1.5 HOUR English Conversation Lesson

0:00 Vanessa: Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.

0:03 Dan: And I'm Dan.

0:05 Vanessa: My husband,

0:05 who is also going to be giving another perspective in today's conversation.

0:09 Today we're bringing you an amazing, long,

0:13 English conversation, so prepare your ears, prepare your mind.

0:17 We're going to be talking about 12 different topics,

0:21 and hopefully providing some new expressions and new ways to think about life.

0:25 I don't know about that, but at least some English help for you.

0:28 Dan: Yeah, it's going to get personal today, so get ready.

0:30 Vanessa: Yes.

0:31 All right, are you ready to get started?

0:32 Dan: I'm ready.

0:33 Vanessa: Let's go.

0:40 Our first topic is family, and my question is,

0:43 who do you think that you're the most like?

0:46 Dan: Who am I the most like, in appearance?

0:48 Vanessa: Yes.

0:50 Dan: Both appearance and character?

0:52 Vanessa: Yeah, both.

0:53 Dan: Okay, so appearance I look mostly like my mom, I think.

0:58 Vanessa: Okay.

0:59 Dan: I have more of her skin tone, I have her eyes.

1:02 Vanessa: Yeah.

1:03 Dan: And on her side of the family,

1:05 most of the people are pretty skinny, and I'm a rather skinny guy.

1:09 My dad's side is German, and they tend to be a little bit bigger.

1:13 So yeah, I definitely got my mom's side.

1:15 But character wise, I think I'm a little more like my dad.

1:19 Would you agree?

1:20 Vanessa: Yeah, I'd say you have shades of your dad.

1:23 Dan: You know me so well, so you can answer this, too.

1:25 Vanessa: Yeah.

1:26 Yeah, I think you have shades of your dad.

1:28 Yeah.

1:29 Dan: Shades, yeah.

1:30 I think I'm more silly than my dad,

1:32 that's not very hard because my dad is pretty serious.

1:34 Vanessa: Ah, he's got a silly side though.

1:37 Dan: He does, yeah.

1:38 But for the most part,

1:39 I think I'm more like my dad because he has a very calm demeanor,

1:42 he's very patient, and he doesn't get stressed about anything.

1:47 And actually, my dad gets so unstressed about everything,

1:51 I can't even understand it.

1:53 I'm like, "How are you so calm right now?" And everybody

1:56 I know thinks that I'm the most stress free person they know.

2:01 Vanessa: But your dad is even more stress free.

2:03 Dan: Yeah, but we're similar,

2:05 like growing up when my parents would be going somewhere,

2:09 and needing to get out of the house,

2:11 me and my dad would be the last one out of the house every single time.

2:15 Then we would be like, "What?

2:16 We'll make it.

2:17 We'll be okay.

2:18 No problem." Vanessa: And your mom, and brother,

2:20 and sister were saying, "Come on, hurry." Dan: And my mom is like, "Ah,

2:23 let's go." My mom is much more high stress, anxious kind of personality.

2:28 Vanessa: That's kind of a typical family situation, I think.

2:30 Dan: Yeah, how about you?

2:32 Vanessa: I think I have both my parents in me as well.

2:35 I think I look a lot like my mom.

2:37 Dan: Yeah, she looks exactly like her mom, though, like to a T.

2:40 Vanessa: Sometimes when I see pictures of myself,

2:43 and then I look at a picture of her at the same age, I think, "Whoa.

2:49 We look really similar." And she looks a lot like her mom,

2:52 so I can kind of imagine what I'll look like when I'm getting older.

2:57 Dan: Yeah.

2:58 I mean, you have darker hair, and darker features.

3:00 You got that from your dad.

3:01 Vanessa: Yeah, somewhat.

3:02 But I think a lot of my features are similar to my mom.

3:04 But I think I also got my facial expressions from my mom.

3:09 Dan: Yes.

3:10 Vanessa: A lot of comment that, "Wow, Vanessa,

3:12 you have a lot of expressions." Dan: Your mom is very expressive, just like you.

3:15 Vanessa: And I think it's true that I use a lot of expressions,

3:18 but it's just natural for me.

3:20 I do this in daily life as I'm talking about things.

3:23 And I think that I get that from my mom,

3:26 sometimes I see some of her expressions and I realize, "Oh,

3:28 I do that too." Dan: Yeah, I remember when we lived in South Korea,

3:33 every single Korean person was commenting on Vanessa's expressions.

3:36 They're like, "Your face, it's so exciting.

3:39 How are you making so many faces?" Everybody was surprised.

3:44 Vanessa: I don't know.

3:45 Dan: I guess in Korea they don't make as many faces.

3:47 Vanessa: I don't know, maybe it's just not.

3:49 Maybe it's just an unusual trait.

3:50 I'm grateful for that, especially as a teacher,

3:53 I can hopefully help to explain some different concepts with my face as well.

3:58 But I feel like I also have parts of my dad.

4:01 My dad is a pretty rational guy.

4:04 Dan: You're rational like your dad.

4:06 Vanessa: Yeah, but I think I also have his sense of humor,

4:10 sometimes a little strange sense of humor, but we laugh at the same things,

4:16 we enjoy playing games, and being competitive, so I think that that side of me,

4:21 maybe some of the character side of me, is similar to him.

4:25 But I feel like I also have parts of my grandma.

4:27 My grandma is a go, go, go, go person.

4:30 Dan: Oh, that's true.

4:31 Yeah.

4:32 Vanessa: She never stops,

4:33 and I think my biggest flaw is that I have difficulty slowing down and relaxing,

4:39 I just keep going and I think that- Dan: That's why she's with me.

4:43 Vanessa:...

4:43 I need help relaxing.

4:45 Dan: I help her relax.

4:46 Vanessa: Yeah, so I think that my grandma's like this too,

4:50 that she's always going,

4:51 and always doing things, and it's healthy to slow down every now and then.

4:55 And so, I need to do that, she probably needs to do that too sometimes.

4:59 But I don't know if I learned

5:00 that from her, but maybe that's just part of my- Dan:

5:03 I think it's your personality.

5:04 Vanessa:...

5:04 DNA, my character.

5:05 Dan: Yeah, I can remember even when I first met Vanessa,

5:07 she was more go, go, go than she is now.

5:10 Vanessa: Oh, you think so?

5:11 Dan: Yeah.

5:12 More like so this thing, then the next,

5:14 and the enthusiasm was always, she was like bouncing everywhere.

5:17 Vanessa: I always have a lot of enthusiasm, that's true.

5:18 Dan: Yes, it was off the charts.

5:20 Vanessa: Yeah, so I want to know for you, who are you most like in your family?

5:24 Is it maybe your physical traits or for your character?

5:27 All right, let's go on to our second question.

5:30 The next topic is childhood.

5:31 I want to know when do you think childhood ends,

5:34 and when do you become an adult?

5:37 Dan: When does childhood end?

5:38 Vanessa: This is a deep question.

5:39 Dan: Well, I don't think it can be a specific age,

5:43 I think it's different for everyone.

5:44 I think it's at any point you can leave

5:47 this house of your parents and live on your own,

5:50 take care of yourself, and you're not dependent on somebody else.

5:54 Like if you're living with your friends and bumming off them,

5:57 you're probably not an adult yet.

6:00 So if I had to pick an age, I'd probably say 16.

6:03 Vanessa: Oh.

6:04 Dan: Yeah, I'm saying kind of young.

6:06 Vanessa: Okay.

6:07 Dan: In an ideal world, I think a 16 year old should be ready.

6:10 Vanessa: Okay.

6:11 Okay.

6:12 I get it.

6:13 At 16 were you ready?

6:14 Dan: No, of course not.

6:15 Vanessa: Ideally.

6:16 Dan: Ideally, yeah.

6:17 I don't think our society prepares us to be ready at 16.

6:22 It prepares you to be ready at 18.

6:25 Vanessa: Or later.

6:26 Dan: Right, or later.

6:28 But you know, in an ideal world I think you could be ready at 16,

6:31 but it's a kind of complicated world now, so maybe 18 is an acceptable age.

6:36 Vanessa: I feel like, for me, I have less ideas about childhood

6:40 ending and adulthood starting that are physical.

6:42 I feel like it has more to do with making your own decisions.

6:46 There might be a lot of reasons why you have to live at home,

6:50 or you have to be dependent on someone else,

6:53 but if you are making your own decisions you are not a child, you're an adult.

7:00 And I'm sure as our children get older and become teenagers,

7:03 that's going to be a little bit harder

7:05 for us to make that line for someone else,

7:07 but I know for myself- Dan: Well, this is- Vanessa:...

7:10 making more decisions.

7:11 Dan:...

7:11 assuming you are capable as a person to live on your own, of course.

7:15 Vanessa: Yeah.

7:16 Yeah, I think you can still be an adult just making your own decisions,

7:19 but we still need help from other people as adults, so there's a...

7:22 it's a gray area.

7:23 Dan: Sure.

7:24 Yeah.

7:25 I would- Vanessa: Yeah, it's not so clear.

7:26 Dan:...

7:27 also add, I don't know, for myself personally,

7:29 having children really makes you an adult.

7:32 It doesn't have to be true for everyone,

7:34 but I think it's easier for some people to just kind of be really selfish,

7:38 and do their own thing, and kind of live like a kid,

7:42 especially nowadays because we have so much entertainment,

7:45 you could just watch TV every day.

7:48 A lot of guys I know play video games a lot,

7:52 and I'm not knocking on video games but playing video games every

7:55 day is a good way to remain a child, at heart anyways.

7:59 Vanessa: Sure.

8:00 Dan: This is my opinion, it's a little judgemental,

8:01 but- Vanessa: Yeah, I think if you are a good person,

8:04 and you have a child, then you feel forced to be become an adult.

8:08 Dan: Yes.

8:09 Vanessa: There's still bad people who have kids,

8:11 who remain children themselves- Dan: That's true.

8:13 Vanessa:...

8:13 and then they're bad parents.

8:14 But I think if you're generally a good person,

8:16 when you have kids, it's kind of a shock.

8:18 Dan: Yeah, well- Vanessa: Like, "Whoa, this child is so dependent on me.

8:22 I need to be responsible.

8:23 I have to organize myself somehow." You have to change.

8:26 Dan:...

8:26 I think being an adult,

8:28 part of it is having a burden of responsibility of some kind,

8:32 whether it's a job, or your house payments, or whatever it is.

8:36 Some people add those burdens of responsibility anyways without children,

8:40 but I don't know, for me, it's just different.

8:44 Like, "This is the person I'm taking care

8:46 of in my life." People now- Vanessa: Yeah.

8:49 Dan:...

8:49 because we've got two.

8:50 Vanessa: Well, two coming up soon.

8:52 So I have a question for you, when do you think childhood ends?

8:56 When does adulthood start?

8:58 It's going to be different for every culture,

9:00 too because this is a pretty cultural specific question.

9:04 Maybe in the U.S.- Dan: Yeah, maybe you have a- Vanessa:...

9:05 it's different than your country.

9:06 Dan:...

9:07 maybe you have a rite of passage in your country.

9:09 Vanessa: Oh, can you explain what a rite of passage is?

9:10 Because that's kind of a nuanced thing.

9:12 Dan: Yeah, a rite of passage is something that every

9:15 boy or every girl does to become an adult.

9:19 Vanessa: Oh, like some ceremony, or activity.

9:21 Dan: Yeah, like a ceremony.

9:23 Yeah, I mean, we don't really have this in the U.S.,

9:25 some people say college is a rite of passage, but not...

9:28 I mean, more and more, almost everybody goes to college now.

9:32 Vanessa: A lot of people do, but- Dan: Yeah, so it kind of is,

9:34 but it's a really bad one because usually people just go,

9:37 and they have parties, and they live really irresponsibly.

9:40 Vanessa: It's not a way to become a responsible adult.

9:42 Dan: Yeah, and then you do more school.

9:44 Vanessa: Ah, yes.

9:45 Dan: It's not really becoming a man.

9:47 Vanessa: Changing your life completely.

9:49 Yeah.

9:50 So I'm curious, in your country is there something that signifies,

9:53 "Now you are an adult.",

9:55 this kind of rite of passage ceremony, or festivity, or party that you have.

10:01 In the U.S.

10:01 we don't really have that, but I think it's kind

10:03 of a cool idea that you're celebrating- Dan: I wish we did.

10:06 Vanessa:...

10:06 this big change, going from childhood to adulthood,

10:09 and it is a gray area, at least in the U.S.

10:12 it's a really gray area, so it's nice to celebrate that as parents,

10:16 that your kids are adults, hopefully.

10:19 And that as a child, "Oh, great, now I'm an adult.

10:22 Society sees me as an adult." So I think it's kind of a cool idea,

10:26 but maybe it's something we can do with our future kids.

10:28 All right, let's go onto the next topic.

10:31 The next topic is jobs.

10:33 I want to know what was your worst job ever.

10:37 Dan: Worst job ever?

10:39 Vanessa: Yeah.

10:40 Dan: Well, I have two competing jobs.

10:42 Vanessa: Hopefully it's not your current job, making English lessons.

10:44 Dan: It's video editing and doing these videos.

10:47 Vanessa: Oh, no.

10:48 Dan: I can't stand working with my wife.

10:51 Just kidding.

10:52 It's the best.

10:54 Yeah.

10:55 So yeah, really my worst job,

10:56 if I had to pick just one, it would be being a dishwasher.

11:00 Vanessa: Oh, okay.

11:01 Dan: Now notice, there's no differentiation between the machine, a dishwasher,

11:05 and the person who is a dishwasher, it's the same word.

11:08 Vanessa: So you were like the machine, you were washing dishes.

11:11 Dan: Yeah.

11:12 I mean, you did have a machine, so you'd have something on the side you'd slide

11:16 the dishes in and all that, but it's just,

11:19 I was also like, I think I was 16 at the time,

11:23 an adult and I had no friends in the restaurant.

11:30 They were all older and they were all really tough.

11:33 I don't know, in America, when you...

11:36 the kitchens have a reputation for having really

11:39 kind of tough kitchen cooks, and they all...

