We publish archived videos of our lessons as a podcast. Today, our conversation covered the following topics:

* Masaki’s restaurant gas tank running out, the difference between piped gas and tank gas, and what “full-fledged restaurant” means.

* Kinoko’s exhausting move to the new sharehouse, dealing with old furniture, and the concept of a “not-to-do list” to avoid being overwhelmed.

* The word “overwhelmed” (too many tasks, feeling flooded) and the importance of taking a “chill pill” – intentionally scheduling rest.

* Kinoko’s upcoming camping trip in Wakayama to do nothing, listen to the sound of waves (shiosai), and relax.

* The difference between tasks, appointments, and “obligations” (things you have to do but don’t necessarily enjoy, like social or family duties).

* Dream retirement destinations: Kinoko would choose Thailand (Chiang Mai), where many retired white people (farang) live a slow life. Masaki is curious about Greece and Egypt.

* Masaki renewing his passport after eight years to visit a sick friend in the US, and his partner’s dislike of international travel.

Tip: Turn on the automatic transcript feature if you’d like to read along.

Connect with Kinoko-san

* Kinoko-san’s X: https://x.com/kinoko1027

* Kinoko-san’s blog: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/

* Her book: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA

* Her interview: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196

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We publish archived videos of our lessons as a podcast. Today, our conversation covered the following topics:

* Kinoko’s frantic search for a new sharehouse, signing a contract without seeing it first due to high demand, and the rent being almost twice as expensive as her current place.

* The new sharehouse’s location near Minowa and the largest red-light district in Japan, and her call for new residents (queer-friendly, foreigner-friendly, safe).

* Masaki’s past experience with random roommates in Chicago and the serendipity of forming meaningful friendships with progressive, interesting people.

* The idea that “you are the average of the five people you’re closest to,” and how outliers (like Kinoko) pull your average in interesting directions.

* Kinoko’s overwhelmingly busy May: forming her own company, moving into the new sharehouse, trips to Fukuoka, Wakayama (camping), and Okinawa (campaign), leaving her exhausted and in need of rest.

* The phrase “take a chill pill” and the importance of intentionally scheduling rest and relaxation as a task.

* Sedentary lifestyles, standing out in a Japanese work environment, and the reluctance to stretch at work because “no one else does it.”

Tip: Turn on the automatic transcript feature if you’d like to read along.

Connect with Kinoko-san

* Kinoko-san’s X: https://x.com/kinoko1027

* Kinoko-san’s blog: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/

* Her book: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA

* Her interview: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196

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We publish archived videos of our lessons as a podcast. Today, our conversation covered the following topics:

* Kinoko’s three-day fire performance workshop in Gunma, including fire eating, fire breathing, vapor tricks, contact staff, sword fighting, and a burnout competition, with about 100 participants and top performers from Japan.

* The physical exhaustion from the workshop and the mental exhaustion from searching for a new house to use as a sharehouse, including the possibility of buying a property and starting a proper business (with all the dreaded paperwork).

* Language tips: avoiding jargon by paraphrasing (e.g., “monolingual” → “speak only one language”), and the usage of “twice as big” vs. “twice bigger.”

* Masaki’s restaurant business growth, the consideration of forming a company for tax reasons, and the frustration of tax money funding wars and being invested in Israeli companies via pension funds.

* The idea of peer-supported alternatives: microfinance systems used by Zainichi Koreans, a proposed queer event transportation reimbursement system, and an “activism scholarship” to help people attend events outside major cities.

Tip: Turn on the automatic transcript feature if you’d like to read along.

Connect with Kinoko-san

* Kinoko-san’s X: https://x.com/kinoko1027

* Kinoko-san’s blog: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/

* Her book: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA

* Her interview: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196

More episodes

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We publish archived videos of our lessons as a podcast. Today, our conversation covered the following topics:

* Kinoko’s excitement about receiving a ticket to Burning Man through the aid ticket program for people with lower income (under 5 million yen), and how many Japanese people are eligible.

