag was like three kilograms over the the limit

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and the guy so he was like yeah you're over you're over

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and I said all right you know I took my card

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out like how much do I need to pay you know

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I know how this stuff works 65 pounds I was like

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I winced a little bit 65 pounds for three kilograms

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that is crazy but all right whatever just you know let's get it over

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and done with I've got a flight to cash

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and um I think when he saw my willingness to take my card out

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and not complain

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and make a big deal about it he just sort of like he changed his tune a little bit

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and just like yeah whatever just just you don't have to pay just get on my face

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so he's like in quite an aggressive way um basically said

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you don't need to pay just just leave leave this queue

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and pretend I didn't see you so that was cool

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that was very nice of him you know um

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and by the way just to warn you throughout this video

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and over the next few months I am going to be

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talking about my travels a bit I'm sorry I know it's so tedious sometimes to hear people talk about their travels.

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It's like, okay, I don't really care.

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But trust me, guys, my life over the last three to four months has been so boring.

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It's been the most mundane existence you can think of.

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All I've done is work, gym, eat chicken, rice and broccoli.

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And that's it.

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So I've gone on some travels.

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And that means that there's going to be some stories to tell.

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It's going to change my content a little bit.

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It should be a bit more interesting.

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And certainly my newsletter as well is going to be interesting.

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So this is the perfect time to sign up to that if you haven't.

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And the link is in the top comment.

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What was the last thing that truly disappointed you?

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OK, here I am going to start talking about the travels already.

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So it happened about two hours after the random act of kindness.

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I boarded the plane.

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I sat down, put my seatbelt on like a good boy.

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And I opened up the in-screen entertainment thing.

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I scrolled through the films and the TV shows.

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And oh my god, I've never seen a worse selection of films in my entire life.

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They had nothing.

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They had nothing.

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They had about 10 English films.

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All terrible.

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I think the only one I'd heard of was Inside Out 2.

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Not even the original.

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They couldn't even give me the original this film that I wouldn't want to watch anyway.

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So to say that the selection was lackluster is the understatement of the year.

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I didn't watch anything.

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It was a long flight.

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I think it was like a 10-hour flight.

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I didn't watch a single minute of anything.

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I did lose my headphones that they gave me, so that's kind of why as well.

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But honestly there was nothing I wanted to watch.

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Yeah, so what did I do during that flight?

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I'll tell you in a minute when we get to the question.

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what do you wish you had more talent doing hmm okay

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this once again relates to my travels oh my god you'll notice a theme here

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so a few days ago I walked into a bar this

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isn't a joke by the way we're done with the joke videos trust me anyway I walked into a bar

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and I was by myself

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and I got a drink walked to another area where I was going to sit down

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and then some guy was like hey bro bro um do

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i know you he's like hey dude you hear about yourself

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man i was like yeah he's like come take a seat

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man i'm your buddy now my name's uh what was his name phil my name's phil

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and this guy man this american guy was just

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so outgoing extroverted he just seemed to know exactly the correct thing to say at all times

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and that is just an american thing american people

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are so like intrinsically so good at socializing and it's something

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that I'm actually pretty jealous of as I say guys the last few months I've been sat in my room

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so most my social abilities are probably like even lower than they normally are

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so I need to work on that

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but with British people right we're quite good at colonizing in some ways sorry

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but Americans are like really really good at socially colonizing they

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can like integrate any sort of social group with ease and And it's something that I really admire.

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So I've actually decided to, I need to get some American friends.

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Yeah, so that I can sort of pick up their, not their accent, don't worry.

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But their ability to be extroverted and sort of just have more fun in life maybe.

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I don't know.

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But yeah, that's a skill that I definitely admire.

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Being able to walk up and speak to people is so cool.

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And I need to get good at that, I think.

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What's an interesting fact that you recently learned?

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Hmm, did you know that sloths can hold their breath underwater for longer than dolphins can?

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A dolphin can hold its breath underwater for a measly 10 minutes, that's it.

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Pathetic, right?

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Whereas a sloth, do you want to guess?

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We'll do a little interactive thing.

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So option A, can they hold it for 20 minutes?

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B, can they hold it for 40 minutes? or C, can they hold it for an hour?