11:41 they swear a lot, and they make foul jokes- Vanessa:

11:44 They've had a lot of life experiences.

11:45 Dan:...

11:46 and I was just like a little Christian 16 year old kid,

11:50 washing dishes in the corner, trying to look like relatively normal.

11:55 But I didn't talk to anybody- Vanessa: And you were homeschooled.

11:58 Yeah, no experiences.

11:59 Dan: Yeah, well at that time I was in high school.

12:00 Vanessa: Oh, yeah, yeah.

12:01 Dan: But it was a small, private school.

12:04 Anyway- Vanessa: You were very different from the other people.

12:07 Dan:...

12:07 not only was that really awkward,

12:09 it was also bad because washing dishes just kind of stinks.

12:12 You just get all the dishes,

12:13 and some of the guys used to make fun that I wasn't going fast enough.

12:18 One guy said, "Dan, you have two speeds,

12:21 slow and stop." Vanessa: You're like a turtle?

12:25 Dan: Yeah, I'm like a turtle.

12:26 Vanessa: Well, sometimes I still say that.

12:28 Dan: I wasn't fast enough, and another time I reached into the mucky,

12:31 dirty water and I cut my finger on a broken

12:34 glass and I was bleeding in the water.

12:36 Vanessa: Oh.

12:37 Things you don't want to know when you visit a restaurant.

12:39 Dan: And I was paid under the table.

12:41 Vanessa: Oh, really?

12:42 Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

12:43 Vanessa: Why'd they have to pay you under the table?

12:44 Dan: I don't know, because it's an Italian restaurant- Vanessa:

12:47 Because you were too young?

12:48 Dan:...

12:48 in rural Pennsylvania.

12:49 Vanessa: They didn't want to pay taxes on their employees or something?

12:50 Dan: Yeah.

12:51 Vanessa: Oh.

12:52 Dan: Plus who wants to pay taxes on a dishwasher?

12:53 Vanessa: I wonder if it was because you were 16, like was there an age limit?

12:57 Dan: I might have even been 15 at the time.

12:59 Vanessa: Okay, maybe you were under the legal

13:00 age that they could hire someone- Dan: Could be.

13:02 Vanessa:...

13:02 so they just paid you under the table.

13:04 Dan: Yeah, so that was pretty bad.

13:05 Vanessa: That sounds pretty bad.

13:06 Dan: Yeah, it was an awkward job.

13:07 Vanessa: Especially as a first job, it just seems uncomfortable.

13:10 Dan: That was my second job.

13:12 Yeah.

13:13 Vanessa: Yeah.

13:14 Well- Dan: How about you?

13:15 Vanessa:...

13:15 I feel like- Dan: Could it beat that?

13:17 Vanessa: Well, I feel like my worst job

13:20 wasn't bad because of the social situation like yours,

13:24 it was bad because it was so boring.

13:28 I worked for a summer at this office,

13:31 I was like a temporary employee just for the summer,

13:35 working kind of like a call center job.

13:38 But every day they gave us these scripts and we had to call

13:43 companies who maybe this company bought a printer within the last couple months.

13:48 Dan: I'm bored just listening about it.

13:49 Vanessa: Yeah, and I called the company and said company and said, "Oh,

13:52 I saw that you recently bought the HP Inkjet printer,

13:55 and we have a upcoming training session on this day.

13:59 Would you like to attend the training session about this printer?" Dan:

14:01 She does have a really good call voice, though.

14:03 Vanessa: And I called so many companies again and again,

14:06 talking with secretaries, talking with other people,

14:09 just saying, "Do you want to go to this seminar

14:12 about..." some electronic device that they had recently bought.

14:15 Dan: If you called me, I'd be like, "Yeah, I do.

14:18 Can I buy more?" Vanessa: Well, people were generally nice to me, it was just...

14:22 it wasn't a subject that I was interested

14:24 in, it wasn't something I was trained to do,

14:26 so I didn't feel like it was my specialty,

14:29 it was just a temporary job to make money.

14:31 Dan: And you were sitting in an office all day, right?

14:33 Vanessa: Yeah, it was my first office job.

14:35 Dan: Vanessa doesn't like to sit very long.

14:36 Vanessa: No, I have to go, go, go, like we talked about.

14:39 So sitting in that office desk, it was just not my thing.

14:43 But the office, on the other hand,

14:45 did really try to make it interesting for the employees,

14:48 because they knew most of the people I

14:50 worked with were in a similar position as me,

14:53 where it wasn't their life-long dream to work in that job.

14:57 So about once a week, we had these game show competitions- Dan: That sounds fun.

15:03 Vanessa:...

15:03 where at lunch, during the lunch break,

15:05 everyone would go to the lunchroom, if you wanted to of course,

15:08 and they had these competitions kind of like Wheel of Fortune,

15:11 or Jeopardy, and the company just had them for the employees.

15:16 Sometimes we had dress up days where we dressed up like cowboys,

15:19 or dressed up like...

15:20 they were trying to make it interesting.

15:22 Dan: Come on, this is better than being a dishwasher.

15:25 Vanessa: It's probably better than being a dishwasher,

15:26 but I just felt like they were trying so hard to keep employees- Dan:

15:30 To make it interesting.

15:31 Vanessa:...

15:31 to make it interesting- Dan: All right.

15:32 Vanessa:...

15:33 because they knew this is not an interesting job.

15:36 Dan: Yeah, can I say my second worst job?

15:38 Vanessa: Oh, yeah.

15:39 Sure.

15:40 Dan: Can you guess what it is?

15:42 Vanessa: I know you worked at a lot of coffee shops, but those weren't that bad.

15:45 Dan: Working at a coffee shop is good.

15:47 It's fun.

15:48 Vanessa: Okay, well what was it?

15:49 Dan: It's the sharpshooter.

15:50 Vanessa: Oh, can you explain about that job?

15:52 Dan: Yeah, so I don't know if you've ever seen this in your country,

15:56 but have you ever been to a place where somebody takes your picture,

15:59 and then later they try to sell you that picture?

16:03 I was that guy.

16:05 So we took the same pictures,

16:07 it was going onto a boat on one of the rivers in Pittsburgh.

16:11 Vanessa: So it was kind of like a cruise boat, but a river cruise.

16:14 Dan: Yeah, kind of.

16:15 It was very kitschy though, like not high class at all.

16:19 So people, before they got on the boat,

16:22 we forced them to stop and go through the line, and we'd take their picture.

16:27 And it was required, but people were like,

16:29 "I don't want to get my picture taken." Vanessa:

16:31 And everyone had their own cameras and phones.

16:32 Dan: And this is...

16:33 Yeah.

16:34 Mind you, this is in like 2010,

16:36 where people already have phones on their cameras and stuff.

16:39 I mean, that's at least getting more popular.

16:40 Vanessa: Yeah, they didn't need your picture.

16:42 Dan: No.

16:43 So I had to take everybody's picture, and then when they got off the boat,

16:47 I stood at the side and said, "Hey, come over here,

16:50 buy this picture." And they were like $20 for one picture.

16:54 Vanessa: Crazy.

16:55 Dan: A terrible rip-off, even I knew it was a terrible rip-off,

16:59 just not a worthwhile business, at least in 2010 when I was doing that job.

17:04 Vanessa: Yeah, maybe 10 years before that it would have been cool.

17:06 Dan: Yeah, it was a viable business like 30 years ago.

17:10 Vanessa: But not now.

17:11 Dan: Yeah, but not any more.

17:13 That was really bad, and one time somebody stole one of my pictures

17:16 and I actually got fired from that job.

17:18 Vanessa: Because they stole a picture.

17:19 Dan: Because they stole a picture and I couldn't...

17:21 I didn't catch them on time, and I was like,

17:23 "Good riddance." Vanessa: Yeah, "Goodbye to this job.

17:26 Goodbye forever." Dan: Yeah.

17:28 The only reason this was better than the other job, than dish washing,

17:31 is because I worked with some people who

17:32 were funny and we got along pretty well.

17:35 Vanessa: And you were outside, you were by the river.

17:37 Dan: It was okay.

17:38 Vanessa: Except you did have to drive an hour to get there, that's crazy.

17:41 Dan: I did drive an hour to work.

17:42 Vanessa: You should never drive an hour to get to a part-time job.

17:45 Dan: But that was my fault, I wanted to work in Pittsburgh, and I still lived...

17:48 did I live with my parents?

17:50 Vanessa: Yeah, I think so.

17:51 Dan: I think I did.

17:52 I wasn't an adult yet.

17:53 Vanessa: Oh.

17:54 Oh.

17:55 All right.

17:56 Well, I'm curious for you, what is the worst job that you've ever had?

17:59 Let us know.

18:00 And let's go to the next topic.

18:02 The next topic is travel.

18:05 I want to know what are three locations that you

18:08 would like to visit or revisit in the U.S.?

18:10 Dan: In the U.S.?

18:11 Vanessa: Yes.

18:12 Dan: Why just the U.S.?

18:14 Vanessa: Well, the world's a big place,

18:15 so I had to narrow down the question somehow.

18:17 Dan: Okay.

18:18 All right.

18:19 The first place I'd say is the Grand Canyon.

18:21 Vanessa: Okay.

18:22 Dan: Because of course you have to see the Grand Canyon, right?

18:25 I've never been there.

18:27 I used to live in Colorado, but my family never made a trip to the Grand Canyon,

18:31 and it just would be an amazing sight, I'm sure of it.

18:34 Vanessa: Yeah.

18:35 Yeah.

18:36 Dan: Second would be the Pacific Northwest, just in general.

18:40 Vanessa: Okay.

18:41 Dan: Because I've heard it- Vanessa: Not like Portland, Seattle, and specific?

18:43 Just- Dan: I think I would like to go to Seattle

18:46 because it's a big city and the city sounds cool.

18:51 Not many cities in the U.S.

18:53 are that interesting to me because I've traveled

18:55 in other places in Europe and in Asia.

18:58 And those cities are so much more vibrant,

19:00 except for New York City, which is an awesome city.

19:03 Vanessa: Yeah, I'm sure a lot of students- Dan: Sorry, U.S.

19:05 Vanessa:...

19:06 want to visit the U.S.

19:07 and they want to see these places.

19:08 Dan: But I'm also from America,

19:10 so it's like not as- Vanessa: It's always less interesting, yeah.

19:13 Dan: Yeah, it's less interesting to me.

19:15 But Seattle seems like a really cool town, and it's higher on my list than,

19:19 say, Los Angeles, which just kind of seems like a big, sprawling, stinky place.

19:23 Vanessa: It seems like a lot more- Dan: No offense, L.A.

19:26 Vanessa: It seems a lot more intimidating, at least.

19:28 Dan: Okay, that's a nice way to put it.

19:30 Vanessa: Like there's a lot going on there, but Seattle feels more comfortable.

19:34 Dan: Yeah, it seems pretty hip, too.

19:36 Vanessa: The Northwest.

19:38 Dan: Yeah, the Northwest also because there's big mountains there,

19:41 and then there's really lush and green forests.

19:44 Vanessa: Oh.

19:45 Okay, cool.

19:46 Dan: And I love taking hikes, and if you go at the right time of the year,

19:49 because I've heard it's very rainy in the Pacific Northwest,

19:52 I'd like to go and take a nice hike up to a big mountain- Vanessa: Yes.

19:57 Dan:...

19:57 and maybe hop over to Canada, go to Vancouver, Vancouver Island.

20:01 Vanessa: That'd be cool.

20:02 Dan: All of that area sounds really, really cool to me.

20:05 Vanessa: Yeah, I'd be up for that.

20:07 Dan: Yes.

20:08 Vanessa: Let's do it.

20:09 Dan: Let's do it.

20:10 Vanessa: Tomorrow.

20:11 Dan: Okay.

20:12 Vanessa: Maybe not tomorrow- Dan: Okay.

20:13 Vanessa:...

20:13 but I think that'd be really cool.

20:14 Dan: And third would be Colorado.

20:15 Vanessa: So revisit Colorado?

20:18 Dan: This is a revisit.

20:19 I used to live in Colorado.

20:20 I grew up there for five years of my life,

20:23 and it was when I was a kid, and I used to really consider it my home.

20:27 But now I haven't been back in probably 15 years, or so.

20:32 Vanessa: Oh, that's a long time.

20:33 Dan: It's been a really long time since I've been back,

20:36 and I'd like to go and maybe travel to where I was when I was a kid.

20:39 It's gotten so much bigger than it was when I was a kid,

20:43 so I'm sure there's so many more people there.

20:46 But also, there's really great nature,

20:48 there's a lot of really big mountains in Colorado,

20:51 there's the Garden of the Gods, which has really interesting rock formations.

20:55 As you can tell, we're very nature driven, we want to go see natural places.

21:00 Vanessa: Yeah, yeah.

21:01 Well, a lot of my places have to do with nature too.

21:04 Dan: Yes, let's hear them.

21:05 Vanessa: I almost said the Grand Canyon, but- Dan:

21:07 You knew I was going to say it.

21:09 Vanessa:...

21:09 I kind of figured you'd say,

21:10 and I think it would be really cool to camp in the Grand Canyon,

21:13 or go for a long hike in the Grand

21:16 Canyon because you can't just- Dan: With two children?

21:18 Vanessa: Well, maybe when they're older, or maybe we'll just leave them at home.

21:22 Dan: They can take it.

21:23 Vanessa: Because when you are just...

21:24 when you're looking down at the Grand Canyon, that's incredible,

21:27 but I imagine going down into the Grand Canyon,

21:30 that would also be just another part of that- Dan: Oh, yeah.

21:34 We'd have to- Vanessa:...

21:35 it would be so amazing.

21:35 Dan:...

21:36 hike down in the Grand Canyon.

21:36 Vanessa: Yeah, that'd be really cool.

21:37 Dan: I should have mentioned that for sure.

21:38 Vanessa: Maybe with a donkey.

21:40 Dan: Because we're big hikers, we like to hike everywhere.

21:43 Vanessa: Yeah.

21:44 Yeah.

21:45 Well, one of my places is kind of the opposite of yours.

