Hi everyone!
My name is Arianita La Gringa and welcome back to my YouTube channel.
Today I will have a conversation with my friend, and the goal for today's video is for you all to listen.
You'll hear how we ask questions, give answers, and keep the conversation flowing naturally.
Don't worry about understanding every single word.
Just focus on the general conversation.
While we talk, I'll put some helpful notes on the screen to point out useful phrases, vocabulary and tips.
Okay, let's get started.
I'm with my friend Myrna.
Thank you so much for joining me today.
So how's it going?
It's going great.
The sun is shining.
The flowers are out.
It's a good day at the park.
We actually met at my birthday party from our friend Josh.
So how did you get to know him?
Josh and I play flag football together.
Flag football is simply a safer, non-contact version of american football.
You don't tackle people, you pull a flag off their belts to end the play.
So i met josh through another friend.
So mutual friends brought us together.
So Myrna, I'm from Cincinnati and are you.
I'm from Cincinnati.
I was born and I was raised here in Cincinnati.
When someone says they were born and raised in a place, it means they were born there and they grew up there during their childhood.
I used to live in Louisville a little bit ago.
I moved there for work and just to experience a new city, but my whole family lives here, all of my siblings and my parents.
So I missed them and so I came back.
So how many siblings do you have?
When we use the word siblings, we are talking about the brothers and sisters a person has.
If a person has one brother and one sister, they have two siblings.
I have seven siblings.
I have one brother.
Yes, it's a big family.
The age range between us is 18 years.
Who is the oldest sibling and how old is he or she?
Audrey is 31 and the youngest is Ingrid.
She will be 14 next week.
She says her sister will be 14.
This is a common way to say that someone's birthday is coming up.
You can also say she will turn 14.
Both phrases mean the same thing.
You said you lived in Louisville, so how did you get there?
I moved to Louisville because I was dating someone and I also had a job down there.
When I was in Louisville, I met an artist and she's my best friend.
We still talk on the phone once a week and she paints with oil paint.
She does portraits and she does still lives of flowers, usually bouquets that people give her.
So you met her down there and you're still friends with her to this day?
Yes.
When I was working at the bank, she was a customer and we would just always have conversations together.
And after that, we would just get coffee once a week.
When I came back to Cincinnati we stayed in contact over the phone.
So you said you worked at the bank.
Is that your current job right now?
No, i like to switch jobs a lot.
I never settle, so now i work in a kitchen.
Not settling means she doesn't stay in one place for too long.
She's always seeking a new opportunity.
Today i made a lot of burritos.
I made mostly breakfast burritos, or i'll make sandwiches other days of the week, and i sometimes decorate cookies.
What's your favorite thing to do at your job?
I have really come to enjoy making Rice Krispie treats, where you take the cereal Rice Krispies and you add it to marshmallows with melted butter.
It's a lot.
Do you work downtown?
The location is separate from the cafe, so it's its whole kitchen, and that is in a neighborhood on the east side of town, outside of work, what normally keeps you busy.
This summer I have been doing a lot of intramural sports.
Intramural sports are casual leagues where teams from the same community play each other for fun.
It's a non-professional way for adults to play sports and meet people.
At the beginning of the year, everyone likes to make a New Year's resolution, but I did a New Year's bingo board instead to make it a game, and I put intramural sports on there, hoping to at least just play sand volleyball.
But I have played flag football, sand volleyball, and I'm about to start kickball.
And especially during the summer when I get off work, I really like to go to the pool and swim.
I'm also reading.
Nice.
So I do a lot of things to keep me busy.
So it sounds like you play a lot of sports.
What's your favorite sport to play?
Volleyball is definitely my favorite sport.
It comes to me most naturally.
And the best part about sand volleyball, rather than playing inside, is you could just throw yourself on the ground.
And you don't get hurt.
Yeah, you do not get hurt.
And it's nice you don't have to wear shoes.
Exactly, yeah.
That's the win.
But I do have to wear socks in the wintertime when it gets cold.
Oh, that's a good idea.
I also like to play soccer, but I never played in school or anything, so that's really just for fun.
I've never played soccer, but there's actually a track outside of my house and I always see people playing outside.
But I'm not very good with my feet, to be honest.
I'm more of like a volleyball person.
Volleyball is probably good for that because you just pick your position.
Exactly.
You stay there.
You know, speaking of having free time, I found something really interesting I wanted to show you.
And for everyone watching, this might be useful for you, too.
It's this app on my phone.
It's called Ponds App.
It's a very easy way to earn a little extra cash in your spare time.
Let me show you how it works.
Okay, so there are three main ways you can earn money with it.
The first one is my favorite because it's so easy.
You just press this share internet button.
And that's it.
The app just runs in the background and you earn money for sharing a tiny bit of your internet that you aren't using.
It's completely safe and it's what we call passive income.
You make money without doing anything.
The second way is by taking surveys.
You see, here you can choose a survey, share your opinion about things like gadgets or fashion, and you earn a few dollars for each one you finish.
