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Hitchhiking In Europe Vocabulary Lesson

Hello, and welcome to the vocabulary lesson for the conversation “Hitchhiking In Europe.” Now this conversation is between Joe and a friend of ours named David. David is just talking about doing some traveling in Europe.

Okay, let’s begin with the conversation.

Joe starts off by saying, “Hey, you know I ran into John today…” Now when he says, hey you know… This is just filler. All three of these words are filler. They’re not really needed in the sentence. You could take them away from the sentence and the sentence would still make sense. When he says, I ran into John today… Ran into or run into means to unexpectedly see someone. Or to see someone by surprise. I can remember when I ran into Will at the store the other day. That’s an example of ran into.

And then Joe goes on to say, “and he’s gonna actually be doin’ some travelin’ in Europe.” Gonna. This is short for going to. You won’t see gonna in written English but you’ll hear it in conversational English.

“he’s gonna actually…”

Actually here is just a filler word. It’s not really needed. You could take it away and the sentence would still make sense without it.

“he’s gonna actually be doin’…”

Now doin’ is short for doing. Again, this is something that you will not see in written English but you will hear in conversational English.

“he’s gonna actually be doin’ some travelin’ in Europe.”

Travelin’. This is short for traveling. So hear again, you wouldn’t see travelin’ in written English but you would hear it in conversational English.

And then Joe goes on to say, “He’s, uh, he says he’s gonna spend a lot of time in Prague.” Now uh is just a filler word. It’s not needed. And when Joe says spend a lot of time, he’s saying, stay a long time in Prague.

And then David says, “Oh, Prague’s awesome.”

Or Prague’s great is what he’s saying.

And then David says, “Ah . . . did I tell you I lived there?” And Joe says, “No, get out of here. You never told me that.”

Get out of here. What Joe is saying here is, are you serious? Get out of here. You never told me that. For example: When Kim told me she was pregnant I said, “Get out of here. I didn’t even know you wanted to have children.” Get out of here.

And then David says, “Yeah…”

Yeah is casual or informal or slang for yes.

David goes on to say, “I lived in Prague about 15 years ago.” And then Joe says, “Oh, whoa…” Now this is just showing emotion such as, I can’t believe you lived in Prague and I didn’t know this.

And then Joe starts to say something “du-…” And then he goes on to say, “what were you doing there?” And David says, “Well…”

Well is just a filler word. It doesn’t really have any meaning.

He goes on to say, “I was traveling.” And then David says, “I didn’t actually know that I would end up in Prague.”

End up. This means to go to a place last. End up. I can remember when I ended up in Thailand after traveling in India and Nepal several years ago, many years ago. End up.

And David goes on to say, “I was just gonna do whatever came along.” Now just. This is a filler word. It’s not really needed. What David is saying here - just gonna do whatever came along – he’s saying, I had no set plans.

And then Joe says, “Wait, where’d you start out traveling?” And David says, “I got a one way ticket to Amsterdam.” And then Joe laughs and says, “Oh, nice.” And David says, “And one of the only people that I knew in Europe was this chick…”

Now chick is a woman. Sometimes it can mean girl as well. Chick. For example: Matt met some chick at a bar last night. Chick. It’s a slang term for woman or girl.

And David goes on to say, “this chick that I used to go out with.” Go out with. This means to date. Go out with. For example: Matt is going to go out with the girl he met at the bar last night. Go out with.

And then David goes on to say, “So I figured…”

Or he’s saying, I thought.

“I’d look her up.”

Look her up. This means to contact her. Look her up. For example: I am going to Dublin so I may look up my friend Eric who lives there. Look her up. Or in this example, look up.

And then David says, “I knew she had another boyfriend at that point.” Or he’s saying, at that time.

“But she said she could get me a place to stay…”

Or she could find me a place to live.

“and she was in Prague. So I figured I’d go there for a few weeks and see how it went.” What he’s saying is, see how it went. See if I liked it.

And then Joe says, “She was from Prague? Or…” And David says, “No, she was American, but she was over there teaching English.”

Over there meaning she was in Prague teaching English.

And Joe says, “Oh, nice, nice.” And David says, “Yeah.” Just agreeing with Joe.

