📙 Part 2: Describe an activity you enjoyed in your free time when you were young

This episode's vocabulary

To bump into someone (phrasal verb) - to meet someone you know when you have not planned to meet them.

To wander (verb) - to walk around slowly in a relaxed way or without any clear purpose or direction.

Perpetually (adverb) - always or very often.

To hang out (phrasal verb) - to spend a lot of time in a place or with someone.

Run-in (noun) - if you have a run-in with someone, you have a serious argument with them or you get into trouble with them.

Hindsight (noun) - the ability to understand an event or situation only after it has happened.

Invariably (adverb) - always.

Run afoul of something (idiom) - to do something you are not allowed to do, esp. breaking a rule or law.

To loiter (verb) - to move slowly around or stand in a public place without an obvious reason.

To gallivant (verb) - to visit or go to a lot of different places, enjoying yourself and not worrying about other things you should be doing.

Supervision (noun) - the act of watching a person or activity and making certain that everything is done correctly, safely, etc.

Woodland (noun) - land on which many trees grow, or an area of this.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, off you go.

R: Let's get started. But remember, I do not recommend anybody does this. This is going to be a really difficult question to answer actually, since, all I did when I was young was drink, smoke, read and make wildly inappropriate remarks. The only other thing I really liked doing was going out for very long walks when I could, mostly because it was a great excuse to see my friends. And, well, actually, it's quite funny, since it's how I met my best friend when I was in high school. I was out one day and bumped into her. And the pair of us formed this little jewel for a while meeting up after school and wandering around the neighbourhood, checking out what was going on in different parts of it. And of course, perpetually surrounded by a cloud of cigarette smoke. We actually started to pick up a following of people who had hung out with us from our different schools in the area. And, eventually, you could have 10 or more teenagers just randomly wandering the streets, smoking and laughing and just being kids. I don't think we caused that much trouble, but there were definitely a few run-ins with other kids that weren't so much fun in hindsight. Oh, and invariably, we run afoul of the law sometimes, since the police were allowed to break up large groups of teens loitering together. I'm not sure that's legal now. But human rights weren't such a big thing 20 years ago when I was a teenager, so that probably explains why that happened. It was a good way to make friends. As I didn't have many back then. And ironically, get some exercise though, I wouldn't really recommend the type of cheap smokes, cheaper alcohol, and gallivanting around places without any real supervision. At least we enjoyed ourselves, though, going to the beach and wandering along the woodland paths and back streets and sometimes into the countryside. I mean, we would walk for miles to, well, just to get to each other's houses and have something to do. And we've made friendships that lasted a lifetime. It's hard not to look back with a sense of nostalgia, although, I imagine we're probably much healthier now. If I hadn't done that, I feel like I'd have been fatter, but I might have gotten more homework done. I still feel I did pretty well though, in the end.

M: Have you recommended this activity to other people?

R: Not really, no. It's not the healthiest choice you could encourage people to make, is it?

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