026 Okinawa trip and superpowers

In this episode, we'll be talking about my recent trip to Okinawa, including stories about the new amusement park Junglia, pretending to be a Japanese person who can't speak English, and also a conversation about superpowers!

Bookmark chapters:
00:00 Intro Music
01:50 Junglia
15:55 Pretending to be Japanese to practice English
29:23 If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
40:07 The most useless superpower

Chapters

• 0:00 Intro Music
• 1:50 Junglia
• 15:55 Pretending to be Japanese to practice English
• 29:23 If you could have a superpower, what would it be?
• 40:07 The most useless superpower

Transcript

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to Kuli English Podcast. It's me, your host, Chris. So today, I want to talk about Okinawa. 

Okinawa is like this Japanese island. It's to the southwest of Japan. It's in between Japan and Taiwan. 

And I recently went to Okinawa for about a week, and a bunch of cool stuff happened. Or at least, I thought it was cool. I thought it was fun.

So then I thought, okay, well, why don't I also just go ahead and talk about it inside a podcast episode. So in the last episode, you know, I read you a story. It was the Tofu story, and it's a cute little fiction story. 

So it's not a real story, it's fiction. It's a story that I wrote. But this time, I want to talk about real life things. 

So all these things are going to be true stories. And we're just going back to talking about like life and things like that. So in particular, I'm going to be talking about the amusement park that we went to, which was called Junglia. 

I guess English is just Junglia. And a couple of other stories from the trip in Okinawa, including me pretending to be like a Japanese guy who can't speak English, and then also just some random conversations that we had in the car. And you know, like sometimes when you have a trip with friends, and you go somewhere, you know, it's not only about the places that you go, but it's about the going. 

It's about the whole process. It's about the fun that you have along the way. And we had a lot of pretty funny conversations. 

So hopefully I can do a good job telling you guys about these conversations, and you guys can have some fun too, in English. So let's go and take a short little break here, and then we'll get started. 

Okay, so let's go ahead and get started. 

So I want to talk about my stories in a certain order. And the order is like I want the easy stories to be first. So the stories that are simple and easy to understand, I'll start with those, and then I'll work my way up. 

And then I'll start telling longer, more complicated stories that might be a little bit harder to understand. But you know, of course, I'll do my best to make sure that everything's easy to understand. I try to avoid using super hard words, or if I do, I'll try to explain what they mean. 

So the first thing that I want to talk about is how we went to Junglia, and Junglia is an amusement park in Okinawa. And an amusement park, well, it means like you have like roller coasters, you have like long lines to ride the roller coasters, you have like little shows, you have a lot of little kids with their families. And of course, they also have like junk food in little shops here and there. 

And the junk food usually costs more than what you would expect. And it's usually not like super good. But anyways, Junglia recently opened this year. 

By the way, this year is 2025. I don't know what year it is when you're listening to this. But Junglia is also in Okinawa, which is sort of famous for having like a lot of nature stuff. 

Because it's like an island, it's kind of like Hawaii, if you know what Hawaii is. So it's an amusement park with a bunch of nature stuff, like you're surrounded by a lot of trees and plants and stuff. It's kind of got a lot of nice scenery.

And there's also one more thing that's kind of famous about Okinawa, which Hawaii is also famous for. And it's called Okinawa time, which is like kind of funny, because what it really means is like everyone has a reputation of being late. So sometimes events will start late, sometimes they run late, it's more like relaxed, it's like, don't worry about it. 

Not perfectly on time, kind of like that. And so actually, now that we're talking about this, let's talk about the rides at Junglia. So from the very start of the day, which is like 10am, the amusement park opens at 10am, you basically have to rush to get these things. 

And I don't know what their English name is, but I'm just going to call them super tickets. So super tickets, let me explain what those are. So basically, there's this area of the park, and it's like the most famous area of the park, and it has like six big attractions, I call them the six super attractions. 

And they're like really special, because they are really amazing. They're supposed to be really cool, and that's like the main appeal. And so one of them, for example, is like a giant swing, like a Buranko, it's like a really big swing, you get on it, and then you rock back and forth. 

And it's really, really big. It's the biggest swing I've ever seen in my life. And to get on it, you have to put on like a big helmet and like a harness, a harness, meaning like it's like some like special clothes that hold you to the ropes and stuff for safety. 

That way, like, you know, even if you like move around or you mess up that you're not going to fall and die. And then you get on the swing, and then they push it. And then you know, if you look, it's like, it's kind of high off the ground. 

And it's also near a cliff. So you can you have like, these like views, and it feels like you're really high up off the ground. And that's just one of them. 

Okay, so there's like six super ones, six special ones. And then like two of them are kind of like a zipline. And by the way, if you don't know what a zipline is, a zipline is like a special really, really long rope that you tie your harness to, you tie your special clothes to, and then you slide down the rope and you go kind of fast. 

And then while you're going, you can, you know, make poses, you can like look at the trees and stuff. And then it's supposed to feel good. And it's supposed to be like, oh, it's kind of like more intense than a roller coaster, for sure. 

So so these like six things, which I call like the super rides, they're the main attractions. And if you want to ride them, you basically have to go get the super tickets right from the very beginning. And everyone is allowed to get like one super ticket at a time.

