Improving Pure Listening Skills
May 9, 2025
Episode Notes
What's going on?
Well, I finished my coffee and I touch in with you and see how things are going.
Likewise. Empty.
Yep. We got to get more
beverages. Yes, sir.
So,
how was your uh how was your golden week?
I was really happy with golden week, but it's a really boring story. I worked all golden week. I I I loved every minute. What about you?
Uh let's see. We had a an excellent golden week. I also I worked a lot. Um but we went to Kyoto one day, we went to Osaka two days, and we went to a party one day, and we watched baseball one day.
Party. Party. Tell me about
uh it was a seno deo party at my friend's house. A what? Senko deo. Uh, I'm having trouble with that. Can you help me?
All right. It's a Mexican uh like independence day.
Okay. Yeah.
Senko is five in Spanish.
Good.
And Mayo is May.
Ah, the 5th of May.
5th of May is Seno de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day. So, they have a big celebration. And uh yeah, friend of mine had a party. He has a party every year where we eat Mexican food and listen to Mexican music. music and barbecue and so on.
Is your friend Mexican?
No, he is not.
Where is he from?
He's American. I don't remember. Maybe Florida.
Okay. And did you drink Corona beer?
I don't drink alcohol, but they were drinking um not just Corona, but other Mexican beers as well that he's acquired. Um, yeah. Uh, tequila.
Oh, don't talk to me about tequila.
I I won't, but we had we had tacos. We had um uh enchiladas and quesadillas. And
did you have Mexican food or did you have TMEX?
Oh, no. No, we had Mexican food.
Wow.
Yeah, I know my I know my Mexican food. It was not Texmex. Um, but it was it was a variety of things. Everyone brought stuff. It was a potluck party. Um.
Okay.
Yeah. We had we had salsa, we had um enchilada sauce, we had guacamole, we had chipotle sauce. Wow. I don't know. Chipotle.
Chipotle is a smoked jalapeno. Smoked jalapeno peppers.
Okay. Okay. That sounds cool. They're very
Yeah, my kids went. Yep.
Yep. They love uh they love Mexican food. They love spicy food. And uh there were a lot of kids there. It was a good good time. Everyone enjoyed themselves.
This is kind of like several families getting together.
Yeah. And uh there's about five or six families. But also my friend, he's real clever. Um he invite every time has a party, he invites his neighbors.
Oh, okay. Yes.
Then they don't complain about the noise or the smoke.
That's right.
The party was uh five or six families who are all, you know, friends plus three different neighbors and their kids.
Wow.
Yeah. So, he's he's clever. We can party all night. We can make noise because the neighbors are there. A big shindig.
Yes. Plus shindig. Nicer. Plus he's created a real nice little community just with those three or four houses.
Yep.
That they know each other. They spend time together and the kids all get to know each other. Um it's a new neighborhood. He lives in the the back corner of like a new development. So there's only the three or four houses in that corner.
Right. Right.
And they all get along gang. Busters.
Wow, that sounds really nice. Is it in the countryside?
It's in a city that was at one point the fastest growing city in Japan. Um, when I moved here 18 years ago, it was all rice fields and farmland,
right?
And over the next 10 years, it grew from uh 10,000 people to 80,000 people in the city.
Oh,
yeah. And so it's it's slowly growing out from the the main station area and all these apartment buildings and then the outer area is now growing with suburbs. And so they'll they'll flatten some farmland and build a new little development. Um so at the moment on two sides of him is rice fields as as you know they expand out. But in the next few years I'm They'll develop that into more neighborhoods.
That's right. That's the story of my neighborhood that I grew up in in Edmonton. When we moved in,
it's a farmer's field beside our house.
Yeah. Now,
you know, farmers fields are miles away.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Everywhere. Well, any any big metro area has that that issue, I guess, as it grows.
I find it really really strange that we We got this massive wonderful technology and we still keep on eating up all our most valuable farmland for houses.
That is a that is a a sad discussion for another day because I need more tea.
Okay, we'll do it another day. I got to get going here. Okay.
