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Nepal Part 2 Vocabulary Lesson

Hello and welcome to the vocabulary lesson for the “Nepal Part 2” conversation. Remember from the first conversation, the “Nepal Part 1” conversation, that Joe and I have been talking about our trips to Nepal… Me with my boyfriend at the time in 2001 and Joe with his girlfriend at the time in 2004.

Okay, let’s begin.

I start off this second conversation saying, “Wow, that’s pretty crazy that you had a face to face encounter with a Maoist on your trek.”

Wow. That’s a word that I’m… Where I’m showing a surprised emotion. So I could have said something else like, “My gosh.” or “My god.” Wow. Wow, that’s pretty crazy… Pretty crazy. Pretty in this situation is basically very, very crazy. So what I’m saying is wow, that’s just unbelievable. I can’t believe that you had a face to face encounter with a Maoist on your trek. Now face to face… That’s an idiom and it basically means person to person. An example of face to face would be: I would much rather talk face to face with someone than talk on the phone. I just like speaking person to person better than speaking on the phone. That’s really true. So I’m saying to him wow. I just can’t believe that you actually spoke face to face or person to person with a Maoist. That you had this encounter (encounter being meeting). And if you remember from the first conversation, Maoist or Maoists… Maoists are a group of people in Nepal who are wanting to change the government. So on his trek he had this person to person meeting with a Maoist. If you’ll remember also from the first conversation, trek is like an intense hike, a long hike, a hike over many days.

Okay, then Joe goes on to say, “Well, it really wasn’t very scary. Actually the ones I met, they were pretty friendly.”

Here’s pretty again being used like very. They were pretty friendly. They were very friendly.

“But I don’t know, maybe they were on their best behavior.”

On their best behavior. So what he’s saying here is, you know the Maoist that I spoke with he didn’t scare me. He seemed pretty friendly. He seemed very friendly. But, maybe he was on his best behavior. Maybe, or Maoists in general, I guess, not just the one, maybe they were on their best behavior. Maybe they were acting very nice or maybe they were being very nice. Maybe they were being polite or maybe they were being very good. On their best behavior. An example of on their best behavior would be: You know, I’ve noticed from teaching children that they can be on their best behavior when they’re wanting something. Hm, maybe they think that being very good will get them what they want. On their best behavior.

So I go on to say, “Yeah, maybe.”

I’m agreeing with him. Yeah, maybe you’re right. Maybe they were being very nice. They were being very good. They were on their best behavior. Yeah is informal or casual for yes. So I’m agreeing with him.

Then I go on to say, “I mean, we didn’t see ‘em at all on our trek.” So I’m saying, you know I didn’t see any of the Maoists when Tim and I went on our trek. Tim, my boyfriend at the time. See ‘em. Now, ‘em is short for them. So you will never see this in written English but you will definitely hear it in conversational English. It’s just short for them. So I’m saying yeah, you know I mean we didn’t see them. We did not see any Maoists on our trek.

Moving along, I go on to say, “In fact, the only trace of the Maoists…” So I’m saying the only sign or the only thing to show that Maoists had been there.

“that I remember seeing was being on a bus going over to a national park…” National being like a Nepali government park.

“and looking out the window and seeing this old, abandoned…”

Abandoned being empty.

“burned out bus…”

Burned out. Now that’s describing the bus as having had a fire on it. So the bus had had a fire. It was a burned out bus.

“on the side of the road. And apparently, we were told later, that the Maoists had stopped the bus and gotten everyone off and then burned it.”

Okay, so I’m saying, you know, I didn’t see any Maoists on my trek but I did see that there was an old, burned out bus on the side of the road. I was, you know, on a bus myself passing this old burned out bus. Going to a national park. Going to a Nepali government park. That’s the only sign that I knew that Maoists had been in the area or the only trace. The only thing to show me that Maoists had been there. I never actually saw a Maoist face to face. So yeah, and then I’m saying the Maoists had stopped the bus and gotten everyone off and then burned it. So they had set fire to it.

So then Joe goes on to say, “At least they got everyone off.”

So he’s saying, well, basically that’s good. They got everyone off the bus.

Then I say, “Yeah, yeah, but I, I think it was… It wasn’t even until after we left Nepal and got back to America that I started reading that all hell broke loose with the Maoists.” So I’m agreeing with him. I’m saying yeah. It is good they got everyone off the bus. And it wasn’t until I left the country, I actually left Nepal and flew back to America that I started reading on the internet that all hell had broken loose with the Maoists. All hell broke loose. So basically what I am saying is that I had started reading that there was a lot of trouble with the Maoists. Or there were a lot of problems with the Maoists. Or there was a lot of confusion with the Maoists. All hell broke loose. An example of this would be: I can remember that I was living in Bangkok, Thailand when the bird flew or SARS broke out. All hell broke loose for a short period of time. There were a lot of problems and confusion about the disease. All hell broke loose.

