# Parks, Bonfires, and Bubble Teas: August 2018 Meetups ## Quick Navigation - [Find Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners.md): Discover language exchange partners worldwide - [Language Exchange](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange.md): Practice with native speakers worldwide - [Moments](https://www.hellotalk.com/moments.md): Share your language learning journey - [Topics](https://www.hellotalk.com/topics.md): Explore trending topics and discussions - [Chat & Messaging](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/features/chat.md): Text, voice, and video conversations - [Voice Rooms](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/features/voiceroom.md): Join live audio conversations - [Live Streaming](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/features/live-streaming.md): Interactive classes and language sessions - [Certified Teachers](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/features/certified-teachers.md): Learn from professional language instructors - [Immersive Learning](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/features/immersive-learning.md): Learn everywhere with instant translations - [Translation Tools](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/features/translation.md): Instant translation between any languages - [AI-Powered Apps](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/aiapps.md): Access specialized learning tools - [Language AI Apps](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/aiapps.md): Discover our AI-powered language learning applications - [All Features](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/features.md): Explore all learning features and tools - [Download](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/download.md): Get HelloTalk on iOS and Android Summer. Time to sit at home alone and play outer games, right?** Wrong!** Time to get out, catch up with old friends and make new ones! HelloTalkers around the globe leave the world of their phone screens to connect in real life. What’s that mysterious “real life” you might ask? ? Check out the pictures below to see the details, and… [Follow HT Community](https://brc.hellotalk.com/Follow-HTC-Global) (@hellotalkcommunity) not to miss any of the upcoming events. There isn’t one in your city yet? ? Well… maybe it’s time to make it happen! [Register interest here](https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CCSJHVK). Don’t worry if you’ve never organised an event before, we’ll guide you to help make your meetup amazing. ## London UK, Hyde Park On August 4th, HelloTalkers held a summer picnic in London's Hyde Park. It was the first HelloTalk meetup in London! Everyone had a blast ?? Special thanks to the organizer Ben — our HelloTalk London Culture Ambassador, and Edson — a great photographer. Next meetup in September, join the HT London Group not to miss it! ? ## Seoul, South Korea エルサレムに設置された巨大ハヌキア。 On 7th Aug, the first HelloTalk offline meet up was successfully hosted at the Grey Scale Cafe in Seoul, South Korea. Special thanks to the organizer Jae - our HelloTalk Seoul Culture Ambassador and Jimin - a great photographer. Jae had a message he wanted to share with everyone, "이번 헬로우톡 첫번째 Meetup 통해서 다양한 사람들을 만나 재밌었습니다. 다음번에도 다양하고 재밌는 시간을 가졌으면 좋겠습니다." Thank you all for coming! ## Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, USA Second from the series of DFW meetups. This times it was a bonfire event! ? Special thanks to Steve — our great organizer, who put in a lot of time and effort to make this event happen. ? Jason, one of the attendees said, "*Thanks everyone for a good time tonight. I do tend to be a bit shy until I get more familiar with people, so don’t feel offended if I seemed quiet tonight. It’s quite possible I won’t shut up next time. Seriously I enjoyed meeting you all and getting to know each of you better and look forward to the next time.* “ We at HelloTalk feel empowered knowing we have such lovely users! ## Shenzhen, China Study Tour in HelloTalk's office & pizza night! In the middle of August a group of curious Japanese explorers arrived in HelloTalk’s office ? We were happy to help them learn more about the Chinese startup culture, and the rocky world of app development. It was great to hear their “wow's” as we shared a sneak peak of our new features and introduced them to HelloEnglish courses. After the tour we went out and were joined by more HelloTalk fans from the city to share languages, cultural experiences and... pizza! ? All that in a (fancy!) Shenzhen cafe. You can see in the pictures how tall the building is! ? ## Shenzhen, China: First Live Share event ⚡️ First HelloTalk Live Share event! We weren’t quite sure how this concept will be received, so there was a little bit of anxiety on our end… as it always is when trying out something new ? What’s the idea? HelloTalk Live Share is a series of events where we invite speakers to share their professional experience or life's passions. *Topics?* Anything from fashion to economics! Crucial ? It’s a message worth sharing with a world-wide community. For the first event we were honored to host Curtin (HelloTalk ID: a_curtin9_62910) who spoke about tailored technology in a matching high-tech environment — the 51st floor of Fortune Building in Shenzhen. Curtin's background is in operations management across four continents. His expertise covers logistics, financial analysis, agrochemicals, and technology which gives him quite a broad, and unique perspective here in Guangdong. ☝️ Curtin opened the talk with a powerful question: technology saves us time. But, does your tech save *your* time? According to statistics, an average employee owns around $300 of unused tech ? That doesn’t even count redundant gadgets in America. The core lesson was how to understand and identify our tech needs, and tailor tech to our lives. Curtin introduced three exciting fixes and illustrated how his friends incorporated them into their lives. There was an interactive part too; divided into smaller groups we shared tech-related challenges we encountered in daily life, exchanged ideas on potential solutions. Curtin concluded: *"As long as you buy tech for your specific purpose, you’ll be able to take advantage of the latest and greatest. Don’t let a company decide how you live your life. Don’t get swept up in the media, darlings. Life should be too important to let others choose for you. Tailor your tech. You owe it to yourself.”