English Ramblings with Monika

Alex Rak "Polka w Ameryce" is a Polish woman living in the US. She worked as an actress in New York, owned a travel company in Italy, and now she runs three YouTube channels and a podcast, all while giving tours around New York and Miami. Today, she’s going to talk about how she got started, the obstacles she had to overcome, and her plans for the future.Alex's main channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PolkawAmeryce

My guest today is Shawn Williams, who is a voice actor, a musician, a live event host and so much more... we dive into his past, what made him do what he does, what his thoughts about today's music industry are and what his most proud of.

Today I’m going to share something I’ve been hiding this whole time — and I think it might be useful for some of you. Then, get ready for another big (at least for me) announcement. This episode is short, but packed with valuable information.

If you have a full-time job and also do side work, I found that it can be very helpful to have a few days off to fully focus on your side job. Additionally, you get a break from your 9–5, which for some, or actually most people, can be an awesome time in itself, even if it meant spending a week at home doing nothing and not going anywhere.So for me, it’s worth taking at least a few days off from work to work on something else when I have a very clear goal and a list of things that I want to accomplish. If it’s just for the sake of having more free time and doing ‘something’ without defining what that something is, then I don’t think it’s worth wasting my precious vacation days.

In this episode, I break down three types of businesses: “We need you,” “We might need you,” and “We might want you.” We’ll talk about why creative work like writing or podcasting carries high upside but high risk—and what that means if you’re building something alongside a 9-to-5. Should you go all in, stay safe, or monetize practical skills first? This is an honest reflection on balancing big dreams with economic reality.

What it’s like to want to learn a language so badly that you kind of miss out on your own culture, trends and the things that are going on in your country?And also, after years and years of learning the language you still don’t know the it as well as you’d like to.This is a story about how English has influenced nearly every aspect of my life—and how it still does.

There’s a quote from a film released almost 20 years ago. I was a teenager when I first watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona.One of the characters says:“I don’t know what I want. I only know what I don’t want.”And later another one says:“Chronic dissatisfaction—that’s what you have. Chronic dissatisfaction.”If that sounds uncomfortably familiar, this episode is for you.

How am I trying to fit in? Why does listening to yourself talk hit differently? And what about those guests?Be my guesthttps://www.monikawawrzyniak.com/wed-love-to-hear-your-story/

My take on English words like rarely, humbling, and gravitate. How YouTube titles scream at us, how I used AI to come up with a horror story, and why my job still won’t be stolen by AI.

What do I do in winter? Adult reflections. What's gonna change about the podcast and what stays the same. The impostor syndrome and more...Works quoted in this episode:"The Actor’s Life - A survival Guide" by Jenna Fisher"Gossip" by Måneskin“What is imposter syndrome and how to combat it" TEDed video

How are audiobooks made? What movies did I watch at the end of 2025? And what my New Year's resolutions are.

This is part two of a two-part series. I read the book, and now I can say what I think about it. Also 2025 has almost come to an end, so Happy New Year!Read and listen to my new short story "The Wedding Gift"Audiobook available herehttps://youtu.be/mHsYnX87V5M?si=N4CqA6Ph51p9F0srEbook available herehttps://www.monikawawrzyniak.com/books/

This is part one of a two-part series. Today I'm going to read the first book I managed to write "Stop Feeling Guilty about Watching TV". The second episode is going to be me talking about what I liked and didn't like about this book.

Today I watched an episode of a TV Show called "Behind her eyes" and I wanted to talk about a few phrases: That's rich coming from you, I don't know how you put up with me, and I'd walk through fire for you.

Today's episode is gonna be different. I'm gonna talk about vacation, but I am also reading you a "poem" I wrote. Or something like that. Let's also talk about writing, books, Polish people taking days off to renovate their apartments, and a few words about creativity.

How many times do you have to encounter or repeat a word to remember it forever?The thing is that the number of times is not necessarily as important as the, let’s call it, quality of the encounters. For example using a flash card with a word and definition written on it and using it like fifty or a hundred times will most probably not give you better results than...

So today’s episode is gonna be about phones... but to be more precise phone-related pet peeves… and the ones I’m gonna mention - most of them - I gotta admit I do regularly or used to do regularly... and I’m often mad at myself for doing it… because it’s unnecessary, it’s distracting, it doesn’t make any sense but I keep doing it over and over again...

Let's talk about English words and their meanings.

This is gonna be the first time I start an episode by asking - how are you ? What are you doing ? Driving to work? Cooking? Maybe cleaning your bathroom… I’m just asking cause I use all those opportunities to listen to some podcasts as well...

I realized that in the last episode when I was talking about accents, I didn’t mention one more thing you need in order  to fully reduce your accent. So I mentioned words pronunciation, putting stress on the right words in a sentence and the last thing is contractions and reductions... 

Have you ever felt too old for sth? Even if the thing you’re doing is actually pretty cool? It hit me this year that maybe I shouldn’t be doing that thing because I wasn't as good as I should be at that age…

This is the first episode of the English Corner series! They're gonna be short episodes focused on the beauty, quirks and nuances of the English language. This one is about the American accent and why I tried to learn it.

Words that don't exist in English, laughing at people tripping, and my emotional side.

How I moved abroad, came up with the “best” business idea, and how it all turned out.

I sort people into oddly specific categories and step into the minds of a thirty-something and see how it all makes (or doesn’t make) sense.

What having cats is like? Do Polish people eat pierogi? And what my first-ever car accident was like.

What knowing more than one language feels like, a little bit of Polish history, and funny sayings.

Hi! Welcome to the very first episode of my very first podcast.Welcome to English Ramblings with Monika. One of the reasons I created this podcast is that wanted to use English more often, so I thought that this could be the perfect way to do that.