This week I will be focussing on New Year’s traditions.
By the time you listen to this podcast, the new year will be behind you. How did you celebrate the solar new year? Join me in this brief foray into the new year’s traditions we celebrate in our home.

Philosophical Friday

New Year’s episode of Philosophical Friday

今天是4月3日，星期六，天气晴
今天，女儿从学校放学回家，说只有一项（xiang4, measure word) 作业，就是画画，画一张画，我的梦想(meng4xiang3, wishful thinking)。画完后，她把画给我，妈妈请你拍照(pai1zhao4, take photo)，然后发(fa1, to send to)给老师吧。她很开心, 看起来很喜欢那张画。我想她可能画了医生，因为她一直说长大以后要做一个医生。结果一看，根本不是医生，而是一片大海。
海上有一只美人鱼。公主的身体，鱼的尾巴，颜色很漂亮。海边还有一座小岛，岛上有一棵大树，海里画了不少的鱼，各种各样的。海底呢，还有一个箱子，里面有宝石（bao3shi1, precious stone）。
我觉得很奇怪，不知道她画了什么梦想。我问她说：老师说要把自己的梦想画下来，从这幅画里，我看不出你的梦想呀？然后，她指着(zhi3 zhe, to point to)那只小小的美人鱼说：这就是我的梦想。
“什么？你的梦想是做一只美人鱼吗？”我有点惊讶呀：“为什么呀？”
女儿看着我说：“因为美人鱼不用每天洗头和洗澡呀！”
可是你要怎么和老师说呢？这可是作业！
我哭笑不得(ku1 xiao4 bu4 de, find sth. both funny and annoying)，你就这么不喜欢洗头和洗澡呀？但是你的想法真的是好可爱！好吧，真的是我自己亲生的，好像我小时候也不喜欢刷牙和洗脸。
那么，你小时候有没有什么特别可爱的事情呢？

中文小天地 Little Chinese world

女儿的梦想 The dream of my daughter

Learn to use the verb "manger" (to eat) in a basic French conversation.

Learn Basic French Podcast

Learn Basic French: Qu'est-ce que vous mangez? (What do you eat?) (A1)

Whether you live to work or you work to live, having a healthy work-life balance is good for both you and your employer.

Here are just a few ways to keep your balance healthy!

Plan
It can help to plan your time, making sure to include social activities in those plans, says Allaya Cooks-Campbell from job coaching website BetterUp.

Even scheduling a night in front of the TV is enough — it will give you a bit of time to switch off.

If you're able to, you could also plan to take short breaks during the day, and perhaps even use them to take a walk or read a few pages of a book.

Use apps to help
Cooks-Campbell also suggests using an app to block distracting websites during the work day — which might include things like social media.

You can then do the same in the evening and block work apps, if you find it difficult to stop checking them.

Be kind to yourself
It's important to be realistic about your work-life balance, and not to get too stressed if you don't follow your plan. That's according to Kate Eby from work management company Smartsheet.

Being kind to yourself, she says, can help you improve your mental health.

Talk to your boss
If you're finding it difficult to get your work-life balance right, speaking to your manager may be a good idea — although not everyone will feel comfortable doing this.

It may be that you have been given too much work to do, or there is a better way to do it — and talking to your boss could help you work smarter, not harder.

However, Cooks-Campbell says different things work for different people — so you have to find what's right for you!

Practice Listening, Reading & Comprehension

Plan, Be Kind: Tips for a Healthy Work-Life Balance

A  Japanese Free Conversation with Marko. マルコさんとの自由な会話

snacks 　　おかし　
foods   　　食べ物


SAMURAI BROADCAST　侍放送  継続は力ニャり

Vol.9 A  Japanese Free Conversation with Marko. マルコさんとの自由な会話

En este episodio se habla de la experiencia de una persona que vive en otro pais y comienza a sentir que no pertenece especificamente a un lugar, viviendo en otro pais y sintiendose a gusto en muchos lugares comprende que no es necesario pertenecer a un solo lugar.

Viviendo entre dos lenguas 

No soy de aquí ni soy de allá

- Мені дуже сподобалися яйця з малюнками, які роблять на Великдень!
- Писанки? Так, вони дуже гарні!
-Розкажи, як їх роблять?
-Це ціла наука! Бачиш ці узори?
-Так. Вони, напевно, щось означають?
- Звичайно малюнки на писанках традиційні:  це рослини або геометричні символи.

Ukrainian language for everyone

Традиції України. Великодні писанки. 

In this episode, I am talking about house work. This episode is perfect for beginners who just embarked on their German language journey. This podcast series will help you to get used to the German language and is suitable for A1-B1 level. Make sure that you also check out my future episodes. 