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By "go-to songs," I mean those reliable favorites you find yourself choosing again and again, depending on your mood or the situation. For me, my choices highly depend on who I'm with. Generally, I pick songs that everyone knows. That said, there are fewer chances to go to karaoke with colleagues since the pandemic, and my mother and other family members are getting older. As a result, lately, I mostly just enjoy karaoke at holiday resorts. I have a specific approach to choosing songs: I carefully observe the other guests—their backgrounds and age groups—as well as the atmosphere before making my selection.  Kind of like a private detective! Two years ago, I sang Queen’s "Don't Stop Me Now," and the crowd got really fired up. Also, last year when I sang "Santa Lucia," performing the first verse in Italian and the second in Japanese. It was a huge hit not only with guests from Italy but with travelers from other countries as well! Karaoke is originally from Japan and is somewhat ingrained in Japanese culture. When I travel abroad, I think people sometimes underestimate me because of my small stature.  However, after I get on the mic at karaoke, I have them eating out of the palm of my hand.  I often bond with people from other countries following karaoke. They look at me with newfound respect, thinking, "Wow, that Japanese lady really knows how to get the party going!”

One of the things I really enjoy about traveling abroad is connecting with locals, so I studied a little Italian before the trip.   I learned phrases like, “Vorrei un cappuccino e un cornetto, per favore.” It means “A cappuccino and a croissant, please.” When I actually used it at a café and the staff understood me, I was so happy. I also practiced simple words like “Scusi,” “Buongiorno,” “Grazie,” and “Mi dispiace.”   But the most useful word I learned was this: “Aiuto!” It means “Help!”   We took a high-speed train from Rome to a port city called Salerno. I went to use the restroom in the station, and there was an old man collecting money from people to use it. In Japan, that would be unusual, but in Italy, even station toilets aren’t free. I gave him one euro, and he let me in.   The women’s restroom was occupied, so he pointed to a handicap restroom, like “You can use that one.” I went in, closed the heavy sliding door, and locked it… The lock felt a bit shaky, but I thought nothing of it.   After, I was washing my hands, even humming a little, feeling relaxed. Then I tried to unlock the door… and—wait… what? It wouldn’t open! The lock just kept spinning, no matter how many times I turned it.   I started to panic. “Oh no, I’m stuck in here?!”   So I shouted, “Aiuto! Aiuto! AIUTO!!!” while banging on the door.   Then the old man from outside came and started shaking the door, and somehow forced it open. He was saying something in Italian, but I couldn’t understand. He looked happy when the door finally opened.   I was just so relieved. I said, “Grazie!” and even gave him a big hug.   That experience made me think—when I travel abroad, I should definitely remember the words for “Help!” and “Thank you” wherever I go!

So, our bathroom faucet had been dripping for a few days, no matter how tightly I turned it off. My husband called a repair service, but since he had to go into the office, I was left to hold down the fort and handle the appointment. The moment the repairman walked in, he completely ignored the leak and went straight into “full-on salesman” mode. He was like, “Hey, if you buy this brand-new, fancy shower set right now, I can give you a massive discount!” I instantly got bad vibes from him and thought, “Okay, this guy is sketchy as hell.” I couldn't believe my husband had hired someone like this! The energy in the room became incredibly awkward. To protect myself—and our wallet—I had to play hardball…I called my husband right in front of the guy, demanding a formal quote, which I knew the guy couldn't produce. Then, as he was practically running out the door, I blocked his way and demanded his business card. The best part?  A week later, my husband called a different company, and they fixed it perfectly. He was so happy and thrilled with their service.  But honestly? Seeing him look so satisfied after leaving me with that nightmare made me absolutely furious!