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Answer is B.

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A sloth can hold their breath for 40 minutes underwater, which is absolutely insane.

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They're not aquatic.

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They live on trees and stuff, and they don't look like they would be able to do that.

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That's crazy.

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And the only reason I can think as to how that's true is because they don't really do anything.

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They probably use such little energy because they're so bloody lazy the whole time, respectfully to any sloths watching this.

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so i guess i guess they can they don't need much

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energy to move they can i don't know this doesn't even make sense to me their bodies are

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so small as well damn

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if there are any sloth biologists in the comment comments please do let me know

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if i'm on the money here and if that's actually true

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and how the hell it is the sloth can hold

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that breath for 40 minutes and a dolphin can only hold it for 10 minutes

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that seems pretty pathetic right respectfully to any dolphins watching this.

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What is your favorite and least favorite country?

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Oh okay I've got to be tactful here.

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Right I can only talk about my recent experiences and traveling and that has mainly been around Asia.

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So my favorite favorite countries are firstly I'm just going to need to give a shout out to Vietnam

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because Vietnamese people are the nicest people in the world.

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They are just so kind.

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It's the same with Thai people as well.

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Same with a lot of different countries, to be honest.

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There are a lot of nice people out there, but Vietnamese and Thai in particular, if you and just mean not mainly, but Vietnamese, there's just something about Vietnamese.

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People are so, so kind.

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Like if you have a problem, any sort of problem, they won't stop until the problem is rectified.

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They will do absolutely everything they can.

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Even if it's a massive inconvenience to them, they will just help you.

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Yeah, that's that's what I've noticed for.

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Anyway, so Vietnam, I like that place.

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Thailand is probably one of my favorite countries

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because of how chill it is the people are there

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so nice you can do Mai Tai there you can eat

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Pad Thai there you can just chill out in the sun

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huge fan of Thailand and I'm not alone in saying

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that that's why half of Britain has emigrated there

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so I'm sorry about that Thailand anyway Japan of course Japan is one of those places that's

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so like alluring and certainly in the west certainly in the UK like

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so many people just sort of um if you ask them

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which country they'd want to go to they would say oh

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yeah japan's on my bucket list everyone wants to go there

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and it really truly lives up to the hype i adore

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that place and yeah one of my favorite countries

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if you want to go to a country that works and

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that the culture actually works japan is probably the best example of that so yeah

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least favorite I don't really have any least favorite countries to

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be honest with you I haven't really had any experiences where I've gone somewhere

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and I've like oh god this is horrible there is one thing I'm going to talk about though

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and that is that's Korea so I used to be a big fan of Korea

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if you know if you see many of my videos you know

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that I actually started my YouTube channel

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because of Korea I'll cut a long story short I applied

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to be a teacher in Korea they were like yeah I had a random seizure they were like nah

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so I started this channel out of spite

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anyway and I like that place but there is something

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that I've noticed that recently on a recent trip there

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that um I would like to talk about very briefly I won't take up too much time with this

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so one thing about Korea is

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that there are these insane beauty standards I know everyone knows this and it's

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so like sort of trite to say this at this point

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everyone sort of tunes out it's like saying our social media is bad for your health, your mental health.

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It's like, yeah, I know this, whatever, say something a bit more interesting, but this is relevant, right?

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I've noticed that whenever I go to Korea, I feel so sort of like lonely and like sad in a way.

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And I was never too sure why.

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And I think it's because of like all these adverts they have everywhere.

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Like they have huge Chanel adverts, huge Dior adverts, pretty much saying like, if you don't buy this and spend this money

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and you are worthless and you are ugly and you don't deserve to be here, you don't deserve to be happy

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and that's pretty much like 90% of the advertising in Korea that's how I felt anyway

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and it's like there is this obsession with looking good

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and unrealistic beauty standards

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and just the final example of this is they have this chain of stores called Olive Young

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and Olive Young sell like makeup and cosmetics basically things

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that can make you look more attractive and they are absolutely everywhere

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and I'm not exaggerating I've never seen such a prevalent chain

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that isn't like an essential shop like a 7-Eleven

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or something I genuinely think

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that in your country right there might be there's probably a lot of supermarkets a lot of 7-Eleven stuff like

