We all have experienced the moments when we just felt happy: during childhood, our teenage years, adulthood - maybe even today. I think preserving the ability to feel happy from time to time is one of the keys to a better, more fulfilling life, even though the same life throws more and more challenges to us, and the definition of happiness itself changes as we grow.

What does happiness mean to you? Is happiness a choice or the result of some circumstances? Can money buy happiness, or is it worth finding joy in the little things? These and other questions we are going to discuss next time - so please sign up and join us this Sunday 😌

Please don't forget to sign up and pay in advance - before Saturday morning.

🇬🇧 What: English Speaking Club NN
💭 Topic: Happiness and fullfilment
🕚 When: Sunday, July 26th, 11 AM - 1 PM (2 hours)
📍 Where: The Most Coffee
💵 How much: 700₽

🌱Sign up and pay here by Saturday, 10 AM 🌱

See you!
Andrei

Hi guys, this is just a quick announcement ☺️

The founder, the creator, the originator, the ultimate source of energy and inspiration, and undoubtedly the great host - Natasha - celebrates her birthday today 🎉🎉🎉

Happy birthday, Natasha! 🥳🥳🥳 You are the reason why this wonderful space full of great people exists ❤️ Wishing you all the best!

Let's meet tomorrow, guys! Don't forget to bring your good mood 😉 After all, we're going to talk about happiness and fullfilment ☺️

🇬🇧 What: English Speaking Club NN
💭 Topic: Happiness and fullfilment
🕚 When: Sunday, July 26th, 11 AM - 1 PM (2 hours)
📍 Where: The Most Coffee
💵 How much: 700₽

🌱Sign up and pay here — if you haven't 🌱

See you!
Andrei

Good morning! ☀️ Did you know there are many ways to express the joy of life in English? For example:

1. On cloud nine: extremely happy. (I've been on cloud nine ever since I got the job.)
2. Over the moon: very pleased or delighted. (She was over the moon when she heard the news.)
3. In high spirits: feeling cheerful and energetic. (Everyone was in high spirits after the concert.)
4. Grin from ear to ear: smile very broadly because of happiness. (He was grinning from ear to ear after winning the competition.)
5. Walking on air: feeling extremely happy. (She was walking on air after their first date.)

There are other related idioms too:

6. Count your blessings: appreciate the good things you have. (Instead of complaining, try to count your blessings.)
7. The grass is always greener on the other side: other people's lives often seem better than your own. (Don't compare yourself too much—the grass is always greener on the other side.)
8. Find your calling: discover the work or purpose that suits you best. (Teaching turned out to be her calling.)
9. At peace with yourself: feeling calm and accepting who you are. (It took years before he was at peace with himself.)
10. Keep your chin up: stay positive during difficult times. (Keep your chin up—things will get better.)
11. Every cloud has a silver lining: every bad situation has something positive. (Losing that job led me to a much better one. Every cloud has a silver lining.)
12. Stop and smell the roses: slow down and appreciate life's simple pleasures. (You're always working—you should stop and smell the roses.)

These and many more you can try out today, in just 2 hours 🙂

See you all soon! 😉
Andrei

Do you enjoy trying new things, or do you prefer the comfort of familiar places, routines, and people?

This Sunday we’ll talk about stepping outside our comfort zones, facing unfamiliar situations, taking risks, and discovering new experiences. Is leaving your comfort zone always necessary for personal growth? Can a comfortable life become limiting? And how do we know when it’s time to try something new? Let's find out together!

Please don't forget to sign up and pay in advance - before Saturday morning.

🇬🇧 What: English Speaking Club NN
💭 Topic: Comfort zones and new experiences
🕚 When: Sunday, August 2nd, 11 AM - 1 PM (2 hours)
📍 Where: The Most Coffee
💵 How much: 700₽

🌱Sign up and pay here by Saturday, 10 AM 🌱

Hope to see you soon :)
Andrei

We've got enough payments so let's step out of our comfort zones and join the conversation tomorrow 🙂

🇬🇧 What: English Speaking Club NN
💭 Topic: Comfort zones and new experiences
🕚 When: Sunday, August 2nd, 11 AM - 1 PM (2 hours)
📍 Where: The Most Coffee
💵 How much: 700₽

🌱Sign up and pay here - if you haven't 🌱

See you all soon!
Andrei

Morning everyone! ☀️We're gathering in about 2 hours, so let's refresh our memory with some idioms related to today's topic 😉