We started sightseeing by taking the subway to the Vatican. The problem was, we didn’t have any coins or small bills, so we put a 50-euro bill which is about 9,000yen into the ticket machine. We didn’t really understand how to use it, and the moment my husband pressed the cancel button… the bill slot started flashing red, and the touchscreen completely froze. Of course, the money wasn’t returned either. I was like, “Oh no, it’s broken!” So I went to the staff member standing next to the ticket gate and explained the situation in English. But he just snapped at me, saying something like, “I’m not in charge of the ticket machine! You deal with it yourself!” — mixing English and Italian and kind of shouting. I didn’t know what to do… Then, suddenly, two really cool guys in uniform walked by. They had “ITAPOL” written on their backs. I asked them for help, and they were so kind. They listened carefully and even called the ticket machine company for us. But the company said they would come in three hours… which was impossible because we had a reservation at the Vatican. So, sadly, we had to give up on getting our money back. The two cool guys felt sorry for us and even helped us buy two tickets for 1 and a half euros each using a credit card at another machine. To say thank you, we gave them some Japanese rice crackers we had brought from Japan. We said, “Molto molto grazie!!” and everyone was smiling when we parted ways😊 Even though it was a rough start, Rome was absolutely beautiful. The whole city was just like the place I had dreamed of. We took so many photos! At the Trevi Fountain, a tiny old lady handed me her phone and asked me to take her picture. I had heard that there are a lot of pickpockets around there, so I was a bit cautious… but honestly, I thought, “Well, I can probably handle this grandma if anything happens,” so I took the picture. She gave me the sweetest smile, and when I showed her the photo so she could check it, she got super excited, saying “Grazie, grazie, grazie!” with big hand gestures. Then she joked, “I’m cheap, right?” and tossed a 10-cent coin into the fountain. We laughed, and we also threw a 1-euro coin in for good luck, hoping we could come back to Rome someday.

For our trip to Italy, we booked everything with our smartphones—just tapping away. Cheap flights, hotels, tickets to St. Peter’s Basilica, even the high-speed train from Rome to Salerno. Honestly, I felt like all you need for international travel these days is your passport, a credit card, and your phone… And I think that’s what led to me getting a little overconfident. I was thinking, “No problem, we’ll just connect to the internet with an eSIM as soon as we arrive. And if English doesn’t work, I can just use Google Translate to communicate in Italian. It’s all figured out! Piece of cake! I’m unstoppable!” On the other hand, my husband is still very analog… He was like, “I don’t trust that stuff. We should have everything on paper, just in case.” He insisted we print everything out, so I did—just to make him feel better. We arrived in Rome around 8 p.m. Okay, time to connect the eSIM and use Google Maps to get to our hotel… but no matter how many times I tried, it just wouldn’t work. I started to panic. I had heard the area around Termini Station wasn’t very safe, so the idea of getting lost there at night was really scary. And then—my husband calmly pulled out a paper guidebook from his backpack and said, “I memorized the map just in case.” And I’m not even kidding—he started walking confidently like he’d been there before, barely even looking at the map. And somehow… we made it safely to the hotel. We were starving by then, so we went to a restaurant near the hotel that he had already researched. That was our first meal in Rome—pizza Margherita. The inside of the restaurant kind of looked like Saizeriya, but wow, everything tasted amazing! Seeing my husband lead the way like that made him seem more confident and reliable than usual… and it kind of brought back the feelings from our honeymoon.

We flew from Australia to New Zealand, then took a bus from Auckland airport to Sky city which was near our Airbnb. Google said it was a 10-minute walk on flat ground from the bus stop to the AirBnB. We felt like that was manageable, so we started walking with our heavy suitcases. Google lied!🤥 The city of Auckland is made up of steep hills except around the harbor. As elderly travelers, were  huffing and puffing right away.  Some very kind locals offered to give us a lift, but I smiled and said we were fine.  To be honest, I was completely exhausted though. Auckland is a very beautiful city where urban life and nature mix seamlessly. In particular the yacht harbor is a sight to behold.  Over 2000 yachts are moored there. I was surprised to hear that a building that looks  like a giant Japanese multi story parking garage is entirely for yachts! We stayed in Auckland for 6 days, spending our time relaxing.  We went to some small islands using public buses and ferries.  We strolled around leisurely, stopping for tea whenever we felt like it. Public transportation was cheap and very convenient as you could just tap your credit card to pay. By the way, we celebrated the New Year in Auckland. We heard that fireworks would be displayed at the Sky Tower and we wanted to see them…. But we got tired of the crowds and decided to just go to bed.  We fell asleep with the festival commotion outside as our lullaby.

