Happy Aloha Friday!

Welcome to this week's roundup of tasty tidbits specially curated for you from Hawaii to Istanbul and everywhere in between...

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My latest post is on my favorite parks in Istanbul for all seasons. Whether it's the tulips in the spring, fall foliage in autumn, or the seaside running paths on the Asian side on a sunny afternoon like Caddebostan, above.

👋 Hi Reader,

The weather has finally gotten cooler here (but still not cold enough for snow yet ❄) so I've just been trying to organize and plan for the year ahead.

I’m still working on my mini course which is all about helping you break through the common hurdles when self-studying a language and sharing my tips from the past 8 years of teaching English online.

One strategy that I use to help tune my ear and to keep me interested in languages is to use the huge variety of international programming available on streaming services like Netflix.

It’s easy to filter by original language - just choose the language you’re currently studying or interested in.

A few that I’ve enjoyed recently include:

The Law According to Lidia Poet (Italian)
Call My Agent (French)
Midnight at the Pera Palace (Turkish)
Thirty-Nine (Korean)
Cable Girls (Spanish)

🍿 What shows are you watching these days? 👉 Hit reply and let me know if you've got some good recommendations!

My guilty pleasure (and favorite distraction) is the Love is Blind franchise, I think I’ve watched just about every country it’s been filmed in now, including Japan, Brazil, Sweden, Mexico and most recently Germany.

Besides listening for slang and casual words that come up, it’s a fascinating look at the way relationships develop and differences in how people flirt in various languages! 😘

Take my FREE 5 day language challenge for one easy tip or strategy in your email box each day.
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📣 New on Shoyu Sugar

A breath of fresh air

Istanbul is a huge city that thrives in the hustle and bustle. Want to know some of my favorite picks for green spaces and seaside walks? This week I'm sharing my picks for the Best Parks in Istanbul in all seasons.

Read the article

Destination inspiration ✈

Andrea of the Quirky Cork takes us on a journey into new territory with a post on Albanian wine. I always love it when I get to taste and travel vicariously through her writing, as in the past with Bulgarian, Lithuanian, and Hungarian wines, among others.
Culinary Backstreets is branching out to new cities in Asia, including Osaka in Japan which is famous for one of my favorite dishes, takoyaki. We had an amazing tour with Culinary Backstreets in Istanbul last month, I am definitely planning on joining their Osaka tour the next time I’m there!
The on-again-off-again eruption in Kilauea is back on again as of January 15th! Did you know there's a live webcam of the crater?

Feeling Lucky🍀

JuneShine & Kimi Werner have a great Everyday Essentials giveaway including Olukai Sandals, Costa Sunglasses, Yeti Waterbottle, Protekt Hydration + a year supply of JuneShine Non-Alcoholic Kombucha! Enter once per day thru 1/19. Details here.
This beautiful collaboration between Mahina Made and I’olani Palace includes docent-led tours of the palace and Lei Pupu o Ni’ihau tees for you and a friend. Must be claimed in person. Enter here by 1/20.
InDepartures.com is giving away a £40 Trip.com gift card to one lucky winner! Enter by 2/28. Details here.