Episode 4: Talking About Trips

Listen to Episode 4 of "Coffee with Gringos" here or on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher and Soundcloud.

Download the Episode 4 transcript here!

TRANSCRIPT

Paige: You’re listening to Coffee with Gringos. I’m Paige Sutherland.

Mariah: And I’m Mariah Wika. Today, we’ll be discussing those vacations that we went on. We chatted about them last episode. As you listen, listen for past tense and travel vocabulary. And remember, if you’re feeling lost, you can always go to our website and read the transcription and follow the guide for this episode. So, let’s grab a cup of coffee and talk about our vacations!

Paige: Hey Mariah! So good to see you.

Mariah: It’s great to see you too. It’s been a little while.

Paige: Yeah, I haven’t seen you since your trip to the US.

Mariah: That’s true, that’s true. Yeah, I was in the US for two weeks. I just got back recently.

Paige: Where are you from again?

Mariah: I’m from Minnesota, so that’s in the north. It’s on the border with Canada. 

Paige: But it’s summer there, right?

Mariah: It is summer there right now! It’s so beautiful. Oh my gosh, it was sunny and warm every single day.

Paige: Uh, that’s so amazing. It’s literally been freezing the last couple weeks here, so I bet it’s been hard to be back.

Mariah: It’s definitely hard to adjust from summer to winter, that’s for sure.

Paige: Tell me more! What did you do? Why were you home?

Mariah: Oh yeah, so the reason I went home is that my college roommate got married.

Paige: How exciting.

Mariah: And so, I was in the wedding. I was a bridesmaid. And so, I was home for the bachelorette party and the wedding.

Paige: Wow, a lot of fun activities! How was the bridesmaid’s dress? Was it cute?

Mariah: The bridesmaid’s dress was absolutely beautiful. It was as good as a bridesmaid dress will ever be.

Paige: Fair to say. Fair. And how was the wedding? Was there a DJ? A band?

Mariah: Yeah, the wedding was fantastic! It was in downtown Minneapolis. And, it was a small wedding, not so big. I’m not sure how big weddings are in Chile, but this was about 150 people. Pretty intimate. The music was great, the food was excellent, and my friend was really happy, and that was the most important thing.

Paige: That’s amazing you got to share that when you’ve been living so far away.

Mariah: Totally.

Paige: It’s good you got to go home. And what else did you do? Did you get to see the family and eat a lot of good food?

Mariah: I did, I did. Yeah, my family lives in Minnesota as well, and so I spent a lot of time with them. My sister and her husband bought a dog while I was gone, and so I met the new dog, and we went to the park, and we had picnics. We even went to the theater together.

Paige: You and the dog?

Mariah: Me and the dog, no! I went to the theater with my family. So, it was pretty special to have a chance to spend time with them after so much time away.

Paige: Amazing. And it was probably good to get some good Minnesota comfort food while you were home?

Mariah: Absolutely. All of the dairy products. Cheese, ice cream, milk, chocolate milk. All of the dairy products!

Paige: Yeah, food is what you miss most.

Mariah: Totally. Also, one really cool thing about Minnesota is that is has a really huge immigrant population, and so we can get food from all over the world because our immigrants bring such a rich culinary scene to Minnesota. And so, if you want awesome Mexican food, you can find it. Or Korean or Vietnamese or Middle Eastern food. I loved taking advantage of that while I was home. 

Paige: It sounds like you really had such an amazing time!

Mariah: It was a great trip. It was such a great trip. And how about you?! You went to Atacama while I was gone, didn’t you?

Paige: Yeah, no, exactly! I went up north actually with my friends from high school. 

Mariah: No way!

Paige: Yeah, they were visiting, and we got to show them northern Chile. It was absolutely amazing. Better than I thought it would be. I just felt like I was transported to a different world. There were volcanoes and deserts and then also snow and craters and geysers. Everything. Everything was there!