And Joe says, “So wait, how long did you spend in Amsterdam?” And David says, “I only spent about four days in Amsterdam before I got kind of sick of it.” Now kind of here is just filler. It really is not needed in this sentence. Sick of it. Sick of it means no longer interested in something. Sick of it. For example: I used to like to exercise but now I am sick of it. Sick of it.

And then Joe says, “So you were just goin’…”

Goin’ is short for going.

“you were just goin’, you were just basically like, uh, travelin’ through.” And like here… That’s just a filler word. That’s not really needed. And travelin’… Travelin’ is short for traveling. Traveling through means not staying long.

And David says, “Yeah, and then I started hitching.”

Now hitching… This is short for hitchhiking. Hitchhiking is traveling by getting a free ride in a car with someone you do not know. Hitchhiking. For example: I know someone who traveled through Europe hitching rides the whole way. Hitching or hitchhiking.

And Joe says, “Oh, nice, nice.” And then David says, “And kind of hooked up with some English chicks…”

Hooked up. This means met. Hooked up. I hooked up with some friends when I got to Dublin. Hooked up.

English chicks. This means women from England.

And then David goes on to say, “and just kind of spent a little bit of time with them on the road.” Or what he’s saying is, spent a short amount of time with them on the road. On the road. This means traveling. On the road. For example: I love to travel. I just can’t wait to get back on the road again. On the road.

And then David says, “And then eventually ended up, uh, on a train late at night and, uh, didn’t have any money, but pretended…”

Or he’s saying, acted as though.

“I didn’t understand what anyone was saying and ended up in Prague.” And Joe says, “Wait, when you first took off…”

Took off. This means to leave. Took off. I took off for India after living in Korea for one year. I took off just to backpack around India. Took off.

So Joe says, “Wait, when you first took off, um…”

Um is just filler here. It’s not needed.

And Joe goes on to say, “from the U.S….”

U.S. is just short for USA.

And Joe says, “were you actually traveling alone?”

Alone, meaning by yourself.

And David says, “Totally by myself.”

Or completely by myself.

And Joe says, “Oh, sweet.”

Now sweet here means very good. Sweet. For example: It was sweet to finally finish my teaching degree. I was so excited. Sweet.

And David says, “Yep.”

Now yep is slang for yes.

And then Joe says, “Nice…” And David says, “It’s funny, looking back, I didn’t have anything with me, y’know.”

Now y’know… This is short for you know. And when David says, I didn’t have anything with me… He’s saying he did not have a lot of stuff. Like he didn’t have a lot of clothes, for example.

And Joe says, “Yeah, you could just like basically, uh, take off on a whim.” On a whim. This means to do something without a lot of thought. On a whim. For example: When I took off for Korea on a whim, I didn’t know what to expect. On a whim.

And then David says, “I had like one pair of shoes and no health insurance…” Health insurance is something that allows you or lets you go to the doctor for less money. You pay money each month for it. You pay money for the health insurance.

And then David goes on to say, “and I was just, uh, livin’ large.” Now livin’… This is short for living. Living large. This means doing very well. For example: After Eric started to make more money at work, he was living large. Living large.

And then Joe laughs and says, “That’s nice. And you know what, now you would probably look back and think that you were totally broke.”

Totally broke. This means had no money. Totally broke. For example: After I bought my car I was totally broke.

Then Joe goes on to say, “And, uh, that, now that you have kids…” Kids means children.

“that would be a difficult, a very difficult thing to think of.” And what Joe is saying here is that would be something difficult to think of doing if you had children.

And David says, “If I had to be responsible for them it would be difficult.” Now responsible means take care of everything. So David is saying, if I had to take care of everything for my kids, my children, then yeah it would be difficult.

And David says, “But, y’know, I, uh, I was only responsible for me. And I kind of, I was, I was in the mood to, uh, to feel anonymous.”

What David is saying here at the end… I was in the mood to feel anonymous. He’s saying, I was feeling like I wanted to be anonymous. Now anonymous means that no one knows you. No one knows who you are.

Anonymous.

And then David goes on to say, “I wanted to go where no one recognized me.” Or he’s saying, I wanted to go where no one would know who I was.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, no that sounds great. So you, I, that’s great that you just traveled alone. A lot of people, uh, are not into doin’ that, y’know?”

Now doin’… This is short for doing. Not into doin’ that. Or not into doing something means you do not want to do that. You don’t want to do something. For example: I was not into going to the movies because I was too tired. Not into.