Then Joe goes on to say, “Yeah, that was actually just after I left.” So he’s saying, yeah, all hell broke loose. Or all these problems, all this confusion started after he left Nepal.

And then I say, “Oh, okay, well that makes sense then, why there was more of a presence there.” So what I’m saying is okay. I understand now why there was more of a presence, meaning… Why there were more Maoists that you saw when you were there, compared to me, since I didn’t see any.

Joe says, “Yeah.”

Agreeing with me.

Then I say, “When you were there, I should say.”

So I’m just correcting myself because I had been saying, oh that makes sense why there was more of a presence of the Maoists there. Why you saw more of the Maoists there. And I corrected myself, I mean when you were there. That’s all I am saying. I’m just correcting myself.

And I go on to say, “But, y’know…”

And, y’know, I mentioned in the first conversation is just simply short for “you know.” So I say, “But, y’know, our trek sounds pretty different.”

So our trek sounds very different. Ours meaning mine and Tim’s.

“How many days were you on… How many days was your trek again?”

I’m asking Joe.

And he says, “Uh, it was thirteen days total.”

So he is just saying, oh it was thirteen days altogether. Thirteen days total.

And I say, “Oh, okay. Mine was twelve, so just one day shy of yours.” One day shy. Basically I’m saying, okay mine was one day less, one day shy of yours. An example of this would be: My birthday is three days shy of one of my high school friends. My birthday is August 8th and hers is August 11th. So in this case, I’m saying three days shy. The idiom is one day shy, but I think you get the point. It’s just, it’s less.

And then I go on to say, “Yeah, it’s, it started off on the wrong foot for me.” So I’m saying, yeah, my trek started off on the wrong foot. Started off on the wrong foot, meaning, yeah, it began badly for me. Or yeah, it did not start well for me. Started off on the wrong foot. An example of this: My first day of school usually got started off on the wrong foot. I would always come home with a big headache and just not be feeling good. Started off on the wrong foot. And that’s true. I mean that was either college, university or even in high school. Yeah, I would always come home with a headache.

Okay, then Joe goes on to say, “What happened?” And I say, “Well, apparently I ate something that didn’t agree with me and made me sick as hell to my stomach.”

Didn’t agree with me. Well apparently I ate something that wasn’t good for me or wasn’t good for my body.

Didn’t agree with me. For example: Sometimes when I eat late at night the food doesn’t agree with me because it can make my stomach hurt the next day. Didn’t agree with me. Or doesn’t agree with me, as in my example. Made me sick as hell. Sick as hell is an idiom meaning very ill. Not… Or basically I’m saying, y’know it made me feel very ill. It made me not feel good to my stomach. Sick as hell. An example of that would be: I got sick as hell one time when I was living in Bangkok, Thailand. I ended up having tonsillitis and was so sick that I had to stay in the hospital for a few days. I was sick as hell.

So then Joe says, “When you were trekking, or…” And I say, “No, no, no, no, no, the night before.” And he laughs, “Oh, no.”

He’s imagining, I’m sure, that I’m extremely sick. I’m very sick and I’m about to go on this trek. This twelve day trek.

So then I say, “Yeah, so that’s how it started off. And we were, the next morning we were supposed to leave…”

Or, or, in other words, we should have left.

“at 7:00 a.m. on the dot. But, of course that got pushed back because I was so sick. I was sick as a dog.”

On the dot, okay. So what I’m saying is, this is how my trek started. I’m sick, right? We’re supposed to leave the next morning. We should have left at 7:00 a.m. on the dot. 7:00 a.m. exactly is what that means. 7:00 a.m. and no later. On the dot. An example of on the dot would be: I noticed that when I lived in Japan the trains would always arrive on the dot. They were very exact. I loved that about Japan. So yeah, we’re supposed to leave on the dot. And I go on to say, but of course that got pushed back. So in other words, it ended up being later. Pushed back. Ended up being later. Because I was so sick. I was sick as a dog. Sick as a dog here means basically the same as sick as hell. Very ill. Y’know, I was very ill. I was not feeling good. I was sick as a dog. An example of sick as a dog could be: Sometimes I have felt sick as a dog after a night of drinking too much. I have ended up feeling so bad and I am surprised I haven’t completely quit drinking altogether. Sick as a dog. You would think I would learn my lesson.