Mariah: Did you do tours? Or did you rent a car?

Paige: We actually rented a car and just created our own path. We literally went wherever. And it was nice because it was winter, so there was barely anyone up there. 

Mariah: Oh perfect, so it wasn’t very touristy right now?

Paige: No, we had the road to ourselves. We got to see the stars every night. It was so quiet and peaceful. I think I’m moving out of Santiago!

Mariah: Paige is moving up north…

Paige: Breaking news!

Mariah: So, we will have to do Coffee with Gringos remotely.

Paige: But yes, no, it was absolutely amazing. I can’t wait to explore more areas of Chile.

Mariah: Totally, totally, that’s fantastic. Did you eat any new foods up there?

Paige: I did! I actually tried llama for the first time.

Mariah: No way! That’s so cool!

Paige: Yeah, I was actually very hesitant to try it because it sounds like it’s something you probably shouldn’t eat. 

Mariah: Right, right, at least based on our culture.

Paige: It just looked like it would be kind of a tough meat, but it was actually very tender. It was fantastic. I will probably go back just for the llama!

Mariah: That’s awesome, that’s awesome.

Paige: So really good food and beautiful landscapes. Overall great.

Mariah: Fantastic. That’s so cool. I’m glad that you liked it so much.

Paige: It was amazing. Do you have any more trips planned in the future?

Mariah: Yeah, I’m really hoping to go to Peru! I’ve never been to Peru, and I’ve heard such spectacular things. I love archaeology, and so of course I want to visit Machu Pichu. And I’ve heard that the food, the culture, that it’s all really, really interesting.

Paige: Yeah, I went two months ago, and you definitely need to plan it out and spend a lot of time because it’s such a spectacular trip that you really don’t want to rush it.

Mariah: Yeah, I heard that you spent one weekend? 

Paige: Yeah, it was probably a Guinness World Record. I did Machu Pichu in the shortest amount of time physically possible. We flew into Lima and then Cusco and did Machu Pichu in a day.

Mariah: That’s mind boggling.

Paige: I would not recommend it.

Mariah: I’ll be sure to spend more time when I go.

Paige: Please do. It’s such an amazing sight that you really want to soak it in.

Mariah: Yeah, yeah, I’ll definitely do that. Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you, I had the longest trip home!

Paige: Seriously? What happened?!

---

KEY VOCABULARY, PHRASES, AND SLANG

Literally (adverb) - often used informally as “actually”

Example: It’s literally been freezing the last couple weeks here

To get back (phrasal verb) - to return to your starting point

Example: I just got back to Santiago recently.

To adjust (verb) - to adapt

Example: It’s been difficult to adjust to winter weather after spending two weeks in the sun.

Bridesmaid (noun) - traditionally, a friend of the bride who participates in the wedding and often wears a special dress

To spend time (phrase) - to pass time with somebody, this is tricky because in Spanish we usually say, “pasar tiempo” or “compartir”!

Example: When I was in Minnesota, I was able to spend a lot of time with my family.

Comfort food (noun) - food that makes you think of home

Example: I ate a lot of dairy products in the US. Cheese, milk, and ice cream are comfort foods for me!

Breaking news (phrase) - an exciting announcement

Example: Breaking news! Paige wants to move to the North of Chile!

Remotely (adverb) - from a distance

Example: If Paige moves to the North of Chile, we will have to record Coffee with Gringos remotely.

Landscape - a view of natural scenery

Example: Chile has many different types of landscapes - desert, ocean, and mountains!

Guinness World Record (noun) - refers to a book full of the most impressive things people have accomplished, used informally to refer to something unbelievable that you personally accomplish

Example: I think I should get a Guinness World Record for seeing Peru in the shortest amount of time possible!

Mind boggling (idiom) - something that you can hardly believe, overwhelming or startling

Example: It’s mind boggling that Paige visited Peru for just a weekend trip!
 

Download the Episode 4 transcript here!