And the third way is really fun.
You play mobile games.
The app pays you to try new games and reach certain levels.
So you are basically getting paid to have fun.
And you're probably wondering, Arinita, how do you get the money?
That's a great question.
And that's also very simple.
Once you earn just $5, you can cash out.
You can send the money to your PayPal, or you can choose to get gift cards for places like Amazon.
And for everyone watching, I have a special bonus.
If you decide to try it, make sure you use this code, Arianita, when you sign up.
If you use that code, you will get a $3 bonus in your account right away.
It's a free gift to get you started.
So yeah, it's PonsApp, a nice little way to make some extra money.
Now let's get back to our topic.
What were we talking about?
Since we're in the middle of summer, what are some plans that you have besides working and playing sports?
I love to experience live music of all kinds.
I especially like electronic music.
And there's a music festival about two hours away from here called Secret Dreams.
So I'll be going to Secret Dreams in July.
So you have tickets for that?
I'm actually going to volunteer.
A volunteer is a person who does work without being paid for it.
People volunteer for charities at events or in their community to help others or to support a cause they believe in.
So I did buy tickets to make sure that I would show up for my shifts, and if I show up for my shifts they give my money back.
I also have another trip where I'm going to Tennessee with my family.
We got a big lake house.
I have a lot of trips this summer actually.
Mostly lake house and music.
Those are the main ones.
So it sounds like you have a bunch of summer plans in-state.
Do you have any plans to visit other countries?
No current plans, though I'm always dreaming of going to other places.
It's hard to choose just one place.
I've always wanted to go to Scotland to see the moors, the big, flowing green and the cliffs, and also to hear the Irish accents and the Scottish accents.
I've always been curious about Bali.
So I like to do yoga.
And I know that there's a lot of yoga retreats in Bali and waterfalls.
And I've just seen it's very peaceful there.
I did have a chance to go to Costa Rica last year.
Nice.
How was that?
It was a wild experience.
That was also for a music festival called Envision.
I had never experienced a jungle before that.
So I got experience in the jungle.
Wait, was the music festival in the middle of the jungle?
Yes.
What was your experience like?
It was very hot, but it was so cool being with the trees.
The stages were like built around nature rather than nature being removed for the stages.
And they really tried to incorporate a lot of natural elements for the stages.
So one stage was made with all of these hanging gourds and bamboo pillars.
That was really cool.
So did you practice your Spanish in Costa Rica or did you just speak English?
I just spoke English.
I'm very bad at Spanish.
I don't have enough people to practice with, but now I have you that we can practice with.
Of course.
Do you speak any other languages besides English?
Je parle petit français.
They pronounce like the R's a little bit differently.
Sorry to all the French people watching this.
They might not like my accent.
So, since you've been to many countries, what do people outside of the US think of America and Americans in general?
It's hard to say, because when I have experienced those other countries I say unfortunately, because I do like to have immersive experiences those experiences were more curated, with very small groups.
Mirna says her travel groups were curated.
This just means they were carefully chosen and organized, not random, to create a great experience for everyone.
When I was in Peru, I connected a lot with our travel guides who were native Peruvians.
We didn't talk much about how they felt about Americans.
So I just did my best to give a good representation.
Be respectful and curious about the culture, because I have a feeling not a lot of people are like that.
But I would hope so.
For me, when I travel, I always try to learn something about that language.
Like in France, when I went to France, at least saying like bonjour, like hello and just being respectful, like that.
What I learned from my friend is they don't say au revoir, which is very formal.
She would just say bisous, like see you later, bisous.
What I really appreciated about being in other countries though, is being a minority, like being not of the major population, to humble myself.
The pace of life is very different, which I appreciate.
So you've been to Costa Rica.
When you went, did you try any food over there and did you like it?
I'm trying to remember what I ate in Costa Rica.
In natural fast speech, we often combine or reduce words to make them flow better.
Trying to becomes trina.
I'm trying to remember what I ate in Costa Rica versus.
I'm trying to remember what I ate in Costa Rica.
It was a music festival so everything was catered.
Jungle fruit is delicious.
Papayas was probably my favorite.
They didn't cook that food, but I don't think I had any native dishes while I was there.
Or what's your favorite food in general?
If you go to a restaurant, what do you normally order?
I love croissants.
But if I'm going to a restaurant, it changes.
I have a very diverse palate.
I love pickles.
These things are not cooked, though.
These are not dishes.
Shepherd's pie is really yummy.
Because I'm from Cincinnati, I have to mention Skyline Chili.
Skyline Chili.
Or just chili on spaghetti, I guess, because the great contender is Gold Star Chili, which I did have the other day.
So some people might not know what Skyline is.
It's just basically a restaurant that serves conies, the hot dog with a bun and chili on top with cheese.
So it might sound nasty to some people, but it's actually really good and if you try it for the first time, you might not like it yeah, but for me it's kind of like beer, like an acquired taste, like after you try it a couple of times you'll be obsessed.