So you like, you go right into the park. And the moment you go, you have to walk, go to the super ticket area. So you got to walk like, I don't know, maybe, maybe five, 10 minutes or so, because it's a big park. 

And then once you get there, you can get the super ticket. And then if you line up too late, so like, let's say you got in at 10am, but then you went to the bathroom or something, and then you're like, I don't know, maybe 10 or 20 minutes behind, then all the other people who got in, they're going to be in front of you, and you have to wait in line for the super ticket. And then you probably won't be able to get any super tickets for the popular rides. 

And you'll have to go on one of what I call the loser super rides, which is like, you know, there's like six, and some of them are really good. And there's like one of them, which is called like, what is it like treetop adventure, where you like kind of go on like this small little park area. And it doesn't really seem that special. 

But you know, like the super ticket, if you get it, if you get the super ticket, then it's basically like a special reservation. So then you can come back at the reservation time. And then you know, you put your stuff in the locker, you put on the helmet, you put on like the special harness and stuff like that. 

And then you have to listen to their special training. And then and then you can ride the stuff. And the training is like, they tell you what to do, tell you what to not do. 

And this makes it sound like it's really hard and complicated, like, oh, we're going to do something dangerous. But it's actually really, really simple. They're don't take it off. 

And then, you know, don't touch the fast moving parts, the things that say don't touch, don't touch them. And then don't like unbuckle yourself while you're in the middle of the ride. Don't hit other people while you're in the middle of the ride. 

Don't hit other people make them unbuckle. It's like things that are just really obvious, I guess. But, you know, actually, if you aren't able to get any super tickets, it's it's really okay, because the rest of the park is also pretty fun, too. 

And there are still other rides that don't need the super tickets. So the super tickets are just for that area. And in the beginning, you go get your super ticket and go ride something. 

And then the rest of the day, you probably can't ride the super stuff anymore. So it was kind of interesting. 

And so for us, we had a group of seven people. 

And then when we got our super ticket, they said, you got to come back in three hours. So we got our super ticket and then they're like, okay, come back. Like, so we got there lined up. 

I think we got our tickets around, like, I don't know, maybe 10:30 am or something like that. And so three hours later, so, you know, from 10:30 and then 11, 12, at 1:30, that's our reservation. So then we went back at 1:30 pm, like, that's that's the reservation time that we had. 

But then like in those three hours, you know, we went and did other stuff. We got to kill some time. All right.

So so like we ate lunch. We watched a show. We rode a tram. A tram is kind of like a mini train. It's like a really fancy car that looks like a train. It's kind of cute.

And the show, by the way, I actually I had no idea, but it was a water show. So basically, like a bunch of people came out on the stage to dance and they're like, yeah, it's a Okinawa dance. Let me tell you how to say this thing in in like the local Okinawa Hogan, the I don't know, the dialect or local like how it's kind of like in Hawaii, like some people actually speak like some parts of Hawaiian, like Aloha. And the same thing for Okinawa, because it's just a Japanese version of Hawaii. It's pretty cool.

So a bunch of people come out on the stage and introduce things about Okinawan culture. And then I wasn't ready for it, but they brought out like a ton of water guns and jets, like the people on the stage, and they just started like shooting people with water.

And they play like a lot of loud music and they ask you to dance and stuff. So then people are like, you know, dancing or something. And then they just start shooting you with a lot of water.

And it's like a really hot, sunny day. So it's like kind of fine. But I was pretty surprised. 

And then I got like super wet. And and it's weird because like when people perform on stage and stuff, like I'm always kind of supportive. You know, it doesn't matter if I actually think they're amazing or actually secretly think they suck or something.

I'm still cheering them on. And then so they can see me cheering them on because I'm in the front, right? And I'm like, oh, yeah, that's great. That's great.

And then they're like, oh, thank you for cheering me on. And then then they have like all the water guns and they're like, well, let me let me return your your thanks. And they like shoot me with the water. 

And then I get like super soaked. And I was like, oh my God. And then I I tried hiding in the corner.

So like like there's like the taped area and I hid in the very, very tip of the tape. So it's like, OK, they probably won't notice me there. And I like I crouched really, really low.

So then like no one would hit me. But then there was this kid near me. And then, you know, like it's an amusement park for the families.

So like there's a kid and this kid, he he was really smart. OK, so he had swimming goggles on. So he's got goggles on so that when he went, even if he gets hit with water, like his eyes are going to be fine.

He can still see. And, you know, like being able to see is great. So then he's just there and he's got like I think like swimming gear on.

He's he's ready to get sprayed with water. And then the performers, like on the stage, they're like, oh, look, it's a cute kid and we want to like help the kid. And the kid looks ready to get hit with water, right? So they like they start shooting him like a lot.

And so he gets like super blasted with water, but he's OK. He's like, yeah, hit me. I'm ready. 

I got goggles. I got like my swimming gear on. He's he's ready to go.

And then the kid starts walking to me and, you know, I'm like hiding. I don't want to get hit with that much water or like I already got hit. It's it's fine. 