* A powerful message! Next HelloTalk Live Share in September. We can’t wait! ## DFW Bubble Tea ? ? Already a third HelloTalk meet up in Fort Worth ? this time at theRoyal Tea Shop. As the name of the venue implied everyone had royal fun ?. Special thanks to the organizer, Teresa, who even prepared a small gift of sweets for each HelloTalker! How sweet ?? She told us: *"At the beginning I felt quite nervous because I wasn't that sure if people were coming to the meet up. We're coming little by little and everyone was starting to talk, getting to know each other. I felt quite happy at the end no one wanted to leave because we were having a really good time talking and laughing together."* It's inspiring and encouraging to see strangers making connections so quickly, joined with a passion for language learning! The DFW community is serious about language exchange... so far they were the most regular in their meetup hosting. Can *your city* “beat” them? ? Watch out for[September meetups on HT Community](https://brc.hellotalk.com/Follow-HTC-Global)! --- ## Language Exchange Partners - [English Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/english.md): Connect with native English speakers - [Spanish Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/spanish.md): Connect with native Spanish speakers - [French Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/french.md): Connect with native French speakers - [Japanese Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/japanese.md): Connect with native Japanese speakers - [German Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/german.md): Connect with native German speakers - [Chinese Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/chinese.md): Connect with native Chinese speakers - [Italian Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/italian.md): Connect with native Italian speakers - [Russian Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/russian.md): Connect with native Russian speakers - [Portuguese Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/portuguese.md): Connect with native Portuguese speakers - [Arabic Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/arabic.md): Connect with native Arabic speakers - [Hindi Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/hindi.md): Connect with native Hindi speakers - [Korean Exchange Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/exchange/korean.md): Connect with native Korean speakers ## Learn Languages - [Learn English](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/english.md): Master English with native speakers - [Learn Spanish](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/spanish.md): Master Spanish with native speakers - [Learn French](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/french.md): Master French with native speakers - [Learn Japanese](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/japanese.md): Master Japanese with native speakers - [Learn German](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/german.md): Master German with native speakers - [Learn Chinese](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/chinese.md): Master Chinese with native speakers - [Learn Italian](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/italian.md): Master Italian with native speakers - [Learn Russian](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/russian.md): Master Russian with native speakers - [Learn Portuguese](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/portuguese.md): Master Portuguese with native speakers - [Learn Arabic](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/arabic.md): Master Arabic with native speakers - [Learn Korean](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/korean.md): Master Korean with native speakers - [Learn Hindi](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/learn/hindi.md): Master Hindi with native speakers ## Partners by Country - [USA Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/usa.md): Find language exchange partners in United States - [UK Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/uk.md): Find language exchange partners in United Kingdom - [Canada Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/canada.md): Find language exchange partners in Canada - [Australia Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/australia.md): Find language exchange partners in Australia - [Japan Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/japan.md): Find language exchange partners in Japan - [Korea Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/korea.md): Find language exchange partners in Korea - [China Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/china.md): Find language exchange partners in China - [Spain Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/spain.md): Find language exchange partners in Spain - [France Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/france.md): Find language exchange partners in France - [Germany Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/germany.md): Find language exchange partners in Germany - [Brazil Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/brazil.md): Find language exchange partners in Brazil - [India Language Partners](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/partners/countries/india.md): Find language exchange partners in India ## Resources - [Download iOS App](https://apps.apple.com/app/hellotalk/id557130558): Get HelloTalk on the App Store - [Download Android App](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hellotalk): Get HelloTalk on Google Play - [AI Language Apps](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/aiapps.md): Explore AI-powered language learning tools - [About HelloTalk](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/about.md): Learn more about our mission - [Blog](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/blog.md): Language learning tips and stories - [Help Center](https://www.hellotalk.com/en/faq.md): Get answers to common questions --- *HelloTalk connects you with native speakers worldwide for authentic language practice and cultural exchange.*