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that in Korea it's the same but instead of 7-Elevens it's just loads

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and loads and loads and loads of olive youngs and I think

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that just kind of summarizes the obsession they have with the beauty

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so it's a shame it's a shame

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and obviously isn't like a dig against Korean people it's just I it's something I've noticed there

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and I do kind of feel sorry for some Korean people

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because I think it's I think it's unfair and I think it's

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so hard as well anyway who cares what I have to say

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but let me know if you're Korean if I'm

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if you think I'm on the money here I don't know why I've used

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that expression twice I've never said that before in my life

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and I've used it twice in about 10 minutes

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if I'm on the money anyway if you could choose the way you became a hero what would the circumstances be

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firstly I don't you don't want to be born a hero in my opinion

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because that's kind of like being born famous you don't get to choose why you're famous

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or the fact that you are famous and that would kind of suck

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and like being a child star would just be awful

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because you can't really relate to anyone else your age

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so you're just going to have this like lack of belonging social skills

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and stuff like that and it would kind of be the same if you were born a hero as well

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so what I'd like is the choice I'd like a genie to come up to me one day

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and be like hey man um here's a pill

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if you take this then you can have whatever superpower you would like

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and if you don't it's all good man don't worry it's up to you I'd be like all right cool

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and um I think that'd be a nice way to choose

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when you're like an adult you can sort of make your own decisions a bit better

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and what superpower would I like well as mentioned I have left the UK for a bit

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so I recently moved out of my house and that led to me doing some painting.

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And I was thinking if I had a superpower, I'd actually want like a really chill, pragmatic superpower, like being able to like instantly paint a wall.

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So say if there's any wall in a house and it doesn't matter on the texture, it could be rough, there could be plaster coming out of it.

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I'd like to go like that with my magic finger

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and it would just be perfectly smooth and painted to perfection

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because that's a superpower in my opinion that isn't gonna like destroy your life and it isn't gonna bring all these

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negatives that other superpowers might bring it's not gonna make you like really really famous

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but it will make you incredibly useful you can get like an easy you can start a business with

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that easily just drive around

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and then boom that's your house painted that'll be five thousand pounds because honestly getting your house painted is actually really expensive.

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Anyway that would be a really pragmatic and versatile magic power that wouldn't have that many negative associations I think.

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So yeah I'm going to be like paint guy or something.

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What's something uncomfortable that you feel everyone should experience at least once in their life?

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Oh okay my answer is going to be a massive gym bro self-improvement bro type answer but it's relevant.

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Ice baths and cold showers, they're absolutely grueling, they're horrible, especially if you've never done one before and the thought of just getting into a freezing cold,

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just submerging your whole body into a freezing cold bit of water is unpleasant

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and there isn't really any way to prepare yourself for an ice bath as well, just that initial shock doesn't go away.

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However, however, the feeling you get

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afterwards whether it's a cold shower

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or an ice bath once you sort of pretty much as soon as you get out of there

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and you return to like whatever temperature you were at before

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it's unreal you feel absolutely incredible your whole body just feels good you feel

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so it's so exhilarating it's worth it trust me

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so give it a go give it a go ice baths cold showers whichever one you want

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what's your favorite form of entertainment ah this is what I did on the flight actually so

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it was my birthday two weeks ago

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and I treated myself to an Amazon Kindle

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which I'm sure you know Kindle is like um it's what

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you read the books on it's basically like an iPad

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or a tablet just for reading

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and I must say this is an absolute game changer I love it it's kind of like Netflix

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but for books in the sense

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that you can just pick it up turn it on

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and you can scroll through all these different categories

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and you can see like the review the rating you can

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press download in about 30 seconds you have an entire book downloaded to your tiny little tablet thing

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and you can read through it and

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if you don't like it it's all good just discard it

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and get yourself another one because for me I think

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that reading is kind of like eating vegetables in the sense

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that we all know we should be doing more of it

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but there is we don't you know just like there's a

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bit of a barrier to entry to buying the vegetables to

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cooking the vegetables to buying the books to reading the books

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and this is something that really really alleviates all that makes it

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so much easier just to read on a regular basis

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and yeah I'm beyond impressed with the kindle