It's funny. But like I didn't want to get hit like to the point where like all my shoes get super wet. But then but then the kids started walking to me and then so they're like, all right, let's get the kid.

And then they they got the kid, but then they started getting me. So I got hit in the crossfire. I also got hit on the side.

So I was some extra damage got hit to me. So then I got super wet. And like I think the whole day I was like super wet.

Like my socks there, they felt pretty wet for the whole day. But it was it was actually pretty fun. It was kind of like an outdoor like kind of family friendly club concert thing.

And you get really wet, but it was it was pretty great. So anyways, we did a bunch of stuff. And then and then we still had another 45 minutes before our actual reservation time, you know, before we can go use the super tickets.

So then we rode this one thing, which honestly, maybe it was like my favorite ride. And this thing was the tram. So again, a tram is kind of like a small train and it just kind of takes you throughout the park and you can get on at one of the stops and get off anywhere you want.

And it's it's not just a way to get around like it's actually kind of a fun ride. It's not like a jet coaster or like a roller coaster where it goes like really fast or anything like that. But each seat, every single seat has like a special instrument in front of it.

And when I say instrument, you might be thinking of like, you know, guitar or like a violin or piano or something. But it's not that it's not really a full on instrument. It's just a small thing that makes noise.

So it's like, there's like a little drum that you can hit or there's like one little bell and one little stick that you can hit it with. So you can basically make noise with these like noise making things. And then they also have stuff on the outside of the tram, too.

So if you're sitting like near the outside, then you can kind of reach your hand out of the tram and then touch stuff like chimes and bells and it makes noise and stuff. So it's kind of like a music tram and it's like very family friendly, of course. Everything at this place is very family friendly.

And then when you ride this tram, they have an emcee at the front of the tram. So like they have like a host and the host is talking to everyone. And then her name's Satomi, Satomi san.

And then her job is to tell facts as you ride. So it's kind of like a tour guide, but she also tells you to make noise on instruments sometimes. And then so she's like, all right, everyone, let's, you know, make noise on instruments for five seconds as much as you can go.

And then everyone like starts hitting their drums and stuff. And then she's like, OK, that's great. Now let me tell you more about Junglia.

And then sometimes she's like, OK, we're going to walk past like these people. Let's wave at them together and you wave at them. And it's like it's kind of cute.

And then sometimes she's like, all right, everyone, let's say Junglia on three. And let's say it loud enough for all those people to hear. One, two, three, Junglia.

And then everyone like says it really loud. I said it really loudly, too. I want to support this emcee because when I see emcees like I see it as like a performance and I want to support them.

So then the whole tram ride was probably like, I don't know, maybe 15 to 20 minutes. And then we made it to the other side of the park. But for us, like, you know, we weren't riding the tram to go to the other side of the park.

We were just riding the tram to kill time. We'll go anywhere. And then and then actually we had to go back and, you know, we can either walk back, which is a little bit hot, or we can ride the tram, which has like toys and stuff.

And so we're like, OK, let's get right back on the tram. So then at the very last stop, the emcee was like, oh, thank you, everyone, for coming. It was so fun.

I hope you can ride again. And then we're like, OK, and we just got right back on. And she was like, oh, you guys are actually going to ride again.

And then, yeah. And then she introduced herself a second time. She's like, hi, everyone.

My name's Satomi. And then she told us the exact same things about the park. And she's like, oh, does anyone know what this means in Okinawa? And then she had us cheer Junglia like at the same place.

She's like, all right, let's let's make a lot of noise for five seconds at the same place. So we just like experienced the same thing twice. And I was just thinking like, oh, man, I have a lot of respect for this person as an emcee.

She must feel like kind of tired. But you know, like because because, you know, like as an emcee, it's not an easy job. You have to like be good at talking and you have to be able to kind of read the reactions of people.

You have to be able to control and adjust the energy. But yeah, I really liked her. I think everybody and everyone in our whole trip, we liked Satomi.

So any time someone mentions like a great emcee, I'm going to be thinking of Satomi. So anyways, Junglia was really cool. Well, it's actually it was actually really hot.

But it was really fun and it was really enjoyable. And let's take a short little break and then we'll continue.

All right, so let's go ahead and continue. And actually I do want to mention something here. So up until now, I've kind of had like notes and stuff on my computer screen. 

And then but starting from now, what I want to do is I want to give a couple differences in this episode. So like, I'm actually not really going to read off of a script in the second part. So you might notice that starting from now, I put like a little bit more energy into the words. 

But at the same time, sometimes the stuff that I say, like mess up, or I'll talk about something that's unrelated for a little bit. And then I'll come back. But you can see the difference between what it is. 

And what I don't want to do is I don't want to always sound the same in all the episodes. I don't want it to always be perfect, either. I want the mistakes to also be recorded as well. 

So now we're moving on to the next part here, part three. So we just talked about Junglia, which was like a pretty cool amusement park area in Okinawa. And there was some other stuff that happened in Okinawa that I thought was pretty funny.

So in particular, in the beginning, everyone was like, Oh, what do you want to do in Okinawa? And Okinawa is really famous for being an island. So you know, like there's Okinawan food, which everyone's interested in. And since it's an island, and it's kind of like Hawaii, there's like water stuff, there's like ocean stuff, and everybody's interested in going to the ocean, and like seeing like these like nice water things. 

