Shadowing Practice: I've had it with China - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Greetings friends, welcome back to the Smallburn Podcast.

Today we are in Shenzhen Airport and you have some lovely advertisements behind me.

I'm not sure if that's copyrighted material.

No, it looks like it's AI.

It's probably fine.

Okay.

Today we're leaving China.

It's about damn time.

If you ask me.

Hello.

Business?

Oh.

Offered to upgrade me to business class, but I have to pay.

I'm not going to do it.

I'm not going to do it um well welcome guys

we made it we finished the series in China um

I have very mixed feelings about China some days I love

it some days I hate it in general I love

it I think it is one of the best countries to travel

I think the people are the friendliest food is great um relatively easy to go around

but I just I've been having a lot of I don't know maybe I'm just in a bad mood today

but i've been having a lot of experiences like things are just

so needlessly hard in china i just got done with uh the security for example in the airport

and it is

so exhausting to go through security in china

i'm on a three -hour flight going to bangkok i'm gonna relax i'm I'm gonna put my feet up

and hang out with the ladyboys.

And, you know, I desperately need a vacation.

I'm very tired after like 18 days filming almost every single day.

But I'm flying out international from Shenzhen.

And the airport security, I must say, in China is so incredibly extra.

I don't understand, you know.

People and me personally, I lament the U .S.

security state.

I lament the TSA.

I know they don't actually help prevent terrorist attacks.

I know they're not actually making us safer.

It's just the government bloat and waste.

I mean, it's like a whole industry.

Thousands of people are employed and they do nothing.

They do not help the security situation in America.

At least last I checked, and that was like 10 years ago.

So I'm just going to go with that.

We're going to go with that.

but the security state in china is on a whole nother level

it's almost similar to like iraq where they're getting bombed like on repeat

and they have like ongoing insurgencies in the country when i went to the iraq airport with nolan

in order to get through security in order to even enter the airport

you have to put your bag down in a line with other people

and then a dog comes and snips it for bombs

and I gotta make sure I'm not missing my flight okay

I think we're good they made us put our backs down

and then we had to step away from the bags

and then a dog came and sniffed the bags right now

that was extra but it was Iraq

so I'm like fine let's let them have this let's let them check the bag it's fine whatever

and then also in Iraq once you enter the airport you have to put your bag in a metal detector

and then also when you get to your gate no through security metal detector

and then scan the bag

and then at the gate the metal detector scan the bag as

if you had picked up something in the airport you had like assembled something in the airport right

but I was okay I was like okay that's a lot that's extra that's that's pretty crazy

but you know it's iraq so whatever here the only step

that was not involved was the the dog sniffing the bag

i had to put my bag through security three times to

get on a flight from shenzhen to bangkok like a very common pedestrian route that i'm sure

chinese tourists

and thai tourists take all the time it's a big city in china

it's a huge city in Thailand I'm not going to Kabul

I'm not going to you know Yemen

it's I'm going from like a big city with tourists to another big city with tourists

I don't I don't get it obviously there's something I'm missing

I am not the smartest guy you know I don't pretend to be

but I don't know I just can't help but feel like it's a little bit extra I don't know maybe I'm wrong.

I'm probably wrong.

But from where I'm sitting, it makes no goddamn sense to me.

It makes absolutely no goddamn sense.

And so anyways, scan it back three times, show them the passport.

Oh, also when you enter the airport, they have to like...

Scan they have to like wipe down your whole clothing for for bomb residue and

So that's annoying also and then you get into

The airport and you put your back to security and this is where it's different.

This is where

China is so Fucking extra.

I need to look over my shoulder.

I need to make sure no one's Ma 'am.

Are you listening?

Do you speak English?

Hello No?

Okay.

All right.

We're good.

We're in the clear.

She's ignorant.

So you put your bag through, and usually in the U .S., it's a lot.

You have to take your liquids out, laptops out, shoes off, belts off.

It's a lot.

It's really annoying.

I've made a whole episode on why I hate the TSA and why I specifically despise the Atlanta airport.

100

But it's not just that in China.

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It's not just that.

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It's basically everything.

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And I'm carrying around this backpack here.

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See?

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This little backpack.

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And it's packed very tight.

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I've done, I think, a very good job packing my backpack nice and tight.

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Sorry, the fucking screen behind me is distracting the fuck I mean,

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okay Coughing up my Chinese cigarette emphysema in the last week and a half.