* The application process: explaining why you can’t afford a regular ticket (which costs around $650), providing tax papers as proof of income, and describing what you can contribute to the community (cleaning, cooking, kinbaku, pole dance, etc.).

* Kinoko’s personal situation: being neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, and how having a stable, sufficient income is difficult in Japan.

* What Burning Man is: a week-long camping festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert with about 70,000 participants, where people build a temporary village and burn a large wooden statue (”the man”) and a temple on the last day.

* The no-money rule inside Burning Man: a social experiment where participants exchange gifts, skills, or help instead of using cash. Water can be pre-purchased with a water ticket, but food and drinks are given freely by other participants.

* The importance of consent in all exchanges, and the presence of sheriffs and police to handle any violence or crime.

Tip: Turn on the automatic transcript feature if you’d like to read along.

Connect with Kinoko-san

* Kinoko-san’s X: https://x.com/kinoko1027

* Kinoko-san’s blog: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/

* Her book: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA

* Her interview: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196

More episodes

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We publish archived videos of our lessons as a podcast. Today, our conversation covered the following topics:

* Forgetting appointments and daily tasks

* The difficulty of multitasking and context-switching

* Working on laptops in trains: what are they working on?

* How clothing and hair color affect people’s perceptions, and the Japanese cultural pressure to be “transparent” and blend in

* The dichotomy of renshu (practice) vs. honban (real performance) in language learning, and the guilt of feeling like you’re using friends as practice tools

Tip: Turn on the automatic transcript feature if you’d like to read along.

Connect with Kinoko-san

* Kinoko-san’s X: https://x.com/kinoko1027

* Kinoko-san’s blog: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/

* Her book: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA

* Her interview: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196

More episodes

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We publish archived videos of our lessons as a podcast. Today, our conversation covered the following topics:

* The speaker’s excitement and anxiety about reuniting with a long-term partner after two years of forced platonic distance due to his monogamous relationship with someone else.

* The “musical chairs” dynamic of affection, where a monogamous person can claim the only available “chair” (partner status), shutting others out of intimacy.

* Societal assumptions that polyamorous people should be “fine” losing one relationship because they have others, and that monogamous feelings automatically take priority.

* The speaker’s rejection of rigid labels (friend, partner, f**k buddy), seeing every person as unique and irreplaceable.

* The ideal of a “dance floor” where there are no chairs—or many chairs—allowing affection to flow without competition or exclusivity.

Tip: Turn on the automatic transcript feature if you’d like to read along.

Connect with Kinoko-san

* Kinoko-san’s X: https://x.com/kinoko1027

* Kinoko-san’s blog: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/

* Her book: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA

* Her interview: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196

More episodes

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We publish archived videos of our lessons as a podcast. Today, our conversation covered the following topics:

* Changing hair color with products like color shampoo and treatment, and reminiscing about having vivid hair colors in the past.

* The social perceptions of having unconventional hair, particularly how it can be viewed differently based on age, gender presentation, and cultural environment (such as in Japan versus abroad).

* Navigating middle age, including feelings of being “on the verge” of aging, the balance between holding onto youth and accepting the aging process smoothly.

* Physical challenges and new activities, such as pole dancing and fire performance (including fire eating), and the bruises that come with practice.

* The concept of introversion versus extroversion, with one speaker identifying as a talkative introvert who needs alone time to recharge, while the other identifies as more outgoing and energized by social activities and new experiences.

* Learning new vocabulary, including the words “verge,” “click” (as in forming a connection), “allocate,” and the difference between “introvert” and “extrovert.”

* Running a restaurant business, managing multiple roles (server, bartender, problem-solver), and the goal of allocating tasks to new hires to balance the workload.

Tip: Turn on the automatic transcript feature if you’d like to read along.