And then people were kind of like, Hey, Chris, what do you want to do? And then so me, I I'm kind of like an English teacher, right? So I'm I'm almost interested in language stuff. So I said like the usual things. I'm like, Oh, I like water stuff. 

But also, you know, if I were here alone, I probably would go visit like some language exchange stuff, because I like language exchange stuff. And people are like, Okay, yeah, that makes sense. But then, you know, we talk about all this stuff in Japanese. 

And then I guess, like, when I say this, I am interested in like language exchange stuff. What that means is I'm interested in meeting people who are like studying English, and I want to know like how they studied and what kind of what kind of stuff that they struggle with. And then like, you know, then I can like know what people find hard, and I can try to adjust the ways that I teach in the way that I talk in the podcast and stuff like that. 

But then like, when a Japanese person hears that, they're thinking like, okay, like, you know, in Japanese, if you say I want to go to like a language exchange event, then it kind of means like, okay, so you basically want to talk to foreigners, you want to talk to people who are not Japanese. And that's not exactly what I meant. But I guess it you know, like, technically, I said it in Japanese. 

So, so maybe, like, there was this image that got created, which is like not a completely true image. But it was like, okay, so Chris really wants to talk with white people. Because Chris wants to go to a language exchange, which means he wants to talk with people from other countries, which means he wants to talk to white people. 

And like, it was kind of like a joke. But it was like, I mean, it's a little bit true, I want to go to a language exchange. But it's not that I just want to talk with white people. 

But you know, that's the image that I have. And I didn't know that that was the image that I had. So in the beginning, you know, we went to Junglia with seven people. 

But in the beginning, we only had four people because people were kind of coming at different times. Like we also had a day or two before we actually went to to Junglia. And then so in that group of four people, we went out to go drinking a little bit and like chat a little bit. 

And so I'm an English teacher. And then like, in this group of four, like we only speak in Japanese, because you know, not everyone in this group can speak English. And one person in particular is like, you know, actually trying to study English and stuff. 

So then that person really wants to like talk with white people. And that person also thinks, Oh, Chris wants to talk with white people. So then I think after you know, drinking a little bit, we were going to go to like a karaoke bar, because karaoke bars, I think are really fun. 

So at the karaoke, like we try to go to the karaoke bar. And then along the way, like we have this wonderful chance. And what is this wonderful chance? We saw two white guys walking our direction. 

And we're trying to go to the karaoke bar. But then because we saw those two white guys were like, whispering to each other, it's like, Oh, this is a chance to talk to white people. Our group wants to talk to white people, let's talk to white people. 

And then so then, you know, we did our best. And then for me, what I do in these kinds of circumstances is, like, since I'm an English teacher, like if I come up to them, and I approach them with like perfect English, then what's going to happen is then I have to turn into like a translator and have to translate between English and Japanese and Japanese to English. And then also, it's kind of weird, because then, like, I might introduce like a different feeling to it. 

And I want people to just kind of talk freely. So then what I do in these circumstances is I just pretend like I can't really speak English. And what that means is I pretend like I'm a Japanese guy, and I'm really bad at English. 

And then that way, the other people have a chance to speak Japanese, they get uhh - sorry -, then the other people who are Japanese people, they get a chance to speak English. So then, you know, the two people walking by, we do our best to like talk to strangers to completely, you know, like interrupt them and whatever they're doing. And it's a pretty good experience. 

I would highly recommend you try this if you are looking for chances to speak with foreigners. I think it's actually a pretty good experience for everybody. But what we did was we kind of look at them. 

And then you start out with the classic, like, and I pretend like I'm really bad at English. So I'm like, oh, hello. And then they're like, what? We are from Japan, is it okay if we speak English? And then and then, you know, people are usually like, oh, wow, that's, that's cool. 

That's cool. Like this person is like trying to speak with me. So then they're like, oh, yeah, sure. 

What are you guys doing? And then so I told them, oh, we're trying to go to like this karaoke bar. And then and then so then like, you know, the our group of four people, like, we're trying to all speak English. So then they're asking the two guys, they're like, well, what are you guys trying to do? And they're like, oh, we're trying to go to a club. 

You guys want to come with us to the club? We can be friends. And then, you know, sometimes our group doesn't understand. So then I like translate a little bit of Japanese, because my image here, I'm trying to be like a Japanese person. 

And then I was like, oh, yeah, they said they're going to go to the club. And then you want to just ask them to go to the karaoke thing. So then we like invited them like, Oh, do you want to come with us to karaoke and be friends? And then they're like, Oh, yeah, sure, dude, we're down to be friends. 

So then we like picked up these two random white guys. And so instead of a group of four, we've got a group of six people. And then we went to the karaoke bar. 

And then like, along the way, they keep asking me, they're like, Oh, like, you know, what's your name and stuff. So we introduce ourselves. And then, like, it's always hard to introduce like names, I think to people, especially when people don't know, like, what country they're from, and haven't met anyone from that country, because then the name pronunciations are hard. 