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so this isn't a sponsorship maybe it should be though

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because fair play

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if you're on the fence about getting a kindle i'd highly

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recommend it what has been your biggest financial mistake um i

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don't really have any big financial mistakes to be honest just

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a load of small ones mainly stemming from like poor planning

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so for instance if i am going on a trip

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and i book a flight in advance and then decide

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that i'm not actually going to get on that flight

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because i didn't plan it properly or the same with accommodation and that's just pretty much money down the drain

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um there was a period a few years ago I had a business before this selling jeans

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and this was during COVID so I was living at home at the time

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and pretty much had no expenses

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so I was just getting all this money coming in

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and no nowhere to put it

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and I very foolishly just blew a lot of it

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and there was one time I bought this um t-shirt

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and hoodie from Japan so I paid someone to import it from Japan

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and it was pretty expensive

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and I think I wore the hoodie twice before selling it for a huge loss

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and the t-shirt I still have but I'd never wear it

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and yeah I won't I don't make those mistakes anymore

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but a lot of poor financial decisions but nothing too major you know.

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Do you have any secret hobbies?

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Yeah skateboarding skateboarding I haven't really I haven't skated than donkeys

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but to be honest I I've never been more passionate about anything in my life than I was with skateboarding

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so between the ages of 12

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and 14 it was all I'd think about it was all

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I would do obviously I had to go to school

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and stuff when I wasn't at school I was either skating

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or watching videos of skating and I loved it so much yeah

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so I would definitely like to get back into that

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and I hopefully will

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when I do trust me you all know it'll be all over my Instagram it'll be all over my newsletter

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and you guys can see my amazing skills

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because I was actually pretty good I'm not gonna lie

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and yeah like

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if you'd asked me my dream job back then I'd want

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to be a skateboarder more than anything in the world and

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if you are looking to be a skateboarder who is born in the UK

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and lives in the UK good luck mate

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because the culture doesn't really support that

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but firstly people constantly take the piss in the UK in

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general especially with with skateboarding I don't know what it is maybe seen as like childish

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or lame or something like that which is so stupid

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back then I didn't care

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but maybe as I got a bit older I'd you know start becoming more self-conscious about

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that type of thing

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and secondly there just isn't really the culture for it here um there are

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so few professional skateboarders I'd say from the UK

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which does on the one hand it means that there's less competition but on the other hand

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and this is the salient point it means that there is so much less opportunity yeah so

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skateboarding skateboarding soon soon you'll see me skateboarding i promise what's

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one what's a what's a thing you have i can't read this question what recent thing have you decided

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that you're completely over and done with

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mate just getting like absolutely hammered it's been a

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while since I've been like hammered but it's I'm just so over it the next day the hangover is just

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terrible it's the worst thing in the world you've you massively

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underslept you look like death you you can't really eat anything

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it's just like it's such an undesirable state to be in

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so I think I'm done with getting obscenely drunk

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which I know is not a very British thing today

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but that's kind of how it's going these days like I think I heard

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that a nightclub in the UK a nightclub shuts down it's either every week

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or every day which is a bit crazy

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and I was there's loads of pubs shutting down as well

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because people are just drinking

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so much less now especially young people such as myself you

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know am I still young yeah I think I'm still young

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what has been your 50 minutes of fame up to this

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point right I just want to preface this section by saying

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that it's like internet fame it's not real right

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and I'm not being like big-headed at all trust me

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but I did have my 15 minutes of fame recently with this video I made

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which ironically was actually 15 minutes long

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so I literally had my 15 minutes of fame

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and it got um for my standards it went pretty big it got like 1.7 million views

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which is a lot more than my usual view count

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that I get

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and yeah it was weird mixed feelings to be honest had

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about 6 000 comments it's weird having 6 000 strangers on the internet comment on your videos

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and yeah um mixed feelings about about that to be honest with you

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but luckily it's the internet so everyone just moves on like

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that so you know it was fleeting fame but I think that's the whole point of 15 minutes of fame.

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The one thing that did kind of annoy me about

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that video I'm so sure that some of you watched it is um

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so many of the comments were saying like oh these jokes

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are terrible blah blah blah it's like I know the jokes are terrible.