My husband and I got married 30 years ago, back when Japan’s economy was still strong. For our honeymoon, we chose a Caribbean resort in Jamaica. To be honest, we were torn between seeing the historic sites of Rome in Italy and just kicking back on the beach at an all-inclusive resort in Jamaica. My husband had already been to Paris and London when he was a student, and since Jamaica was much farther from Japan, he said, “Let’s go to Jamaica! Don’t worry baby, I’ll take you to Italy soon anyway.” So, we picked Jamaica, and off course, it was an unforgettable honeymoon. Over the next 30 years, we raised two children and cared for my husband’s parents until the end of their lives. Our days were busy, and time just flew by. I would sometimes mention the Italy trip that he promised me, but there were always reason why we couldn’t go… he couldn’t take time off, or it was too expensive for our situation at the time. So when we did travel it was always to somewhere nearby. We never went further than Southeast Asia. This year, when we were talking about our next trip, he asked me, “How about Vietnam?” …but I had waited long enough! “When the hell are you actually going to take me to Italy!? With things like COVID and wars happening unexpectedly, if we keep saying ‘next time,’ we might miss our chance!” I said to him. That finally convinced him. Now, after 30 years of waiting, we’re finally leaving Asia and heading to Europe. Our long-awaited Roman holiday, three decades in the making, has finally begun!

It’s surprising that six years have already passed since I started studying English again. I vividly remember my buried passion for English reemerging when I saw a YouTube video of a bilingual Japanese lady traveling around the world using English fluently and effortlessly. Before I knew it, I was drawn in, and studying English quickly became part of my daily life. In the first three years, I was obsessed with exploring all the new ways of studying that didn’t exist when I was a student, like taking online lessons, watching YouTube videos created by native speakers, and listening to podcasts. There were days when I felt like I was really improving, but there were also days when I completely lost confidence. It was like an emotional roller coaster back then. However, about four years into this journey, something changed. It felt like English was no longer something outside of me that I was trying to grasp. It started to feel like the language had been embedded in me. I suddenly started to actually enjoy reading English books, and began learning more naturally rather than constantly seeking new learning methods. Now I don’t feel overwhelmed when I encounter new words or confusing phrases. I tend to get a thrill that there’s something new I can learn, and there is no shortage of these thrills! Looking back, I feel like everything I’ve done was necessary, even though I felt I was not making any progress at that time. Most importantly, the greatest treasure has been the unexpected gifts along the way, discovering what I love and meeting amazing people. They mean even more to me than the language itself!

Thanks for tuning in to the English Learners Club. You know, learning English isn't just about grammar and pronunciation—it's about the wonderful people we meet along the way! Today, I want to tell you a story about respect, family, and a very special person. All right then, let's dive in. Among the listeners of the 'GoGo Abe Kaiwa' podcast, there are many fascinating women. Today, I’d like to talk about one of them, who is a Japanese English teacher. I first heard about her from one of the podcast hosts. He expressed great respect for her on the show. It all started with a message she sent him on his birthday: 'Happy birthday! Your birthday is also a day that reminds you to thank your mother for giving birth to you.' What a sweet message! I was deeply moved by her words. Later, I heard her being interviewed on another program and I found myself hanging on her every word. After that, I started listening to a podcast she does with her friends, where they speak both English and Japanese. Her voice is charming, and I found her personality so intriguing—she sounds serious and responsible when speaking Japanese, but when she speaks English, she has a beautiful accent, and she comes across as incredibly sociable and cheerful. I truly understood where she got her lovely character when I met her mother. Her mother was modest, refined, and dignified—the epitome of a quintessential Japanese mother. Her posts on social media often show how much she cherishes her family. There are many other sides to her besides being a teacher. For instance, when she dances, she demonstrates grace and a vibrance that is captivating. She’s quite a bit younger than me, but my respect for her grows every time we meet. We both have had ups and downs in life. My message to her is this… “Hey! Let’s make some lemonade from Hiroshima lemons, laugh, and chug it down in beer mugs!🍋🍺” Thank you for listening! Keep learning, keep practicing, and always remember to have fun. See you in the next episode. Bye for now!

Last Christmas, my husband and I were in Sydney. We left the cold Japanese winter for Sydney in midsummer. It was late at night when we left the airport and the temperature was 28 degrees. We were excited about sightseeing the next day. First we headed to Sydney University where Harry Potter likely studied. Our hotel was close to Central Station, so we decided to take the train. Central Station itself is old and beautiful. It is huge and there are 25 platforms.  We had no idea which platform our train was, but a kind lady came and asked us if we were ok. We finally got on the train. Bu~~~~~~t it didn’t stop at the station we wanted to get off at!  It finally stopped several stations later and then we caught a train back again. By the way, from that day until we left, the sun was shining brightly, but there was always a cool breeze that kept the temperature low.  The hotel staff said the weather was strange. Some people wore tank tops, but others wore down jackets. We felt very hot the night before, so we went out with light clothes. My husband felt sick and stayed at the hotel on the third day. As soon as I came back from walking alone with thick clothes,there was a loud siren and an announcement to evacuate. Fortunately there wasn’t actually a fire. This is how the journey started. I’ll tell you more in the next monologue!