So like, they don't understand Japanese names. And then those those two guys were from Austria. So and we didn't really know anyone else from Austria. 

So those names are like, I mean, I just tried to copy the name sound, and then that's the best I can do. But so they're like asking, Oh, like, Chris, like, how did you study English? And then I have this like fake personality, right? I'm like pretending to not be able to speak much English. But then I'm still answering all these things, like, ideally, without a complete lie, I didn't want to lie that much. 

So I was like, Oh, I have studied English many, many years. And the other Japanese people are thinking like, Yeah, he literally grew up studying English. So it makes sense. 

And they're like, Oh, wow, okay, okay. And then where are you from? And then like, you know, the truth is, I'm kind of from the US, that's probably the best answer. But I'm also from Tokyo, because I don't live in Okinawa, and we're just traveling. 

So I was like, Oh, I am from Tokyo. And then they're like, Oh, wow, in Tokyo, we just went to Tokyo. So like, I'm like answering these things with things that are like, kind of true. 

But then we had a plan, which is, like, I do the stuff. And then that way, it's really easy to pull in friends and be like, Oh, hey, like, do you guys know how to say this? Can you talk to them in English and stuff like that? But then also, we had a plan to reveal that I actually can speak English so that I don't have to fake doing this thing for the whole time. And the goal was, we're going to go to karaoke, and I'll sing the very first song.

And I'm going to sing in perfect English. And they're going to be like, Oh, wow, like, this guy doesn't have an accent when he sings. And wow, so he must actually be like, you know, an American guy or something like that. 

And that was like the plan. And so we got to the karaoke place. And, you know, like we sat down, it was actually a pretty nice place. 

And then they had, they had like a really cheap menu, it was like 1000 yen for all you can drink and all you can sing for an hour, which is like really cheap, I think. So then I was like, we're there. And then I'm like explaining the menu because they don't have an English menu. 

So I'm like translating to them, like, Oh, you can get this one. And what does that have? Oh, that uses like Japanese whiskey. It's like, Oh, that one, that one means like, there's like a tan-san-sui, which is like sparkling water, carbonated water, soda. 

And then, and then, so like, you know, I'm like a helpful translator person. I was like, Hey, guys, like, I got to tell you something. Like when I sing in English, like I sing in perfect English, and it sounds native. 

And then they're like, okay, yeah, sure, whatever. And they like didn't believe me. And I was like, okay. 

And then so you know, I got to the karaoke place. And then I sang, I sang a Sam Smith song, because I like Sam Smith. And then it was in like perfect English. 

And then what I expected was I expected them to be like, wow, like when you sing, you, you sound like you don't have an accent. But when you talk, you have such a strong Japanese accent. But then what they actually said was like, Oh, wow, that was really nice. 

And then I was like, Come on, I want you to notice this thing so I can stop pretending. And I told them I was like, Yeah, so when I sing, I've been told that I have like a perfect accent. But when I speak in English, when I speak in English, I think I have an accent that is very hard. 

And then and then they're like, No, no, no, no, it's totally fine, dude. Like, we totally understand your English, your English is really good. And they're like, kind of cheering me up, right? And I'm like, that's not what I want. 

I want you guys to like suspect me. And then, so at this point, I've been doing this accent for like, I think maybe 15 minutes, maybe 20 minutes. And then like other people, it was other people's turns to, to sing like karaoke stuff. 

And then they sang and then I was just like too far in, too far in, meaning like, I've been doing it for so long that now if I suddenly change, it's hard, it's gonna be really awkward. 

And then, and then like, I think the the Japanese friends are kind of like, with how long is Chris going to keep this up? And then I was like, Oh, well, let me sing a second song and tell them like, Oh, like, when I sing, I speak English perfectly, but when I'm not singing, then it's hard or something. And they didn't suspect anything at all. 

They were just like, Yeah, this dude is just weird. Like, you know, I guess he's just good at singing in English, but he sucks at real English. And then eventually I told them, I was like, Okay, so I gotta, I gotta tell you guys, actually, I speak English and without an accent either. 

And then I switched back to my, my normal native accent, which is like this way. And the way that I started was like, Oh, Haro, nice to meet you. And then I changed and I say like, Oh, actually, so I, I'm from the US. 

And I grew up in the US. So I, I'm like a native speaker, I, I don't have this kind of accent. And then the two guys, like, they kind of had different reactions. 

So so the guy that was next to me, he was like a mechanical engineer. And then I already told him that I used to be an engineer. And then so so he was just kind of like, Oh, that's cool, dude. 

That's funny. I thought you were Japanese. And he's like, Oh, yeah, I was thinking, like, when you were singing, like, it sounds like you speak English much better than the way you actually spoke, but I didn't want to say anything. 

And so he like, kind of was like happy with it. And he was like, Oh, that's kind of funny. And then he asked me like, Oh, so like, are those stories true? Is it true that like you studied English a long time? And I was like, Yeah, I grew up in the US. 

And like, Oh, is it true that you went to that college? And I'm like, Yeah, I went to that college. So it's like mostly true. Is it true that you're from Tokyo? Yeah, I live in Tokyo. 