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The actual joke was me telling these awful dad jokes with a completely straight face

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and then trying to justify why they're funny with a completely straight face that that's the actual joke.

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Some people did get that, but a lot of people didn't, but it is what it is.

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Anyway, what law have you broken the most in your life?

459

And back to the incriminating questions.

460

Great.

461

Crossing the road when it's a red man.

462

So when you're not supposed to, pretty much.

463

yeah I've always done

464

that you know I think that's another British thing like I just can't stand waiting we're good at queuing

465

but I just cannot stand waiting

466

and of course I look first I make sure there's no cars coming

467

but if they're on I just I'm not gonna sit there

468

and wait I think maybe that's like I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder with

469

that type of thing and I just I just want to go

470

but yeah that's a law

471

that I break pretty regularly yeah I think it's called jaywalking I don't know

472

if it's actually illegal probably is maybe it's frowned upon I don't know

473

if it's actually illegal anyway what is something you predict will exist in 10 years

474

that doesn't today um I'm not too sure I think it would be something AI related

475

which I know is just the most generic answer ever but let's be honest it's probably going to be related to that.

476

Something AI-y and this is another point as well we're just talking about the comments right.

477

I've heard a lot of comments lately saying that I'm AI

478

and that my voice is AI and that my face looks like AI

479

and I just need to put those rumors to bed right now

480

so what I'm going to do is drink this water this bottle of water and then you can clearly see right.

481

Okay, and AI cannot drink water because it's a robot, right?

482

So they fry the circuits, whatever.

483

So now we can put all of those AI rumors to bed.

484

Yeah.

485

Anyway, what do you find you recently spend a lot of time wondering about?

486

My course.

487

I'm not going to lie, guys.

488

This isn't another advert, but my course is all I think about it's um I've

489

dedicated pretty much the last six months of my life to it

490

so I've just I've been ruminating about all these different things

491

like the order of the lessons the order of the modules what should I do for

492

that should I refilm that what's what's going to be good for that

493

trust me the amount of effort I've put into it is reflected in the quality of it

494

if you enjoy my videos then you will love the course

495

I promise next Friday Friday 11th of April exciting do you have any memories before the age of five?

496

Yeah one and involves Canada.

497

So I went to Canada on a family kind of a family holiday

498

and my memories are I had chocolate cake on the flight.

499

I got a fresh deck of Pokemon cards and there were these little crisp things that were shaped like goldfish.

500

I'll try and find a photo.

501

And I saw a polar bear as well.

502

Guessing the polar bear was in a zoo and not just roaming the streets of Toronto.

503

But yeah, those are, I guess that is officially my earliest memory, which is cool.

504

I'd love to go to Canada again, to be honest.

505

Anyway, what is your opinion on tattoos?

506

I like them and I kind of, I do want one.

507

I know where I'd get it.

508

I'd get it here on the ribs, which I know everyone says really hurts, but you know, whatever.

509

It's like an hour or two of pain for like a lifetime of cool tattoo positioning.

510

But I just don't know what to get.

511

I think I feel like if I got one, I'd be forcing it a little bit at this stage.

512

Maybe, maybe one day I'll see something that really speaks to me and I'm like, yeah, I'd love to get that tattooed, but I'm pretty apprehensive about it at the moment, to be honest with you.

513

I'm definitely open to getting one and I like them, but I just, it would be forced if I got one right now.

514

Like, what would I get?

515

I was thinking about getting a Henry the dog tattoo.

516

That'd be cute, right?

517

But we'll see.

518

By the way, if you don't know, Henry the dog is the channel mascot.

519

He's right here and also he's up here as well.

520

Yeah.

521

what do you know how to do

522

that is completely useless many different things many different things i'm

523

assuming this question means like what talent do you have that's useless and um

524

it involves a pen but i don't have a pen here so

525

if you remind me in the comments telepathically from the future

526

to get a pen at the end of this video then i will show you don't forget to remind me please.

527

Next question, do you like people watching and where do you do it?

528

Good question.

529

So if you didn't know, people watching is basically when you go to a public area like a park or a cafe,

530

you sit there and you just watch everyone else go by living their lives and you judge them or something.

