📘 Part 3: Waiting

This episode's vocabulary

The wherewithal (noun) - something such as money or a particular quality that is necessary in order to get or achieve something.

To cope with something (collocation) - to deal successfully with a difficult situation or a person in a difficult situation.

To sit around (phrasal v

erb) - to spend time sitting down and doing very little.

To be short on time (phrase) - to have limited time to do something.

Attention span (noun) - the length of time that someone can keep their thoughts and interests fixed on something.

Prolonged (adj.) - continuing for a long time.

Youthful (adj.) - having the qualities that are typical of young people.

To expend (verb) - to use or spend time, effort, or money.

To reflect (verb) - if a surface reflects light, heat, sound, or an image, it sends the light, etc. back and does not absorb it.

Nuance (noun) - a very slight difference in appearance, meaning, sound, etc.

Patience (noun) - the ability to wait, or to continue doing something despite difficulties, or to suffer without complaining or becoming annoyed.

Patient (adj.) - having patience.

To strike up (something) - to start a relationship or conversation with someone.

Monotony (noun) - a situation in which something stays the same and is therefore boring.

Queuing (verb) - the act of waiting in a line of people, often to buy something.

Tedium (noun) - the quality of being boring for a long time.

Questions and Answers

M: On what occasions do people have to wait?

R: Well, I suppose generally when they don't have the wherewithal to move forward. So you have to wait for a bus when you don't have access to a car to take you places.

M: Do people usually like to wait for a long time?

R: Well, I wouldn't say they like it but they cope better with it than, well, they used to because they've got smartphones to carry around with them. And constant internet access to keep them entertained. Before they'd have had to sit around and wait for ages. And that's not fun for most people.

M: Why do people dislike waiting?

R: Well, if they're focused on a goal and don't see progress towards it, I can see how that would be frustrating for a lot of people. Especially if they're short on time, like waiting for a doctor's appointment during their lunch break or something like that.

M: Why do most children have difficulties waiting for a long time?

R: Well, they've got a shorter attention span. So it makes sense, they wouldn't be able to sit still for prolonged periods like some adults can, plus they're full of that youthful energy they need to expend to, well, they just need to expend or it builds up and they go wild, which makes moving around rather important. Now I think about it.

M: Do children have more patience than adults?

R: Good question. Given the way, a lot of adults behave sometimes. Generally speaking, though, probably not. Adults can more effectively reflect on situations and are, well, they're more able to see the nuances in them. And that lets them use that to keep their cool more easily. Children don't have that experience. So it makes sense they would be less patient.

M: Who behaves better while waiting, children or adults?

R: Well, broadly speaking, probably adults for the reasons I already mentioned.

M: What can people do while waiting in a line?

R: Most of them are on their phones, distracting themselves in the experience, though, if some people like to strike up a conversation with a random standing next to them, that could be a fun way to make friends, or at least break the monotony of the situation, since it's a new experience.

M: Do people in your country like waiting in line?

R: Do people in any country like queuing? They might deal with it better because of all the things they can use to deal with the tedium, but I doubt they actually enjoy the experience of just standing around and waiting. It's not exactly a breathtaking time, is it?

Discussion

M: Right, waiting, waiting and waiting. So, dear listener, we wait for something. Okay? Wait for something. And also we can stand in a line. So, for example, where? In a bank, people are in a line. But today, they are just sitting around. They have to take this paper and then they have a number. But, well, in certain... Maybe in a shop. Yeah, there we go, in a shop, in a cafe, take away, you stand in a line, or you queue, dear listener, okay? To queue or to stand or wait in a queue. How do we spell it, Rory?

R: Queue.

M: Yeah, it's a crazy word to spell. So people queue, you have to queue in certain countries. You stand in a line. So a line or a queue. You wait in a queue, you wait in a line. So when do people have to wait?

R: There are all kinds of times people have to wait. You have to wait for a doctor or wait for an appointment. You wait on the phone when you call people. Anytime.

M: Yeah, you wait in a shop, in a restaurant, you make your order. You wait for your order. You wait for the bill in a restaurant. Yeah, everywhere.

R: But the key thing is waiting happens when you cannot move forward when you cannot make progress. Because you'd need something.

M: Yeah, so you do something, then you can't move forward. You have to wait. Also, when you deal with banks, with the internet, ordering things online, yeah? We have to wait. People usually have to wait for a long time. When?

R: Well, when there's some kind of delay. Maybe there are not enough people available to help everybody at the same time.

M: And people just have to wait for a long time. They have to cope with waiting for something for a long time. Like, cope with something, deal with something. Sometimes they have to wait for ages, for a long time.

R: Or they just have to sit about.

M: They sit about doing nothing. They have to sit about waiting for the bill to arrive.

R: You have your phone.

M: Our phones keep us entertained. So keep us busy, and entertained. It's fun. I don't know, like do you know anyone who likes waiting? People usually dislike waiting.

R: I can't think of anybody who... I can think of people who are fine with it. I can't think of anybody who likes it.