But I grew up in the US. And so he's like, Okay, so like, it wasn't, it wasn't all a lie, but he was having a good time. And he's like telling his friend and they're speaking like an Austrian to each other. 

And the friend, that friend's reaction was kind of like, I can't believe this guy lied to me. Like, I believed him. I really believe that he was Japanese. 

And he's just lying about this. I don't know what to believe. And then so he's like, looking at the menu, he's like, I want to order another drink. 

And I was like, Oh, do you need any help? I can translate for you. And he's like, No, I don't trust you. Because you lied to me so much. 

I don't know if he's joking. But I think he did feel kind of weird. Like, he was like, I don't really know if I can trust anything that you say. 

And then, so it's kind of it was kind of interesting. But in the end, I think everyone had a pretty good time. Like, we took pictures and stuff. 

And then we said bye. And then we never saw each other again. But yeah, this, um, this was, it was, it's not the first time that I faked having an accent for like a really long time. 

And I kind of wish that I stopped doing it earlier. Because like, just like, you know, five minutes or something, I think that's enough. But like, it was like five minutes. 

And then we were like, looking for the karaoke place and we walked together. And then we got into the place and I like translate for them and stuff like that. And then like, because I had to wait to sing the first song, like, like after like, you know, 10, 15 minutes, it's kind of long. 

And there was really no good timing to kind of, you know, fess up, to kind of admit to say that, Oh, like, actually, I was lying. I don't have this accent. So if those two people are listening, those two Austrian people that we met in Okinawa, I'm sorry for lying to you. 

But I hope you guys had a fun time, because I think we all had a pretty good time. Okay, so maybe we'll take a short little break here. And then we'll come back and talk about some more stuff.

Alright, so let's go and make our way into this next section here. So in this last, in this last, in this last section, we just talked about how our group of people we like, talked to some two random white guys. And then I ended up becoming kind of friends with them. 

And we went to karaoke with them. And also, it was kind of like this weird thing where I was pretending not to speak English so that other people can like have a chance to speak English, but then the the fake accent and like the fake personality kind of just stood there for too long. And then it was kind of awkward.

But in the end, I think everyone had a good time. I think those two had a good time. But now I want to talk about Ah, yes, yes, I love this topic.

So in the car, I forgot where we were going, actually, but we were in the car for a lot of random stuff like, you know, we're going to Junglia going back or something. And then in the car, we talked about a lot of random stuff. And one of the conversations that we had, I think I don't, I don't really remember why I brought it up. 

But I wanted to ask people like, hey, if you could have a superpower, what kind of superpower do you want? And then I can't, I can't just like, ask that because like some answers are going to be too good. Okay, like imagine like if I was like, hey, what kind of superpower do you want? And you're like, oh, man, I wish I could like run as fast as like the fastest man on Earth or something. And it's like, okay. 

And someone else could always one up that one up that me like, do something or propose something better. So instead of running as fast as the fastest man on Earth, it's like, I wish I could run faster than sound. I wish I could run at the speed of light or something like that. 

And then the okay, that's even better. And then eventually, people are like, I wish I could do everything that Superman could do. And like Superman is like, he's like the strongest superhero ever, because he can fly, he's super strong, like the strength wise and like he like heals and everything he'd like basically can do anything he can like freeze things he can burn things. 

He's too strong. So when I asked people this question, I asked, hey, what kind of superpower do you want? And I give the choices. Okay, and I want to keep it kind of simple. 

So I remember the first one that I proposed is I was like, okay, so how about you can fly? And then, you know, Superman can fly, and he can do a lot of other stuff. But my offer is you can fly, but there are downsides. And like these superpowers, you know, it's not just you just can do that whenever you want as much as you want. 

It's like, if you fly a lot, you get tired. And if you fly by yourself, then you can do it for a long time. But if you try to like bring something heavy, or you try to like bring a person with you, then you get tired, like faster, and you can't go as fast. 

And if you bring like multiple people, you get tired really fast. And then, so it's a little bit more reasonable, everything's connected with like your stamina. So if you're sick, or you're really tired, then you can't really fly. 

But if you're feeling healthy, and you like, you know, you work out and stuff like that, you practice flying and things, then you get good at it. And some people are like, okay, yeah, that's pretty good. And then we had this one guy on the trip, and he's a really smart guy. 

And his his job is to like, make board games and stuff. So I think all the time, he's thinking about like rules and like exceptions and things like that. And he's saying like, yeah, flying is cool. 

Flying is great and all, but I'm going to get caught by the government. So like, if I fly, like, definitely I'm going to be seen by somebody. And then if I get reported, then I'm the only person in the world that can fly. So then people are going to like, you know, do experiments on me, or like, they might try to like, you know, capture me or something like that. 

And it's like, okay, okay, that sucks. And so I was like, all right, so now let me offer you another choice. So instead of flying, how about you just get instant transmission, so teleportation? shunkan idou. So like, if you just think about where you want to go and you go, and then you think about it, then you can teleport, and then you like appear in the place that you want to be. 

