Watch today’s show at YouTube or BlipTV.
Hi, I’m Sarah, welcome to The Daily English Show.
Long time no see. This is our first show back in Japan – but our guest is in Canada. We did this interview on our last day at Acadia University. Mohammed is from Saudia Arabia and he’s studying engineering at Acadia. This isn’t his first time in North America, he lived in the United States twice when he was a child – the first time when he was a baby, and then again from when he was 5 to 8. I asked him if he remembered what it was like when he went to the United States.
Um, I remember like, ah, some stuff from, ah, like first grade. Like I remember some of my friends, I don’t remember names though, I remember like their faces, I remember ... ah, I remember quite a few stuff, like I remember my neighbour’s dog, I remember my neighbour, I remember the dog eating my toys when I was like young and ...
STICK NEWS
Kia Ora, in Stick News today, it’s anti-bullying week in the UK. The campaign includes posting videos on the first anti-bullying partner channel on YouTube.
Wikipedia says: bullying is the act of intentionally causing harm to others through verbal harassment, physical assault, or other more subtle methods of coercion such as manipulation.
Beatbullying is an anti-bullying charity based in London, England.
Beatbullying say they aim to“reduce and prevent the incidence and impact of bullying ... between young people.”
Their campaign includes a YouTube channel called beatbullying.
The channel now features 84 videos of people, including celebrities, talking about bullying.
And that was Stick News for Monday the 19th of November.
Kia Ora.
conversations with sarah
#337 Have you ever been to Mecca?
Step 1: Repeat Sarah’s lines.
Step 2: Read Sarah’s lines and talk to Mohammed.
Sarah Why did you choose to study in Canada?
Mohammed Because, ah, one thing is like, I wanted to study like abroad, because, ah ... like I had like two choices in my mind, like, I was going ... actually three. I was either, I was going home, I was going out of home, no pr... Like, this is my plan, because I wanted to depend on myself, I didn’t want to depend on my family any more.
So there was one choice is I go to another city and the other choice is I’m going to Japan. Or the third choice is I’m going to ah, like, Canada, or ah Australia, you know, like, English-based countries. But the US I heard that there is sometimes complications, because you’re from Saudi Arabia, the visa takes like too long in the US. So, I was like, “I can’t waste that much time, on the visa”. And I got the scholarship to come here, so I took the scholarship. Because they pay me, they pay the university. Like they pay the university, the pay my housing and they pay me more for living costs, so it’s a good deal.
Sarah What are the conditions of the scholarship?
Mohammed Ah, the conditions would be like, OK, we ah, like we give you the scholarship for five years and probably like how much time would you need like to finish. That’s basically it.
If they see a reason, like a good reason to extend that ah ... time, they would extend it. But then you would have to work for them for the same amount of time that they paid for your school for. And basically, even back home, if you go out from any university, that’s where you go you would go to this company right. And they would pay me the same amount that they would pay someone, from, ah ... who ah, graduates from back home, from Saudi Arabia, but I would have better chances to like ah, get promoted. So I chose, yeah, this is, I mean, it’s a good deal, I’m working there anyways, if I’m taking engineering.
Sarah Do you need English in Saudi Arabia?
Mohammed Yeah, English, yeah of course, like all of the universities teach in English. Especially like ah dental ... if you’re studying to be a dentist like my brother is studying to be a dentist, everything is in English. And, ah, engineering, all the scientific majors, they’re all like ah learnt in English. You learn them in English. They don’t teach them in Arabic.
Sarah How different are Canada and Saudi Arabia?
Mohammed It’s ... different. A lot different. Like the culture. Ah, how ah ... Like, pretty much, it’s the culture. And ah, the climate of course. There’s a huge difference in the climate. And ... like the views. Like, you know, the people are ... like ... People are people, like that’s what I found like pretty much. But the difference is like, there are certain things that we’d find, like, offensive back home, they wouldn’t be offensive here. And there are certain things that ah, you know, would mean a lot back home, they wouldn’t mean it here, the opposite works too. So it’s kind of like getting used to the culture more.
Sarah Did anything surprised you when you came to Canada or were you pretty used to it from living in the US?
Mohammed Yeah, I, I was like pretty used to it like, subconsciously you know what I mean. Like some of my friends got like shock from some stuff. But I was like, I kind of understand it somehow. Like in the back of my brain, probably because like I used to like live that life when I was a child. But I can’t actually remember it.
Sarah Is it easy to make Canadian friends?
Mohammed Yeah, if you like, you ... But kind of like you have to try it, you know. Because, ah, I mean, if they see you shy ... like they don’t know ... they don’t want ... some people, like ... if I see someone like too shy right, I’m afraid that if I approach them they think I’m offencing (offending) them by something. Or I’m afraid that they probably just don’t like me. That’s why like they avoid me. So that’s kind of like what happens like when ah ... especially at the start of the year, you have to be like social, no matter how shy you are, try to make at least three friends, at least. Because those three friends, like they would have friends and they would introduce you. Like this is ah, how I got better in writing because I would have friends to help me.
Sarah Have you ever been to Mecca?
Mohammed Yeah, of course, I’ve been there like this summer actually. Like just this summer I’ve been there and I shaved my head.
Sarah What’s it like?
Mohammed It’s awesome. It’s actually awesome because ... it’s ... I don’t know, like, it gives you like, actually like a feeling of relaxation, the atmosphere. And, ah ... there’s like a well of water that’s actually, like, it’s been there since I don’t know, like for how many ... I don’t know how many thousand years and never dried out.
Sarah What do you think is the secret to learning English?
Mohammed I think just try it out, just have to try it out like if you ... you would never, like get better at something if you don’t try. Like anything in life, you have to try it. You have to like kind of ... You know, don’t do it for the sake of doing it. Doing it ... Do it just like because like, you kind of want to, like just put some, motivation in it.
Kelly Holmes (Wikipedia)
music
show start
artist: AdHoc
album: Toutes directions
track: La note en cage
from: Annecy, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site
cws start
artist: San Sebastian
track: Happy Sad
artist site
qa start
artist: Manu Cornet
album: Distance & Temps
track: Silk Road
from: Paris, France
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site
other music
artist: XL Ant
album: XL Ant
track: Balbalama5
album at Jamendo
artist at Jamendo
artist site
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