And then Joe says, “Oh, man.”

Now, oh man, here… You’ll hear a lot of people say man. It just is a filler word because he’s… obviously I am a woman. He is saying it to me but it doesn’t really mean anything. Just kind of showing sympathy like, “Oh wow.” “Oh man.”

He says, “Did you consider not goin’?”

So did you consider… Did you think about not going? Now goin’… I think I mentioned this in the first conversation, the “Nepal Part 1” conversation. Goin’ here is short for going. You won’t see goin’ in written English but only in conversation you’ll hear it. It’s just shortened, just cut off.

And I say, “Oh, yeah…”

I’m agreeing with him. Oh, yeah, I did think about not going.

“but Tim talked me into it.”

So I’m saying Tim, my boyfriend, he got me to do it anyway.

And Joe laughs, “Well, that’s good because you know what? You were probably thankful in the end because you had such a good time, I’m sure.” So he’s saying, you know, it’s good you went because I’m sure now, or after the trek, you were thankful. Or you were glad. You were happy after the trek. You were thankful in the end because you had such a good time, I’m sure. So he’s saying, you know, I’m sure you’re happy you did it because afterwards I’m sure you realized you had a good time.

And I say, “I did, I mean, it, y’know, it was tough though.”

Tough, as in difficult. I’m saying yeah, I did have a good time but it was, it was difficult for me.

I go on to say, “It, first of all, I started out, I was sick, um… I just was not physically prepared for it.” So I’m saying… In other words, my body was not ready for it. I don’t do a lot of exercise in general so it was very difficult for me.

And I go on to say, “I think it was like the second night there was this windstorm that really freaked me out…”

I think it was like… now “like” here, you may know that like can be used to show, like a positive emotion. For example, I like traveling to other countries. It can also be used to compare something, like, for example, Joe’s cooking is so good it’s like eating in a really nice restaurant. But in this situation… I think it was like the second night… Here this is very common in conversational English to see like used this way or hear like used this way. Basically it’s just an extra word. It doesn’t really have any meaning. It’s just put in there. It’s filler.

It doesn’t have any meaning. So you don’t even really have to pay attention to it. So I say, I think it was like the second night there was this windstorm. So there was this storm. This really strong wind came up. And I say, that really freaked me out.

Freaked me out. So I’m saying it worried me. It made me scared. It freaked me out. An example of freaked me out would be: The first time I saw a mouse in my apartment, it really freaked me out. And I’ve seen them so many times that I’m surprised they still make me jump and scream. They still do. I know, it’s crazy, but…

So Joe laughs. And then I say, “Yeah, it, it was pretty frightening.” So I’m saying it was very scary for me. This windstorm was very scary.

And Joe says, “How high up were you at that time?”

So he’s asking… He’s thinking at this point that maybe I’m pretty high up in the mountains, since y’know we are trekking in the mountains.

So then I say, “We weren’t very high. It was just still the second night.” So I’m saying, we weren’t high up at all. It was only the second night. It was just still the second night.

And I go on to say, “I, to be honest,”

So, in other words, to tell you the truth. To be honest.

“I don’t remember but, yeah. We weren’t that high up.” So then Joe says, “Yeah, well how high did you go, uh, total?”

So, in other words, he is saying how high did you go altogether.

And I say “Total…”

As in altogether.

“uh, total, uh, we reached 12,000 feet.” And Joe says, “Yeah, okay.” And then I say, “Yeah, and that was actually…”

Or I’m saying here, really.

“actually that was great being that high up. I mean we got such a great bird’s eye view of the valley.” So great, or good, bird’s eye view of the valley. Now bird’s eye view… What I’m saying here is we got such a good view from above, of the valley. Or we got such a great view from high up of the valley. An example of bird’s eye view would be: I like to go up in really tall buildings here in San Francisco. I get such a great bird’s eye view of the city below. Bird’s eye view. So I’m saying yeah. It was really good being that high up because I got such a great view of the valley. A great view from really high up of the valley. Valley is just a land, or I should say, land below and between mountains.

Then Joe says, “Oh yeah, yeah, that was, that’s what I noticed…” Or that’s what I saw.

“also, when, uh, when we got up to our highest point…”

Point, meaning area.

