TQ 015 Karyn from Canada

Karyn is my coworker and neighbor in China. She has a background in opera and classical music and teaches Young Adult Literature and a music and singing class at my college. We use these words in our discussion that you may not know: genealogy, bitterly cold, Canuck, Yankee, bassoon, oboe and latitude and longitude. As you'll hear in the podcast, Karyn and I couldn't remember which was latitude and which was longitude! You'll also hear me give her an important lesson in the correct use of the word "Yankee". Never, ever, call a person from the southern part of the U.S. a Yankee or a Yank. The Yankees were the ones who beat us in the Civil War more than 150 years ago (1861-1865). Karyn and I have a good time talking about music and a lot of other things in this interview. We laugh a lot. Fortunately, I always put my podcast audio files through a program that balances the sounds, so our loud laughing won't hurt your ears. Enjoy!

TQ 014 Idair from Spain

Idair from Spain is on a long bike trip, starting in India, then going to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and China. He wants to ride around China for a while, and then go up to Mongolia. I hosted him in my apartment in Nanning, China for four nights. In the interview, I said that he would pack and leave afterwards, but actually he decided to stay one more night. He was happy to spend some time talking with the French cyclists that had arrived that noontime, so he asked if he could stay another night. I was glad to hear that. I enjoy hosting long-distance cyclists. They inspire me. Listen in this podcast to Idair talk about his name, his bike trip and his home in southern Spain.

TQ 013 My mother from the U.S.

In this interview, I talk to . . . my mother! She's 79 years old and is still active. She does yoga twice a week with a group of older people and she takes a walk most mornings. Listen as my mother talks about being a non-traditional student, taking a hot air balloon ride and zip-lining. She also talks a lot about two of her favorite things: quilting and her pet kittycat, Gabby.

TQ 012

This interview was recorded while I was in the U.S. this summer. Kersten is 19 years old and at the time of the interview was working at home before she left for university. Now she is a freshman (first year student). She is the older sister of Nicole from TQ 011. Listen as she talks about how her family likes to go camping by a lake and as she tells us about her high school graduation.

TQ 011 Nicole from the U.S.

Nicole is 16 years old and is a high school student in the U.S. I interviewed her while I was in Arkansas in late July. Listen as she talks about her high school marching band, family vacations, and Abraham Lincoln. Also notice how she says "Yes, ma'am" to me. She's a polite Southern girl!

TQ 010 My brother Eric from the U.S.

This was recorded the day after I got home in mid-July. You can hear my mother doing things in the kitchen. Eric has lived in several states and also in Korea and in the Federated States of Micronesia, which is a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. In this interview he talks about fishing and deer hunting and gives suggestions about writing essays in English. Listen for him to say a phrase in Korean and me to say a few words in Spanish.

TQ 009 

Junyu (Jay) is a third-year university student majoring in law. 

TQ 008 Xiazhu (Kathy) from China

I've been busy with last-minute preparations to leave the U.S., then I had two days of traveling to my home in China, then I've had a combination of jetlag and schoolwork to do. These are my excuses as to why I'm about ten days late with this podcast. I'm sorry about that and will do better in the future. This podcast and the next one were recorded in July before I left China for the U.S. Then the next four were recorded while I was home with my mother. After these are all on iTunes, etc, I will record new podcasts with a variety of people. Maybe you are tired of listening to Americans and Chinese. Don't worry! You will have more variety in October.

TQ 007

In this podcast you will hear Erica, an English as a Second Language teacher who worked with me last year. She was born in England but immigrated to Canada when she was 31. Listen for her accent, which is a mixture of British English and Canadian English. Also listen for words like voracious, genre and guilty pleasure. 

Zhen is an outgoing and popular student whose English name is Louis. He is in his third year of university and is studying law. In this interview he talks about his grandfather, his favorite sport and how he got his English name. You'll also hear him use the word "nah". Do you know what that means?