I Speak Engrish!

Today, we continue our foray into Central Asia with yet another Cinderella story. Huzzah.

Except this one is not just a story, but actually a ritual to help women and girls achieve what they want. And... Anton ruined it because he's the one telling it (it's supposed to only be told by women or girls). We also talk about public executions... 'cause Lilly is like that. Zach is clearly not a fan.

This story involves toys (not like Toy Story toys, but circumcision/wedding ceremonies). If you know anything about those, let us know by emailing us at ispeakengrishreally@gmail.com. Also let us know what kind of public execution you'd go to. DM us on Instagram at lillytalksalot@ and whatsupanton@.

See you next time!

Hey everyone!

In the first of two episodes focused on Central Asia (yes, they're Asian too!), Anton takes you to the land of the Uyghurs (also boycott China), where a black ogre (not racist) terrorizes the land by stealing all the young beautiful girls from a nameless city in the Taklamakan Desert. Black Shrek, however, faces a fate that will build his leg muscles for centuries to come, thanks to the wits of a student named Batur. What is said fate? Why is Mufasa in this episode? And what does the fox say? All shall be revealed when you smash that play button!

Let us know why you think Shrek is green by emailing us at ispeakengrishreally@gmail.com. Or you can DM us on Instagram at whatsupanton and lillytalksalot. Until next time!

We are back with more folk tales from Cambodia!

Just kidding. This episode is actually about Thai folk tales, but Anton can't seem to forget Cambodia and Xieng Mieng. As is now customary on this podcast, we are featuring a whirlwind of a Cinderella story that involves yet another gobi fish! After that is a story of why humans have sex whenever they want (clearly the favorite of this episode). Followed by a story of a good intentioned but ultimately a not-that-smart husband, a deceiving monkey, and a boy who ate too much... Lessons? Don't marry for love (according to Lilly).

Hey everyone!

In this episode, Christine comes back and kicks Anton out of the podcast, and Lilly shares with us Korea's obsession with virgin ghosts and long things that are usually attached to people with XY chromosomes. Among the lessons learned are to be accepting of yourself, even if you have big donkey ears, to cough before you enter a bathroom, and to avoid getting a runny nose whenever possible... Don't ask. You don't want to know... or do you?

Hey everyone! We're taking this time to celebrate our Mongolian heritage ('cause we're all related to Genghis Khan somehow, right?). Anton shares a few Mongolian tales that surely would've kept Genghis too entertained to be pillaging your villages. Basically, Anton is the modern day Scheherazade, but more handsome. (You can thank him later). Among these tales are how to convince a god that you've been wronged even though you basically foiled their plans, and a familiar tale about a turtle... minus the smelly arm pits.

We hope you enjoy them! If you have thoughts about these stories, send them to us at ispeakengrishreally@gmail.com, or DM us on Instagram, lillytalksalot@ and whatsupanton@

References:

Xieng Mieng! We love Xieng Mieng so much, we decided to invite him onto our podcast. Unfortunately, he lost his voice recently, so Anton has decided to tell Xieng Mieng's Laotian stories on his behalf. But trust me, these are great stories. The Laotian people have a great sense of humor (email us if you can confirm this is true, ispeakengrishreally@gmail.com).

There's also a story that speaks poorly of men's armpits, much to Lilly's delight ('cause we all know how much she looooovees men).

Hey ya'll! 

Episode 20 is here and its a double whammy! Its the last episode of season 1 and its the Christmas episode!!!

Episode 19 is here and we are joined by one of my closest, dear friends, Jessika! 

Jess recounts her favorite place that she has traveled to, dealing with old school Asian parents, her decision to go to art school, and moving to to a whole different state! In addition to that, she schools us in art because we don't know crap about it. Haha. What even is modern art?!

Episode 18 is here and we are joined by Diana, an Asian Canadian!!! 

Diana, an aspiring youtuber, joins us this Thanksgiving weekend to talk about her experiences growing up as an Asian household in Canada. Do we ever grow up in the eyes of our parents?! Why do they also need to celebrate genocide?Why do Canadians always copy Americans? Haha. 