531

I didn't realize people watching was so popular

532

but a lot of people have spoken to me about this recently

533

and apparently it is like a hobby for quite a lot

534

of people for me personally my eyes aren't very good

535

so like I'm short-sighted which means I can see the phone

536

if we're having a conversation I can see your face I

537

can you know read without glasses however long distance it's not great not great not terrible

538

but I think that will affect my ability to people watch

539

so if I'm like on a bench I can see them of course

540

but their faces would be a little bit blurry

541

yeah so it's one of those really I do need to get some glasses

542

and I will one day

543

but the problem is once you get glasses you can't really go back to not wearing them

544

because your eyes will adjust you're new to like the the help of the glasses

545

so if you stop wearing them then they're going to get worse over time

546

if you know I feel like I've explained that pretty poorly

547

but you know what I mean and it doesn't really impact my day-to-day life

548

that much so at the moment I'm just sort of taking it in my stride

549

and just accepting that short distance my eyes are all right

550

but long distance it's a little bit blurry

551

but it's all good I do need glasses for when I drive

552

but day to day life it's not too bad yeah

553

so maybe I should get some then I can enjoy people

554

watching a bit more I'll be a bit better at it as well I'll be able to make better judgments

555

and stuff like that or I could just buy some binoculars

556

but maybe that's a step too far that's kind of like bordering like stalker levels.

557

What do you think people pretend to like when they really don't?

558

Um, watermelon.

559

Hear me out.

560

I feel like liking watermelon, certainly a few years ago, was like very trendy.

561

And for me personally, whenever I've had watermelon, like actual watermelon or like watermelon flavored drinks, for me,

562

I've always found it to be pretty underwhelming like very very

563

watery not much flavor you get all these pips in your teeth

564

and it's like where is the hype for me I think it's

565

so overrated and I think

566

that people maybe pretend to like it more than they do

567

you know to be trendy now you could say this about avocados as well

568

but I'm gonna be honest avocados are so good they're

569

so delicious that even though they are very trendy not

570

so much anymore the trend has died a little bit

571

but even though they are well they were very trendy they

572

are worth it they do live up to the hype what's

573

a trendy food at the moment we had watermelon we had

574

avocado we've had like quinoa you know the whole vegan stage

575

and stuff like

576

that what is a trendy food at the moment i don't know do people still eat food will

577

that ever go out of fashion you think people just drink their food instead? Who knows?

578

For me, next question.

579

What's the one thing?

580

Oh, this is the last question as well.

581

Sorry about that.

582

What's the one thing that you seem to constantly lose?

583

In general, I'm pretty good with not losing possessions.

584

However, there is one thing that just seems to be an exception to that rule, and that is sunglasses.

585

I'm always losing sunglasses maybe I'm just averse to glasses in general maybe

586

because I'm from the UK and we have so little sun

587

that I just there isn't really always a need for sunglasses

588

so if I do have some I'm just like kind of I forget

589

that I have them and I'll just like leave them there

590

and then leave you know leave the building

591

and that's one more pair of sunglasses down the drain I

592

think I've lost about I lose about two every summer

593

so I think over the last three years that's six pairs

594

which is a bit crazy

595

that does add up a little bit to be honest maybe

596

I need to get like you can get like this chain thing right

597

that you put on the edge of the glasses then

598

when you're not wearing them it's kind of like here

599

and you can put them on

600

but yeah until then I think I'll just keep losing my

601

sunglasses that's like a recurring theme every year lose a couple pairs

602

and just crack on right guys and there we have it thank you

603

so much for watching so as mentioned all of the words

604

that popped up on the screen will be included in a completely free PDF.

605

I think that's going to be really really useful for you to have

606

and the link to that is in the top comment.

607

So as I did say at the start of the video as well next Friday, Friday the 11th of April, my British English online course will be available.

608

I've worked so hard on this, it's absolutely brilliant, I'm so proud of it.

609

So if it's past the 11th the link will be in the top comment go

610

and check that out and

611

if it's before the 11th firstly thank you for watching within the first week

612

and secondly you can also enter your email

613

and i will send you updates on that and

614

if you're signed up to my newsletter you will also get some updates on the course

615

but it's going to be amazing it's going to be absolutely brilliant anyway

616

if you did enjoy today's video i would recommend watching this one here

617

or maybe even this one here this will improve your vocabulary and this will further improve your listening skills.