Connect with Kinoko-san

* Kinoko-san’s X: https://x.com/kinoko1027

* Kinoko-san’s blog: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/

* Her book: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA

* Her interview: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196

More episodes

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We publish archived videos of our lessons as a podcast. Today, our conversation covered the following topics:

* The benefits of practicing English in various real-life environments, not just in a quiet, ideal setting.

* Personal stories about how accents can change unconsciously when moving to different places or spending time with people from different regions (e.g., Hawaiian English, Kiwi English, California English, Kentucky English).

* Kinoko’s three personal principles as an activist

* The negative impact of social media on activism and public discourse: the pressure for perfection and immediate responses

Tip: Turn on the automatic transcript feature if you'd like to read along.

Connect with Kinoko-san

* Kinoko-san’s X: https://x.com/kinoko1027

* Kinoko-san’s blog: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/

* Her book: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA

* Her interview: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196

More episodes

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In today’s lesson with Kinoko, we covered the following topics:

* What Kinoko loves about Georgia (the country)

* Georgia’s political landscape

* What is it like to be queer in Georgia?

* The cultural connotation of the phrase 'I met someone'

* Traveling in the time of war

* Dream countries to visit

* Ayahuasca in Peru

Tip: Turn on the automatic transcript feature if you'd like to read along.

You can learn more on being queer in Georgia by visiting the ジョージア情報局 website and reading Kinoko-san’s guest post here.

Connect with Kinoko-san

* Kinoko-san’s X: https://x.com/kinoko1027

* Kinoko-san’s blog: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/

* Her book: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA

* Her interview: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196

More episodes

Tap #Kinoko’sLessons to see more.

* Private lessons: https://progreztribe.substack.com/p/lessons

* Kinoko-san’s X: https://x.com/kinoko1027

* Kinoko-san’s blog: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/

Kinoko-san is the author of I Have Two Partners: Living the Polyamorous Life, and at the end of last year, her interview article went viral.

* Her book: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvA

* Interview article: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196

In this lesson, we cover the following topics:

* Instagram accounts recommended for English learners

* https://www.instagram.com/mattxiv/

* https://www.instagram.com/english_coach_adam/

* Simple English is better than fluent English for communication purposes

* How we tend to cram in too much information

* Different learning styles for different people

* Inclusive language vs. “going viral”

* What Kinoko-san pays attention to at her events

If you find the English hard to follow, try turning on the automatic transcript feature!

#Kinoko’sLessons

『わたし、恋人が2人います。〜ポリアモリーという生き方〜』を書いたきのコさんと一緒に、レッスンの様子を配信します。英語でいろんな話をするポッドキャストになりそうです。

先日個人レッスン（現在新規停止中）の生徒さんであるきのコさんから「レッスンのアーカイブ動画をポッドキャストにしちゃいませんか！？」というご提案をいただきました。え〜面白そう！ と盛り上がり、さっそく今回のレッスンから公開することになりました。個人レッスン案内: https://progreztribe.substack.com/p/lessonsきのコさん X: https://x.com/kinoko1027きのコさんブログ: https://ameblo.jp/kinoko1027ameba/きのコさんは『わたし、恋人が2人います。〜ポリアモリーという生き方〜』という本の著者で、昨年末にはこちらのインタビュー記事が話題になりました。本: https://amzn.asia/d/0gusbsvAインタビュー記事: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/ad17531bef6f9307a429f45f450a9fb2817f8196今回のレッスンでは、次のようなトピックを話しています。

* 英語学習者におすすめのインスタアカウント

* https://www.instagram.com/mattxiv/

* https://www.instagram.com/english_coach_adam/

* コミュニケーションに大事なのは流暢な英語よりシンプルな英語

* 情報を詰め込みがちな私たち

* 人によって異なる学習スタイルについて

* 誰も取りこぼさない語りと「バズる」の相性の悪さ

* きのコさんのイベントで何に気をつけているか

英語の聞き取りが難しい人は、自動文字起こしをONにして聴いてみてくださいね。

#Kinoko’sLessons