We hope you enjoy the episode! 

What's up Engrish majors? 

Welcome to episode 17 (the most random number according to MIT undergrads). We have a guest this time (thank heavens) and it is Lillian So, life coach and holistic healer. 

Lillian shares her backstory and how she went from fitness to spirituality, and coaching others to self-heal and be more connected with themselves, all while Anton fanboys in the background 'cause no one talks about spiritual stuff with him. We also touch upon stigmas in the Asian American community regarding seeking help and therapy. And then there's the woo woo stuff, like Lillian's chakra drum. 

Have we piqued your interest yet? (The answer should be yes). 

Episode 16 is here and its about to get spooky!!!!  Actually, maybe not. We frighten a bit too easily. Hahaha. 

Join us this episode as we tell our experiences on Halloween. Halloween is not really celebrated in other countries, at least not until the recent years and only because of how commercialized it has become, but there are a few places that celebrate this day differently. 

We do not talk about Dia de los Muertos because that takes place on November 1st and 2nd, however it seems to be very similar to my experience in the Philippines. I wish there was more about Halloween in the Netherlands. 

Fun fact: Halloween in the Netherlands, which actually takes place on November 11 and is called Sint Maarten. I was really excited for this episode, but then I got scared while we were recording. Haha. I'll be the first to admit that I'm a huge scaredy cat, but for some reason I keep coming back for more. 

Episode 15 is here! This episode we talk about Sweden, low cost carriers, knock-offs and souvenirs. Doesn't really sound like they go together, huh? Oh well. It is what it is. This episode has a few unanswered questions but I think the most burning one is, why doesn't Anton want to be my friend? Haha.

Colonialism, that's the answer. 

Episode 14 has arrived and its all about alcohol. We question our taste in alcohol. Are we boring? Maybe we'll try something new another time. Lol.  

That was Australian for "What's going on?

Any language lovers out there? This episode is for you!

Episode 12 is here and we are joined by a familiar voice. He's a first time guest, but he's been in all out episodes. You might've heard him if you decided to not skip the ads before our episode begins.  We welcome, my "special friend", Zachary and his "sultry" voice, as Anton calls it. *barfs* Zachary tells us some stories as my travel companion, a bit about identity, and a lot about biking.  Maybe too much?

A lot of our transitions were cut off. So with this episode like the last one, and soon to be next one, a lot of audio was cut off and was unsalvageable. My laptop freezes often now and has cut off a lot of audio, so please, enjoy what's left of this! Zachary and I are probably too cringe to listen to, but its not my faulty he's in love with me. Haha. 

Episode 11 is here and we are joined by Feng to talk about his travels while getting his MBA, which goes to show, it is possible to travel while pursuing a degree. He talks about Portugal and Scotland, countries that most of our friends have not yet visited and shows off his bougie side on the subject of food. Haha. 

This is a bit on the short side because I will forever have problems with one thing or another on this podcast. Feng will join us again on a later episode but for now, please enjoy the stories and hopefully, it has inspired you to book a trip post Covid. Also the castle with the view that Feng went to is called Castelo de S. Jorge.

Can you believe we're on episode 10? Double digits, baby!

We talk about fast food in this episode! Let's be real, everyone has a love/hate relationship with fast food.  KFC wins over all because its everywhere. Sorry, In N Out. 

Is it because my period is lurking around the corner that we are talking about fast food or did we come by this topic organically? Who knows? I don't. Was that bit too much information? Mayhaps. Who even reads this? Probably just Kevin. Hi Kevin! Also, has anyone ever heard Anton so passionate about a topic? Haha. 

I'm happy with this project thus far and excited for the future! We are changing it up and giving you new episode every 2 weeks instead of every week. This is partly because I want to give you better content, partly because I work now, you know, because apparently I need money to do things, and mostly because I started playing Overcooked and might be obsessed with the headaches I get from not blinking when I play. RIP me. Why am I like this?

Episode 9 is here and we are joined today by rising Youtuber, Andrew Chen!