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I need to fucking chill out on the smokes

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But I'm going to Bangkok.

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I'm cleaning up my act no more ciggies,

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okay, just the Diet Cokes So anyways the bag you put it there's security,

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but you don't it's not just regular security you have to take out

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all of your batteries all of your electronic devices

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and all of your cameras now let's ponder let's let's pontiffize right now my viewers

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what line of work am i in i'm a youtuber

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i have cameras i have batteries i have chargers i have power banks.

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That's a whole other thing.

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I had to buy a specific Xiaomi Chinese power bank because they had some fire.

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One of somebody's power bank exploded on a plane like two, three years ago.

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And so I got to do that.

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I had to buy that.

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It was 50 bucks, but it's fine.

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It's like, whatever.

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But they also confiscated my other power bank that I bought in America.

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That thing was like 80 bucks.

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That thing was a beast.

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And something happens with the phones in China.

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I know when you're here like they you're i guess

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because the e sim routes your cellular data traffic from a chinese tower to a four

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i don't know i tried to look into it it's very complicated

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it's been almost it's been impossible to get my editor files here uh

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that's a whole other thing i mentioned on the last show

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but i won't get into it

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so i had to lose my $80 power bank had to buy the $50 one it has this like

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if you guys want to come to china you have to buy a power bank that

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It says CCC on it.

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CCC.

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And it has like a non -flammable sign on there.

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I guess it, some law they made here that you have to have it.

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And of course I don't know that.

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So I come here, lose the 80 buck power charger and then I have to buy the $50 power charger.

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And who knows, it probably isn't allowed in America.

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I don't know why we just can't be friends.

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I don't know why the administrative state in each country has such a stick up each other's ass.

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They're like they don't trust anything that comes from America I'm pretty sure you can buy Chinese phones in America.

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I know Huawei is banned, but I'm pretty sure

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The other phones are not banned look that up

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Rob, I think like the one plus or the Xiaomi I thinking my Xiaomi's I think you can buy I

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Don't know look it up look it up

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Rob So I had to do that, that's fine But also this airport, and I'm used to that by now I've flown in China,

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I've been here like 18 days I'm used to it

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They're really paranoid about the power chargers

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That's fine, that's their thing

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You know, we have our thing

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No bombs on planes, they have their thing

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No chargers on planes

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And so Not only that

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But I have

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Like the way I've packed my bag

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It's like a fucking fortress

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I like shove everything down in the bottom all the tech

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is like very it's deep in there it's in like its own pouch I'd like and

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Then the fucking packing cubes are on top and then my laptop is like shoved in there

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And then my toiletries bag is like shoved on top of the clothes I have like socks

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and shirts and whatever and you know, it's very meticulously packed I must say I think I did a great job

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For how much shit that I have and it's it's only in one bag

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and no one's asked me to check it once

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It's a fucking miracle

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but the guys like all cameras all batteries all electronics out

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i was like fuck i have these mics they come in a little

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i don't have the pouch where's the pouch it's a pouch with like a little thingy in it.

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And then there's like batteries in here.

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Obviously it has batteries because it's a fucking wireless charger or wireless, what's it called, mic.

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Got that, I got my DJI camera, I had to show them.

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I had to dig it out of the bottom of the bag.

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I had to, and it's not even like a suitcase where you can just open it up,

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boom, I'll just grab the batteries and you hand them to them.

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You have to go in your bag.

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Look at these ladies, they're doing a little photo shoot now it's

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so cute okay I had to like find the batteries unzip it it's in its own pouch

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and its own pouch in its bag

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so I have to fucking go in there

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and find it show them the batteries and I was with Mike okay

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and he left me his battery pack on accident

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or I guess I stole it when we were drunk

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and I just been carrying

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that around I'm three extra batteries I'd show them those batteries

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I didn't know where they were in the bag

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I had to fish through the bag

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they had to show me on x -ray where they are in the bag

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and then what else um oh yeah my digital camera

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because my digital i was like i'm not going to film anything

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i'm fucking it's a travel day i'm just going to be in airports all day

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so i have my little digital camera in the bottom of the bag i had to find that

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so you should have seen it bro

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it was a fucking spectacle like i had my bag all

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the clothes were everywhere all the batteries were out my fucking charger they obviously had to inspect

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that thoroughly not to mention my anal cavity obviously these are doing a whole ass photo shoot dude

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wow the chinese women love love love photos taken of themselves um i say

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that as i'm filming myself um it just it doesn't make any sense i don't understand

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and it made me feel bad for ever talking shit about the American security state because in China it just hits different.

