📙 Part 2: Describe another city you would like to stay in for a short time

This episode's vocabulary

To encapsulate (verb) - to express or show the most important facts about something.

To romanticize (verb) - to talk about something in a way that makes it sound better than it really is, or to believe that something is better than it really is.

To show up (phrasal verb) - to appear or be seen.

To poke around (phrasal verb) - to investigate, search through, or snoop around something or some place.

A must (noun) - something that is so good, you must do it, have it, or see it.

Historic (adj.) - important or likely to be important in history.

Medieval (adj.) - related to the Middle Ages (= the period in European history from about AD 600 to AD 1500).

Square (noun) - an area of approximately square-shaped land in a city or a town, often including the buildings that surround it.

To apply (verb) - (especially of rules or laws) to have a connection or be important.

Lend itself to something (phrase) - f something lends itself to something else, it is suitable for that thing or can be considered in that way.

To overstay (verb) - to stay longer in a place than you are allowed or wanted.

Cataclysmically (adverb) - in a way that causes a lot of destruction or a sudden, violent change.

Long for something; long to do something - to want something very much.

Questions and Answers

R: Well, I've always wanted to go to Slovenia, which is a place I studied when I was at university and looking at Eastern and Central European history and politics. In particular, I really want to go to a place called Piran. It's a small coastal town with a few tourist attractions. But the real reason I want to go is that I think it perfectly encapsulates the Slovenian experience, or at least my ideal of it. I have a tendency to romanticize these things. I'd quite like to go there with someone special, like a partner or a close friend. But if that never happens, then I don't mind going it alone and just showing up in town and poking around. It seems like a friendly place with a great reputation for being welcoming and friendly to foreigners. So I'm not worried about doing things by myself, especially since it only has a special meaning for me at the moment. Since it's a seaside town, obviously, I'll be visiting the beach and going swimming. I love swimming in the sea. I like swimming in general, to be honest, but I prefer the sea since there aren't any harsh chemicals that you get in swimming pools. Some sunbathing is also a must. But I don't want it to be a lazy holiday and I love nature, so I'd also like to explore the historic old town and medieval city walls. There are a few other sites like the towers, churches and squares along with the harbour area. But the thing I'd like to do the most is see what the people are like. I've probably met two Slovenians in my whole life, but they were hilarious. And they've had, well, at least they had a very unique take or perspective on the world that I found very engaging. I'd like to see if that applies to the country as a whole, since they said it did. It would have to be a brief visit though, as my lifestyle doesn't exactly lend itself to long holidays of a week or two. I also have this belief that it's better to leave wanting more than to overstay and get cataclysmically bored. And that's why it worked very well for me so far. If I never get the chance to go there, I'll be a bit disappointed since it's an experience I've been longing for for a while now. Actually, I think I might book the trip quite soon.

M: And have you told your friends about this place?

R: Actually, I haven't. I probably should do if I want any of them to go with me.

Discussion

M: Hey! Thank you, Rory, for your story! Rory the traveller. Rory the tourist. Are you a traveller or a tourist?

R: But does it not depend on the length of time and the purpose behind why you're going to a place?

M: I think it depends on the, kind of, on the purpose and also your behaviour, like do you act as a tourist or are you a traveller?

R: Well, I like to think I'm a traveller, but I'm neither no because I'm stuck here

M: In the middle of nowhere, in my own country.

R: Yes. But I will be a traveller soon enough because I will be living in Turkey. Yes. Actually, when this episode goes out, probably I'll be there.

M: You're going to be living there or you're going to be staying there? I think you're going to be staying there for two months. Not leaving.

R: Well, what's the... I feel like I would live there. No?

M: Really? No, if we say kind of like I live in this hotel and I stay in this hotel.

R: Yeah, but I'm not going to a hotel.

M: Okay, but still, you're going to be there for two months. And then you're gonna leave. So that's kind of not I live in Turkey, it's just I stay in Turkey.

R: You don't know, I might fall in love with Turkey and stay forever.

M: Yeah, that's true, that's true. Istanbul. Oh, I love Turkey, I love Istanbul and yeah, çay, kebabs.

R: I've never been before, but people say it's amazing. I'm really looking forward to it.

M: Wow, it's gonna be your first time?

R: Yes. Well, I mean, I've been to the airport but that doesn't count.

M: No, no, it doesn't count. Wow, look at you. Ooh, I've been many times. That's why, dear listener, Rory here talked about Slovenia.

R: It's where Donald Trump's wife is from.

M: Really? Oh...