“which was a little over 14,000 feet. I was just, I mean I was like in heaven. I mean it was…” So what he’s saying is that he noticed as well (when he was up really high… over 14,000 feet) he was in heaven. Or he is saying, I was like in heaven. Like here again is just a filler word. So you don’t have to pay attention to it. So I was in heaven. I was having a really good time. I was really enjoying myself. I was in heaven. For example: One of the last times I went camping, me and my boyfriend at the time had hiked several miles into the woods. It was so beautiful, so quiet and peaceful that I felt like I was in heaven. I was in heaven.

So then I laugh and say, “Yeah.”

Agreeing with him.

And then Joe goes on to say, “I was like sitting on top of the world.” So what he’s saying here is, just like I was in heaven. He’s saying, I was having a really good time. I was really enjoying myself. Sitting on top of the world. An example of this would be: When I was 22, I went on a cruise to the Bahamas with my cousin. I had such a good time that I felt like I was sitting on top of the world.

Sitting on top of the world.

So then I laugh and say, “Yeah.”

Again… agreeing. I can totally agree to what he’s saying about his trek because I felt the same way.

And Joe says, “Y’know, uh… And also at that point after we got up to the top…” So also at that point, or that area.

“after we got up to the top…”

After we got to the top of the mountain.

“I was no longer worried about, uh, altitude sickness.”

So what he is saying is I was no longer worried. I didn’t care about getting altitude sickness. Altitude sickness is a sickness that you can get if you go up a mountain or go up too high too quickly. You can get really bad headaches, for example. So he is saying, yeah, after a certain point when we got to the top I just didn’t even worry about it any more. I didn’t care.

So then he goes on to say, “I don’t know if anybody had problems with it, uh, y’know, with, in the group that you were traveling with.” And I say, “No, no, we didn’t. But, y’know of course, we were warned…” Or told.

“we were warned about it. And one of the things we were warned…”

Or told.

“about was to be careful of the alcohol intake.”

Alcohol intake meaning just drinking alcohol.

“So Tim and I, being the beer drinkers that we are, didn’t heed that warning.” So we didn’t take heed. We didn’t pay attention to that warning.

“So it’s a good thing we didn’t get altitude sickness.”

So what I’m saying is no, we didn’t know of anybody who got altitude sickness or had any problems with it.

And yeah, we were told about it. We were warned about it. But, y’know we were still drinking. Even though we were told not to. So even though we didn’t take heed or we didn’t pay attention to the warning of don’t drink, it’s a good thing we didn’t get altitude sickness.

And Joe says, “Yeah, they pretty much told us the same thing. They said, ‘y’know, you probably shouldn’t be smoking cigarettes’ which, y’know, I don’t smoke cigarettes. So that was fine.” Or, he’s saying, that was okay.

And he goes on to say, “They said, ‘don’t drink too much’ and, y’know, I, I didn’t really drink too much. So that was good but, uh, y’know, the other thing they said is, y’know… ‘Don’t go up the mountain too fast. Make sure you spend…’”

Or make sure you stay.

“‘a night before you get up to the peak.’”

Peak being the top of the mountain. So he’s being told yeah, don’t smoke cigarettes, don’t drink and don’t go up the mountain too fast. Make sure that you spend, or you stay a night before you get up to the top of the mountain.

And so he goes on to say, “Uh, y’know, at a lower altitude.”

Or a lower height. Height being altitude.

“But one that’s pretty…”

or very…

“high up still, and then…” And I say, “Oh right.” And then Joe says, “so you can get acclimated.” Acclimated means getting used to. So in this situation getting used to the higher height.

Moving along Joe says, “So we did that but, uh, I tell ya, when we got up to the peak…” I’ll tell ya. Tell ya. Ya is short for you. So you won’t see this in written English, but you will definitely hear it in conversational English. Ya, short for you. So he says yeah, I’ll tell ya, when we got up to the peak… Or when we got up to the top of the mountain.

“there were people who were getting sick. And there were a couple of people…” Or there were two people.

“who had to be carried down, like…”

So he’s saying, yeah. There were people getting sick and two people, a couple of people, had to be carried down. Or they had to be taken down the mountain.

And I say, “Oh, jeez.”

Jeez. That’s just a word showing emotion like, oh I can’t believe what you’re saying. I can’t believe what you’re telling me.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, and one of the guys who was carried down…” Or taken down.

“I had met him on the way up. And, uh, I saw him on the way down and I asked him, y’know, how he was feeling. And he said he was feeling better at that point.”

Point being time. He was feeling better at that time.

“But he said the night before he thought his head was going to explode. So…” Head was going to explode. So in other words he’s saying this guy that he saw, or he met on his way up the mountain, once he got back down the mountain he saw this guy again. This guy had had to be carried down.