Yes,
So you can have it on a hot dog or you could have it on spaghetti.
And when people hear chili, they think that there's going to be beans or chunks of meat or chunks of onions.
It is like the test for when people come to Cincinnati.
Are you going to like this, have it at the airport when you come back home.
People are like yeah, i need some skyline.
I had a friend in seattle and i went out to visit him and he said bring me as much skyline as you can.
And i flew with 10 cans of chili in my checked bag.
So you're a native cincinnati and you grew up here, born and raised, and have you traveled to any other states besides ohio?
Yes, I have been to Colorado.
I've been to Arizona.
I've been to California.
I've been to Florida.
I've been to quite a few different states.
Colorado was really cool.
I went there last year.
Again, for music.
I like to travel for music. and they have the venue Red Rocks.
But California, if we're talking difference in personalities and whatnot, they have such an open mind.
It's very true.
Not to say we're not open-minded.
I think here in Cincinnati, people express themselves, but they tend to like comfort.
And they do a lot of the same things.
And when they get into their flow and their rhythm, it takes a lot to get them out of it.
Whereas I've found in other places, they're much more ready to go out on adventures or do things.
I feel like big cities like LA, New York, they're more open-minded, because I mean there's more people.
Yeah.
And the states are so huge.
Yeah.
And it was really fun when I took the trip to Arizona.
My friends and I, for spring break, flew into Las Vegas and then traveled across three different states and we just camped.
We traveled with a dog.
I'd never gone camping with a dog before.
And that was quite an experience.
I had to share the backseat with the dog.
The dog took up more space than I did.
But it was fun.
It was so cool, just like making our destination and then popping up our little home for the night, and then going out and hiking and coming back doing a bonfire.
So when you travel, are you a mountain girl or do you like the beach?
It's hard to decide.
I can't decide.
I can't choose.
I like the mountains and the beach for the fact that it makes you feel so small and it makes you think about things a lot more deeply.
Let's talk about pronunciation for a second.
This word can be tricky.
Listen closely.
Mountains.
Native speakers often don't pronounce the t sound in the middle with their tongue.
We use something called a glottal stop.
It's a little pause made by stopping the air in your throat.
Mountain mountains are cool when they can be challenging.
They can, like put you to your test.
But the beach is awesome because you could just lay in the sand, read a book, soak up the sun, go swimming, look for shells.
Yeah, I feel like the beach is more for like, relaxing.
You don't want to do anything on vacation.
So I think it'd be cool to go to Italy.
I think Italy, if I'm not mistaken, has a combination of like the hills and the mountains, with the beach.
Yeah.
So I want both.
So you said you went camping with a dog.
Do you have any pets yourself?
I don't.
My parents have cats now after I moved out of the house.
I wish I could have a dog.
I love dachshunds, short little dogs with the little legs.
But I was always taking care of my younger siblings, so they were enough to keep up with.
We kept each other entertained.
So how was that growing up with so many siblings?
Are you the second child?
So did you think you were kind of taking care of your younger siblings, like helping your mom out and everything?
Yes, I was definitely a caretaker a lot of the time.
A caretaker is simply someone who takes care of others.
The oldest sibling often acts like a second parent feeling like a caretaker for the younger kids in the family.
So when I was in college, my youngest sister was four years old, which was kind of a lot in perspective.
So it was refreshing to go through the years and kind of distance myself from the caretaker, to then let my siblings be friends.
And our relationships now have shifted a lot over time, which is really cool.
So I am really excited for our family trip because it took me a long time to break out of the caretaker role, which I'm sure they were very ready to, not have me boss them around or tell them what to do.
But yeah, I always say I've been raising babies since I was five.
Since you were kind of taking care of your little siblings, how do you feel about kids now?
Do you want kids?
I feel like you have a natural caretaking role already.
Yeah.
I have no desire now.
Someone asked me if I wanted kids and I want a partner I can have kids with.
That's very important to me first.
And a lot of people my age are having baby fever, but I have dog fever.
Let's talk about baby fever.
Even though it has the word fever, it has nothing to do with being sick.
It simply means you have a strong urge to have a baby of your own.
I could see a baby and be like, that's a really cute baby.
But when I see a dog, I'm like on the ground.
I have to pet that dog.
It takes over.
Oh, yeah.
I have a dog and a cat.
And it's definitely a lot of responsibility.
A dog is a lot more work than a cat, obviously.
Cats are just, they maybe want you around.
Yeah, they're independent.
So independent.
And if you start touching them, they don't like you.
But then when you don't touch them at all, then they start to like you.
So it's like a love-hate game.
Yes, totally opposite from dogs.
Okay, thank you so much, Mirna, for this interview and this conversation.
And where can people follow you and find you?
My handle is MernMaid.
I'll link it down below in the description box.
And if you guys like this video, go ahead and give me a like and subscribe.
And I'll see you guys next week.
Bye!
