Mandarin Monkey Podcast

What would you do if you had to make a difficult decision in just 30 seconds?

Would you share £5 million with a friend, reveal someone's secret before their wedding, or give up your dream job for your family?

In this episode, Ula and Tom take on 10 dilemmas, each with an unexpected twist! Some decisions are easy, others lead to disagreements, and a few reveal more about us than we expected.

Join our natural Mandarin and English conversation, play along, and see whether you'd make the same choices!

🐵 **Want to improve your Mandarin through real conversations?** Visit here 👉 https://mandarinmonkey.com/yt

for Mandarin lessons, speaking practice, weekly challenges and more!

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What would you do if a friend showed up an hour late without apologising? Would you confront them or quietly cut them off?

After 11 years of marriage, how well can Ula and Tom really predict each other's reactions? From embarrassing public moments and unexpected money to friendships, travel and everyday dilemmas, we put each other to the test! Some answers are surprisingly accurate, while others lead to hilarious disagreements. Join us for a fun, natural conversation in Mandarin and English, and see whose side you're on!

Want to improve your Mandarin through real conversations?

Visit www.mandarinmonkey.com for Mandarin lessons, speaking practice, flashcards and more!

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Is this normal, weird, or completely unacceptable?

We put 20 things and behaviours to the test, and some of our answers might surprise you!

From wearing the same underwear two days in a row and talking to yourself to little white lies, awkward social situations and secret habits, Ula and Tom share their opinions, funny stories and unexpected confessions.

Join us for a relaxed Mandarin-English conversation and see how many of these things you do too!

Want to improve your Mandarin through real conversations?

Join us at mandarinmonkey.com for lessons, speaking practice, flashcards and more!

https://www.mandarinmonkey.com/yt

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What if you could redesign your life, but every choice came with an unexpected catch?

From teleporting anywhere and swapping lives with celebrities to choosing the perfect home, we're making 12 impossible decisions in our usual mix of Mandarin and English.

Would you make the same choices? Learn Mandarin through real conversations, lessons, flashcards and more at MandarinMonkey.com!

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Visit our website: www.mandarinmonkey.com

Growing up in Taiwan and Britain was VERY different! From strict school punishments and childhood freedom to pocket money, video games and family expectations, we look back at our childhoods and ask whether our own kids could survive them today.

Join us for another relaxed Mandarin-English conversation filled with childhood memories, funny stories and surprising cultural differences. Want to practise your Mandarin through real conversations? Visit mandarinmonkey.com to explore our lessons, Hangouts and Mandarin learning community.

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Is it rude to walk through a door without saying thank you? Would you tell a stranger how much you earn? And is it acceptable to tell someone they've put on weight?

Apparently, the answers depend on whether you're British or Taiwanese.

In Mandarin Monkey Podcast Episode 484, British husband Tom and Taiwanese wife Ula put 12 everyday social situations to the test, deciding whether they're RUDE, POLITE or completely NORMAL in their respective cultures.

From Taiwanese hospitality and British manners to taking your shoes off indoors, arguing over restaurant bills, refusing invitations and dealing with interfering parents, we discover just how differently two cultures can interpret the same behaviour.

Along the way, we get into British politeness, Taiwanese family expectations, awkward social encounters and the little cultural misunderstandings that come with being in a British-Taiwanese marriage.

Expect plenty of disagreement, a bit of British sarcasm and natural Mandarin Chinese conversation throughout.

What's considered rude in your country that would be normal somewhere else?

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Practise your Mandarin with our weekly challenges, explore our learning tools or book online Mandarin lessons with native Taiwanese teachers.

You can join our community even if you're not ready for lessons.

About the podcast

Mandarin Monkey is a bilingual Mandarin-English conversation podcast hosted by Tom and Ula. We explore Taiwan, British culture, family life and language learning through relaxed conversations in Mandarin Chinese and English.

Perfect for Mandarin learners looking for natural Chinese listening practice and anyone interested in Taiwanese culture.

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After years of living in Taiwan and being married to a Taiwanese woman, how Taiwanese has Tom actually become? Ula puts her British husband through 12 everyday situations, from accepting gifts and getting sick to talking about money, feeding guests and surviving a 32°C Taiwanese summer.

Mandarin Monkey is a bilingual Mandarin-English podcast about language, culture, Taiwan, Britain and life in a cross-cultural family. If you’re learning Mandarin and want to practise with teachers from Taiwan, visit MandarinMonkey.com.

Visit Mandarin Monkey website: https://www.mandarinmonkey.com/podcast

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Check out our website: https://www.mandarinmonkey.com/yt

What would happen if we combined the best parts of Taiwan and the UK into one perfect country? In this episode, we compare everyday life across healthcare, schools, food, transport, housing, parenting, safety and more, and for each one, we have to choose Taiwan or Britain.

Mandarin Monkey is a relaxed bilingual Mandarin-English podcast about language, culture, family and life between Taiwan and the UK. We naturally switch between Mandarin and English, so you can enjoy real conversation while getting more Mandarin exposure along the way.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom has a list of bizarre Mandarin words that even Ula doesn’t hear every day — from anatomy and chemicals to tools and completely ridiculous phrases.

How many can Ula guess? And more importantly… how many would you know?

Learn Mandarin with us at Mandarin Monkey 👇

https://www.mandarinmonkey.com/podcast

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Links:

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Join learners from around the world for fun discussions, games, and real conversations in our Mandarin Hangouts.

Start speaking more Mandarrin today: https://mandarinmonkey.com/hangouts/

Description

What do your weird dreams actually mean? 😴💭

In Mandarin Monkey Podcast Episode 480, Ula and Tom get into a very random but surprisingly deep conversation about dreams, relationships, stress, sleep and teeth falling out...etc. All while naturally switching between Mandarin Chinese and English.

Ula talks about dreaming that Tom was with someone else… which leads us down a rabbit hole of whether cheating dreams actually mean anything. We also look at one of the most common dreams: your teeth falling out. Is it stress? Losing control? Getting older? Major changes in life? Or could it simply be because you’re grinding your teeth while you sleep?

We also chat about:

• Why English has overwhelmed and underwhelmed… but not “whelmed”

• Strange and useless vocabulary you learn in another language

• Trying to understand different British accents

• Sleep problems and ways people try to fall asleep

• Stress, confidence and body image

• Teeth grinding and sleep guards

• Moving countries and how big life changes affect you

• Parenting and trying to get medical appointments in the UK

• The big Mandarin Monkey website update 🎉

As always, this is a natural bilingual conversation with plenty of real Mandarin and English, random tangents and vocabulary you can pick up from context.

If you're learning Mandarin and want to get more comfortable understanding real spoken Chinese, listen along and see how much you can catch!

🐒 Want to practise speaking Mandarin with us?

Visit MandarinMonkey.com and book a free lesson.

And tell us in the comments:

What’s the weirdest dream you’ve ever had? 👇

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