21:47 It's not a big city,

21:49 but you said the Pacific Northwest, and I said the Northeast.

21:53 I've never been to Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, this area.

21:58 And I feel like one of the best road trips would

22:02 be driving all the way up the East Coast of the U.S.,

22:06 and going around Maine, and coming down through Vermont.

22:10 I think all of that geography is just really

22:13 different than everywhere else I've visited in the U.S.

22:16 I've heard the coasts, like the Northeast coasts are really rocky,

22:20 and lots of just kind of rugged coastline,

22:23 that I think would be really cool to see.

22:26 And the forests, I've heard the forests in Vermont are amazing,

22:33 just a different type of feel.

22:37 We live in the mountains here in North Carolina,

22:37 which is also a great place to visit- Dan: Yes.

22:39 Vanessa:...

22:39 but we already are here.

22:40 Dan: We live here.

22:41 Vanessa: But I feel like the mountains, and the forests,

22:43 and the coast, and other places are pretty various.

22:46 Dan: Yeah, it's also close to Canada.

22:48 Vanessa: Yeah, that'd be cool.

22:49 Dan: Got to hop over to Quebec- Vanessa: Yeah, maybe do that.

22:52 Dan:...

22:52 because that sounds like a really cool place.

22:54 Vanessa: Yeah.

22:55 Dan: Vanessa speaks French, so- Vanessa: That'd be cool.

22:56 Dan:...

22:56 she'd like to speak some French to some Quebecois.

22:59 Vanessa: That would be fun.

23:01 Well, one of my others was kind of similar

23:03 to what you were saying with Colorado and that area,

23:06 is going to Yosemite National Park.

23:09 I feel like it's just a classic place to visit in the U.S.

23:12 because there's so many national parks on the West Coast,

23:16 it's kind of hard to choose.

23:19 So I feel like- Dan: Yeah, well that one's a must, I think.

23:21 Vanessa: Yeah, it's kind of one of the top three.

23:23 Dan: Although I've heard it's gotten crazy popular.

23:26 Vanessa: Oh, yeah.

23:27 Dan: You have to be on lists to get in.

23:28 Vanessa: Whoa, really?

23:29 Dan: Maybe it's to just camp, I don't know.

23:31 Vanessa: Oh, yeah.

23:32 Dan: Your dad went through a lot of stuff, didn't he?

23:34 Vanessa: Yeah, when they camped, they had to...

23:36 I think the camping spots were opened, say like May 3rd,

23:41 the camping spots were opened and you had to go online to sign up,

23:46 and the website opened...

23:47 or the camping registration opened at 6:00 AM,

23:50 he booked at like 6:05 and there were two spots yet.

23:54 Everyone was cramming to camp in that spot.

23:57 Dan: Camping season.

23:58 Vanessa: So yeah, I guess it's really popular.

24:00 And that was for the whole year, that wasn't just for that day.

24:03 That was to book a spot to camp for that whole year.

24:06 Anyway, that's crazy.

24:07 So maybe we'll do that.

24:08 Maybe we need to book it five years in advance,

24:10 but I think it'd be cool to visit

24:12 national parks in the west because most tourism,

24:15 well there's a lot of city tourism in the U.S.,

24:18 but I feel like a lot of tourism is natural tourism.

24:22 Dan: Yeah, the meat of our tourism is nature.

24:24 Vanessa: Yeah.

24:25 Yeah, because I feel like the U.S.

24:27 is such a young country that we don't have Rome, we don't have these old cities,

24:32 and this kind of stuff you can visit in cities,

24:34 it's more nature, which is also old.

24:37 Dan: Except New York City.

24:38 Vanessa: Yeah, except New York's got a lot of cool stuff.

24:40 Dan: As you can tell, I'm a big fan of New York.

24:42 It's just- Vanessa: It's a cool place to visit.

24:44 Dan:...

24:44 it's a wild animal.

24:45 Vanessa: Yeah.

24:46 Dan: There's some quote about New York City, it's like,

24:49 "You'd be crazy to live here, you'd be crazy to leave." Which is perfect.

24:52 Vanessa: Oh, well I heard another quote that said, "New York is twice as fun,

24:57 but it's three times as expensive." So it's really fun,

25:02 but it's even more expensive.

25:03 Dan: That's also true.

25:04 Vanessa: Especially if you live there.

25:05 Well, my third and final place is, can you guess?

25:09 Dan: I don't remember.

25:11 Vanessa: Hawaii.

25:12 Dan: Oh, I read your list before, but I don't remember.

25:14 Vanessa: Well, I feel like Hawaii, it's in the U.S., but it's not.

25:17 Dan: Yeah.

25:18 Vanessa: It's so far away, but it's still part of the U.S.

25:21 and it would be incredible to visit Hawaii.

25:23 Dan: It's kind of like cheating, it's like,

25:25 "I'm in the U.S." Vanessa: And it's so far away from the U.S.

25:28 Dan: But it's like, "This isn't America,

25:29 come on." Vanessa: Yeah, it would be really cool.

25:32 I'm curious, if you've ever been to Hawaii if you'd recommend it.

25:34 I know your parents are planning on going there next May.

25:37 Dan: Yeah, and get this, my mom was like,

25:39 "And I booked these extra rooms just in case

25:42 somebody wanted to join." She winked at us.

25:44 Vanessa: We will have a two month old baby when they go.

25:48 Maybe we'll go to Hawaii, I don't know.

25:50 It's a little soon, I think.

25:52 Dan: I'm saying, "Yes- Vanessa: We'll let you know.

25:54 Dan:...

25:54 let's go." You'll find out.

25:56 Vanessa: I think it'd be really cool to go to Hawaii, just to see volcanoes,

25:58 and hiking, and moving around, and scuba diving, and it's so different.

26:01 Dan: That would be the problem.

26:04 Trying to do all we want to do.

26:05 But if my parents are there, they can watch the kids.

26:07 Vanessa: They can watch our kids,

26:09 so we're going to crash their vacation and make them watch our kids- Dan: Yes.

26:13 Yes.

26:14 Vanessa:...

26:14 while we go have fun?

26:15 Dan: Vacation crashers.

26:16 Vanessa: Sounds great, so I'm curious for you,

26:18 what are some locations that you'd like to visit in the U.S.?

26:21 Or maybe somewhere that you've already been that you'd like to go back to.

26:25 Let us know.

26:26 Let's go on to the next topic.

26:27 The next topic is food.

26:28 Dan: Yes.

26:30 Vanessa: I want to know,

26:31 what are some of your favorite foods, specifically to cook at home?

26:35 Dan: To cook at home?

26:36 Well- Vanessa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

26:37 Not to eat, not that someone else makes, but that we cook at home.

26:39 Dan: Yes, usually I go for bulk items.

26:41 Vanessa: Okay.

26:42 Dan: Not bulk items, bulk meals.

26:44 Something that I can get for days, and days, and days.

26:46 Vanessa: Or you could put it in the freezer and have the next week.

26:48 Dan: This is a very, I think, a male way to think about it.

26:52 You've got to make a bulk and make it last.

26:54 Vanessa: Ah, utilitarian cooking.

26:56 Dan: Yes.

26:57 Although, you're kind of similar, I think.

26:58 Vanessa: I don't like making a new meal every single day.

27:02 Dan: Yeah.

27:03 Vanessa: If we have a soup that's in the freezer that we made the week before,

27:08 that's great, save some time.

27:10 Dan: Sure, yeah.

27:11 The first thing I like to make, I think we have the same one- Vanessa: Oh, yeah?

27:14 Dan:...

27:15 is chili.

27:15 Vanessa: Oh, yeah.

27:16 Dan: Yeah, we both like to make chili.

27:17 Vanessa: Yeah, some people call this chili con

27:19 carne in other countries, but in the U.S.

27:21 we just say, "Chili." Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

27:23 Usually I make the chili, so I mean,

27:26 it's so easy to make, you just ground up some beef,

27:29 then you chop a bunch of vegetables, add a ton of spices,

27:32 throw it in a pot and make it boil, and it's done.

27:35 Vanessa: Yeah.

27:36 Yeah, it's great.

27:37 And it gets even better as it kind

27:39 of melds those flavors together over a couple days.

27:42 Dan: Yeah.

27:43 And you throw in some cheese, and sour cream,

27:46 and some kind of grain, some rice or something.

27:49 And yeah, it's always very satisfying, it reminds me of fall and winter.

27:53 It's a very nice, cozy meal.

27:54 Vanessa: Yeah.

27:55 Hot tip, don't leave it on your counter for three days and then try to eat it.

27:59 It should always go in the fridge after you eat it.

28:02 Dan: Who did that?

28:03 Vanessa: Dan did that in college- Dan: Oh.

28:05 Vanessa:...

28:06 and got sick.

28:06 Dan: I didn't leave it on the counter, my roommate left the chili out.

28:10 Vanessa: Oh, and you just ate it?

28:11 Dan: Yeah, he left the pot out.

28:12 It was already like, this is college life here,

28:15 it was already probably a week old and he left it on the counter all day,

28:19 and he didn't tell me- Vanessa: Not a good idea.

28:21 Dan:...

28:22 and then I went and ate it that night, and then I got really sick.

28:24 Vanessa: But you still like chili, so it didn't- Dan: But I still like chili.

28:26 Vanessa:...

28:27 taint your idea of chili.

28:28 Dan: It probably did for like a year.

28:30 Vanessa: Really?

28:31 Dan: Yeah.

28:32 Yeah.

28:33 Vanessa: I feel like we're especially thinking- Dan: TMI?

28:34 Vanessa:...

28:35 thinking about those types of foods because it's getting colder here,

28:38 so making lots of warm, hearty foods, as opposed to in July- Dan: Yes.

28:45 Vanessa:...

28:46 we don't make chili because it's so hot.

28:46 Dan: Yeah.

28:47 Vanessa: You make other kinds of fresh things.

28:48 Dan: I have trouble making summer food, because I like hot food.

28:50 Vanessa: Ah, like soups and that kind of stuff.

28:52 Dan: Although, when we lived in South Korea, I think,

28:54 didn't they have something where they eat something super hot in the summer?

28:57 Vanessa: I think hot or spicy, is that- Dan: And it's like I'm just eating,

29:01 and you're sweating, and the water's pouring off your face.

29:03 And, "Yeah, this is healthy." It's a very Korean thing.

29:05 They've got to be diligent.

29:07 Vanessa: Wow.

29:08 Well, what are some of your other favorite foods?

29:09 You said chili.

29:10 We're on the first one.

29:11 Dan: Number two would be tacos.

29:13 Vanessa: Oh.

29:14 Dan: I got a Mexican food thing, I think,

29:16 although I don't consider chili a Mexican food,

29:18 but you said chili con carne, so- Vanessa: Maybe.

29:22 Yeah.

29:23 Dan:...

29:23 I don't know.

29:24 Maybe it's Mexican inspired.

29:25 Vanessa: Yeah.

29:26 What kind of tacos do you like to make,

29:27 because there's so many different types- Dan:

29:29 Ground beef, again, just all the spices,

29:31 and it's kind of one of those easy things to make,

29:34 and then you can pile all kinds of toppings, you can put salsa on it.

29:37 Yeah, it's just delicious.

29:38 Vanessa: I like when you make fish tacos.

29:40 Dan: Yeah, fish tacos are good too.

29:42 Vanessa: Sometimes when Dan makes fish tacos, or sometimes I make them too,

29:45 we get some kind of white fish like cod or tilapia,

29:48 and bread it, and then bake it so it's baked,

29:51 and then you have some kind of cabbage slaw

29:55 mixed up on top with some spices in it,

29:58 and you put that on the tortilla with the fish,

30:01 with the kind of spicy cabbage, maybe slices of avocado.

30:04 Dan: Yeah, and the mayo.

30:05 Vanessa: Yeah, some mayo, maybe some- Dan: Spicy mayo.

30:08 Vanessa:...

30:08 pico de gallo, some salsa on top, that's also great.

30:11 We make that a lot in the summer, because that is kind of a fresh type of thing.

30:15 Dan: Yeah, well speaking of fish- Vanessa: Yes?

30:17 Dan:...

30:17 my third would be salmon.

30:18 Vanessa: Oh, how do you like to make salmon?

30:20 Dan: Well, I think you can make it in a lot of different ways,

30:22 but just throw it in the oven with some...

30:24 like lately we've been adding lemon slices and dill, and just keeping it basic.

30:30 Vanessa: Sometimes we put- Dan: Oh, and butter.

30:31 Vanessa: Oh, butter.

30:32 Of course, butter.

30:33 Dan: That's important.

30:34 Vanessa: Sometimes we do it in the opposite way with soy sauce,

30:36 and sesame oil, kind of more- Dan: You do it that way.

30:38 Vanessa:...

30:39 Asian style.

30:39 Dan: Yeah.

30:40 Vanessa: And that's also great with rice, or some kind of veggie.

30:42 Dan: I do it more European style.

30:44 Vanessa: Yeah, well I think you can't go wrong with salmon.

30:46 Dan: Yeah, but it's just a very

30:48 healthy meal that tastes very filling, and fulfilling.

30:50 Vanessa: Yeah, I think your answers have been much more varied than mine.

30:54 Dan: Oh, yeah?

30:55 Vanessa: Because I was going to say soup, soup, and soup.

30:57 Dan: Oh.

30:58 Vanessa: I think that, especially now because it's the begging of the winter,

31:02 those are the types of things that we like to eat.

31:04 But recently, I've been making a lot of butternut squash soup,

31:08 and it's a type of squash, and you just peel it,

31:12 and then you chop it up, and you steam it with some cumin,

31:16 and paprika, and coconut milk, and red peppers- Dan: It's a nice appetizer.

31:22 Vanessa:...

31:22 and you can also maybe dip some bread in it's mixed together,

31:26 because you have to blend it.

31:28 It's really great.

31:29 It feels kind of cleansing, especially if you've eaten- Dan:

31:32 It's not filling enough to me.

31:33 Vanessa: It's nice to have with something else sometimes.

31:35 Dan: I need some meat in my life.

31:37 Vanessa: Typical answer, right?

