📙 Part 2: Describe a foreign country you would like to go to in the future

You should say: where it is, what it is famous for, what you can do there, and explain why you want to go there.

This episode's vocabulary

Landlocked (adj.) - (of a country or region) almost or entirely surrounded by land.

To pinpoint (verb) - to find out or say the exact position in space or time of something.

Subjective (adj.) - influenced by or based on personal beliefs or feelings, rather than based on facts.

To lay claim to something (phrase) - to say that you own something.

Notable (adj.) - important and deserving attention, because of being very good or interesting.

Homeland (noun) - the country you were born in.

Notorious (adj.) - famous for something bad.

To secede (verb) - withdraw formally from membership of a federal union, an alliance, or a political or religious organization.

Landscape (noun) - all the visible features of an area of land, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.

The sky is the limit (phrase) - If you say the sky is the limit, you mean that there is nothing to prevent someone or something from being very successful.

Scenery (noun) - the general appearance of the natural environment, especially when it is beautiful.

Well-preserved (adj.) - (especially of something old) kept in good condition.

Thriving (adj.) - growing, developing, or being successful.

Questions and Answers

R: I'd like to talk about Slovenia, which is an almost landlocked country in Europe that I've always wanted to visit. It's hard to pinpoint exactly where it is, because, well, these things are very subjective, but I would say it's in Southern Central Europe and close to the Balkans. So that means it's to the east of Italy, but North of Croatia. I think it has a tiny sliver of coast on the Adriatic but I am terrible with place names, so I don't know if I've got the name of the sea right. Well, I don't think it's had the same global impact as a large country like Russia or the USA. I think it can still lay claim to some pretty notable things, like being the homeland of Donald Trump's wife, Melania, and Slavoj Zizek, who's this rather notorious philosopher. And not only does it have all these famous people, but it also played a key role in history of the region by being the first state to secede from Yugoslavia in at least what I think was a relatively peaceful transition. And while all countries have beautiful landscapes, Slovenian ones have a reputation for being particularly beautiful, even the coastline, which is absolutely tiny compared to the nearby countries, like the Croatian or Italian coasts, in terms of what it's possible for people to do there. I mean, since it's a fairly modern country in the European Union, the sky is pretty much the limit, and you can do all kinds of things. But I think the most noteworthy things are enjoying the scenery, architecture and culture, which are all rather unique in my opinion. For example, there's this seaside town called Piran that I've been longing to visit for a while now, and it has this amazing town square that doesn't seem to have changed much since the Middle Ages, and that's got very well-preserved churches and city walls. That's just part of the reason I'd like to go there. I've also gotten to know a few Slovenians in my time, and while they're obviously all individuals, they always seemed like some of the most brilliant people I'd ever met. And I'd like to see if that's true for the whole country. There's a little bit of kinship there too, since I'm also from a small European country, and I think it's important that we celebrate and appreciate such places to keep them alive and thriving. If I haven't visited before I'm much older, I think I'll have really missed out since I've been meaning to go for ages, and I don't want to lack the energy for such an experience.

M: Do you think you'll go there anytime soon?

R: I really want to go there for my birthday this year, so fingers crossed.

Discussion

M: Right, dear listener, so the topic is about the future. A foreign country you would like to go in the future. So we use the future. I'd like to, perhaps I will go there. If I had more money, I would. Okay? I'm gonna do it. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. You see? So the future. And a foreign country is a country which is not your country. And Rory talked about Slovenia. So if you don't know where Slovenia is, you can Google it. Slovenia. The capital of Slovenia is, Rory?

R: Ljubljana. Well, I pronounce it that way. I'm sorry if you're Slovenian and you're thinking you've just butchered the name of my hometown or my country's capital city.

M: Well done, you! And I've already Googled what you should eat there, Rory. So local, traditional food, local cheese.

R: Nice.

M: Yum, yum, yum. Dumplings, Rory. Interesting. Yum, yum, yum. And some Slovenian honey, Rory is supposed to be very good. Sausages, mashed beans.

R: Wow, that's a new one.

M: I know. Sauerkraut and sausage. So there are different kinds of sausages, perhaps like in Germany. Yeah. Soups, traditional soups and stews, Rory. Okay? Slovenian stews. Sauerkraut, which is this cabbage, you know?

R: Is it? Oh, I thought it was German.

M: Sauerkraut in Slovenia and Slovenian wine, Rory.

R: Oh, wow. Oh, yes, I remember someone mentioning this. The wine, not the sauerkraut. I never heard of that before, not coming from Slovenia. So that's a new one for me.

M: So, dear listener, you should choose a country that you can talk about, or Google it, find out some interesting facts about this country and speak about it. Or you can talk about a country you've been to. Okay? So, but say that, oh, I'd like to go to Italy. But you've already been to Italy. You know stuff. You see? That's the trick.

R: Or you could just have a country that you've really wanted to go to.

M: Yeah, yeah. Or you can just lie a little bit. So I've always wanted to visit Peru, for example. So Present Perfect, right? I've always wanted to go to...

R: But you've been to Peru.

M: Yeah, I've been to Peru. So you see, this is the trick, dear listener. So you pick some exotic country you've been to, and you say that you want to go there. And it's going to be easy because, well, you've been to this country. So you know what to say. I've always wanted to visit blah, blah, blah. It's hard to pinpoint exactly where it is. So when you pinpoint, you kind of you point to where this country is in the world, somewhere in Europe.

R: And this is quite difficult to do, because where countries are located is very much a matter of opinion in some cases.

M: Hmm... Okay.

R: So people can get very annoyed if you put the country in the wrong place.

M: Oh, that's true. Where is Scotland? Like, we don't know. Somewhere there. You know? It's somewhere...

