This one’s part London adventure, part Mandarin listening practice.

Tom celebrated his birthday and 10-year anniversary with Ula — a surprise visit from Auntie Kara, a Studio Ghibli stage show (“My Neighbour Totoro”), London’s best steak at Steak & Company, and an escape-room fail that turned into a win… with only 18 seconds left on the clock.

It’s a bilingual Chinese–English episode, so you’ll get real, natural Chinese with clear English context — perfect for learners who want genuine Mandarin conversation, not classroom scripts.

🎧 What’s inside:

• Life in the UK told in Mandarin + English
• Real couple conversation for natural listening practice
• Studio Ghibli, London travel, and the best wagyu steak we’ve ever had
• Why escape rooms are secretly relationship tests
• How to use fun topics like these to learn real-life Chinese

📍 Chapters:

0:00 – Hump Day & intro chaos

2:45 – Birthday surprise & planning

6:40 – London trip + Totoro show

12:30 – Japanese restaurant adventure

17:40 – Theatre review

22:00 – Covent Garden wander + 5G rant

25:10 – Best steak in London: Steak & Company

30:20 – Underground games & escape-room fail

39:00 – Alice in Puzzleland redemption

43:50 – Westfield, mystery board game & wrap-up

Want to learn Mandarin with us?

Book a free trial lesson: https://mandarinmonkey.com

Say hi: chat@mandarinmonkey.com

#ChinesePodcast #MandarinListening #LearnChinese #BilingualPodcast #LondonTravel #StudioGhibli #EscapeRoom

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Listener Mailbag is back. This week your stories cover first Mandarin wins, night market fails, and everything in between. We read your emails about dreaming in tones, KTV redemption songs, taxi mistakes, and the joy of ordering food without pointing. You’ll hear how small slips turn into lasting lessons, why confidence matters more than beer bravery, and how to keep learning when tests and tones trip you up.

Send your story: chat@mandarinmonkey.com

Lessons, hangouts, and intensives: mandarinmonkey.com

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Learn Mandarin through real conversations. Episode 422 covers wild camping, from rain and wind in the UK to snakes and bears in Taiwan. Pick up camping words in Chinese, hear how to talk about fishing and food, and enjoy bilingual chat in English and Mandarin.

Key Mandarin words from this episode:

野营 (yě yíng) – wild camping

帐篷 (zhàng péng) – tent

篝火 (gōu huǒ) – campfire

蚊子 (wén zi) – mosquito

獾 (huān) – badger

蛇 (shé) – snake

熊 (xióng) – bear

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.