31:40 I think we also made a really great, it's called Italian vegetable soup,

31:43 but I don't know if it's actually Italian,

31:46 I don't know why it's considered Italian.

31:48 Dan: It's probably Italian American.

31:50 Vanessa: Yeah.

31:51 Dan: Everything American's say is Italian,

31:52 I bet you every Italian out there is like,

31:55 "That is not Italian." Vanessa: Yeah, that- Dan:

31:58 "What is this?" Vanessa: That is not- Dan: Is that Italian?

32:02 Vanessa:...

32:02 an Italian accent, but that's okay.

32:03 Dan: Zut alors.

32:04 Vanessa: That is- Dan: Oh, that's French.

32:05 Vanessa: Yeah, certainly not Italian.

32:07 Though when we make the Italian vegetable soup,

32:10 it's basically every vegetable you can imagine mixed in a pot,

32:15 even with some tomatoes, and cabbage, and everything,

32:19 peppers, and everything mixed together, and some ground beef.

32:22 So it kind of has a hearty, beefy flavor,

32:25 but it also has a lot of vegetables so it feels

32:29 healthy and filling with some nice bread to dip it in.

32:32 Dan: It was very good.

32:33 Vanessa: Yeah.

32:34 Dan: Although, I will say that you can probably

32:36 tell from this conversation that we are not chefs.

32:39 Vanessa: No.

32:40 Dan: We don't prepare like really good meals very often.

32:43 Vanessa: Or something that's fancy.

32:44 Dan: They're delicious, but they're not...

32:46 they don't have, you know, what's a sous vide, or something.

32:49 Vanessa: Oh, something that's really exciting.

32:51 Dan: Yeah.

32:52 Vanessa: Well- Dan: Although I did make risotto, that was really good.

32:56 Vanessa: Oh, yeah.

32:57 You've made risotto a lot.

32:58 Dan: I made some really good risotto,

32:58 and I felt like it took a lot of work, and that was fun.

33:01 Vanessa: I think it took some particular

33:03 attention to detail and I won't do that.

33:05 Dan: You know, you use lemon zest, any time you use lemon zest,

33:08 I feel like you're probably crossing over to chef territory.

33:11 Vanessa: Oh, okay.

33:12 Well, you have crossed over into chef territory a few times.

33:15 I remain clearly on the other side, just happily eating whatever you make.

33:19 But I'm curious for you, what are some of your favorite foods to eat at home?

33:24 What are some of your favorite foods to make at home?

33:26 Maybe it's something that comes from your country,

33:28 or maybe it's just something that you like to make,

33:30 like toast, something simple.

33:31 Let us know.

33:32 Dan: Toast.

33:33 Vanessa: Yes.

33:34 All right, let's go to the next topic.

33:37 The next topic is housing.

33:39 I want you to dream big,

33:42 if you could have your dream home, what three features would it have?

33:47 Let's say this is a dream home, this is idealistic, this is not realistic.

33:52 Dan: This is probably not going to happen to us.

33:54 Vanessa: No, but it's just a dream.

33:56 Everyone can dream, right?

33:57 Dan: Yeah.

33:58 Vanessa: What would you ideally love to have?

34:00 Dan: A palace.

34:01 A castle.

34:02 Vanessa: Hopefully you can hire some people to clean it at that point.

34:05 Dan: Okay, not really.

34:06 So the features of the home?

34:08 Vanessa: Yes, what three features would you love to have

34:11 if you could dream and build your own home?

34:14 Dan: Okay.

34:15 Well, first, I would want the living room,

34:17 and I don't know is a living common in other countries?

34:21 Vanessa: Yeah, a place where you have a couch, and maybe a TV.

34:22 Dan: This is where you gather together,

34:24 where you have the couch, and where you visit with friends.

34:27 I would like this room to be humongous, and have a really large window.

34:33 Vanessa: Are we talking soccer field size humongous,

34:35 or are we talking like twice as big as a normal one?

34:38 Dan: I'm talking football stadium big.

34:41 Vanessa: Okay.

34:42 Dan: No, not really.

34:43 Just large.

34:44 Large ceilings, vaulted ceilings as they say in the industry.

34:47 Vanessa: Okay.

34:48 Dan: And a very large window.

34:49 Vanessa: Okay.

34:50 Dan: Or large windows.

34:51 Vanessa: I said the same thing.

34:52 I would like a main room with a big window.

34:54 Dan: Yes, but there's more.

34:55 Vanessa: Okay.

34:56 Dan: And it needs a great view, an incredible view.

34:58 Vanessa: Oh, what's a good view for you?

35:00 What would be an ideal view?

35:01 Dan: I really love looking out at the ocean, that would be great.

35:04 I'm not a big fan of where I live on the East Coast of America,

35:09 the beaches are all kind of the same to me.

35:11 They're not my favorite.

35:13 This would be in the Mediterranean, on a big cliff.

35:15 Vanessa: Oh, so it wouldn't be- Dan: Yeah, a cliff side home.

35:18 Vanessa:...

35:19 in the U.S., okay.

35:20 Dan: Yeah, it wouldn't be in the U.S., sorry U.S.

35:22 Well, maybe somewhere in the U.S.

35:23 I don't know.

35:24 Vanessa: Could be Pacific Northwest, you've never been there.

35:27 You don't know.

35:28 Dan: It may be the Pacific Northwest, maybe that's my kind of ocean view.

35:29 Vanessa: Yeah, so you'd like an ocean view?

35:30 Dan: It'd be really high.

35:33 Looking down on my kingdom.

35:34 Vanessa: So you'd need to be a king too?

35:36 Dan: I have to be a king in this scenario.

35:38 Vanessa: This is getting a little excessive.

35:39 Dan: So yeah, a really big, open ocean view.

35:43 Remember, this is dreaming.

35:44 Vanessa: This is dreaming.

35:45 All right, keep dreaming.

35:46 What else would you like?

35:47 Dan: All right, so it's very open,

35:49 so close by would be a very epic, open kitchen.

35:52 Vanessa: Oh, so open you mean it's connected to the living space?

35:55 Dan: Yeah, this is popular, I think, nowadays in architecture.

35:57 Vanessa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

35:58 Dan: Yeah, so open to the living room.

36:01 Vanessa: So as you're cooking- Dan: At least- Vanessa:...

36:03 you can still talk to your guests.

36:04 Dan: Yeah, at least part of the kitchen would be visible.

36:06 Vanessa: Yeah, so at the moment, our kitchen is open to the living room.

36:10 Dan: Yes, we have this now.

36:12 Vanessa: We don't have an epic, giant- Dan: Except for the view.

36:14 Vanessa:...

36:15 living room with a view of the Mediterranean.

36:17 Dan: And the big kitchen.

36:18 Vanessa: Yes, but we have an open space, so it's kind of like one room.

36:22 Our kitchen is connected to our living space,

36:24 so when our guests, or our friends, or our family,

36:26 or our kids are in the living space, the living room,

36:29 we can see them and still kind of interact.

36:32 So this type of layout is pretty popular, at least in newer houses,

36:37 or as people remodel their houses,

36:39 they're kind of looking for this open layout, is what it's called.

36:43 Dan: Yeah, it's called an open floor plan.

36:44 Vanessa: Open floor plan, that's the word.

36:46 Yeah.

36:47 So anything else you would like in this amazing house?

36:48 Dan: Yes, there's one more thing in my palace.

36:51 Vanessa: Okay, in your kingdom.

36:53 Dan: In my kingdom.

36:54 So there would be a game room, because I love games a lot.

36:59 Vanessa: Okay, what kind of games?

37:00 Dan: All kinds of games.

37:01 So we actually rented a place like this that was very similar.

37:04 Vanessa: Oh, like your grandparents rented that beach house.

37:06 Dan: Actually my grandma rented it.

37:07 It was a beach house, so it was like four layers of house.

37:11 Vanessa: That's crazy.

37:12 Dan: It was humongous.

37:13 It was called The Ritz- Vanessa: Of course.

37:14 Dan:...

37:15 which is like a fancy thing.

37:16 So the very top floor of this building was just this giant game room.

37:22 They had a pool table, they had a- Vanessa: A ping-pong.

37:25 Dan: Oh, that was...

37:26 the ping-pong table was somewhere else.

37:28 But in palace, the ping-pong table would be in the same room.

37:31 Vanessa: So ping-pong, foosball, pool.

37:32 Dan: Other games too, chess, yeah.

37:34 Vanessa: Oh, board game cabinets.

37:35 Dan: There would be all kinds of games.

37:37 There'd be a TV with video games, it'd just be fun everywhere.

37:41 Vanessa: Okay, so you want a whole big room?

37:43 Dan: And then I'd have to lock it up so I

37:45 didn't go in, because I'd spend all my time in there.

37:47 Vanessa: Okay, so you'd have to request the key from one of the people?

37:51 Dan: You.

37:52 Vanessa: From me?

37:53 Okay.

37:54 Dan: "Gate keeper, let me in the game room." Vanessa:

37:55 I'm sorry to say, but in my dream home- Dan: There's no game room?

37:59 Vanessa:...

37:59 there is not a game room, although it's a fun idea.

38:02 It's a good idea.

38:03 Dan: Save that for the vacation home?

38:05 Vanessa: Yeah, that's good if your grandparents rent

38:07 a house for a week and invite all the family.

38:11 Dan: Yes, it was perfect for that.

38:12 Vanessa: That's a good thing to have, but maybe not in my forever house.

38:15 Dan: Okay, what's your forever dream home look like?

38:18 Vanessa: Well, I did say I'd like a main room with a big window.

38:21 I think that would be really great.

38:22 So we have some- Dan: But what's your ideal view?

38:24 Vanessa: I didn't really say.

38:26 I feel like it doesn't have to be the beach,

38:30 maybe not someone else's house right there,

38:33 but it could be the mountains, that would be nice.

38:34 Dan: Sure.

38:35 Vanessa: But I also like- Dan: Any kind of picturesque view.

38:37 Vanessa:...

38:37 I don't like to be isolated, so if you have a beautiful mountain view,

38:42 that means you probably live in the middle of the mountains away from everybody.

38:45 Dan: It's true.

38:46 Vanessa: So I don't mind if the view's not perfect,

38:48 but I'd just like to have a big window with lots of light,

38:51 that'd be really great.

38:52 The other thing that I said is a little more practical,

38:56 and that is a huge studio room with different walls that I can film on.

39:02 Dan: Very practical for the Fearless Fluency Club.

39:05 Vanessa: Yes.

39:06 Dan: Oh, wait, and for YouTube.

39:07 Vanessa: Yes.

39:08 So for, of course, the fearless fluency club,

39:10 and also for YouTube, having different locations where I can easily film.

39:14 And the room where we often film videos, in here, it's okay.

39:19 It's not super small, but I have an image of- Dan: It's pretty small.

39:23 Vanessa:...

39:24 four different walls with different backgrounds and different things that I

39:27 can move lights and easily have different locations to film,

39:31 I think that would be really cool.

39:33 So I'm starting out small, we have this room,

39:35 and then maybe someday in my dream home.

39:37 Dan: Yeah, this is way better than our other house.

39:39 Vanessa: Oh, yeah, where we used to live in the apartment.

39:41 Dan: She used to film in a closet.

39:42 Vanessa: It wasn't a closet, but it was really small.

39:46 Dan: Two closets combined.

39:47 Vanessa: Yeah, it was like a little triangle room.

39:49 Dan: It was very small.

39:50 Vanessa: But- Dan: Hey, we made it work.

39:51 Vanessa: Yeah, it worked.

39:52 We made it work.

39:53 And the other feature that I would like is, in a dream home, is a roof deck.

39:59 Dan: That's cool.

40:00 Vanessa: Yeah, so some stairs, and then a little roof- Dan:

40:02 This is the adventurer in Vanessa speaking.

40:04 Vanessa:...

40:04 on the top so you can look down everywhere.

40:06 Dan: But that's in my house, too.

40:07 Vanessa: Oh, it's in your house?

40:08 Oh, good.

40:09 Maybe we can have a house together.

40:11 And also at night you could lay up there and see the stars.

40:14 I think that would be really cool- Dan: Yeah, that would be neat.

40:16 Vanessa:...

40:16 so you could have a perfect place to stargaze.

40:17 Dan: I don't know why more houses don't have this.

40:19 Vanessa: Yeah, we should put a deck on top of our house.

40:21 Dan: Yeah, why not?

40:22 Vanessa: Yeah.

40:23 Dan: Maybe some architect out there has a reason.

40:24 "Well, actually it's bad for structural integrity." Vanessa:

40:27 I think that people just don't value stargazing like we do.

40:31 Dan: Maybe.

40:32 Vanessa: It's really cool to see the stars at night, and especially if you're...

40:35 if you just have a perfect view from a rooftop deck.

40:39 Dan: You're perched in a high place.

40:42 Vanessa: Yeah, that'd be really cool.

40:44 Well, it was nice to dream.

40:45 Thanks for dreaming with me.

40:46 Dan: Yeah.

40:47 Oh, dream's over.

40:48 Vanessa: Yeah.

40:49 I'm curious for you, if you could have your dream home,

40:49 what features would you like in that home?

40:51 All right, let's go to the next topic.

40:53 The next topic is nature.

40:54 Dan: Nature.

40:55 Vanessa: I want to know what are two cool facts about animals or nature?

41:01 Dan: You want to know two facts?

41:02 Vanessa: Yeah, so we did a little bit

41:05 of research before this, because we love watching animal documentaries.

41:08 Dan: Okay, well I have a story behind my first factoid.

41:10 Vanessa: Okay.

41:11 Dan: One time I was talking to my mom,

41:15 I don't remember how this came up, but we were talking about turtles.

41:20 And I don't know why we were talking about turtles, but she said,

41:23 "Did you know that turtles breathe through their butts?" My mom said this.

41:28 And we, for days, we were like, "Mom, turtles...

41:31 where did you hear that?

41:33 That is so- Vanessa: Were you a kid?

41:35 Dan: That was like, no, I was older.

41:38 Vanessa: Okay.

41:39 Dan: Probably a teenager, I guess.

41:40 Vanessa: Okay.