R: Well, this is it, some people say that my country is in the north of England, which could be extremely offensive to some people, because this country is not England.

M: It's a tiny coast. Slovenia has a tiny coast on the Adriatic. So it's Adriatic Sea.

R: Is it the Adriatic Sea? Am I right?

M: I don't know.

R: Let's have a look at a map. It is.

M: Oh, okay, good. So if you don't remember the places or place names, you can always say, I am terrible with place names. So if you don't remember the name, you forgot the capital, you forgot the name of the country even where you want to go, you say, oh, you know, like, I'm terrible with place names. I'm a bit nervous now, and I forgot where I want to go. Somewhere in Europe. Slovenia is the homeland of Donald Trump's wife.

R: His second wife. Let us not dwell on that too long.

M: Right. So some famous people were born in this country, okay? And this country has beautiful landscapes.

R: I think that's a fairly safe one. You can say that for just about any country, though. The landscapes are beautiful, the scenery is magnificent.

M: Yeah, so a beautiful coast. And Slovenian people, or the people in this country, have a reputation for being beautiful, friendly, hospitable, so they welcome you to this country. Or this country has a reputation for... So for a beautiful coastline, for example. As for the activities, you can say, well, the sky is pretty much the limit. You see? So there are so many things to do, limitless things to do. And you can say, well, in terms of what to do, there the sky is the limit. So there is no limit. So many activities. But then you can name a few activities. You can do all kinds of things. You can do all different things, but the most noteworthy things.

R: Yes, the most notable, the most, the ones that stand out the most.

M: Yeah. Noteworthy? Deserving attention. Because they are important or interesting. So the most noteworthy things are enjoying the scenery. Scenery? Like landscapes, nature. Enjoying the architecture and culture. And, of course, food, which Rory hasn't mentioned.

R: Because I didn't know much about Slovenian food. I just want to go to Piran and have a nice time.

M: With sausages and local cheeses, local wine and sauerkraut.

R: That's going to be so much fun. I actually cannot wait. That's going to be amazing.

M: Yeah. You can say that enjoy unique architecture, unique cuisine, like food of the country. I've been longing to visit this place for a while now. So I've really wanted to go there for a long time. So you can say I've been longing to visit. So long to do something. And here, Present Perfect Continuous, dear listener. Like I really wanted to visit this. This town has well-preserved churches. So the churches are well saved. They're well preserved. Maybe some ancient churches.

R: Or ancient city walls. Any kind of fortification. I mean, anywhere in Europe, you're going to find something like that. So most European countries, you could say this about like it's got well preserved ancient buildings or well-preserved fortifications. Even though the only reason I want to go there is to enjoy the beach to the nice wine and cheese.

M: So I haven't been there yet. So you can say I've been meaning to go there for ages, so I've wanted to go there many times, but still I haven't gone there. So I've been meaning to go there for ages, but I just don't have the time.

R: Never got around to it.

M: Yeah, I've never got around to doing it. I didn't have much time, I was busy, but hopefully this year for my birthday I'll go there. Yeah. And now, Rory's vocabulary show. Rory, Rory, Rory.

R: Yes, it's the part of the episode where I ask Maria questions about the vocabulary and grammar and occasionally pronunciation that I used in the episode. You can play along. So let's talk about the start, Maria. I described Slovenia, and I used a particular word to say it's got very, very little access to the sea. It's surrounded by other countries almost.

M: Slovenia is an almost landlocked country.

R: So if a country is landlocked, it means it has no access to the sea, and that is true for Slovenia, except for their tiny coast. Then in the next part, I was talking about some people that are from there, and I highlighted some individuals, but I used a particular word to describe them. It's like being famous, but in a slightly negative or risky way.

M: A notorious philosopher.

R: Yes. If you are notorious, it's like being infamous. So people hear this name. It's associated with controversy.

M: Yeah, like a notorious criminal.

R: Speaking of things we can highlight, I also talked about the activities that you could highlight about the area or the country, but I used another word. It's similar to notorious, but it's not got this controversial meaning.

M: The most noteworthy things are enjoying the scenery, architecture and culture.

R: Yes. Noteworthy. Amazing. And then, towards the end, I was explaining why I like the country so much. And I talked about the people there, why I like them, but I also spoke about this feeling of connection with the country as well, because it's small, and my country is also quite small. We have roughly the same number of people, and so I feel this kind of connection. And I didn't say I feel a connection. I said something different.

M: There's a kinship.

R: Yes. So to have kinship, or to have a little bit of kinship, is to feel connected in some way, almost like a family. And we have a family of many small countries in Europe right now. But well done, Maria. 100%. Nicely done.

M: Yay! So dear listener, after you've chosen a country you want to visit, for example, Argentina, you can go to Trip Advisor and Google, for example, like top activities in Argentina, and usually Trip Advisor pops up, and you can go there and take a look at the activities. For example, I've Googled Slovenia and TripAdvisor popped up. So top attractions in Slovenia. For example, visit mountain lakes. Go to a spacious cave. There's a cave, Rory. Okay?

R: Oh, my... Is that on the coast?

M: I don't know. Somewhere there. Or like, visit the largest natural lake in Slovenia. Go to a national park. So you see? There are pictures, there are activities and there are beautiful words. For example, go to a brewery. Brewery, where they make beer.

R: Ooh, I like that idea.

M: Or visit a castle. Panoramic views. You see? To enjoy panoramic views. So, you have beautiful words and pictures and activities. Okay? You just need three activities, dear listener. Okay?

R: Thank you very much for listening!

M: Let's go to Slovenia.

R: Oh, my God. Let's!

M: Bye!

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