Andrew is actually friends with our younger siblings, and went to the same high school as us. He tells us about his Youtube journey so far, his taste in music, and his travels. In this episode, we also see a bit more of Anton's background in music and linguistics.  

Episode 8 is here and its back to just Anton and me. 

It feels a bit lonely and I don't think we remember how to talk to each other. Haha. #awkward 

We don't ever have a plan when we start recording these episodes. We kind of brush upon topics and see where it goes. Initially, I wanted more stories with positive vibes, but somehow Anton's story of sleeping on a bench has triggered me and managed to lead us to all the times someone stolen something from me while traveling. I'm not so self obsessed, don't @ me. We might just be too cynical for stories with happy endings.  

I decided post-edit to not include the last story mostly because it is on the longer side but because its really almost... unbelievable. It deserves to be told with all the details. 

Episode 7 is here and we are joined by our friend from high school, Kevin! 

This episode is mostly Lilly catching up with Kevin since Kevin and Anton are besties. Haha. Kevin talks about his travels, including worst travel story and future travel plans, what to do if you have tattoos but want to go to an onsen (hot spring), and photography. Kevin also throws out some facts about credit card churning, how credit cards works in terms of points. Although we touch upon it very briefly, it is something that many Americans have considered doing/done to help fund parts of their travel. Oh, and the mountain/temply place in Bali is called, Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyang. 

You've asked for it (yes, many people have actually requested) , and we delivered! This is our first longass episode. 

Episode 6 is here and we have another guest, my "best frandddd" Jason.

We bring Jason in today to talk about his experiences studying abroad and working in Asia, which is completely different than our experiences in Europe and Australia. Jason tells stories of his time in China as a Chinese American, working in Thailand, and some travels we took together. He answers questions like;  Why China? Are Americans sore winners? (Guilty!), Best bowl of noodles ever? and you'll be completely mind-blown by what the best restaurant in Bangkok (number 2 best restaurant, currently) actually serves.

Episode 5 is here and we are joined by a special guest, our first official guest, my friend, Marieme. 

Marieme shares some of her experiences as a Black womxn while traveling, provide some advice, and help me gang up on Anton.

Episode 4 is here and begins with a story with Anton being called into the immigration office. Is there something he isn't telling us? Haha. 

With traveling, there is soooo much good, but unfortunately there are some bad that we have to deal with. We move on to some stories about being scammed and questioning motives from people that seem harmless. 

Is it racist if you are in a foreign country and people want to talk pictures with/of you because you are different? Just something to think about.

Episode 3 celebrates 3 decades. Anton just turned 30 in early May, and I turn 30 in late December. Is this considered our prime? 

Not outright condoning excessive drinking, but if you should take a shot each time I say 30, you might be drunk. Haha. 

We talk about acceptance, concerns, and hopes that come with this milestone and move on to a topic of dating, that I apparently am always amped up to talk about because I am so single.

Is fetishizing a form of racism? What's the line between flattery and outright racism? We talk mostly interracial dating because we haven't been dating other Asians lately. They just don't seem to like us, so that's not on us. Haha. No, I'm kidding, but really, we talk about fetishizing, which generally, we Asians don't experience within our own race. 

Episode 2 is here and its about food!

Do you think there is a wrong way to eat? What's the best/worst food you've had in your country? Ever had a lunchbox moment? 

Welcome! 

I Speak Engrish! is a podcast about travel and culture. 

The title is simply because many people assume we don't speak English on the single basis that we look Asian. Well, we are, but not really at the same time. With years of people making fun of Asian accents, we're taking it back for us, and spitting it back in your face. And while we acknowledge that not all Asian accents sound the same, did you know we're not all Chinese?, this has been the accent most associated with the Asian American community we grew up in. Accents are associated with our culture, so let's celebrate it! 

This podcast will primarily focus on our travel stories. 

Since we are Asian Americans, however, it has affected our experiences abroad and especially at home, in the US. We wanted to debut this podcast in May, which conveniently happens to be AAPI, Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. AsAm empowerment, WHAT!?