41:41 Dan: But we, me and my siblings, we all just made fun of her.

41:43 We were like, "Mom, you just made that up.

41:45 Where on Earth did you hear that?" But really, it's actually true.

41:51 A turtle can breathe through its butt.

41:53 Vanessa: What?

41:54 Dan: It's true.

41:55 Vanessa: Wait, why do they do this?

41:56 Dan: Okay, so it's when they're hibernating.

41:58 I looked it up to verify because I remember hearing that that actually was true.

42:03 So in the winter, it gets really cold, obviously, and they live under water.

42:09 So it's like really cold, it's almost freezing, and they can't use their lungs.

42:14 So they basically suck water up their butts,

42:18 and the water gives them oxygen, therefore- Vanessa: Oh, why?

42:23 Dan:...

42:23 they breathe through their butts in the winter when they're hibernating.

42:26 Vanessa: Wow, and your mom was right.

42:27 Dan: So my mom was right, but we just...

42:29 we did not believe her when she said that.

42:31 Vanessa: I mean, it's really bizarre, so why would you believe her?

42:33 Dan: Yeah.

42:34 Also, it was very random of her.

42:36 She was like, "Don't turtles breathe through their butts?" Vanessa:

42:38 And we were like, "Mom, you just made that up.

42:41 There's no way." Dan: But it's true.

42:43 Vanessa: But it's true.

42:44 Dan: So this is turtles who specifically live in the water?

42:45 Not box turtles, or those types of things.

42:47 Vanessa: No.

42:48 Yeah, turtles but not ocean turtles either.

42:50 Dan: Okay, so just ones that live in fresh water- Vanessa: Yes.

42:54 Dan:...

42:54 and live in the water?

42:55 Vanessa: Oh, okay.

42:56 Dan: This is a very...

42:56 yeah, tell your friends.

42:57 Vanessa: Oh.

42:58 Dan: Turtles breathe through their butts.

42:59 Vanessa: Before you get to your second fact,

43:00 I'm going to share one of mine- Dan: Okay.

43:03 Vanessa:...

43:04 which is amazing about butterflies and caterpillars.

43:07 We recently- Dan: We're like a nature documentary now.

43:09 Vanessa: Well, I included this because- Dan:

43:11 Should we talk like David Attenborough?

43:12 Vanessa: I feel really nerdy about animals.

43:14 Dan: "The beautiful butterflies." Vanessa: Yeah,

43:16 if you've ever seen nature documentaries by BBC,

43:19 David Attenborough is one of the main commentators.

43:22 He's been a staple of nature documentaries for over a decade,

43:26 two decades, three decades maybe, the '70s.

43:29 So we are big fans of him and his work,

43:32 but I included this topic because we're nerdy about animals and nature,

43:35 and like that stuff, and I thought it would be fun to talk about.

43:38 Dan: Sure.

43:39 Vanessa: Well, a couple months ago,

43:42 we found four monarch butterfly caterpillars in our backyard.

43:47 And they didn't look so good, they looked like they needed a little bit of help,

43:50 so we gave them some milkweed leaves, which is what monarch butterflies eat,

43:57 or monarch caterpillars eat, and we put them in this...

44:00 we have a butterfly net,

44:02 it's like a little container where you can grow butterflies.

44:06 Dan: Grow and release.

44:07 Vanessa: Yes.

44:08 And so we put the caterpillars in there,

44:10 gave them a lot of leaves, and they turned into cocoons.

44:15 Then two of them died,

44:16 but two of them became butterflies, it was really amazing,

44:19 so that kind of sparked my interest in learning more about that.

44:23 We kind of all know caterpillars become butterflies,

44:26 but did you know that a caterpillar,

44:28 when it creates a cocoon, it will liquefy it's body.

44:33 It's like a soup inside the cocoon,

44:36 and it is digesting, it's eating itself inside the cocoon,

44:40 and its DNA just kind of mixes around and becomes a butterfly.

44:44 Dan: Yeah, so it's not like wrapping a blanket around itself.

44:48 Vanessa: No.

44:49 Dan: Because- Vanessa: It's crazy.

44:50 Dan:...

44:51 usually when I thought of a cocoon,

44:53 you would think that the caterpillar spins something around itself, but no,

44:57 it's literally liquefying its body on the inside,

45:00 and then turning into, I believe the technical term is a pupa.

45:05 Vanessa: A pupa.

45:06 Yeah, so inside when it actually makes that cocoon,

45:10 so we saw this happen, where the cocoon pops out of the caterpillars body,

45:16 and the skin and the head pop off,

45:19 and they fall onto the ground because- Dan: It's kind of like a Halloween story.

45:22 Vanessa: It is.

45:23 It's pretty horrific, if you think about it.

45:24 Dan: It was almost Halloween.

45:25 Vanessa: And inside the cocoon is the liquefied soup of the butterfly.

45:31 Dan: And it's body liquefied and it turned into a terrible creature.

45:34 Vanessa: How did nature- Dan: A butterfly.

45:36 Vanessa:...

45:36 think that this would work?

45:37 But it does, it's amazing.

45:40 Wow.

45:41 So, that's my first cool fact about nature.

45:43 Dan: Cool nature factoid.

45:44 Vanessa: Yes.

45:45 Caterpillar soup.

45:46 Dan: All right.

45:47 My second is about the noble albatross.

45:49 Vanessa: Albatross are so cool.

45:50 Dan: Although if you say something is an albatross,

45:53 that kind of means it's a bad thing, or like a burden.

45:57 It's like a saying.

45:58 Vanessa: Ah, that's kind of like an old fashioned expression.

46:01 But- Dan: Yeah.

46:02 But anyways, my factoid is- Vanessa:...

46:03 it is a bird.

46:04 Dan:...

46:04 an albatross has the longest wingspan of any bird.

46:08 Did you know that?

46:09 Almost 12 feet long, or 3.2 meters.

46:12 Vanessa: Three meters?

46:13 Dan: Something like that.

46:14 Vanessa: Three meters is so long, so that means from the tip of one wing

46:18 to the tip of the other wing is three meters, 12 feet.

46:22 Dan: Yeah, it's a really huge bird.

46:24 Vanessa: One bird.

46:25 Dan: And actually, if you've watched

46:27 any David Attenborough documentaries- Vanessa: Or others.

46:29 Dan:...

46:30 we watched one with the albatross,

46:32 it needs to take a really long run before it flies,

46:35 because its wings are so huge- Vanessa: Like a huge airplane,

46:37 it needs a lot of runway to get off.

46:39 Dan: But there's a lot of other animals.

46:41 What was it in the documentary that was trying to get them?

46:43 Vanessa: It was the babies.

46:44 Dan: Oh, sharks.

46:45 Vanessa: Yes.

46:46 Dan: Because they would crash in the water and the sharks would eat them.

46:47 Vanessa: When the babies were first learning how to fly,

46:50 a lot of them crash in the water,

46:52 and I think they do it the same time every year,

46:56 so sharks gather there- Dan: They wait for the babies.

46:58 Vanessa:...

46:58 and as the babies are learning to fly,

47:00 if they fail on their first try, that's it.

47:03 Dan: Yeah, they can't make it.

47:04 Vanessa: Anyway, that was a really sad part of the documentary.

47:06 Dan: But once they actually get in the air,

47:09 an albatross can stay in the air for up to 10,000 miles,

47:12 which is a lot of kilometers.

47:15 Vanessa: 6,000, 7,000 kilometers?

47:17 Dan: Yeah, I'm not so good with those conversions that everybody else uses.

47:22 Vanessa: Yeah, and I remember you also told

47:24 me that they could fly for- Dan: A day.

47:27 Vanessa:...

47:28 a whole day with just one [inaudible 00:47:30].

47:30 Dan: Just one flap of their wings.

47:31 Vanessa: If they have the right wind, because they go off into the ocean.

47:34 Dan: Yeah, it requires good wind.

47:35 Vanessa: Yeah.

47:36 Dan: Because they just use the wind to bounce up and down.

47:37 Vanessa: So they only need to flap their wings one time per day,

47:40 if there is good wind.

47:41 Dan: It'd be a very lonely existence, just flying over the ocean.

47:44 Vanessa: But talking about lonely, they also mate for life.

47:49 Dan: That's lonely?

47:50 Vanessa: Well, no, that's crazy because they...

47:54 most birds are not like that, so they go off alone into the ocean to hunt,

48:00 and then once a year they come back to the same

48:04 place and they hope that their husband or wife, their mate, has survived also.

48:10 Dan: And then they promptly cheat on them.

48:12 Vanessa: Well, they are not monogamous.

48:14 Dan: They have partners that they regularly come back

48:17 to, but then they also go and flirt with other birds.

48:21 Vanessa: Other birds as well,

48:22 but they have the same main partner for their whole lives,

48:26 and they only see them once a year, but they find each other at that same...

48:30 on the same rock, on the same land, every...

48:32 albatross are really cool.

48:34 Dan: [crosstalk 00:48:34] kisses.

48:35 Vanessa: Yeah.

48:36 Yeah, you should look up some videos about albatross, they're really cool.

48:38 Well, one of my other cool facts- Dan: What's your last factoid?

48:42 Vanessa:...

48:42 my last cool fact is about a mantis shrimp.

48:45 Dan: The mantis shrimp.

48:47 Vanessa: We think about shrimp as the thing that we eat,

48:50 but the mantis shrimp is really different.

48:52 I'll show you a picture here.

48:53 The mantis shrimp is an insane animal.

48:57 It has the best visual senses of any animal, including humans.

49:04 I looked this up to make sure I could explain it correctly.

49:06 Humans have three photoreceptors in our eyes.

49:11 How many do you think the mantis shrimp have?

49:13 Dan: 10.

49:15 Vanessa: 12 to 16.

49:18 So this means they can see infrared, they can see ultraviolet,

49:22 they can see every possible thing that's coming through the light spectrum.

49:25 It is crazy.

49:26 Dan: Basically thank god it's not huge and lives on land,

49:29 because it would kill us.

49:31 Vanessa: Yes, this and it can also punch through,

49:34 it has the- Dan: Look how it's hand's like this.

49:37 Vanessa: Yes, they're like this.

49:38 It can punch through bulletproof glass that is 1 centimeter thick.

49:45 So it's almost impossible to keep a mantis shrimp in an aquarium because- Dan:

49:49 Because it will break the glass.

49:50 Vanessa:...

49:50 they're so strong...

49:51 it's just a shrimp, they're small, but it can punch through bullet proof glass,

49:55 and most aquariums don't have bullet proof glass, it's less than that.

50:00 Dan: Why not?

50:01 Vanessa: But it will punch through the glass and get out,

50:03 so they can see everything,

50:05 and they also can punch through the glass, which is absolutely insane.

50:08 There's a lot of really cool videos- Dan: And they look cool too.

50:11 Vanessa: Yeah, colors, and their big eyes.

50:12 Dan: Yeah, beautiful.

50:13 You should share the comic about it too.

50:16 There's a popular comic in America called The Oatmeal.

50:19 Vanessa: It's a website.

50:20 Dan: Yeah, it's a website.

50:21 And they have a whole story about the mantis shrimp.

50:24 Vanessa: Yeah, there's a good YouTube video too, about the mantis shrimp.

50:28 Dan: About it?

50:29 Oh.

50:30 Vanessa: I think it's...

50:30 who's that guy who does kind of funny stuff about animals who's like,

50:32 "That's how the mantis shrimp do." Dan: Oh, zefrank.

50:34 Vanessa: Zefrank, yes.

50:35 Dan: Look up zefrank for a good laugh.

50:37 Vanessa: Just look up mantis shrimp on YouTube,

50:40 you'll find many great things because those animals are cool.

50:43 All right, we had a chance to be nerdy, let's go on to the next topic,

50:46 and I want to know for you, do you know any cool animal facts?

50:49 Dan: Yeah.

50:50 Vanessa: All right, let's go to the next topic.

50:52 The next topic is holidays.

50:55 And it is the end of November-ish, which is Thanksgiving time in the U.S.,

50:59 so I want to know, in your experience, what is Thanksgiving like in the U.S.?

51:04 Dan: In the U.S., well it's pretty much just an American holiday, right?

51:07 Vanessa: Yeah.

51:08 Dan: Or Canadian, I suppose.

51:09 Vanessa: Canada also has Thanksgiving.

51:11 Dan: So for Thanksgiving, the primary thing that we do is eat food.

51:15 Vanessa: Okay, next topic.

51:16 Dan: The end.

51:17 Vanessa: Oh, yeah, it's pretty much all about food.

51:19 Dan: It's really all about the food, especially turkey.

51:22 Vanessa: So tell us about food on Thanksgiving.

51:26 Dan: Pretty much everybody gets a turkey.

51:28 Vanessa: A big, full turkey.

51:29 Dan: Yeah, there must be this huge spike in turkey sales in November in the U.S.

51:34 Vanessa: Oh, yeah.

51:35 Dan: But everybody gets a turkey, you cook the whole turkey,

51:37 and you get gravy, and you pour it on there,

51:40 and there's something called stuffing as well,

51:42 which is this bread pudding kind of thing, I guess.

51:45 Vanessa: Yeah, well, you have it inside the turkey,

51:48 usually you cook some seasonings,

51:49 and lemons, and breads, and all different types of things inside the turkey.

51:54 Dan: Some may argue that the stuffing is better than the turkey.

51:57 Vanessa: Yeah, sometimes it is.

51:58 Dan: I'm one of those people- Vanessa: Stuff is great.

52:00 Dan:...

52:00 I just eat the stuffing.

52:01 Vanessa: It's really full of turkey juices,

52:03 so it's kind of like a breaded mixture,

52:06 I'll try to share a picture, but stuffing, turkey.

52:07 Dan: So the holiday is really just centered around the meal,

52:11 and then you invite lots of family over.

52:14 Vanessa: Yes.

52:15 Dan: And usually one family member will host a lot of family, I find.

52:19 Vanessa: Yeah.

52:20 Dan: And sometimes friends as well,

52:21 but like your dad has been doing friends for the last few years.

52:25 Vanessa: Yeah.