R: At least at the moment of recording it's where Donald Trump's wife is from. Who knows. Who else is famous from Slovenia? Lots of famous people come from there, including many famous painters like Ivan Vurnik, and authors like Louis Adamic.

M: So, I've always wanted to go to bla. Slovenia. And the task asks you to describe another city. So where does Rory want to go? He wants to go to a place called.

R: Piran.

M Piran. Oh, yeah, Piran. Okay, everybody knows of Piran. Right, I'm googling as we go. So Piran, dear listener, could you just Google with me? Oh, beautiful, beautiful city. Wow.

R: See? I told you. Piran is amazing.

M: I know. Wow. Kind of like, oh, and the square. Oh wow, it kind of looks like Dubrovnik in Croatia and something like Greece as well.

R: I think that people who live there might say that Piran looks like itself.

M: Yes, so, dear listener, a beautiful place. So you can start off with I've always wanted to go to bla bla, which is a place in Europe. In particular, I really want to go to a place called Piran or, in particular, I really want to go to a place called Rome, or Moscow or New York. And then like, it's a small coastal town, right? Or it's a city, it's a huge city with a few tourist attractions. And I think it perfectly encapsulates the Slovenian experience. So it kind of it embodies, right? It kind of represents the Slovenian experience. So if you go to, oh, I don't know, maybe Venice, it perfectly encapsulates the Italian culture or some bits of Italian culture, for example.

R: I should say, it might not entirely encapsulate the whole thing. Sorry, you were going to say, I added something.

M: Yeah, you added that you have a tendency to romanticize these things.

R: Yes. But that just means that I have a weird habit of making things seem like amazing and much better than perhaps they actually are. So if you romanticize something, you usually really simplify it, and focus on the positive aspect. But I imagine there's more to being Slovenian than living in a place like Iran, for example, which is a very small part of the country.

M: I'd quite like to go there with someone special. Like a partner, or a close friend. But if that never happens, I don't mind going alone. Right? So I don't mind doing something. I don't mind going there alone.

R: Oh, but it's like an expression. Going it alone.

M: Ah, going it alone. I don't mind going it alone.

R: But that just means doing it by myself.

M: Could you give us another example?

R: Nobody wants to travel with me. So I'm going it alone and doing it by myself.

M: Or he decided to leave the band and go it alone as a singer. Yeah? So maybe like at some point Freddie Mercury decided to leave the band and go it alone as a kind of singer. Like solo. Yeah? So go it alone is an idiom. So do something without other people. Or you can say I decided to go it alone and set up my own business. So at some point, Rory here, worked for a language school. And then he decided to go it alone. And started this podcast, for example, which is half true. So I don't mind just showing up in town alone. Yeah? So I don't mind going there alone. And you used this one, poke around.

R: But that just means looking around and seeing what's there.

M: I don't mind going it alone. Just showing up in town and poking around, you see? So parallelism, parallelism.

R: Going, showing, poking.

M: Yeah, because I don't mind doing, doing and doing. Can we use poke around in a sentence? Like in another one?

R: Yeah. Sometimes it's fun to go to the market and poke around and see what you can find.

M: Yeah. To a local market. It seems like a friendly place. Oh, yeah. So this town, by the sea seems like a friendly place with a great reputation for being welcoming and friendly to foreigners. So this city has a great reputation for doing something. Or this city has a bad reputation for wild parties, for example.

R: Well, in my case, it would be it has a great reputation for wild parties.

M: And it's friendly to foreigners. Yeah? So prepositions. Have a great population for something, for doing something and be friendly to foreigners. I'm not worried about doing things by myself. So Rory is fine to like, to go there on his own. He is an independent human being

R: A strong independent human being.

M: Yeah, strong independent human being. It's a seaside town. Yeah, so it's a coastal place. It's by the sea. I'd be visiting the beach. I'd be going swimming, I would be doing something. Yeah? So I'd be swimming. I love swimming in the sea. Yeah? There aren't any harsh chemicals in the sea. That's why Rory prefers to swim in the sea, not in the pool. Some sunbathing is also a must for Rory. Sunbathing, okay? I don't want it to be a lazy holiday, I love nature, so I'd like to explore the historic old town. So I'd like to explore tourist attractions. I'd like to explore the city, not just lie on the beach all the time.

R: Should we dwell on the fact that I said it's a must?

M: It's a must. So sunbathing is a must. Swimming in the sea is a must.

R: But if something is a must, it means it's just something that you really want to do, or really have to do.