So for example, like right now, I'm in Tokyo, but if I want to teleport to, to like the US or something, then I just, I think about it. And then I instantly appear there. And this is like even faster than flying, right? Because flying, like, I don't know, I guess the image that like what I have in mind is like, you can fly really fast, but it's not as fast as just like, instant, like I snap my finger. 

And then you're just there. And then for the instant transmission, or the teleportation, you, you can do it. And then but then if you do it too much, you get pretty tired, like that's, that's the drawback. 

If you keep teleporting back and forth, then you get tired, like it's just so that you know that there's a limit, like you can't like teleport for every single thing in life, because then that's like too, too much of a change. So I wanted to introduce a downside. So it's like, oh, but you're gonna get tired. 

And then, and then so then the same guy, right? The same guy, the smart guy, he's like, he's like, always complaining about this. And he's funny, I'm really glad that he we had this conversation. And he was like, ah, but even if I like teleport somewhere, like definitely someone's gonna notice. 

And so it's like, well, yeah, like somebody's gonna notice. But um, you know, if somebody notices you, and then you get caught, and you got sent to jail or something, like, you can just teleport out and go somewhere else. So like, you can always get away, like even if like people are going to try to shoot you or something, you can just kind of teleport away to someplace far away, and they won't know where you went. 

So it's probably fine, right? And he was like, No, I don't want to live my life on the run. And so then I was like, wait, what, then then what do you want instead? And then I was like, Okay, so let me let me give you something else. So I'll offer you a third option. 

So the first option was flying, but you get tired. And the second option was teleportation, but you get tired. And the third option and by the way, most of most of the people that I that were in the car that we're talking about this, I think a lot of people were happy with either one. 

They're like, Okay, yeah, flying's fine. Oh, yeah, instant teleportation. That's probably that's probably a little bit better. 

And then I was like, Okay, so I'll give you a different one. How about one that you probably can't really get caught for, which is like, you can read minds. So read minds meaning like, means like, if someone is thinking something, then you can, you can instantly know what they're thinking, you just look at them, and then it's, they don't have to say anything. 

They don't have to like, make any kind of facial expression, you can just understand all of their feelings. And so it's like, it's like max communication level. Like this is something that probably no one in the world can do. 

And like, this is probably a pretty useful thing, you could even use it like, to like save people. So you know, if somebody like, oh, like, I, I'm like, I don't know, injured or something, but I can't explain, then you can just read their mind. And it would be pretty useful in like, if you were like a doctor or something like that. 

And then, and this, of course, you know, people are always asking like random questions. So they're like, okay, so if I can do this, let's say I'm trying to read the mind of some like American guy, and I don't speak English, that am I going to be able to understand? And we're like, okay, yeah, sure. That's fine. 

Because you know, reading minds, it seems like it needs a little buff, we got to give it a little power up to compare with like flying and teleportation, which are like really strong. And then like reading a mind, it's like, okay, well, let's, let's try to help it out. So we're like, okay, so if you try to read the mind of somebody, and you don't speak the language that they speak, or you don't speak the language that they're thinking in, that's fine. 

Like you understand all the feelings, you understand all the thoughts. And then they're like, okay, so if I can do that, then can I also speak every language? And it's like, no, no, no, no, no, you just understand, but you can't output it. You can't output any language, just languages that you learn and stuff like that. 

But like, you can understand anything. And as people are like, okay, that's pretty good. And so somebody was like, and by the way, like this, this whole conversation, like, I don't really have like a major point, this isn't like a lesson that I'm trying to say, I'm just trying to repeat the conversation, because I thought it was pretty interesting. 

But at some point, someone was like, okay, reading minds, wow, that's pretty good. And I also just realized that if we use this in the casino, like for gambling, because I can just look at people and then I'll know what stuff they have, like what cards they have. And then I can like be an amazing gambler, and I can probably make a lot of money. 

So like with this power, I could have like, tons of money. And then someone else, or maybe me, I don't remember, but someone else is like, yeah, but you could do that with like any of the powers. So if you were flying, and you really, really wanted to make a lot of money, you could make like a tourist attraction that's like, hey, everyone, so I'll take you on a private flying tour. 

But it's only for super rich people. So you have to pay like, I don't know, like $10,000. And then I'll take you flying for like 15 minutes, like one on one flying, wherever you want to go or something like that. 

And then so like, you could you could make money that way. And that's probably fine. And same with like the teleportation stuff. 

I mean, it's not legal, but you could teleport somewhere, take a bunch of cash, and then like teleport away. And then you know, you could steal money. So like, if, if, if you use the powers in certain ways, and maybe those things are going to be against the law, so it's not good, and you shouldn't do it. 

But you know, if you really, really wanted to, you could get money. And the same for the reading minds thing. And then and then the board game guy was like, he was like, wait, but if I can read people's minds, then like, then board games don't really have a meaning. 

And he really likes board games, and he's really good at them too. But like, if you can read the minds of everybody, then like, it kind of defeats the purpose of a lot of things. Like, you can't really play games that have it be fair, because you know exactly what they're thinking, you know what cards they have.

And then so then we're like, okay, fine, it's fine. You can you can turn it off. You have the ability to turn that ability off if you want. 