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to the English Learners Club. I'm Etsuko, and today, I'll talk about a movie called "The Penguin Lessons." I saw "The Penguin Lessons" at a movie theater last week. Before seeing it, I had heard about it and read a short teaser for it, which went as follows: “Inspired by the true story of a disillusioned Englishman named Tom who went to work at a school in Argentina in 1976. Expecting an easy ride, Tom discovers a divided nation and a class of unteachable students. However, after he rescues a penguin from an oil-slicked beach, his life is turned upside-down! The reasons I picked this movie were: 1) my birthday was coming up, so I wanted to take a day off work and go somewhere on a weekday, 2) it was cold outside, so I wanted to be indoors, and 3) it didn't have excellent reviews, but the penguin looked cute, so I said to my self, “hey, why not!" And decided to watch it. I didn’t set my expectations very high, but I was surprised! It was excellent! The penguin was cute, of course, and the lead actor's performance was fantastic. He brilliantly portrayed an intelligent English teacher who had lost motivation due to an unfortunate incident in his past, but then is faced with unforeseen challenges after being transferred to a non-English speaking country. I liked how the director portrayed the gradual changes in the atmosphere around him using the classroom scenes. For us English learners, the English poetry lessons were fascinating, even though it’s just a movie. Since watching this movie, I've been thinking deeply about many things that came up in it. Needless to say, I will definitely watch it again when I get the chance. This was the best movie of the year for me. Thank you for listening! Keep learning, keep practicing, and always remember to have fun. See you in the next episode. Bye for now!

A few weeks ago, I had an accident. It wasn’t serious, but one of my belongings fell over and hit a parked car. After I heard the thud and realized what had happened, it felt like time had stopped. I just stood there, not knowing what to say or do. Then I snapped back to reality and apologized profusely to the car’s owner, and we exchanged contact information. Even though I was able to remain calm on the outside, I couldn’t calm down right away. My mind was racing as I imagined the consequences. What if it costs 2 or 300,000yen? What if there's hidden damage underneath? I kept replaying the moment it fell over and over, thinking, "Why wasn't I more careful? How could I let this happen?” I tried everything to calm down. I talked to ChatGPT and did some journaling in the hope that this anxiety would go away. About a week later, I finally got the estimate, and it was for 78,000 yen. It was painful, but at the same time, I felt unexpectedly calm and all my anxious thoughts and feelings had completely gone. It made me realize how uncertainty amplifies our fears, and even if it is painful, clarity often comes with peace of mind. When things are unclear, negative thoughts start to swirl, and we imagine the worst case scenario. Anyway, no one was hurt, and now it’s all taken care of. Now, I try to think of it as having shaken off all my bad luck before the year ends. With that mindset, I’m ready to start the new year fresh!

My husband and I visited Bathala Island for the fourth consecutive time to the Maldives. We've been mesmerized by this cozy, small island, with wonderful staff, picturesque scenery, breathtaking views, and delicious food. I don't remember ever having any troubles there, but this time, there was a problem at the seaplane check-in counter. After weighing our suitcases and carry-on luggage, the staff gave us a paper stating that our luggage is "overweight" instead of a boarding pass. I tried to remember what to say in English in this situation, but while I hesitated, my husband tried to explain to the counter staff, by showing the paper and pointing to it, saying only two words in English: "Mistake" and "No.3". That was my husband's carry-on bag. It said that it was 30 kg. There's no way his carry-on luggage could be that heavy, right? The paper said it was 17 kg over the allowed limit, so we had to pay 97 dollars. Luckily, a manager at the airline helped us redo the check-in process, and we were finally able to get our boarding passes.The staff member who made the mistake mumbled something; I only heard "my apology." … Anyway, good job! my darling husband saved the day! Just when we thought we were in the clear, the flight was delayed. Normally, it takes 30 minutes to reach the island from the airport, but we waited for over 3 hours! They gave us a voucher for a sandwich and a bottle of water, and eventually a representative came to explain that they would be sending guests to their destinations via several other islands, and then deliver our luggage later. They asked us to sign an acknowledgment form to that effect. The weather was sunny and beautiful, so I was really disappointed that my luggage wouldn't arrive until the evening because my swimsuit was in it! Needless to say, it was a bit of a bumpy start, but this trip brought me some wonderful encounters. I met a beautiful, friendly, and kind Italian family: a mother with a lovely smile, a father with a cool voice, and a clever and handsome son, and an energetic, cute, and sweet daughter. We had an amazing time on the "Manta Safari" together. Then one evening, the father and I sang "Fly Me to the Moon," together at the karaoke event, and now it is stuck in my head!