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It is just different.

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They are so intense.

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You have to, they scan me for bombs, bombs.

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My bag was scanned three times.

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Who knows if it's going to be scanned again, getting on the plane.

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I had to show them my batteries.

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I had to show them my cameras.

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I had to show them my laptop and I had to show them my power bank.

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Right.

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And I guess now that I'm explaining it, it's the thing is like, if I had known it was going to happen,

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it'd be like more understandable.

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But the fact that it was all surprise and I had to fucking,

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and it reminded me of this one time on in going from India to Pakistan on foot, I had the same bag.

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And this guy at the border made me do not the same thing, but he was like, made me take out everything.

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He made me show him every article of clothing, every sock, every flip flop in my bag, every battery, every camera.

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The guy was literally just doing it to be a dick in Pakistan

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but something about China I don't know it's the security state is just it's

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so goddamn intense and I was trying to buy the fucking charger thing

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and I got my eSIM for Thailand

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and make sure you download whoever the eSIM sponsor is at this current moment guys

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it will help the channel immensely otherwise I'm just talking into the void but not making any money.

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You know, it's my last day in China.

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I probably won't be back till next year.

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And it was just kind of like a big middle finger to go out on, like all the security shit.

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And then I go to buy this, this thing that I honestly shouldn't have to buy because my other charger,

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my other portable charger was made in China.

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It was made in China.

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It was made here.

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It was shipped to me.

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I brought it back.

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I don't know why that's an issue.

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I guess it's for brighter minds than me I guess

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this is why I'm not in the room making those decisions because I just simply do not understand.

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I Don't think I'll ever understand.

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I don't think I'll want to understand.

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I'd rather just complain to you guys

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Yeah, I go to buy this thing and fucking and obviously my Alipay doesn't work because there's something I downloaded the Thailand eSIM,

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but I activated it too early or something, and it was interfering with the current eSIM, and I thought I was in Thailand,

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so we started asking all these new verification questions.

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I had to verify with my bank.

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They had to text me.

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I had to tap my card on my phone, and obviously, obviously, no one at the store spoke English.

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Obviously, why would they?

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It's just a huge international airport.

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obviously Look how nice it is.

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Can you see the?

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Ceiling and stuff.

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I know it's not the greatest view, but it's a very nice airport very well connected

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We're in South China.

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It goes to Southeast Asia You can get flights to Macau Hong Kong from here.

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You can tell you take the train to Hong Kong from here

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Philippines Taiwan I'm sure like I don't get it.

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I don't understand.

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I don't know.

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Maybe I'm just in a crabby mood today.

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I think that's what it is But yeah, the the the power bank thing I'm like

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Of course my fucking alley pay didn't work

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and I don't know just a disaster as I'm saying this I realize I'm just being a fucking pussy

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Oh, you know what?

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I think my flight is Boarding okay guys.

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All right guys.

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We just landed in Bangkok and all the sudden I'm in a much better mood

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But I did have a few things I wanted to mention.

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I forgot to say that the pat -down to get through security, I clocked it.

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I did one Mississippi, two Mississippi.

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So it might actually be a little slow, my estimation.

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It was 50 seconds, a almost full minute of a man groping me with the inside of his hand,

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with the backside of his hand.

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He made me turn around.

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He made me bend over no it actually it was a minute

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and the pat down was so incredibly thorough

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so incredibly thorough they swabbed my hat for bomb material

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they swabbed my shoes for bomb material

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i have never been in a more paranoid country never been in a more paranoid country it's crazy

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but i'm feeling much better now

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that we're in thailand also remember the power bank fiasco remember i was bitching about

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that a few minutes ago

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it's they did not allow me to use the power bank on the plane

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they saw it they saw it in my hands they saw it on the phone

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and they made me detach it from my phone so they had all this rigmarole all this

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administrative crap around it and in the end they didn't even let me use it

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they didn't let me use it I couldn't I couldn't believe

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it also look at me vlogging in an airport like a boss I used to be

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so paranoid about this now I just have no consideration for other people

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they're all just pawns in my game I'm the main character