52:26 Dan: But traditionally, it's only family.

52:27 Vanessa: Yeah, I think this is definitely more a family holiday,

52:30 that you say goodbye to your friends,

52:31 go back home wherever you came from, if you live far away from your parents,

52:35 maybe you'll go back home and have Thanksgiving at their home,

52:38 or maybe they'll come visit you.

52:40 It's kind of a time for families to come back together during Thanksgiving.

52:44 Dan: Yeah.

52:45 And if you are a very bonded family,

52:47 then you always say what you're thankful for.

52:50 Vanessa: Oh.

52:51 Dan: So every year my family would always

52:53 say something they're thankful for around the table.

52:56 And usually when I was a kid I remember being like- Vanessa:

53:00 "I don't want to do this." Dan: "I don't want..." but now I'm like,

53:03 "I'm thankful for everybody and everything in my family.

53:05 It's so beautiful." Get a little more sentimental when you get older.

53:09 Vanessa: Yeah.

53:10 Well, back to the food, we're kind of talking about the traditions now,

53:14 but back to the food, the typical things are a big turkey bird,

53:18 a full bird, you don't have just slices of turkey,

53:20 you have the full bird and then you cut it up.

53:23 Dan: Yeah.

53:24 Vanessa: And then stuffing, green beans is common with gravy, mashed potatoes,

53:28 sweet potatoes, in the south of the U.S., sweet potato casserole is really big.

53:33 This is insane- Dan: With brown sugar on it.

53:35 Vanessa:...

53:36 it's insanely sweet because it's sweet potatoes,

53:39 which are orange and already pretty sweet naturally,

53:42 then brown sugar, and then- Dan: Marshmallows, right?

53:45 Vanessa:...

53:46 marshmallows, for dinner.

53:46 Dan: Oh, I forgot about that.

53:48 Vanessa: Crazy, but- Dan:

53:49 I always eat like this much of that because it's too sweet.

53:52 Vanessa: It's really rich, but that's kind of a southern thing,

53:55 and you also always have cranberry sauce.

53:57 Dan: Right.

53:58 Vanessa: This is...

53:59 a cranberry is a really tart berry, it's so tart, it's really sour,

54:05 but when you mix it with a lot of sugar, it's great.

54:07 Dan: And you need mashed potatoes.

54:08 Vanessa: Yeah, so the cranberries, and the mashed potatoes,

54:11 and the turkey, it's a perfect combination.

54:14 That kind of tart flavors with the mashed potatoes with the turkey,

54:17 it kind of mixes together really great.

54:19 Dan: Yeah, basically the point is to eat so much

54:21 you can barely move at the end of the day.

54:24 Vanessa: Well, they do say that turkey, the bird,

54:26 the turkey meat, has some kind of- Dan: Tryptophan.

54:30 Vanessa: Is that what it's called?

54:31 Dan: I think so.

54:32 Vanessa: That kind of enzyme in it.

54:34 Isn't it enzyme?

54:35 Hormone, or- Dan: Chemical?

54:36 Vanessa: It has something in the meat naturally that makes you feel sleepy,

54:40 so at Thanksgiving that's really one of the only times when we eat turkey,

54:44 so because we eat so much turkey,

54:46 it's kind of stereotypical to say after the Thanksgiving

54:50 meal everyone crashes on the couch and watches football.

54:54 So it's kind of a tradition.

54:57 Dan: Yeah, football is probably the most American aspect of this.

55:00 Vanessa: Yeah.

55:01 Dan: They don't really play football in other countries, do they?

55:02 Vanessa: Well, this is American football.

55:03 Dan: I mean, not...

55:04 yeah, not- Vanessa: American football.

55:05 Dan:...

55:05 real football, like you know, not kicking the ball.

55:07 Vanessa: Soccer.

55:08 Dan: Football like, we throw the ball, and we tackle each other, and stuff.

55:11 Vanessa: Yeah, so there are...

55:13 there's always a football, an American football game on Thanksgiving,

55:16 so that's why some of the sayings abut Thanksgiving is the three Fs,

55:22 family, food, football.

55:23 When I was growing up, my family would eat Thanksgiving,

55:26 and then we often would go to the living room and watch football together,

55:31 even though we weren't big football fans.

55:34 It's kind of just- Dan: It's just tradition.

55:35 Vanessa:...

55:35 what you do.

55:36 So we would say what we were thankful for, and then- Dan:

55:40 It's the American religion.

55:41 Vanessa:...

55:42 watch football, and that was just kind of a family time together.

55:44 I don't know.

55:45 Did you guys ever do anything?

55:46 Sometimes we threw a football in backyard.

55:48 Dan: Yeah, a few years we would throw the football.

55:50 Our family didn't watch that much football.

55:52 Vanessa: Yeah- Dan: We would sometimes, just like the Superbowl, that's all.

55:56 Vanessa: Yeah.

55:57 Yeah, so I'm curious, for you, in your country,

56:01 do you have any fall meal holiday that's really centered around food?

56:05 Dan: Yeah, we should also say, I think it's supposed to also traditionally be

56:09 you feast on all the food that you grew.

56:12 Vanessa: Yeah, but most people are not farmers nowadays.

56:14 Dan: Yeah, but I think traditionally it does

56:16 have that element of, "The harvest is in.

56:19 We come and eat all this delicious food.

56:21 It was a good year." Vanessa: "We're thankful for the good harvest." Dan:

56:24 "We're thankful for the good harvest." So maybe

56:25 a lot of countries have something like that.

56:27 Vanessa: Yeah.

56:28 All right.

56:29 Let's go to the next topic.

56:30 The next topic is relaxation.

56:33 I want to know, if I were feeling stressed,

56:36 what tips would you give me to help me feel relaxed?

56:40 Dan: If you were feeling stressed?

56:41 Vanessa: Yeah.

56:42 Dan: Well, I don't know if this would work for everyone,

56:46 but I find that playing a sport,

56:48 or doing something active that requires some concentration,

56:52 really helps me not be stressed, like if I'm concerned about something I

56:58 like to go and maybe play some basketball,

57:01 where your only goal is to put the ball in the hoop,

57:04 it's just something very simple and you're using your body,

57:07 which is different from how a lot of people live today,

57:11 which is very stationary and thinking about all kinds of problems

57:15 and then looking at your phone and reading about more problems.

57:19 Everything's a big problem it seems like.

57:22 Vanessa: So if you get out and move your body- Dan:

57:24 So if you get out and you move your body- Vanessa:...

57:26 in the real world, yeah.

57:27 Dan: Yeah, and it could just be a hike, a hike or something.

57:29 Vanessa: Yeah.

57:30 Dan: But yeah, I like to go and play basketball, or maybe play some hockey,

57:33 I like to do that too, just shoot the puck around, it's a lot of fun.

57:36 Vanessa: Some kind of organized activity.

57:38 Dan: Yeah.

57:39 Vanessa: Like shooting hoops, playing hockey- Dan:

57:41 And it doesn't even have to be with people,

57:43 just practicing, doing some kind of routine like that.

57:45 Vanessa: I said something similar,

57:47 which was just to go for a walk, because that's not necessarily organized,

57:50 but sometimes getting out of the place where I'm at, getting out of the house,

57:56 getting out of wherever I'm feeling stressed, just changing locations,

58:00 and having the open sky- Dan: Just getting outside.

58:02 Vanessa:...

58:03 breathing some cool air, or maybe really hot air,

58:05 depending on what time of the year it is.

58:07 Dan: That's true, it depends on where you live.

58:09 Outside might be a little too hot, or too cold.

58:11 Vanessa: But it's just nice to kind of remove yourself,

58:13 and move, and take a walk.

58:15 Even say, "Okay, I'm going to walk for five minutes,

58:17 and I'm going to turn around and walk five

58:19 minutes back." Sometimes 10 minutes can make a big difference.

58:21 At least it can help me feel more relaxed,

58:24 or at least more realistic about my stress.

58:27 Dan: Definitely.

58:28 Vanessa: Like if something's stressing me,

58:30 maybe I shouldn't really be stressed about it,

58:32 so taking a walk helps me to kind of recenter myself.

58:35 Dan: Yes.

58:36 Vanessa: And think, "It's not a big deal, it's fine.

58:39 I'll just work it out." Dan: Okay.

58:41 And the next thing I would do, is take a shower.

58:43 Vanessa: Oh, okay.

58:44 Dan: Well, I take night time showers, so I don't know,

58:47 I just find, for me, when I'm getting clean, and not really...

58:50 and like it's kind of that same thing, I'm just like washing my arms,

58:55 washing my hair, and I find my mind kind of drifting, and it's nice and warm.

59:00 I don't know, for me, maybe most people probably would say taking a bath,

59:04 but I don't really like to take a bath.

59:07 Vanessa: Taking a shower, I've heard too that when you're taking a shower,

59:10 sometimes that's when your best ideas happen, because you have no stimulation,

59:15 there's nothing around you, you're just in the shower,

59:18 so your mind can really be blank,

59:21 or you can really kind of decompress in a different way.

59:25 I feel like that too, taking a shower feels good.

59:26 Dan: Yeah, a nice, warm shower.

59:28 And then finally, sleeping.

59:29 Vanessa: Yes.

59:30 Dan: Going to sleep, getting good enough sleep.

59:33 I mean, especially nowadays where everybody has some kind

59:36 of electronics device where you're staring at a screen,

59:40 I think that doesn't really help your stress levels go down.

59:44 Vanessa: Don't watch this video at 2:00 AM,

59:45 if it's 2:00 AM in the morning- Dan: Yeah, stop watching.

59:47 Vanessa:...

59:48 turn it off.

59:48 Dan: Got to bed.

59:49 Vanessa: You can watch this in the morning.

59:50 Dan: So yeah, that would be the last thing I would do, too.

59:54 Lower the stress in my life and relax.

59:55 Vanessa: Yeah, I think getting good sleep is a really good tip,

59:59 that was one of the ones that I wrote down.

1:00:01 Is just- Dan: So we share a few.

1:00:02 Vanessa:...

1:00:02 yeah, to get better sleep because sometimes I feel like we

1:00:06 want to blame other parts of our lives when we feel stressed,

1:00:09 but when you look at the basics, "Have I been eating healthy?

1:00:13 Did I drink enough water today?" And the main one,

1:00:16 "Did I sleep enough?" Probably not, at least in my case,

1:00:19 if I feel stressed or anxious,

1:00:21 a lot of that's because my body can't handle what's happening in daily life,

1:00:27 because I haven't been treating myself well.

1:00:30 Dan: Yep.

1:00:31 Vanessa: So if I sleep better,

1:00:33 whether that's consistent sleep, or a longer period of sleep,

1:00:36 just doing that will help me to feel less stressed during the day.

1:00:40 Dan: It is situational though,

1:00:41 some people need more or less sleep than other people.

1:00:44 Vanessa: Yeah, so that's why I said get better sleep.

1:00:46 Dan: Better sleep, for you.

1:00:47 Vanessa: Whatever is better for you.

1:00:48 But one thing I mentioned that you didn't say,

1:00:50 you kind of said, but is to take a tech break.

1:00:55 And a tech break, we often use this term in our relationship to say,

1:00:59 "Today we are not going to...

1:01:01 we're just going to put away our phones,

1:01:03 we're not going to do anything with any electronics today at all."

1:01:06 And it seems like it's a simple, easy thing to do,

1:01:09 but it feels good just to take a little break,

1:01:12 especially if that is stressing you out,

1:01:15 or if you're kind of avoiding dealing with problems by looking at your phone.

1:01:20 I think a lot of use social media, or reading articles- Dan:

1:01:25 The phones and tablets are really bad, I think,

1:01:26 because they're so easy- Vanessa: Yeah, to get distracted.

1:01:28 Dan:...

1:01:28 to pick up and just keep using.

1:01:30 There's little games, and YouTube, which you may be on right now.

1:01:34 Vanessa: Yes.

1:01:35 I find myself- Dan: So keep watching.

1:01:37 Vanessa:...

1:01:37 when I feel stressed, sometimes I don't don't want to think about it,

1:01:40 so I'll watch a YouTube vide,

1:01:42 and then 30 minutes later, I'll realize I still feel stressed.

1:01:47 Dan: 10 YouTube videos later.

1:01:48 Vanessa: Oh, yeah.

1:01:49 Or maybe for this one it's a couple hours later.

1:01:51 Dan: Hey, I have a bonus tip.

1:01:52 Vanessa: Oh, bonus tip.

1:01:53 All right.

1:01:54 Dan: Yeah, a bonus tip.

1:01:55 Vanessa: What's your bonus tip?

1:01:56 Dan: I don't really meditate,

1:01:58 but I've heard mediation is very great for de-stressing.

1:02:01 Vanessa: I'm curious if any of you have tried meditation.

1:02:03 Dan: So I would also recommend meditating, but for me,

1:02:06 I actually tried something that was kind of similar, I counted my breaths.

1:02:11 So this was actually kind of to help me fall asleep,

1:02:14 but a lot of times I can't fall asleep

1:02:17 because I'm thinking about the day and feeling stressed.

1:02:19 Vanessa: You can't turn your mind off.

1:02:21 Dan: So basically the idea that I heard was to breathe in for 10 seconds.

1:02:26 Vanessa: Okay.

1:02:27 Dan: No, no, no, breathe in for five seconds, then breathe out for 10 seconds.

1:02:32 Vanessa: Oh.

1:02:33 Dan: So you're kind of counting one, two, three, four, five.

1:02:34 And then, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10.

1:02:39 And just only thinking about your breaths.

1:02:42 Vanessa: Okay.

1:02:43 Dan: You know, it really kind of puts the focus somewhere else,

1:02:47 and you're breathing in deeply, which a lot of us do not breathe in deeply,

1:02:52 so it helps you to breathe in more deeply and concentrate on your breathing.

1:02:57 Vanessa: Yeah, I heard that one of the side effects

1:02:59 of using a computer a lot, or a phone a lot,

1:03:02 is that when they study people who are looking at a screen,

1:03:08 we blink less- Dan: What?

1:03:10 Vanessa:...