Thank you, sir. Thanks a lot. Take care. Bye. Bye. Bye.
Well, I finished my coffee and I touch in with you and see how things are going.
Likewise. Empty.
Yep. We got to get more
beverages. Yes, sir.
So,
how was your uh how was your golden week?
I was really happy with golden week, but it's a really boring story. I worked all golden week. I I I loved every minute. What about you?
Uh let's see. We had a an excellent golden week. I also I worked a lot. Um but we went to Kyoto one day, we went to Osaka two days, and we went to a party one day, and we watched baseball one day.
Party. Party. Tell me about
uh it was a seno deo party at my friend's house. A what? Senko deo. Uh, I'm having trouble with that. Can you help me?
All right. It's a Mexican uh like independence day.
Okay. Yeah.
Senko is five in Spanish.
Good.
And Mayo is May.
Ah, the 5th of May.
5th of May is Seno de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day. So, they have a big celebration. And uh yeah, friend of mine had a party. He has a party every year where we eat Mexican food and listen to Mexican music. music and barbecue and so on.
Is your friend Mexican?
No, he is not.
Where is he from?
He's American. I don't remember. Maybe Florida.
Okay. And did you drink Corona beer?
I don't drink alcohol, but they were drinking um not just Corona, but other Mexican beers as well that he's acquired. Um, yeah. Uh, tequila.
Oh, don't talk to me about tequila.
I I won't, but we had we had tacos. We had um uh enchiladas and quesadillas. And
did you have Mexican food or did you have TMEX?
Oh, no. No, we had Mexican food.
Wow.
Yeah, I know my I know my Mexican food. It was not Texmex. Um, but it was it was a variety of things. Everyone brought stuff. It was a potluck party. Um.
Okay.
Yeah. We had we had salsa, we had um enchilada sauce, we had guacamole, we had chipotle sauce. Wow. I don't know. Chipotle.
Chipotle is a smoked jalapeno. Smoked jalapeno peppers.
Okay. Okay. That sounds cool. They're very
Yeah, my kids went. Yep.
Yep. They love uh they love Mexican food. They love spicy food. And uh there were a lot of kids there. It was a good good time. Everyone enjoyed themselves.
This is kind of like several families getting together.
Yeah. And uh there's about five or six families. But also my friend, he's real clever. Um he invite every time has a party, he invites his neighbors.
Oh, okay. Yes.
Then they don't complain about the noise or the smoke.
That's right.
The party was uh five or six families who are all, you know, friends plus three different neighbors and their kids.
Wow.
Yeah. So, he's he's clever. We can party all night. We can make noise because the neighbors are there. A big shindig.
Yes. Plus shindig. Nicer. Plus he's created a real nice little community just with those three or four houses.
Yep.
That they know each other. They spend time together and the kids all get to know each other. Um it's a new neighborhood. He lives in the the back corner of like a new development. So there's only the three or four houses in that corner.
Right. Right.
And they all get along gang. Busters.
Wow, that sounds really nice. Is it in the countryside?
It's in a city that was at one point the fastest growing city in Japan. Um, when I moved here 18 years ago, it was all rice fields and farmland,
right?
And over the next 10 years, it grew from uh 10,000 people to 80,000 people in the city.
Oh,
yeah. And so it's it's slowly growing out from the the main station area and all these apartment buildings and then the outer area is now growing with suburbs. And so they'll they'll flatten some farmland and build a new little development. Um so at the moment on two sides of him is rice fields as as you know they expand out. But in the next few years I'm They'll develop that into more neighborhoods.
That's right. That's the story of my neighborhood that I grew up in in Edmonton. When we moved in,
it's a farmer's field beside our house.
Yeah. Now,
you know, farmers fields are miles away.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Everywhere. Well, any any big metro area has that that issue, I guess, as it grows.
I find it really really strange that we We got this massive wonderful technology and we still keep on eating up all our most valuable farmland for houses.
That is a that is a a sad discussion for another day because I need more tea.
Okay, we'll do it another day. I got to get going here. Okay.
Thank you, sir. Thanks a lot. Take care. Bye. Bye. Bye.