M: Yeah. So you can say that people don't mind waiting. So it's okay, I'll wait. So it's okay for me, right? In a restaurant, for example. So they tell you, oh, your salad, it will take 20 minutes for this salad. Because it's a special salad, special sauce. Like, we have to grow some plants for the salad. Plant plants and then grow them. And you say, okay, I don't mind waiting. Waiting is okay. But if I don't see progress towards something, so I do something, and then I have to wait. And there is no progress. So nothing happens. I wait, nothing happens. So this could be very frustrating. Annoying, and frustrating. And especially if people are short on time. If people are short on time if they don't have time, if they're busy if they have to go somewhere. And they have to wait. So people really dislike it. For example, waiting for a doctor's appointment during their lunch break. So you have one hour for lunch, you go to the doctor and you have to wait for some reason. Yeah? There is a delay. And then you don't like it. Children and waiting. Do you have this picture in your head? Like a small child has* to wait at the airport or in a shop, in a bank. Yeah? Well, especially at the airports, little children. Like everyone is queuing up to get their bags there and little children have to wait. And what kind of like parents go like, okay, like be still. Like what's your problem, little person? Can't you just stand still?

R: I love that. No, of course, they can't stand still. They're a child.

M: Just like, what do you expect from your baby boy? I don't know.

R: And the responsible parents they are, they have brought them to a place where they have to wait. Amazing.

M: So children have a shorter attention span. So they can be focused for like, what, five minutes, ten minutes. And that's it. Then they go wild and crazy. So children have a shorter attention span. So they are not able to sit still, for a long time or for prolonged periods of time. Children are full of youthful energy. Youthful? Like young energy. And this energy builds up. Okay? So they're full of energy, they have to move, they have to run about.

R: Otherwise it will, well, just pile on top of itself and explode.

M: Yeah. So they have to go wild and crazy.

R: Well, they don't have to, but they could if they're not catered to effectively.

M: And we say that adults have more patience than children?

R: Do you agree?

M: Yeah, I think adults have more patience.

R: Probably.

M: Yeah, like generally speaking, adults can reflect on situations more effectively. Reflect? Like, think.

R: So they look back and understand what needs to change to do better next time. Children don't do that as much as adults.

M: Adults are more able to see the nuances in situations. So nuances - little details. And they can be more patient. Be more patient, like, okay, wait patiently, whereas children run wild and crazy all over the place. Let's do something. They just can't sit still. Yeah? So they are impatient, dear listener. Not patient? Impatient. Children tend to be less patient than adults. People do all sorts of things while they are waiting in line. In line or in a queue. Or people read when they queue. To queue or when they are queuing.

R: Do you think a lot of people like to read nowadays when they're in the queue?

M: Yeah. Well, they read on their phones. So they read some comments or they read some posts on Telegram, and Instagram. Yeah. So you distract yourself from the experience of waiting.

R: Yes.

M: Usually people are on their phones. To be on my phone. Another activity that Rory suggested is to strike up a conversation with a random person. Strike up a conversation? To start.

R: That's just starting it. Yeah.

M: Start a conversation with a random person. This is what I would do. And it's fun to make friends and you can just while away your time. Yeah, while away your time - just to spend time in a quality kind of way, talking to random people. Or like moaning about...

R: Why is it taking so long?

M: So you can moan about waiting? And it could break the monotony of the situation because waiting could be a monotonous experience. Monotonous? Like nothing happens. You just stand there, doing nothing. Yeah, but if your phone dies, dear listener, or you don't have your phone. You're in trouble. What to do with yourself? I don't know. Meditate.

R: If you can meditate while you're waiting in line.

M: Yeah. Deal with the tedium.

R: Oh, yeah, the tedium. But the tedium is just the situation that's tedious. You know? You have to stand around and wait all the time.

M: Yeah, waiting is tedious. Waiting is boring. So tedium is the noun. So like boredom, something that is tedious. Something is boring.

R: But you could also say the boredom.

M: Boredom. Yeah, deal with the boredom of waiting. Yeah, but why didn't you say things about, oh, yeah, like British people and people in Scotland, they hate waiting or they're used to waiting. You know? They're used to queuing. People in Great Britain are used to queuing, it's their habit.

R: I don't think they're used to it. I think it's just something that you do when you have to wait. But, I mean, the only time that you'd have to do it nowadays regularly would be on the phone when you're waiting for people to answer. Or at a shop. But that doesn't happen... It doesn't take a long time to deal with that situation.

M: Yeah, also, dear listener, you can speak about waiting at the airport. Yeah. In a typical situation, you have to wait for your flight and then it's delayed. Your flight is delayed and then you have to wait for even longer, and then it's cancelled. And you go home. Ha-ha. What a lovely story, huh, dear listener?

R: I love a story with a happy ending.

M: Yeah, on such a nice note. Thank you very much for listening!

R: And for waiting.

M: We hope that, yeah, you don't have to wait for a long time, every day. Maybe for some time. And we'll get back to you in our next episode. Bye!

R: Bye!

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