This episode’s vocabulary
To wander
verb — to walk around slowly in a relaxed way or without any clear purpose or direction.
To interfere with something
verb — to prevent something from working effectively or from developing successfully.
To leap at something
phrasal verb — to eagerly accept the chance to do or have something.
Treacherous
adj. — if the ground or sea is treacherous, it is extremely dangerous, especially because of bad weather conditions.
Snorkel
noun — a tube that you hold in your mouth to help you breathe if you are swimming with your face underwater.
Up close and personal
adverb — intimately.
To take a chance
collocation — to take a risk.
Privileged
adj. — having or showing a special advantage.
Questions and answers
Well, I'm pretty sure you can just wander outside of any developed area and come across wildlife. But one thing that sticks out in my mind in particular is Jaco Island in East Timor. It's an island, but it's also a marine reserve that's located in the country's most Eastern point. There's only a small village and hotel next to the harbour there, and no one actually lives on the island, which I suppose makes it an ideal place for such a reserve, because you don't want people interfering with the... With, with, with what's there. And I went there in mid-2015 when I was an English teacher, travelling around the country, going from school to school to teach. And while there wasn't a school in this part of the country, I had heard about the place with the marine reserve, and I always wanted to visit, since I learned of it. So I practically leapt at the chance, when someone suggested going. They just said it randomly, they didn't know that I really wanted to go. And we had to climb over a mountain on a really treacherous trail to get there, but it was absolutely worth it, and I would happily do it again. While we were staying there, we went swimming and snorkelling. We were able to see things you usually only get to see up close and personal in an aquarium or something like that in colder countries like mine. I think the species that stand out the most in my mind were barracuda and lionfish, which should have been scary, since these are predators in the wild and just in general, to be honest. But they seemed quite calm about having humans around and weren't really threatening. Of course, despite that, we made sure to keep our distance. I'm not sure where the nearest hospital was, but I didn't feel like taking any chances. It was an absolutely magical experience, and I feel really privileged to have been able to go there. It definitely made me appreciate nature more, and quite literally, took my breath away. It's definitely up there in terms of one of the best things I've ever done in my life. If I hadn't gone there, I'd definitely be poorer for it.
Do you think you can go there again?
I think anybody could go there if they wanted to. If they had the money. It's expensive to get there.
Hey, thank you, Rory, for your story!