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that's what being a vlogger will turn you into what else

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there's something else I wanted to mention oh it was you know less of a big deal

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but the I got on the plane in the fucking water bottle

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I they didn't let me hold my water bottle

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or my bag my little crossbody little like camera bag

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and they didn't let me wear it in my lap

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I had to like shove it down in the seat the water bottle

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I couldn't even put it in the overhead bin

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I had to like put it in my bag in the overhead bin so the Chinese

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people are extremely extra the airlines are incredibly extra actually that's it that's all I gotta say

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but I'm very happy to be in Thailand

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I have a very nice lady here she is escorting me it's a $75 service

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and they just take you right through security don't have to wait in line

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Bangkok oftentimes has horrible horrible horrible lines and a immigration

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and stuff so I gotta stop filming

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but you want to say hello you want to say hello okay see you guys bye

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “I've had it with China”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: bag, china, security, airport. This video has 304 sentences and 3125 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:59. The speaker talks at a natural 174 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. Only 81% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
charger noun	/ˈt͡ʃɑɹd͡ʒɚ/	A device that charges or recharges.
scan verb	/skæn/	To examine sequentially, carefully, or critically; to scrutinize; to behold closely.
bangkok noun		A kind of straw hat.
incredibly adverb	/ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/	In an incredible manner; not to be believed.
paranoid adjective	/ˈpæɹ.əˌnɔɪd/	Of, related to, or suffering from clinical paranoia.
horrible adjective	/ˈhɔɹ.ɪ.bəl/	Causing horror; terrible; shocking.
mood noun	/muːd/	A mental or emotional state, composure.
laptop noun	/ˈlæp.tɑp/	A laptop computer.
buck noun	/ˈbʌk/	A male deer, antelope, sheep, goat, rabbit, hare, and sometimes the male of other animals such as the hamster, ferret, salmonid, shad, skunk and kangaroo.
backpack noun	/ˈbæk.pæk/	A knapsack, sometimes mounted on a light frame, but always supported by straps, worn on a person’s back for the purpose of carrying things, especially when…
detector noun	/dɪˈtɛktə(ɹ)/	A device capable of registering a specific substance or physical phenomenon, and that optionally sounds an alarm or triggers a warning.
clothing noun	/ˈkloʊðɪŋ/	Any of a wide variety of articles, usually made of fabrics, animal hair, animal skin, or some combination thereof, used to cover the human body for warmth, to…
gate noun	/ˈɡeɪ̯t/	A doorlike structure outside a house.
administrative adjective	/ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɹə.tɪv/	Of or relating to administering or administration.
intense adjective	/ɪnˈtɛns/	Of a characteristic: extreme or very high or strong in degree; severe; also, excessive, towering.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
get through verb	/ɡɛt ˈθɹu/	To overcome; to endure.
take out verb		To remove.
back down verb		To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously had, or has planned to have.
clean up verb		To make an area or a thing clean; to pick up a mess; to tidy.
go around verb		To move or spread from person to person.
go through verb		To travel from one end of something to the other.
look over verb		To check quickly; to make a brief or cursory visual inspection of.
pick up verb		To lift; to grasp and raise.

Sentences worth repeating

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

I'm not sure if that's copyrighted material.
I'm not going to do it.
I know they don't actually help prevent terrorist attacks.
I know they're not actually making us safer.
I mean, it's like a whole industry.

Grammar in this video

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

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	I've been having
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are employed · was not involved · isn't allowed
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've made · I've done · it's been
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	was literally just doing · was trying · was interfering

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 123 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, I've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: clothing /ˈkloʊðɪŋ/, thorough /ˈθʌɹoʊ/, thoroughly /ˈθʌɹ.ə.li/, nother /ˈnʌðəɹ/, thingy /ˈθɪŋi/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shoe /ˈʃu/, shave /ˈʃeɪ̯v/, shove /ʃʌv/, immigration /ˌɪmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/, vacation /veɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
Long words — get the stress right: incredibly /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbli/, administrative /ədˈmɪn.ɪ.stɹə.tɪv/, complicated /ˈkɑm.plɪˌkeɪ.tɪd/, immigration /ˌɪmɪˈɡɹeɪʃən/, consideration /kənˌsɪd.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/

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 charger, scan, bangkok.

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 →

Shadowing Practice: I've had it with China - Learn English Speaking with Video

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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?