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HAVE YOU GOT THE BLUES? THE POST-HOLIDAY BLUES.

Hi, everyone!

I’m Georgiana, founder of

SpeakEnglishPodcast.com. My mission is to help YOU speak English fluently.

In this episode:

• I’ll be talking about what happens just after we end our holidays.

• After that, a cool mini-story to practice your English speaking.

Ok, let’s get started!

Let me start by telling you that I’m super excited to be back again and connecting with you! How are you doing? Are you feeling happy and relaxed? Or are you feeling blue?

Since we’re already in September, I can officially say that the summer holidays are over.

During summer I’ve been resting, sunbathing, and enjoying my free time. I’ve definitely recharged my batteries.

I particularly like to be near the beach, enjoy the sun, the sea breeze, and of course, eating delicious food.

I must say that I’ve managed to disconnect from my routine completely.

How about you? How did you disconnect from your everyday worries?

Talking about disconnecting and taking a break. In September a fascinating phenomenon occurs: I’m talking about the post-holiday blues, also known as the post-travel depression.

By the way, I’m sure that you already know that the word blue is a color. It’s actually the most popular color in the world. However, the reason why it’s used in this phrase it’s because blue has other meanings.

It’s also used to express feelings of sadness, nostalgia or depression.

You’ve probably listened to these two expressions: “feeling blue” or “getting the blues”.

Examples:

It seems that you are feeling blue. Is there something wrong that you would like to share with me?

Ann gets the blues every Christmas holidays. She lives away from home, so she misses her family.

You might like to know that the Blues is a music style characterized by the sometimes sad or down focus and melancholy melodies.

The phrase “blue Monday” means feeling sad; often the feelings experienced when the weekend is over.

Let’s get back to the post-holiday blues, which is a mood experienced by many people after returning from a long trip or holiday.

Although we all love an extended holiday, we’ll need to face the downside, which is that we’ll suffer from the post-holiday blues.

The effects people usually experience are tiredness, loss of appetite, nostalgia, and even depression. It can become really hard to get back again to reality.

Additionally, if you’ve traveled to a country with a significant time shift, the effects are even more noticeable since in this case, you’ll need to overcome the jet lag.

So if you’ve had a short vacation this year, don’t worry. Just think that you’ll get back to the routine again without having to go through the post-holiday blues drama.

Okay, so what can you do? How can you overcome the post-holiday blues? Here are some tips: 1) Arrive home at least one day before the first day of work. I know it can be tempting to extend the drip as much as possible; it’s essential to get some rest in your own bed for at least one night. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with your surroundings again.

2) Unpack: As soon as you arrive, unpack. Yes, I know tomorrow seems like a better day for that, but you’re just fooling yourself. Seeing an unpacked luggage is a reminder of your wonderful holiday. And don’t forget to do your laundry too.

3) Plan your next trip. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy.

You just got back from one, but, as some studies show, planning a trip can lead to increased feelings of happiness. And I’ve tried this too. Just after coming back from my summer holidays I’ve started planning my following holidays. As I was looking for new adventures I’ve recovered my enthusiasm. It really made it easier for me to move on and start working again .

4) Recreate your favorite holiday dish. Why not?

It’s a way of savoring a positive aspect of the holidays again. Perhaps it’ll help you feel less nostalgic.

5) Stay at home and relax. You’ll probably feel anxious to share your pictures and anecdotes with your dearest friends; I suggest that you take some time for yourself, at least for some days.

6) Start exercising: Most of us tend to move very little during our holidays, so there’s nothing better than moving around and releasing some endorphins.

It’ll also help you sleep better. Start walking for about one hour. That’s enough.

Well, all right, all right. There’s nothing better than to recover yourself by practicing your speaking with a new speaking lesson.

Today we’re going to meet Adam, a New Yorker who visited Italy last year.

Mini S tory

(Prac.ce your Speaking)

Ok, let’s move on to the next section.

Here, I will use the Question & Answer technique.

This is the perfect lesson for automatizing your spoken English. This is how it works: • I’ll give you some information. (A phrase or two).

• I will ask simple questions.

• After each question, there will be some seconds of silence: it’s your turn to answer the question!

Just try to give an easy and short answer, not a complex one.

• After you answer, I will give you a correct answer.

This process will continue and little by little; I’ll be telling a story using questions and answers.

Ok, let’s start!

Last year, Adam traveled to Italy ! with his girlfriend.

Did Adam travel to Spain?

No. Adam didn’t go to Spain. He traveled to Italy.

Did he travel to Italy alone?

No, he didn’t. He didn’t travel alone to Italy. He traveled with his girlfriend, not alone.

What’s his girlfriend name? Nicole?

No, not Nicole. His girlfriend’s name’s Kim, not Nicole. It’s Kim.

Who traveled to Italy?

Adam and Kim. Adam and Kim traveled to Italy.

When did they travel? Last month? Last year?

Last year. They traveled to Italy last year.

In Italy, each of them ate two pounds of pasta 🍝 every day.

Did Adam eat two pounds of pasta every day?

Yes, Adam ate two pounds of pasta every day, like Kim.

Did Kim also eat two pounds of pasta every day in Italy?

Yes. Kim also ate two pounds. Each of them ate two pounds of pasta every day.

Did they eat every week?

No, not every week. Every day.

What type of food did they eat? Chinese food?

No. Not Chinese food. They ate pasta.

How many pounds of pasta did they eat?

Two pounds. They ate two pounds of pasta.

Where did they eat such amount of pasta?

In Italy. Each of them ate such amount of pasta in Italy.

They didn’t do any exercise 🚴 , not even walking.

Did they play tennis every day?

No, no. They didn’t play tennis every day.

Did they play soccer, the national sport of Italy?

No, neither. They didn’t do any exercise.

Did they, at least, walk a bit?

No, they didn’t walk. They didn’t do any exercise, not even walking.

So…they ate pasta and they didn’t exercise, right?

Yes. They were on holidays, and they just ate pasta all the time.

They returned to the stressful life of New York🗽 just a few hours before the first day of work.

Did they return one week before the first day of work?

No. They didn’t return one week before the first day of work. They returned just a few hours before the first day of work.

Did they return to the stressful life of New York?

Yes. They returned to the stressful life of New York.

Is the life of New York peaceful?

No, no. Life in New York isn’t peaceful, but stressful.

They returned to that life in New York after te holidays.

The two of them went through a post-holiday blues for a long time. It lasted 11 months!

Did the two of them have post-vacation pink?

No. They didn’t have that. That doesn’t exist. They had a “post-holiday blues.”

What did Adam and Kim have?

A post-holiday blues. They had a post-holiday blues that lasted 11 months.

Did the post-holiday blues last ten months?

No. Not ten months. It lasted 11 months, until their following holidays.

Did the two of them have a post-holiday blues until their following holidays?

Yes! The post-holiday blues was very long. It lasted until the following holidays.

Did they feel happy or blue?

Blue. They didn’t feel happy. They felt blue. They suffered from a post-holiday blues.

Did they get the blues after returning to New York?

Yes. They got the blues. They were sad after coming back from Italy.

Now they’re planning on visiting Spain % . Will they eat paella 🥘 every day?

We don’t know because that’s a different story.

Ok, this is the end of this short lesson.

As you can see, you’re answering easy questions all the time. The questions are easy on purpose, and this technique helps you to develop your speaking skills. It’s like practicing your speaking with another person!

This is one of the techniques that I use in my courses. I recommend you to take a look at: Courses.SpeakEnglishPodcast.com

Ok, this is the end of this episode. Remember to listen to it several times. It will help with your English.

See you soon and have a wonderful week!

Bye! Bye!