He had to be taken down because he had gotten altitude sickness. And he said he was feeling okay at that time, at that point. But the night before he thought his head was going to explode. So he’s saying he felt like his head was going to break open. Or felt like his head was going to burst open. Head was going to explode.

For example: Sometimes when I get sick my head hurts a lot in the beginning, hurts a lot in the beginning of the sickness. Y’know when I first get sick. My head can feel like it’s going to explode. Head was going to explode.

So then I say, “Oh my god!”

So I’m showing emotion like, “Wow.” “Jeez.” “Oh my gosh.”

And Joe says, “Yeah, very serious headache.”

So he’s saying yeah. This guy had a really big headache.

And I say, “Wow.”

Wow, showing emotion again like “Jeez.” “Oh my gosh.”

And then Joe says, “Yeah, so…” And then I say, “Yeah, I mean we didn’t, none of, y’know… There was just me and Tim and then, uh, another woman from, uh… Where was she from, Belgium and a guy from Luxembourg. So we all fared pretty well, except…”

So I’m saying yeah. You know, there was just four of us in our group, me, Tim, a woman from Belgium, a guy from Luxembourg. And we all fared pretty well. We all did pretty well.

“except, then towards the end, the guy from Luxembourg ended up catching a cold.” Catching a cold. So in other words he got sick. He ended up getting sick. He ended up getting sick with a cold. For example: I really don’t like catching a cold. I absolutely do not like getting sick. I don’t. I become a big baby when I’m sick.

So I go on to say, “And then to top it off, I caught it from him.”

Or I got it from him. So I got the cold from him. I caught the cold from him. To top it off. To top it off means in addition to. So what I’m saying is, if you’ll remember in the beginning I’m talking about my trek, how it started off badly because I was feeling sick or I’d gotten sick in Katmandu. So I’m saying to top it off, in addition… Y’know here the trek is ending. And to top it all off, in addition to everything that had kind of happened, starting… getting it off to a bad start, I caught it from him. I got this cold from the guy from Luxembourg. To top it off. For example: I was so happy when I finished my master’s degree in teaching English to speakers of other languages in 2005. I was so happy when I finished. To top it off, I then got a teaching job in Japan. I was so excited to move there. To top it off.

Joe says, “Ugh.”

Ugh. Just meaning an emotion. Like, showing a negative feeling. Like, oh no. Like he can’t believe it, my gosh you got sick. You were sick at the beginning and then you got sick at the end.

And I say, “So that’s how I ended the trek.” And Joe says, “Yeah.” Like, wow, some trek.

And then I say, “Yeah, it was very physically draining for me.”

So what I’m saying is it was very tiring for me.

And Joe says, “Yeah. How much did it cost for you guys to do your trek?” So he’s asking, how much did it cost for you guys (you guys as in Tim and I)… How much did it cost for the both of you to do your trek?

And I say, “Um, to be honest…”

Or to tell you the truth.

“I really don’t remember. But, y’know, it, it wasn’t anything astronomical.” So I’m saying it wasn’t… I don’t remember but it wasn’t anything too expensive or too much. It wasn’t anything astronomical.

And Joe says, “Yeah, yeah, I can’t remember either how much we paid. But it, it was dirt cheap.” Dirt cheap. So what he is saying here is he can’t remember what he paid for his trek. But it was dirt cheap.

It was very cheap. It didn’t cost a lot. Dirt cheap. An example of dirt cheap is: It was dirt cheap when I lived in Bangkok. It didn’t cost much money at all. I was living in a one room apartment for about fifty dollars a month and that included all utilities. Dirt cheap.

So then I go on to say, “Yeah.”

Like I… I don’t remember how much the trek costs, but I do remember it didn’t cost a lot. It was cheap. I’m agreeing with him.

And Joe says, “Yeah, I’ll tell you what, without a doubt…”

Or he’s saying definitely. Definitely. Without a doubt.

“I wanna make sure I go back to Nepal and, uh, go trekking. I wanna go trekking again.” Wanna. Wanna is just short for want to. You won’t see wanna in written English, but you’ll definitely hear it in conversational English. Wanna.

And then I say, “Well, I wanna go back to Nepal. I don’t know that I wanna go trekking.”

Okay, this concludes the vocabulary lesson for the “Nepal Part 2” conversation. You can listen to this a few times if you need to, in a relaxed way, until you have a basic understanding of the vocabulary. Then go to the mini-story. Okay, until next time.