618

So thank you so much for watching.

619

Remember to like, subscribe and comment down below, and I will see you next Friday for another video.

620

Cheers.

621

I literally just remembered.

622

Yeah.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This C1 speaking lesson is built on the video “English Listening Practice - REAL Native Conversation!”. This video has 622 sentences and 7286 words to shadow. The speech runs for 38:22. The speaker talks fast, about 190 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 84% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
skateboard noun	/ˈskeɪt.bɔɹd/	A narrow, wooden or plastic platform mounted on pairs of wheels, on which one stands and propels oneself by pushing along the ground with one foot.
sloth noun	/slɔθ/	Laziness; slowness of mind; disinclination to action or labour; a feeling combining indifference and lethargy; a dragging idleness.
trendy adjective	/ˈtɹɛndi/	Of, or in accordance with the latest trend, fashion or hype.
superpower noun		A sovereign state with dominant status on the globe and a very advanced military, especially the United States or formerly the Soviet Union.
sunglasses noun		Tinted glasses worn to protect the eyes from the sun or other bright light, and may also be worn as a fashion accessory.
firstly adverb	/ˈfɜɹstli/	In the first place; before anything else; first.
dolphin noun	/ˈdɑlf.ɪn/	A carnivorous cetacean, typically with a beak-like snout, famed for their intelligence and occasional willingness to approach humans.
kindle verb	/ˈkɪn.dəl/	To start (a fire) or light (a torch, a match, coals, etc.).
lamp noun	/ˈlæ̝mp/	A device that generates light, heat, or other electromagnetic radiation. Especially an electric light bulb.
advert verb	/ædvˈɝt/	To take notice, to pay attention (to).
incriminate verb	/ɪnˈkɹɪm.ɪ.neɪ̯t/	To accuse or bring criminal charges against.
newsletter noun	/ˈn(j)uzˌlɛtɚ/	A periodically sent publication containing current events or the like, generally on a particular topic or geared toward a limited audience.
vocabulary noun	/vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/	A usually alphabetized and explained collection of words e.g. of a particular field, or prepared for a specific purpose, often for learning.
underwater adjective	/ʌndɚˈwɔtəɹ/	Beneath the surface of the water; of or pertaining to the region beneath the water surface.
vegetable noun	/ˈvɛd͡ʒ.tə.bəl/	A plant raised for some edible part of it, such as the leaves, roots, fruit or flowers, but excluding any plant considered to be a fruit, grain, herb, or spice…

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
look forward to verb		To anticipate, expect, or wait for, especially with a feeling of approval or pleasure; to be excited or eager to.
pick up verb		To lift; to grasp and raise.
shut down verb		To close, terminate, or end; to stop operating, either permanently or temporarily.
sit down verb		To assume a sitting position from a standing position.
add up verb		To take the sum of; to total.
come out verb	/ˌkʌm ˈaʊt/	To be discovered; to be revealed.
come up to verb		To approach.
get out of verb		To leave, exit or escape from; to become free of.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

How did I rectify this situation?
Anyway, have you ever saved someone's life?
What was the last thing that truly disappointed you?
What's an interesting fact that you recently learned?
Whereas a sloth, do you want to guess?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Conditional sentences if + clause, will/would + verb — a condition and its result	if I say something useful It will appear · if I had a superpower, I'd actually · if I got one, I'd be
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	you've been working · I've been ruminating
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	haven't tried · I've worked · I've obsessed
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	will be included · were not met · I've been sat

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 257 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: sloth /slɔθ/, stealthy /ˈstɛlθi/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: obsession /əbˈsɛʃən/, punish /ˈpʌnɪʃ/, socially /ˈsoʊʃəli/, perfection /pɚˈfɛk.ʃən/, expectation /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: incriminate /ɪnˈkɹɪm.ɪ.neɪ̯t/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/, underwater /ʌndɚˈwɔtəɹ/, avocado /ˌɑvəˈkɑdoʊ/, extroverted /ˈɛkstɹəˌvəɹtɪd/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like skateboard, sloth, trendy.

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.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Sentences worth repeating

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?