1. Take the plunge - Finally decide to do something new or risky. (“After months of thinking about it, I took the plunge and moved abroad.”).
Plunge - to (cause someone or something to) move or fall suddenly and often a long way forward, down, or into something.
2. Break new ground - Do something innovative or explore a new area. (“Learning to code allowed her to break new ground in her career.”)
3. Throw yourself in at the deep end - Start a difficult activity without much preparation or experience. (“On my first day abroad, I was thrown in at the deep end because nobody spoke my language.”)
4. Find your feet - Become comfortable and confident in a new situation. (“After a month in the new city, I finally found my feet.”)
5. Get the ball rolling - Start an activity, discussion, or process. (“Let’s get the ball rolling by introducing ourselves.”)
6. Take the bull by the horns - Face a difficult situation directly and bravely. (“She took the bull by the horns and gave her first public presentation.”)
7. Bite the bullet - Decide to do something difficult or unpleasant because it is necessary. (“I bit the bullet and signed up for the advanced course.”)
8. Test the waters - Try something cautiously before making a full commitment. (“I’m testing the waters by taking one dance class before joining the course.”)
9. Be in uncharted territory - Be in a new or unfamiliar situation. (“Working with an international team was uncharted territory for me.”)
10. Go with the flow - Accept events as they happen instead of trying to control everything. (“When traveling, I prefer to go with the flow and stay open to surprises.”)
11. Nothing ventured, nothing gained - You cannot achieve something valuable without taking risks. (“I was nervous about applying, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.”)

See you soon, guys!

Comfort zones and new experiences: questions

Questions serve mostly as conversation starters! Please pick any you like from the list and start discussing with your peers 😉

👋 Part I

1. Do you enjoy trying new foods? What is the most unusual food you have ever eaten?
2. Do you prefer familiar places or discovering new ones when you travel?
3. When was the last time you did something for the first time? What was it?
4. Do you usually plan new experiences carefully, or do you prefer to be spontaneous?
5. Have you ever traveled somewhere without knowing much about the place?
6. What activity makes you feel relaxed and comfortable?
7. What helps you feel comfortable in an unfamiliar environment?
8. Do you enjoy surprises, or do you prefer to know what will happen?
9. What is the most adventurous thing you have done?
10. Is there something you used to be afraid of but are comfortable with now?
11. What new experience would you recommend to everyone?

💭 Part II

12. Can a stable and predictable life be as meaningful as an adventurous one?
13. Is leaving your comfort zone always necessary for personal growth?
14. How can we tell the difference between a healthy challenge and an unnecessary risk?
15. Can people become too comfortable with happiness?
16. Is it true that if something doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger? Can difficult challenges sometimes cause lasting harm?
17. Is fear usually a warning that we should stop, or a sign that we should continue?
18. Do people regret the risks they take more often than the opportunities they miss?
19. Does having too many choices make people less satisfied with their lives?
20. Are people happier when they follow their dreams or when they accept reality?
21. Do new experiences make life more meaningful, or do meaningful relationships matter more?
22. At the end of life, do you think people are more likely to regret what they did or what they did not do?

🙌 Part III

23. You receive a map that leads to an unknown place where you are guaranteed to have a life-changing experience. You do not know whether it will be positive or negative. Would you follow it?
24. You can know exactly what your life will be like in twenty years, but you cannot change anything after learning the future. Would you want to know?
25. You are invited to join the first human mission to another planet. You may never return to Earth. Would you go?
26. You can remove all fear from your mind, but you may become careless and take dangerous risks. Would you choose to live without fear?
27. You can achieve your biggest dream, but someone close to you will strongly disagree with your decision. Would you continue?
28. You can live for 200 years, but every fifty years you must leave everyone you know and begin again in a new place. Would you accept?
29. You discover a machine that allows you to experience any possible version of your life. After each experience, you return to your current life with all your memories. Which life would you explore first?
30. You can choose between a short life filled with meaningful experiences and a long, peaceful life with very few changes. Which would you choose, and why?

Hey there! This is a usual short video from the last meeting which I hope you guys enjoyed - we've got a few new people coming and lifting up our mood by some really cool stories about the language and slang, mindfulness - and hilarious jokes too (although it didn't change the fact we discussed comfort zones 😉). I, as always, was happy to see the regulars as well 😌 Seeing you coming almost every weekend makes me think we're going in the right direction - creating and maintaining our small English-speaking community.