1:03:10 so our eyes are open,

1:03:12 they're getting kind of red and dry, and our breathing increases.

1:03:15 So we're kind of like- Dan: They're just like shallow?

1:03:16 Vanessa: Yeah, like...

1:03:18 we're just not focused, like maybe feel a little bit of stress,

1:03:23 or we're just not focused slow and- Dan: On our bodies.

1:03:26 Vanessa:...

1:03:27 relaxed.

1:03:27 Yeah.

1:03:28 So those long-term effects,

1:03:29 if you're doing that for several hours a day, without thinking about it,

1:03:33 it can affect your body, so breathing, yeah, slowly,

1:03:37 can help to kind of help you feel less stressed.

1:03:40 Dan: There you go.

1:03:41 Vanessa: Wow.

1:03:42 Dan: That's my most practical tip.

1:03:43 Vanessa: Bonus tip.

1:03:44 So I'm curious for you, what are some tips you would give

1:03:48 to help someone feel less stress in their life?

1:03:51 To feel more relaxed?

1:03:52 What would you say?

1:03:54 All right.

1:03:55 Let's go to the next topic.

1:03:56 The next topic is sports and exercise, so I want to know when you were a kid,

1:04:01 what kind of sports or activities did you participate in?

1:04:04 Dan: Man, I played a lot of sports.

1:04:06 Vanessa: Yeah?

1:04:07 Dan: Yeah, I think it kind of shows the privilege we grew up

1:04:10 in, that we had so many opportunities to try so many different things.

1:04:14 Vanessa: That was really lucky to be able to do that kind of stuff.

1:04:16 Dan: So first I started out with baseball, but it was called t-ball,

1:04:21 so you actually put the ball on a tee,

1:04:23 and you put the ball there, and you just hit it off of it.

1:04:26 Vanessa: So no one's throwing the ball.

1:04:27 Dan: Yeah, I was really little.

1:04:29 Vanessa: It's just stationary.

1:04:30 Dan: And I actually remember when the coaches started pitching to me,

1:04:33 I got kind of scared of the ball and I didn't want to play anymore.

1:04:37 Vanessa: It's a big deal.

1:04:38 Dan: Yeah, I was really little,

1:04:39 so I stopped playing that and I started playing soccer.

1:04:42 Vanessa: Oh, okay.

1:04:43 Dan: And swimming as well.

1:04:44 So you call it, probably football in your country,

1:04:48 but it's interesting, many, many children, play soccer in America.

1:04:52 Vanessa: Yeah, I think it's easy to get

1:04:54 into because you just are running and kicking a ball.

1:04:57 Dan: Sure.

1:04:58 Vanessa: There's no equipment or specialized movements- Dan: Right.

1:05:01 Vanessa:...

1:05:01 at least for kids.

1:05:02 Dan: But for some reason, it's not a popular sport to watch.

1:05:05 Vanessa: Or for adults, a lot of adults don't play soccer.

1:05:08 Dan: Adults don't play soccer that much, it's just children.

1:05:10 Vanessa: Yeah.

1:05:11 Dan: But I played soccer for probably like six year.

1:05:13 Vanessa: Oh.

1:05:14 Dan: And then I never played it again.

1:05:16 Yeah.

1:05:17 Vanessa: Just as a kid.

1:05:18 Dan: Yep.

1:05:19 So I did that, and I did swimming, and gymnastics for a while.

1:05:23 I had a phase where I used to like to do a lot of flips- Vanessa: Oh, cool.

1:05:27 Dan:...

1:05:27 so I would jump on the trampoline and do back flips and front flips.

1:05:30 Vanessa: In a gymnasium that's like a gymnastics center.

1:05:32 Dan: Yeah, but also in my backyard.

1:05:33 We had a trampoline.

1:05:34 Vanessa: Ah, cool.

1:05:35 Dan: So I would do that, and then I

1:05:37 did figure skating where we were doing spinning and stuff.

1:05:39 Vanessa: I did figure skating too.

1:05:41 Dan: Yes.

1:05:42 And then my brother convinced me to take up a more manly sport, hockey.

1:05:46 Vanessa: Oh, it's a shame,

1:05:47 you probably would have been really good at figure skating.

1:05:49 Dan: Yeah, I was all right, but- Vanessa: Yeah.

1:05:52 I think that's the kind of thing that- Dan:...

1:05:54 it wasn't my true love- Vanessa: Like hockey?

1:05:56 Dan:...

1:05:56 that would be hockey.

1:05:57 Vanessa: Well, I'm glad that you found your true love, hockey.

1:05:59 Dan: I do love hockey, but I don't really have the build for it,

1:06:01 I'm a little too small, but I still had a lot of fun playing hockey.

1:06:04 Vanessa: Yeah, and you still play hockey.

1:06:05 Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

1:06:06 Vanessa: You play on a team here in our city.

1:06:09 Dan: That's not all of my sports- Vanessa: I feel like as a...

1:06:10 you had a lot of organized sports as a kid- Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

1:06:13 Vanessa:...

1:06:13 and maybe that's just because you have a older brother,

1:06:16 or just something that you wanted to do,

1:06:17 but I feel like for me- Dan: I think my dad thought it was good for me too.

1:06:20 Vanessa: Oh.

1:06:21 Dan: Which I think is true, it's good for kids to get into organized sports.

1:06:24 Vanessa: Sure.

1:06:25 Sure.

1:06:26 I feel like for me as a kid I didn't do team sports as much,

1:06:29 like we just played in the backyard a lot.

1:06:32 Dan: Weren't you kind of a timid child, too?

1:06:34 Vanessa: I wouldn't say I was timid,

1:06:36 but I didn't like physical contact with other kids,

1:06:39 so basketball for me was really physically aggressive.

1:06:43 Dan: Too rough.

1:06:44 Vanessa: Yeah, a little too rough, I didn't really like that.

1:06:45 Dan: You should try hockey.

1:06:47 Vanessa: That's very rough.

1:06:49 But I loved swimming,

1:06:51 so I think that swimming was probably the main sport of my childhood,

1:06:56 and through high school every summer my sister and I were on a swim team,

1:07:01 and that meant that every day, twice a day, we would go to swim practice,

1:07:05 and I- Dan: Vanessa's a really good swimmer, she can kick my butt.

1:07:09 Vanessa: Not literally, that is a figurative expression.

1:07:13 That means I can swim better than Dan, which is true.

1:07:16 Dan: It's true.

1:07:17 Vanessa: But it just means that I know the technique,

1:07:19 and if Dan or you- Dan: I'm out there like struggling.

1:07:22 Vanessa:...

1:07:23 if you know the right technique,

1:07:24 you can have a lot of endurance because you're not wasting your energy,

1:07:27 so I feel like I learned the right technique,

1:07:30 so I can swim longer because I know

1:07:32 the right technique because I practiced it a lot.

1:07:36 So we would always swim,

1:07:37 and then we'd have swim competitions, which are called swim meets,

1:07:40 and that was a fun part of my childhood growing, was swimming, kind of this...

1:07:44 it's kind of a team thing, but not really.

1:07:46 You have a team, but you're still individual.

1:07:48 Dan: So like combined scores, is that how it works?

1:07:51 Vanessa: Well, you would be...

1:07:53 you're part of the community team, like your community,

1:07:56 your neighborhood is the team, but then each person has an individual score.

1:08:02 Dan: Score.

1:08:03 Vanessa: So it's kid of a team, kid of individual, and I liked that.

1:08:07 And it was not physically aggressive.

1:08:09 Dan: That would make me so nervous.

1:08:11 Vanessa: Yeah.

1:08:12 Dan: These individual sports, I feel the pressure way too much.

1:08:16 If I were swimming and racing, I'd be so scared.

1:08:19 But when I play a sport like basketball, you're on a team,

1:08:23 and so you're kind of depending on each other more, it's not all up to you.

1:08:28 Vanessa: Yeah.

1:08:29 Dan: Although, if you make a big mistake, then everybody's looking at you.

1:08:31 Vanessa: Yeah.

1:08:32 Dan: That's no fun.

1:08:33 Vanessa: Yeah, I feel like I like having a team, but at the same time,

1:08:37 I like having kind of your own thing

1:08:39 going on, you can kind of be more individualistic.

1:08:42 Dan: Yeah.

1:08:43 Vanessa: So I'm curious for you,

1:08:45 growing up did you play organized sports like Dan?

1:08:48 I also did some volleyball in high school,

1:08:51 those types of things, kind of organized sports.

1:08:53 But did you play organized sports like that, or did

1:08:56 you just play with your friends in the neighborhood,

1:08:58 like I did growing up with my friends in the neighborhood?

1:09:01 What kind of activities,

1:09:02 or exercise type things did you do when you were a child?

1:09:05 All right, let's go to the next topic.

1:09:07 The next topic is electronics,

1:09:09 this is another hypothetical, maybe a dream type question,

1:09:14 but I want to know if you could

1:09:17 upgrade any electronics in your life for no price,

1:09:20 it's free, what would you like to upgrade in your life?

1:09:24 Dan: Interesting.

1:09:25 Yeah, I feel like I'm pretty satisfied with our electronic status.

1:09:29 Vanessa: Oh, okay.

1:09:30 Dan: Electronics status.

1:09:31 Yeah, because you know me.

1:09:34 I already upgrade my electronics quite freely.

1:09:37 Vanessa: Dan likes electronics.

1:09:38 Dan: I do, especially like speakers and music.

1:09:41 I love music, so I buy a lot of headphones,

1:09:44 and a lot speakers, and stuff like this.

1:09:47 And every time I'm about to buy something like that she looks at me like,

1:09:50 "Why are you buying another thing like

1:09:52 this?" I haven't bought too much- Vanessa: Yeah, it's not too much.

1:09:55 Dan:...

1:09:56 but I just tend to browse,

1:09:58 and sometimes I look at these humongous speakers that would fill an opera room,

1:10:03 or something, and I'm like, "These would be awesome to have." Vanessa:

1:10:07 And then I need to remind Dan that we don't live

1:10:09 in a house the size of a football field, like his dream.

1:10:12 Dan: But in my dream house- Vanessa:

1:10:13 Someday when we have that dream house, right?

1:10:16 Dan:...

1:10:16 it will have those speakers, yes.

1:10:17 Vanessa: What would you like to upgrade if you could do it for no price?

1:10:19 Dan: Yeah, so right now it would be a laptop.

1:10:21 Vanessa: Oh, yeah, your laptop just broke.

1:10:24 Dan: Yeah, so our son, Theo, decided to step on my laptop.

1:10:29 And it still actually works pretty well, but it snapped in half,

1:10:33 so somehow it's still working, but it's old anyways.

1:10:36 Vanessa: Yeah, it's his fault, but you know,

1:10:38 you shouldn't have left it on the floor.

1:10:40 Dan: Yeah, so I'll probably update my laptop soon,

1:10:42 which is a very doable thing nowadays.

1:10:44 Vanessa: Okay.

1:10:45 Yeah, you could get a laptop that isn't broken in half.

1:10:48 Dan: Yeah, and the second thing is actually something we've never had before,

1:10:52 which would be a security system.

1:10:54 Vanessa: Oh.

1:10:56 Dan: It sounds like you would only want

1:10:58 this in a neighborhood where you would- Vanessa: You feel kind of dangerous.

1:11:01 Yeah.

1:11:02 Dan:...

1:11:02 you feel like you're in danger.

1:11:03 But I still feel like it would just kind of add comfort to me.

1:11:06 Vanessa: Okay.

1:11:07 Dan: We've always lived in apartments where they had a gate,

1:11:11 or a front door, where- Vanessa: You have other people around you.

1:11:14 Dan:...

1:11:14 and you have other people around you, you're not like just such a solo target.

1:11:17 Because in America, you're just living in a house in neighborhood,

1:11:22 and it's like standalone, so I'd like to get some cameras,

1:11:25 and something I could check on the house and make sure everything's okay.

1:11:30 And just for peace of mind mostly.

1:11:31 Vanessa: Okay.

1:11:32 Yeah, I feel like our neighborhood's not dangerous at all.

1:11:34 Dan: It's very safe, yeah.

1:11:35 Vanessa: But even if you leave to go away for a week,

1:11:39 and you want to be able to see outside the house, that could be helpful, yeah.

1:11:43 Dan: Yeah, and in modern times there's

1:11:45 a lot of really good security systems out there.

1:11:48 Vanessa: Yeah, that could be helpful.

1:11:50 I feel like, for me, my answer to this is- Dan:

1:11:53 This shows how much Vanessa cares about electronics.

1:11:56 Vanessa: I had to think about this for a long time,

1:11:59 because I don't really care about electronics that much- Dan:

1:12:01 I always choose the electronics, I bought her computer.

1:12:03 I actually built her computer.

1:12:04 Vanessa: Yeah, Dan built the computer that we

1:12:07 use for editing and for doing work, but I feel like for me something electronic

1:12:13 that I would like to upgrade is kind of practical,

1:12:17 our car that we have, you use a key to open it, and that's fine.

1:12:22 Dan: What?

1:12:23 You use a key?

1:12:24 Vanessa: But it would be really great to have a beeper button,

1:12:28 so this is pretty typical- Dan:

1:12:29 This is funny because everybody in America has this, except for us.

1:12:32 Vanessa: Yeah, I think if your car is newer than 2000,

1:12:36 so if it's within the last 20 years,

1:12:40 you probably have a beeper that opens the car door.

1:12:43 Some really new cars have a beeper that turns on the car,

1:12:46 I don't need that, I just would like a beeper that can open the door,

1:12:50 because we have a two year old and soon we will have another child,

1:12:54 and opening the car on one side, going to the other, putting him in the car,

1:12:58 coming back, unlocking it, it seems so- Dan:

1:13:00 Yeah, we never realized how much we'd appreciate this.

1:13:03 Vanessa: Yeah, I would really appreciate this small convenience.

1:13:05 Dan: I mean, our car should have this, but we bought it used,

1:13:08 and the person who sold us the car lost those keys.

1:13:11 Vanessa: Yeah, they only had the regular key.

1:13:13 Dan: Yeah.

1:13:14 Vanessa: So do you think that it's possible,

1:13:16 because that existed before, could we do this?