There are three waste incinerators in my city. Two of them are used to heat swimming pools in the attached facility. Kotehasidai pool,which is closer to my house, is a large facility with a lazy river, a water slide, a jacuzzi, and an olympic pool. I went there with my grandson during his summer vacation, so it was extremely crowded.  You have to wear a swimming cap, and swimming rings are not permitted in the olympic pool. However many children were practicing with kick boards. Meanwhile a few elderly people were walking in the lanes. I thought it looked like a good way to exercise, so I decided to go there on September 1st. As I expected, the pool was nearly empty. I was very happy to discover that there is an inexpensive swimming pool that you can walk in all year. It costs only 240 yen for 2 hours. Sometimes I go there with my husband who swims instead of walking. And I was so surprised that Aqua aerobics and water walking classes are held for free at different times everyday except during summer and winter holidays. Those lessons are crowded with elderly people, but aqua aerobics really fun!  It’s under water, so I can keep jumping along to the music. I want to keep going there and make it a part of my weekly routine!

When I returned to the port of my island, I noticed a European woman glancing around, looking a bit lost. I gathered some courage and asked her in English," Do you want me to drive you somewhere?" She answered in Japanese , "Daijoubu desu," meaning " I'm fine." I was about to drive away, but I saw her carrying a huge suitcase, I couldn't help but worry. So I asked again, "You have a big suitcase,and I have plenty of time. It's really no trouble to give you a ride." She smiled and said, "Thank you! Actually, I'm supposed to meet someone at the post office." As we headed that way, I asked the classic question. "Where are you from?" "Germany.", She said. I answered, "Wow! I'm learning German. Guten Tag!" When we got to the post office, a Japanese staff member came out and explained, "She'll be staying on this island for three months to help with our art museum." I dropped her off at the apartment where she'd be living, and I went back home. I wanted to talk with her more... but I didn't know when there would be a chance. A few days later, I happened to see her again at the port just by chance. I thought, "Why not give it a try?" So I asked, "I'm really interested in German. Could you talk with me more?" She said, "Of course, that's totally fine!" After that,she visited my house. She spoke a bit of Japanese, and I spoke a little bit of German. Unfortunately, the only phrase that came to mind was: "Die Sonne scheint." which means "The sun is shining." I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to actually use that phrase. Anyway, English ended up being the best way for us to communicate. First, she carefully checked a self-introduction I'd written in German a while ago. Then she asked me, "Why are you studying German?" I told her, "I really want to go to"Wacken Open Air"-the world's biggest heavy metal festival!" The next time we met, I was surprised. She had researched all about Wacken Open Air and even drafted an inquiry email for me to send. She also helped me practice conversations I might need during a trip to Germany-at airports, cafes, and restaurants. To be honest, I've been taking German lessons once a month for a few years, but the grammar is tricky, and I'd been struggling so I hadn't even touched pronunciation. She focused on topics I was interested in, and taught me real, everyday German. Thanks to her, I started to love German again. I'd almost given up on it before. She came to my place once a week for three months. Time flies! Before I knew it she was leaving the next day, so I sent her a message: "I'd love to drive you to the port tomorrow. Please let me know your ferry time. Also, if you have any stuff you want to get rid of, even trash, I can take care of that for you." The next morning , she messaged me: "Thank you so much for your sweet message! I'm taking the 8：14 ferry. It's really kind of you offer a ride, but I don't want to trouble you." " Oh no... I really don't think of it as trouble at all, plus it's raining." I also tried calling her, but she didn't pick up. My husband said, " You'd better just go get her right now!" Just as I was about to drive off, she came walking toward me with leftover detergent and groceries. I just told her, "I'll pick you up at your apartment at 7：45！ No ifs, ands, or buts about it !" She smiled and agreed. When we arrived at the port,we stood together on the pier. Just then the rain stopped and the sun broke through the clouds. " Oh! Die Sonne scheint !" I said. It just slipped out of my mouth. Ah-HA! I finally got the perfect chance to use that phrase!