Who says growth always has to come through suffering?

Out of all places, I recently learned to practice gratitude, appreciating the present moment, and going with the flow on a two-day solo trip to Tokyo Disney, all while rediscovering how important it can be to integrate more joy and play into my life.

In this episode, you'll learn vocab like 活在當下 / 活在当下 / huó zài dāng xià ("living in the present moment"), 隨遇而安 / 随遇而安 / suí yù ér ān ("to go with the flow"), 情緒調節 / 情绪调节 / qíng xù tiáo jié ("emotional regulation"), and more!

Coincidentally, I was able to use a ton of the vocab from our last upcoming course module, "Module 5: Self-Growth Journey," coming out very soon (I'm working hard to complete it ASAP, I swear!).

If you're interested in learning more vocab related to self-growth, head on over to https://www.realyoumandarin.com to join our new course Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression because all that content will be rolling out shortly!

This is your last chance to save $10 off the regular course price before this final module comes out, and in the meantime you'll get instant access to the other four modules' worth of meaty content to learn while you wait!

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For many of us in our 30s and beyond, while we've been finding out more about ourselves as adults, another aspect of getting older is coming to terms with the fact that our own parents are also getting older. With that comes the inevitability of discussions around medical decisions, potential changes in living arrangements, financial/estate planning, and more. Do you feel prepared to have those conversations in Mandarin?

We certainly didn't before creating our most recently released module for our Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression Course... Module 4: Caring For Aging Parents. In fact, while making the content for this module, Angela coincidentally had to make use of some of her newly learned vocab to assist with her own family circumstances.

Much like our entire course, while we cannot anticipate every conversation or situation you may encounter, we truly hope that what you do learn through our course gives you a solid toolkit to tackle some of these difficult life conversations so that you can feel more confident when approaching these topics.

To learn more about the newly released module and to join the full Real You Mandarin: Self-Expression course during its last stretch of discounted pricing before the full course release, head over to https://www.realyoumandarin.com ... if you haven't already, preview the free lesson to see if the course is right for you!

In this episode, you'll learn vocab like 年邁的父母 / 年迈的父母 / nián mài de fù mǔ ("elderly/aging parents"), 口譯 / 口译 / kǒu yì ("to interpret/oral interpretation"), and 主要照顧者 / 主要照顾者 / zhǔ yào zhào gù zhě ("primary caregiver").

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In a not often spoken about topic in Mandarin, we're joined again by Zhifei from Xiaogua Chinese, where we discuss our respective experiences with psychedelics.

What started as a conversation broadly about our mutual interest in self-growth quickly pivoted to this topic where Angela shares how therapeutic MDMA was her initial gateway into this world, and Zhifei shares her deeply profound experience with psilocybin (magic mushrooms) in Bali.

In this episode, you'll learn vocab like 觸發點 / 触发点 / chù fā diǎn ("trigger/trigger point"), 靈修 / 灵修 / líng xiū ("spiritual practice / spiritual cultivation"), and 薩滿 / 萨满 / sà mǎn ("shaman").

If you like Zhifei, follow her YouTube channel at ⁨@xiaoguachinese⁩ to watch other intermediate/advanced Mandarin level conversational videos!

If you like improving your Mandarin through this conversational-style format, make sure to subscribe to us here at Real You Mandarin: The Podcast to stay up-to-date with the latest episodes, and check out all of our resources at ⁠https://www.realyoumandarin.com⁠

Follow us on Instagram at ⁠@realyoumandarin⁠ and on TikTok at ⁠@realyoumandarin⁠