And then David says, “Yeah, well, it’s a big deal.”

A big deal means important. A big deal. It was a big deal, I can remember, when I finished school. It was a big deal for me and for my parents. A big deal.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, some people…” And then David says, “You’ve got to kind of put yourself out there and just see what happens, y’know.”

Put yourself out there. This means to get involved. Put yourself out there.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, exactly.”

Or he’s saying, yeah, for sure. He’s agreeing with David.

And then Joe says, “I actually, I’ve never traveled alone. But, uh, I, I’m sure I could do it, y’know, because, uh, I’m good, I, I feel like I’m pretty good at meeting people, y’know?” Now pretty here… Pretty good means very good.

And David says, “Yeah, yeah. Well sometimes it’s fun to meet people and other times it’s fun to just truly be on your own.”

And what David is saying here is really be by yourself. Truly be on your own or really be by yourself.

David says, “And, y’know, you get into a situation where you, where you realize…” Or he’s saying, you know.

“that nobody knows where you are…” And Joe laughs. And then David says, “and you just have this total sense of, uh, freedom.”

Total sense of freedom. This means you just feel completely free.

And Joe says, “Yeah.”

Agreeing with David.

And then David says, “It’s crazy.”

It’s crazy here means it’s hard to believe. It’s crazy. For example: It’s crazy for me to think about how long ago I moved to Korea. It’s already been about 12 years ago. It’s crazy.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, I can only imagine.”

Or what he is saying is, I can believe that.

And David says, “Yeah.”

Agreeing with Joe.

And then Joe says, “You took the train from Amsterdam to, uh, to Prague?” And David says, “No, I took the train to somewhere in Germany and then I started thumbing on the side of the road.” Thumbing. This means hitchhiking. And hitchhiking, if you will remember, is traveling by getting a free ride in a car with someone you do not know. So thumbing. For example: I did not have a ride so I started thumbing. Thumbing.

And then Joe laughs and says, “Oh, how long did you stay in Germany?” And David says, “Uh, like two days.” And Joe says, “Oh, that wasn’t long at all.” And David says, “Yeah, just long enough for a couple of weird people…”

Or he’s saying, for two people, two weird people, two strange people…

“to meet me and, uh, help me out and take me to different places.” And Joe says, “So they actually picked you up?”

Now so here… This is just a filler word. It’s not really needed. And when he says picked you up… What this means is to be given a ride in a car. So when Joe says, so they actually picked you up? So they gave you a ride in a car? Picked you up. For example: I was hoping someone would pick me up because I lost my car keys the other day. Pick me up or picked you up.

And then David says, “Yeah, at one point…”

Or he’s saying, at one time.

“I decided that I didn’t really care what direction the car was going…” So he’s saying, I didn’t really care. It didn’t matter what direction or which way the car was going.

“as long as it was warm and dry, I was getting in.”

I was getting into the car.

And Joe says, “Wait, did you, were you actually like, uh, did you believe that you were headed to Prague at that point or were you just…”

Now headed to… Headed to means going to. Going to Prague. For example: I was headed to work yesterday when I saw Kathleen. Headed to.

And David says, “Yeah…I was…” And Joe says, “headed wherever?” Wherever meaning anywhere.

And David says, “No, I was headed to Prague, but I didn’t really care if it took me a while or what.” Now a while…. That means some time. He didn’t care if it took him some time. He didn’t care if he got there in a hurry or not. And when David says or what, at the end of the sentence… This is just filler. It’s not really needed. You could take it away and the sentence would still make sense.

And Joe says, “Oh, that’s cool.”

Now cool means good. Cool. For example: San Francisco is a cool place to live. Cool.

And then David says, “So I just kind of went with the flow of what was happening.” Now went with the flow, or go with the flow. This means to do something without planning. Went with the flow. I can remember sometimes when teaching my class in the past, I would just go with the flow. So go with the flow, or went with the flow.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, what did you think of Germany while you were there, because I’ve never been there…” And David says, “Kind of weird…”

Or he’s saying, a little strange.

And Joe says, “either.” And David says again “kind of weird. Uh, y’know, being, uh, being a Jew, uh…” So Jew… This is short for Jewish. And what David is saying is Jewish person. David is Jewish.

And then Joe laughs. And David says, “I was kind of aware of the history.” So he’s saying, I knew about the history.