M: So eating local food is a must. And there are a few other sites. So tourist attractions or other sites like the towers, churches, squares, and our Rory we'll visit all of them and explore things. But not museums, right, Rory? So you're not a museum person?

R: I'm not sure if there are any museums in Piran. Maybe there are one or two small ones, but I don't think that's the main attraction for tourists, I think mostly it's the historic buildings.

M: The thing I like to do the most is see what the people are like. So people are like, so what, what they are, what their character is, so not just like, oh, I like people.

R: And pay attention to the word order, what the people are like, not what are the people like?

M: Yeah, because the thing I'd like to do the most is to do something. So it's not a question, so the thing I'd like to do the most is to see the people.

R: Is that a special grammar thing too? The thing I'd like to do the most?

M: Yeah, it's kind of the...

R: It's not inversion, but it's something for emphasis. Is it a cleft sentence?

M: Yeah, I think it's a cleft sentence. Why do you ask this question that I can't answer?

R: Because you're an English teacher, and you should be able to answer them.

M: Yeah. But do we really need to know the exact name of the structure?

R: Yes.

M: Yes, we do, we do, don't we?

R: I like how you said that as if I was gonna say anything other than yes.

M: It's a cleft sentence. Yeah. So the word order is like in a usual sentence, not a question. So I'm really into what the people are like. So what their character is, what they look like, what they are, it would be a brief visit, because the task is for a short period of time. So it would be a brief, a short visit, as my lifestyle doesn't exactly lend itself to long holidays. So Rory can't afford long holidays. Because he's busy, he doesn't have the time. Yeah? So my lifestyle doesn't exactly lend itself. So if something lends itself to something?

R: It supports it, or encourages it, or makes something possible.

M: Yeah. Give us another example.

R: Maria's geographical knowledge doesn't lend itself to knowing things about Slovenia.

M: Yeah, there you go. Yeah? But like, my lifestyle doesn't exactly lend itself to long holidays. Can I say it about salary? My salary doesn't lend itself to long holidays?

R: Yeah, for sure.

M: We can, yeah? So kind of I don't have enough money, so I can't afford long holidays. And Rory prefers not to overstay. So if you overstay, it's too much, you become bored. And it's kind of like... Like take me away. So Rory prefers to leave the place wanting more. So kind of I understay rather than I overstay. So I kind of I stay for a couple of days, I'm going to go home. But with a feeling that I do want more, rather than I stay there for two weeks, and I'm bored to death. And there is nothing else to do. And I hate the place, yeah? So I prefer to stay for a short while. I prefer this to be brief, and then get cataclysmically bored, Rory said.

R: Which is just another way of saying extremely bored.

M: Yeah, bored to tears, yeah? To get bored to tears or cataclysmically bored. That's kind of a creative expression. If I never get the chance to go there. So if I never go there, the first conditional, it's real. So we're talking about the present and future. So if I never get the chance to go there, I'll be disappointed. Since it's an experience I've been longing for a while. I've wanted to go there for a long time, I've been thinking of going there for a long time. I've been longing for this for a long time. To long for something is kind of to wait for.

R: To really want.

M: I really want it. Yeah. And present perfect continuous, dear listener, I've been longing for this for a while, a long time. So if I never get the chance to go there, to get the chance to go somewhere, I'll be a bit disappointed.

R: Or I would be because I'm going there now. I know that for a fact. I'm going there for my 34th birthday in 2023.

M: Oh, sweet. And you can say that I might book the trip quite soon. So I might book or I may book the trip quite soon.

R: And I have. So that wasn't a lie at the time.

M: What linking words helped you to organize this answer?

R: I don't know if there are any specific linking words, but there are phrases that I did to introduce ideas. So instead of saying, another city I would like to stay in for a short time is... No. Instead, I said, I've always wanted to go to Slovenia, which is the country and then launch more into detail about the place. And then I highlighted why I'd like to go there, I'd quite like to go there with someone special. But I don't mind going there because and then explaining why. And then on the subject of explaining instead of because since. Since it's a seaside town, obviously, I'd be visiting the beach and going swimming. To introduce the fact that I'm going to talk about what I'd like to do there, and then explain why it's going to be for a short time, it would have to be a brief visit. So instead of saying it would be for a short time because, it would have to be for a brief visit or just a brief visit. And then rounding off with good old-fashioned conditional. If I never get the chance to go... Or in this case, it's if I never get the chance to go, I'll have wasted a lot of money on these flights. So...

M: Yeah, sweet. Thank you very much for listening! And we'll get back to you in our next episode about cities and historical sites in general. Bye!

R: Bye!

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