Thanks for coming people! Hope to see you this Sunday. I will announce the topic and also an important update very soon (spoiler - the time has come to change the place).

Andrei

So, what's the story about changing the place?

Right after we left The Most Coffee last Sunday, I had received a message from their admin asking us to stop gathering because of some customer complaints. Although I notice we can be loud sometimes and may occupy some number of chairs, I think it's unfair. We are regular customers, and we bring money to the business by buying drinks and desserts. It seems like these people found using foreign languages as an excuse to complain and protect their Sunday morning routine. Well - it's their decision.

What concerns us is protecting our Sunday mornings - and I think we've found a solution, thanks to Arina and Nastya.

Meet House of Balance or, in other words, Дом баланса - a nice coffeeshop inside Nizhpoligraph building. I was there today and briefly talked to them, they don't have many customers on Sunday mornings, so our 11 AM slot should work. So let's meet there!

I will announce the new topic tonight or tomorrow morning, as well as make a few more reminders about House of Balance before we meet.

Andrei

Every single meeting we inevitably discuss jobs - whether we talk about the place we work at right now, our previous experiences, or some future opportunities. But what is a good job for us? Is it enough to just get us some money in the end of a month, or should it also bring meaning to our lives?
And how do our jobs affect us? Do they change us - our daily routines, the way we behave or treat others? Is it possible to cause some harm from being too concentrated on careers? And if so, can it be avoided without significant sacrifice? In other words, can we find balance?

I think that's a nice first topic for our new place, House of balance 🙂 So let's gather there on Sunday, 11 AM!

Please pay attention: we moved to a different place - we'll meet at House of Balance, a coffee shop at Varvarskaya st., 32 (Nizhpoligraph building).

And as always - please sign up and pay in advance, before Saturday, 10 AM 🙂

🇬🇧 What: English Speaking Club NN
💭 Topic: Career Choices - Passion, Money, or Balance?
🕚 When: Sunday, August 9th, 11 AM - 1 PM (2 hours)
❗️📍 Where: House of Balance (Дом баланса) ❗️
💵 How much: 700₽

🌱Sign up and pay here by Saturday, 10 AM 🌱

Let's see each other soon!
Andrei

The meeting's on, we have enough payments, so see you tomorrow guys!

Please pay attention: we moved to the new place - House of Balance, a coffee shop at Varvarskaya st., 32 (Nizhpoligraph building).

🇬🇧 What: English Speaking Club NN
💭 Topic: Career Choices - Passion, Money, or Balance?
🕚 When: Sunday, August 9th, 11 AM - 1 PM (2 hours)
❗️📍 Where: House of Balance (Дом баланса) ❗️
💵 How much: 700₽

🌱Sign up and pay here - if you haven't 🌱

Andrei

Hey people, good morning! We're starting at 11, so here's a few phrases that may come in handy today:

1. Make ends meet — earn enough to cover basic expenses. (She works two jobs to make ends meet.)
2. Bring home the bacon — earn money to support yourself or your family. (He is the only one working, so he brings home the bacon.)
3. A golden handcuff — a high-paying job that is difficult to leave. (The salary and bonuses are a golden handcuff that keeps him at the company.)
4. Burn the midnight oil — work late into the night. (She had to burn the midnight oil to finish the project.)
5. Work your fingers to the bone — work extremely hard. (They worked their fingers to the bone during the harvest season.)
6. Go the extra mile — make more effort than expected. (He always goes the extra mile for his clients.)
7. Call the shots — make the important decisions. (In that company, the CEO calls the shots.)
8. Get a foot in the door — get a first opportunity in a field. (An internship helped her get a foot in the door.)
9. Wear many hats — have several different roles or responsibilities. (As a startup founder, he wears many hats.)
10. Find your calling — discover work that feels especially meaningful. (After years of searching, she finally found her calling in teaching.)

Guys, just for your info - the cafe's entrance is at the right side of Nizhpoligraph building

Hi guys! I don't have a video for the last Sunday, but honestly I was surprised to see so many of you (12 people to be precise)! Thank you for coming!

I hope you enjoyed the new place too! What I noticed is that it was more quiet than the previous one, and had almost no visitors except us (when I came there, it was only me and barista). I will run a poll to understand if you found it comfortable, but a little bit later - for now let me introduce the next topic in the post below 👇