And he's like, okay, yeah, but you know what, I don't really want it. And I was just like, All right, dude, what do you want? Okay, so I gave you these three choices, right? We've got flying, but you get tired. And then you've got teleportation, but you get tired. 

And you've got mind reading, which doesn't even have any like drawbacks. What are you complaining about? And then like, what do you want? And then he's like, All right, so how about how about I just get like, anytime I get injured, like all injuries heal really fast, like super, super healing. And then and then I was like, No, dude, that's you can't do that. 

And also, you'd probably get caught for that, right? Like, you know, if you if you like jumped off a building or something, and then, and like, I don't know, you broke your leg, and then your leg just healed, like in 10 seconds. Like, wouldn't you get caught for that? And then you'd like when you have the same concern? He's like, No, no, no, because the healing like, I like it doesn't heal instantly. It's just really, really fast. 

So like, you know, I like look like I'm injured. But then after I go home that night, then the next day, I'm like all healed, no matter what. And it's like, Okay, yeah, sure. 

And then I was like, No, that's I don't, I don't think I want to allow that. So you got to propose something else. And then, you know, then some other things came up where he's like, Okay, how about just perfect memory, I want perfect memory. 

So that every single thing that I've ever done in life, I just remember it well. And then this is also something that I can turn on and off. And it's like, ah, actually, yeah, that's a pretty good power. 

Because then, you know, no matter what you do, as long as you experienced it once, you'll be able to remember it. And so like, you basically never forget anything. That's actually pretty amazing. 

And then, and then eventually, I don't know what happened. But eventually, we started talking about powers that are like, bad, something like we're trying to like come up with powers that are like, kind of useless. And then um, so then someone was like, Okay, so do you know, like Kamehameha, like Goku from Dragon Ball Z, like Kamehameha, so you can do Kamehameha, but you can only do it once in your life. 

And it's like, how is that going to be useful? It's like, yeah, exactly. I'm trying to come up with a superpower that's like a superpower, but it's kind of useless. And then so being able to Kamehameha once, like you do it once and I don't know, like you'll cause a lot of damage, you'll probably hurt a lot of people, which is probably not something that you want to do, but it's still a superpower. 

Okay, okay. And I had a really good one, which I think I like this one, which is if you guys have ever heard of the Justice League, the Justice League is like, it's a league of heroes. It's a group of superheroes and it's from like a comic book in the US, but it has like all the main superheroes. 

It's got like Batman, it's got Wonder Woman, it's got the Green Lantern, Superman, who's like, you know, the strongest one. And they all have a lot of superpowers and all that, right? And then there's one guy in the Justice League and his name is Aqua Man. And Aqua means like water, man, just man. 

So, and he, he's like a water man. So he's like really good at swimming and he's like, he can breathe underwater and he looks like a, like a fish, but only from the waist down. And, uh, and he's like kind of strong, but he's not as strong as like Superman. 

He can't fly. He's just good at swimming and he can also talk to fish. So then I was like, okay, I have a superpower.

How about you can talk to fish? And people are like, yeah, that one's a pretty useless superpower. I don't know what you're gonna do. Like if you're able to talk to fish, but then I added some more stuff and I was like, all right, you can talk to fish, but also most fish are just stupid. 

So if you try to talk to a fish and it's stupid, then like nothing happens because they're stupid. Like you say hi and then the fish is like, uh, I'm stupid. I'm a fish. I can't have a conversation. 

And people are like, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that's, that's pretty useless. And then I don't know why, but people are like, okay, let's make it even more useless. 

So you can talk to fish, but if the fish is stupid, then like, you know, no conversation happens because they're too stupid and, and you can only do it once. So you can only talk to a fish like once. And then if you happen to pick a fish that's stupid, then like you basically wasted your superpower. 

And then people are like, yeah, agreed. That one is like one of the absolute worst superpowers. And then I don't really know where else the conversation went from there, but I thought it was pretty funny overall. 

Like in the end, I gave a bunch of choices and I think a lot of people ended up choosing the teleportation one because it seems pretty good. Um, of course, like maybe if perfect memory was there, that one would be a pretty good power too. I think it's, it's really compatible, meaning like, because you can turn it off. 

Um, and you can turn it on at any point and just having perfect memory would help with a lot of stuff. Like imagine everything that you study, if you just like, uh, study it once, you'll never forget. You're just like re be able to remember anything. 

You could like look through a dictionary, spend like one hour, and then you'll know every single word just by kind of flipping through the book. So it's pretty good. Um, but anyways, uh, that, I think that was a pretty interesting conversation. 

Uh, we had a lot of other, we also had a lot of other interesting conversations, but, uh, maybe that's enough for this episode. And, uh, yeah, let's go ahead and let's go and start wrapping up. So thanks again for listening to this podcast episode.

Um, this I think was episode 26 and I should have a pretty great episode coming out soon within the next like two or three weeks. Uh, and that's because we're going to be able to interview like a theater actress. Uh, so please look forward to that. 

And then, uh, again, thanks so much for listening until the end of the episode. Um, if you like it, uh, you know, if you can subscribe, you can follow, do whatever the people that are already supporting me. Thank you so much. 

And with that, I guess hopefully we'll see you next Tuesday on Kuli English podcast.