1:13:18 Dan: Yes, it's very easy.

1:13:19 Vanessa: Oh, really?

1:13:20 Dan: Yeah, we have to go to the dealership and ask them,

1:13:23 and they have to calibrate it.

1:13:24 Vanessa: And we have to just buy more keys?

1:13:27 My dream is going to come true.

1:13:28 Dan: We could make this happen.

1:13:29 Vanessa: Okay.

1:13:30 Dan: But I think at the time when I asked

1:13:33 the dealership about that, we had just bought the car,

1:13:35 and it was pretty expensive,

1:13:36 and we didn't really have that much money, and I was like,

1:13:39 "We can't afford to get the keys too." Vanessa:

1:13:41 Sure, because we decided to pay for the car outright.

1:13:44 Dan: Right.

1:13:45 But it's definitely doable, this very simple fix in your life.

1:13:49 Vanessa: Wow, dreams come true right here on YouTube, thank you.

1:13:52 Well, I'm curious for you, if you could upgrade,

1:13:55 or if you could have some electronics completely for free with no price added,

1:14:00 what would you like to upgrade in your life?

1:14:03 I'm curious.

1:14:04 Let us know.

1:14:05 All right.

1:14:06 Let's go to the last topic.

1:14:08 Our final topic is money.

1:14:11 I want to know, what are three purchases that you regret?

1:14:16 Three things that were not worth it.

1:14:17 Dan: That I regret.

1:14:18 Not three things I love?

1:14:19 Vanessa: No, what were three purchases that after you bought it you said,

1:14:23 "Ah, I shouldn't have bought this." Dan: Oh, okay, so regretful purchases.

1:14:28 Vanessa: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

1:14:29 Dan: Well, the first one I can think of kind

1:14:31 of checks all of the boxes as something you regret.

1:14:34 Because in the first place, you didn't want me to buy this.

1:14:37 Vanessa: Because it was- Dan: Expensive.

1:14:39 Vanessa:...

1:14:39 headphones.

1:14:40 We were talking about music devices.

1:14:41 Dan: We were talking about it.

1:14:43 Yes.

1:14:44 I already had headphones that I listen to all the time- Vanessa: That he loves.

1:14:48 Dan:...

1:14:49 so I was already getting the judgment feelings from Vanessa,

1:14:52 but I thought maybe I wanted something with even better sound,

1:14:56 maybe a different kind of sound.

1:14:57 I was looking for the new sound.

1:14:59 Vanessa: But what happened?

1:15:01 Dan: We didn't have very much money at this time either,

1:15:04 so- Vanessa: Ah, that was another layer.

1:15:06 Dan:...

1:15:06 I bought these over $100 headphones, and we took them home,

1:15:11 and they started hurting my ears- Vanessa: Because they were kind of- Dan:...

1:15:15 they were just painful.

1:15:16 Vanessa:...

1:15:16 they were like noise canceling headphones?

1:15:18 Dan: No, it's like they're on ear, they just,

1:15:20 they weren't really build to listen to as long as I do.

1:15:23 Vanessa: Okay.

1:15:24 Dan: So they hurt my ears, and I was like, "Oh, no.

1:15:27 They're hurting my ears, this is really bad." Vanessa:

1:15:29 "I can't tell Vanessa." Dan: "I can't." Yeah.

1:15:32 But then also, we bought them in South Korea,

1:15:34 and the place that I bought them had a no return policy,

1:15:37 so I couldn't return them.

1:15:39 Vanessa: And then what happened?

1:15:41 Dan: And then I brought them home, and I sat them down,

1:15:45 and our cat walked up to them and bit the cord and just broke them.

1:15:50 Vanessa: Yes, within five minutes.

1:15:51 Dan: Within five minutes.

1:15:53 No, like five seconds.

1:15:54 The second I sat the headphones down, the cat bit them.

1:15:57 Vanessa: And it was the kind of cord

1:15:59 that you can't just take out and replace it, you have to do some...

1:16:01 you have to send it into the company and pay a lot to get it fixed.

1:16:04 Dan: Well, I didn't know how to fix it.

1:16:05 I think my dad actually fixed it later and he used them.

1:16:08 Vanessa: Oh, that's good.

1:16:09 Dan: So there you go, it actually worked out in the end.

1:16:11 Vanessa: Wow.

1:16:12 But yeah, there was a couple layers of regret.

1:16:13 Dan: Yeah, there was a lot of layers of regret,

1:16:15 and then the cat bit the cord anyway.

1:16:17 Vanessa: Ah, and that's something that we should have known.

1:16:21 We should have put them up somewhere, you could have put them somewhere else,

1:16:25 but it just kind of was icing on the cake.

1:16:27 Dan: Yeah.

1:16:28 Vanessa: Which means, it was one more thing.

1:16:30 Dan: Now I can't even use them.

1:16:31 Because I was like hoping, "Oh, some day maybe they'll be more comfortable.

1:16:33 Maybe they'll just feel better, I'll get used to them." Vanessa:

1:16:36 But then you can't even use them because our cat bit the cord.

1:16:38 Dan: Yep.

1:16:39 Vanessa: Well, that's a regretful purchase.

1:16:41 Dan: There you go, there's a whole story behind that.

1:16:42 Vanessa: Yeah, can I say one of mine first?

1:16:44 Dan: Go ahead.

1:16:45 Yes.

1:16:46 Vanessa: Okay.

1:16:47 One of mine is much smaller,

1:16:49 but it is anytime that I buy tea at Starbucks, always a bad decision.

1:16:53 Dan: Sorry, Starbucks.

1:16:54 Vanessa: Yeah, but I don't like coffee,

1:16:57 and if I go to Starbucks that's the only drink that I can drink,

1:17:01 because they have a lot of coffee stuff,

1:17:04 a lot of sweet stuff, but one tea bag at Starbucks,

1:17:07 you're just buying a tea bag with hot water,

1:17:10 they're not making anything- Dan: Fancy.

1:17:12 Vanessa:...

1:17:13 it's not a specialized drink.

1:17:15 It's just hot water and a tea bag, and it's like $2.50, or something.

1:17:22 Like $2.50 just for a bag of tea.

1:17:25 And you can buy a whole box of tea for the same price.

1:17:28 Dan: By the way, this is the difference between Vanessa and I,

1:17:32 is that I would never sweat a purchase like that.

1:17:35 Vanessa: Well for me it's the taste.

1:17:36 It's not necessarily the price, the price is high for tea,

1:17:40 but the taste is never worth it.

1:17:44 It's just mediocre tea, it's not even that great.

1:17:46 Dan: I'd still never regret it.

1:17:48 Vanessa: Yeah, well- Dan: I don't regret cheap purchases,

1:17:50 I never think about it.

1:17:52 Vanessa: I feel like for me it's just annoying because I want

1:17:54 to have a cool drink if I'm going to a coffee shop,

1:17:57 but then it's just a tea bag in water.

1:18:00 It's not even loose leaf tea.

1:18:01 Anyway, I'm a tea snob, so let's go to yours.

1:18:04 Dan: That's true.

1:18:05 All right, the next in my list could be actually a category in and of itself,

1:18:09 but the most recent occurrence was when we went

1:18:12 to a place on our beach vacation called The Turtle Museum.

1:18:16 Vanessa: Oh.

1:18:17 Dan: And it sounded all fancy, but it was probably $15 bucks a person to get in.

1:18:22 Vanessa: Yeah, it was like a turtle rehabilitation center.

1:18:25 Dan: Yeah, but there was just one room with some pictures on the wall,

1:18:29 and then we thought we were going to see turtles up close and personal,

1:18:33 but they were just in big swimming pools and you could barely see them.

1:18:36 Vanessa: Were they breathing out of their butts?

1:18:37 Dan: They probably were at the time.

1:18:39 Vanessa: No, they're sea turtles.

1:18:40 Dan: You're right, they weren't breathing out of their butts.

1:18:43 And so I was just disappointed with the whole

1:18:46 experience and didn't think it was worth it.

1:18:48 Although, that was a little different because I

1:18:50 felt like I was donating because they rescue turtles,

1:18:53 but there are a lot of places that are like this, like a museum,

1:18:57 or some kind of show that maybe you pay a up front cost,

1:19:01 and then the show or the museum is just not very good, or boring.

1:19:05 Vanessa: Yeah, like have you ever traveled

1:19:06 somewhere and you paid to enter a museum,

1:19:08 or you paid to enter some building and it just wasn't worth it.

1:19:12 I feel like that's happened a lot,

1:19:13 and that's just the most recent for us, is that, "Okay,

1:19:16 I feel okay because I donated some money to that turtle rehabilitation center."

1:19:21 But we didn't really get to see turtles in the way that we wanted to.

1:19:27 Dan: I wanted to touch a turtle.

1:19:28 Vanessa: Oh, but they are in a hospital, they're being rehabilitated.

1:19:31 Dan: That's true, it was a turtle hospital.

1:19:33 Vanessa: Yeah.

1:19:34 Do you have any other- Dan: But it sounded way cooler- Vanessa: Oh, yeah.

1:19:36 Yeah, it did sound cool.

1:19:37 "Go to the turtle center and see the turtles." Dan:

1:19:39 Yeah, my last thing is just a small thing.

1:19:41 I bought some t-shirts online, and it's kind of iffy to buy clothes online,

1:19:46 but I always felt like I like the picture that was on them,

1:19:50 but then the quality of the shirt wasn't very good or- Vanessa:

1:19:53 Especially when it's online, you can't feel it.

1:19:55 Dan:...

1:19:55 it didn't fit that well.

1:19:56 Yeah, not a great idea.

1:19:57 I've regretted some of those purchases.

1:19:59 Vanessa: Another thing that I feel like I've bought that wasn't worth it,

1:20:02 this is a general category, but it's some toys for our, now he's two year old,

1:20:08 but throughout his short life,

1:20:09 some toys that I bought for him that I thought he'd like,

1:20:12 because he played with at a friend's house,

1:20:15 or I just thought it would be cool, but he didn't really like it.

1:20:18 For example, there's this thing that was...

1:20:21 it's like a bead maze, and I remember liking this as a kid,

1:20:25 which is why I got it- Dan: I thought he played with that.

1:20:27 Vanessa: Not really, he kind of wanted to just pull the beads off,

1:20:31 but he couldn't play with.

1:20:33 But I remember I played with it as a kid, and I found it at a second hand store.

1:20:37 It was like $10, it wasn't that much, but I thought he'd play with it.

1:20:42 I was like, "This is it.

1:20:43 He's going to play with this for so long,

1:20:44 it's going to be great." And he just never really played with it.

1:20:47 So I feel like- Dan: This will probably be an ongoing problem.

1:20:50 Vanessa: Yeah.

1:20:51 So now I- Dan: Now that we have kids.

1:20:52 Vanessa: I've tried to kind of back up and think,

1:20:55 "Okay, he likes to play with these three things.

1:20:58 If other people want to give him presents, and give him other toys, that's fine,

1:21:03 but I'm not really going to invest in more toys because

1:21:08 he kind of likes the same things all the time." Dan: Legos, legos, legos.

1:21:13 Vanessa: Legos, legos, legos.

1:21:14 Sometimes Play-Doh, sometimes the sandbox.

1:21:17 Dan: But mostly legos.

1:21:18 Vanessa: But generally the same couple toys again, and again, and again.

1:21:22 So I'm curious for you, what are some purchases that you've made

1:21:26 that weren't worth it, that you regretted?

1:21:28 This video is free on YouTube, so this is not a purchase.

1:21:32 I hope that you have not regretted spending your time, though, with us.

1:21:34 Dan: Yeah, I know what you wouldn't regret,

1:21:37 purchasing the Fearless Fluency Club.

1:21:38 Vanessa: Oh.

1:21:39 Well- Dan: There's a pitch for you.

1:21:41 Vanessa: This is our monthly English course where

1:21:44 we teach about a different topic every month,

1:21:47 and you learn the vocabulary, phrasal verbs, pronunciation.

1:21:49 We have a private Facebook group where a lot

1:21:52 of members meet together and talk together to practice speaking English.

1:21:57 And once a month I have a group Google hangout and we talk together.

1:22:00 Just a great way to expand your English and be able to learn more.

1:22:05 So if you enjoyed our conversation today- Dan: Yeah, and one might say,

1:22:08 "Become fluent." Vanessa: Yes, I hope so, become more confident.

1:22:10 Well, thank you so much for joining me today.

1:22:12 Dan: You're welcome.

1:22:13 We're done?

1:22:14 Vanessa: Wow, this was a lot.

1:22:15 Dan: Can you believe it?

1:22:16 Did you make it all the way though?

1:22:17 Vanessa: If you made it this far, congratulations.

1:22:19 Pat yourself on the back.

1:22:21 We asked a lot of questions today,

1:22:23 so I'm going to put those in the description below,

1:22:26 so that you can go to each topic if

1:22:28 you want to go back and watch a certain topic,

1:22:30 or if you saw some vocabulary appear that you'd like to review and practice,

1:22:35 you can always go back and review what we talked about.

1:22:38 If you have any questions, feel free to ask,

1:22:40 and make sure that you write a comment

1:22:41 and answer some of these questions yourself, use English.

1:22:44 Dan: Yes.

1:22:45 Vanessa: Thank you so much for joining me, Dan.

1:22:46 Dan: You're welcome.

1:22:47 It was very enjoyable.

1:22:48 Vanessa: Yes, I appreciate your time.

1:22:49 Dan: It was a journey.

1:22:50 Vanessa: Your energy.

1:22:51 Oh, it was a journey.

1:22:52 Yes, we went through a lot of different topics today.

1:22:54 Thank you so much as well for learning English with me and with Dan today,

1:22:58 I'll see you next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.

1:23:02 Bye.

1:23:03 Dan: Bye.

1:23:04 Vanessa: The next step is to download my free ebook,

1:23:07 Five Steps to Becoming A Confident English Speaker.

1:23:10 You'll learn what you need to do to speak confidently and fluently.

1:23:15 Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for more free lessons.

1:23:19 Thanks so much.

1:23:20 Bye.