And Joe says, “Yeah, I’m sure that that’s something that is pretty hard…” Or very difficult.

“to forget.” And David says, “Yeah, although…”

And although is just like an afterthought here.

And David goes on to say, “you know interestingly…”

Or he’s saying, it was interesting.

“the only person I met in Europe who was a deadhead was in Germany.” Now a deadhead… This is a fan of the American rock and roll music band, the Grateful Dead. Deadhead.

And Joe says, “Oh really!” And David says, “Yeah, and he was like so happy that I was into the Dead when he met me and I gave him one tape that I had…”

The Dead. The Dead is short for the Grateful Dead, the American rock and roll music band. The Dead. And tape… Tape here means cassette tape. Tape. For example: I used to listen to tapes before I bought a CD player. Tape.

And then Joe laughs. And David says, “and he was just ecstatic…” Ecstatic. This means very happy. Ecstatic. For example: I was so ecstatic when my family visited me in San Francisco. I couldn’t believe they were coming. I was ecstatic.

And David goes on to say, “because they weren’t able to get tapes like we were at that point.” And Joe says, “Oh, so he was actually German.” And David says, “Yeah.” And Joe laughs and says, “That’s great.” And David says, “Because this was before computers.” So what David is talking about here is now it would be much easier for someone from another country to get this music, the Grateful Dead’s music, by just going onto the internet. But this was before computers. So this guy, this German guy didn’t have a lot of Grateful Dead music.

So then Joe says, “Yeah, well if you think about it…”

Or he’s saying, if you remember.

“the Dead played there…”

So he’s saying, the Dead played. The Grateful Dead played in Germany in concert.

“in, uh, ’81, and, uh…”

When he says ’81, he’s talking about 1981. The year 1981.

And David says, “Yeah, he, he knew about them. He knew what was up…” Knew what was up. This means to know about something. Know what was up or knew what was up. He knew what was up.

And David says, “but he was like, ‘y’know…‘”

What David is… When he says, when he says here, he was like. What he’s starting to say is, the German guy said, y’know.

And then Joe says, “Yeah.” And David goes on to say, “’I could use some music.’” So David is saying, the German guy was like I could use some music. Or he’s saying the German guy said I could use some music.

And then David goes on to say, “And he had a Dead shirt on. He showed me. It was funny.” And Joe says, “Wait, he, he was actually wearing a Grateful Dead shirt when you met him?” Grateful Dead. This is the American rock and roll music band that we keep hearing about… the references deadhead, the Dead. So Grateful Dead.

And then David says, “Uh-huh.”

So David is basically just saying yes to Joe here.

And then Joe laughs and says, “That’s great.” And David says, “It was like underneath a sweatshirt.” A sweatshirt is like a thick warm shirt.

And then David goes on to say, “He was like, ‘No, really.’” So what David is saying here is the German guy said no really. He was like no really.

And then David goes on to say, “He pulls over… He lifts up the sweatshirt.” So David is just describing now… He was taking the sweatshirt off to show him his Grateful Dead t-shirt underneath that he was wearing.

And then David goes on to say, “he was like ‘Look’.”

So again… What David is saying here is, he said, the German guy said, look.

And then David says, “It was like an old tie-dye.”

So tie-dye. This is a colorful t-shirt. Tie-dye. For example: I have a friend named Jason and he has a lot of tie-dyes. He wears a lot of tie-dyes. Tie-dye.

And Joe says, “Were you wearing one also?” And David said, “No.” And Joe says, “Oh, so how did he know?”

So Joe is asking David, well how did he know that you liked the Grateful Dead, too?

And David says, “Uh, I just started talking about it and I had bootlegs with me.” Now bootlegs. Bootlegs are cassette tapes with recordings of music bands playing in concert. Bootlegs.

This is an example of bootlegs: When I first met Joe, he used to have a lot of bootlegs… mostly of the Grateful Dead. Bootlegs.

And then Joe ends the conversation by saying, “Oh, that’s great.”

Okay, now this is the end of the vocabulary lesson for the conversation “Hitchhiking In Europe.” Now if you have a basic understanding of the vocabulary, go ahead and go on to the mini-story. Otherwise, go back and listen to this lesson as many times as you need to, but in a relaxed way. And then when you feel ready, go to the mini-story.

Alrighty, see you next time. Bye bye.