درسنامه واژه ها

Camino de Santiago: People – Vocabulary Lesson

Hi, this is Kristin Dodds, one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English. Welcome to this month’s vocabulary lesson for the Camino de Santiago: People, that’s the name of the conversation. So in many of our conversations you’ll hear a few words quite a bit, quite a good bit. One of them is “yeah.” Yeah is a slang word for yes.

Another word you’ll hear, it’s actually two words combined together, is “y’know,” y’know. So that, y’know is actually you and know combined together and they get combined when native English speakers speak really fast.

And another word that you will hear a lot in conversations is “like.” So you probably know, like means to have positive feelings for a person or for something but it’s also a filler word. So it has…a filler word means there is no meaning. It’s just said a lot.

Okay, so also I have the text here of the conversation that I’ve made some notes about some words or groups of words that you may have had difficulty understanding and I’ll be explaining those in this vocabulary lesson and I’ll be explaining these words as they relate to this conversation. So they could have a meaning in a different conversation but I’ll be giving you the meanings as they relate to this conversation. So let’s begin.

“Camino de Santiago,” in the title of the conversation, Camino de Santiago, this is the name of a pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a journey, a religious journey. It’s a journey that people will take, religious people will take. And this…in this situation, the Camino de Santiago is a Catholic pilgrimage. It’s a…basically it’s about, depends I think on where you start and where you finish, but it’s a little over 500 miles or 805 kilometers. Now, AJ and Joe did this walk, this 500+ walk. Neither one of them are religious, as you…as you see in the conversation or as you heard in the conversation, they just decided to do it for fun, for adventure. And so as I was saying, it starts in different countries. AJ and Joe started in France and they ended up going mostly through northern Spain. Many pilgrims or people who are walking the Camino, they actually end in a town called Santiago de Compostela but you can also continue on to the coast, to the ocean, which is about another three days and Joe actually did that. AJ stopped in Santiago de Compostela, or de Compostela I guess is maybe how you would say it in Spanish.

Alright, so let’s begin with the conversation. In the very beginning, I say “From watching The Way.” So The Way, this is the name of a Hollywood movie about the Camino de Santiago.

And then I say, “When you’re on the Camino you meet a lot of people, a lot of other pilgrims.” So a pilgrim is a person, a religious person who takes a, a journey, a religious journey, a pilgrimage. So it, y’know, they travel to a sacred site for religious reasons. And as I said a few minutes ago, AJ and Joe did not do the Camino for religious reasons but they…pilgrim, this name, this word is still used to describe people who walk the Camino de Santiago, even if they’re not doing it for religious reasons, they’re still called pilgrims.

Then Joe says, “As I look back on our time walking the Camino.” So when he says as I look back on what he’s saying is as I remember our time walking the Camino.

And then I say, “From all walks of life?” So all walks of life: this means different types of people from different levels of society.

And then Joe says, “Which seems like a pretty big range to me.” So pretty here means very.

And then Joe says, “And I was actually surprised how many senior citizens there were walking the Camino.” So senior citizens: these are elderly or older people usually more than 60 or 65 years old.

And then Joe says, “There were a bunch of people also from South America.” So a bunch: this means a large amount of.

And then I say, “I’m sure it brought the Camino more into the spotlight here in America.” So into the spotlight means recognition. So I’m sure it brought the Camino more recognition here in America. It became, the Camino became more well-known from this movie, The Way. It brought it into the spotlight. It brought it recognition.

And then AJ says, “It motivated or inspired a good number of folks.” So folks: these are people.

And then AJ says, “It was an influence that helped get more people onto the actual Camino.” So what he means when he says it got more people onto the actual Camino, he’s saying it got more people walking the actual Camino.

And then Joe says, “For some Americans that was their first exposure to it.” So when he says exposure to it, that was their first exposure to it, what he’s saying is that was their first discovery of it.

And then I say, “We watched one of the cuts.” So this is talking about the DVD of The Way that we watched and when I’m talking about cuts I’m talking about one of the bonus scenes on the DVD.

And then Joe says, “Oh, one of the extras that they have?” So extras: this also means bonus scene or bonus scenes.

And then I say, “Emilio Estevez was talking about one thing that inspired him to make this film.” So Emilio Estevez is the name of an American actor and director and he actually wrote and directed the movie The Way. And film, when I said Emilio Estevez was talking about one thing that inspired him to make this film, film is another word for movie.

And then I say, “You’re not having interactions with people face-to-face.” So interactions means communications.

And then Joe says, “It was just an extra little footage.” So footage here, this also is talking about one of the bonus scenes on the DVD.

And then Joe says, “It prevents people from really connecting.” So prevents means it keeps people from really connecting.

And then AJ says, “You’re bumping into the same people again and again.” So bumping into means seeing. You’re seeing the same people again and again. You’re bumping into them.

And then AJ says, “Having a snack with them.” So a snack is a small meal. It’s usually eaten between lunch and, or excuse me, between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner or after dinner. It’s just a small meal, just a little bit of food.

And then AJ says, “That was one of the most powerful aspects of the experience.” So aspects means parts. That was one of the most powerful parts of the experience.

And then Joe says, “It’s remarkable.” Remarkable means wonderful.

And then Joe says, “When you remove the clutter from each person’s life.” So remove means take away and clutter is busyness, busy, busy, busy, busyness.

And then Joe says, “Going to work or doing the dishes or, y’know, mowing the lawn. So mowing the lawn means cutting the grass in your yard.

And then Joe says, “Their only task is really to focus on the goal of walking each day.” So task means job.

And then I say, “So what were some of those stories of people you were encountering?” Encountering means meeting.

And then Joe says, “I think that AJ and I probably fit into that category.” So category means group.

And then I say, “They were at a crossroads in their life, so to speak.” So at a crossroads: this means at a time when an important decision needs to be made in someone’s life. And so to speak means you might say. So they were at a crossroads in their life, they were at a time when an important decision needed to be made, so to speak or you might say.

And then Joe says, “Yeah, that’s well put.” So well put means well said.

And then Joe says, “They were switching careers.” So switching means changing. They were changing careers.

And then Joe says, “I met one person who recently had someone close to them who had just passed away.” So recently means not so long ago. I met one person who not so long ago had someone close to them who had just passed away. Passed away means that they died.

And then Joe says, “My time on the Camino was about trying to keep present in my mind each one of my grandparents.” So when he says to keep present in his mind he means he was thinking about his grandparents, he was thinking about them a lot while walking the Camino.

And then Joe says, “They were very pious Catholics.” So pious means religious. They were very religious Catholics.

And then Joe says, “How many people did we really meet who were doing it for religious purposes?” Purposes means reasons.

And then AJ says, “The various personal reasons.” So various means different, the different personal reasons.

And then AJ says, “Outdoors walking across northern Spain and gorgeous countryside.” So gorgeous means beautiful.

And then AJ says, “Not stuck in a building at a computer.” So stuck means trapped, having to stay. Not stuck in a building at a computer. Not trapped in a building or not having to stay in a building at a computer.

And then AJ says, “Some people I’d say expressed spiritual reasons.” So expressed means communicated.

And then AJ says, “That’s sort of like a vague, sort of deep meaning.” So vague means unclear, not clear.

And then AJ says, “I was actually very surprised to meet very, very few devout Catholics doing it.” So devout means dedicated, dedicated Catholics. He did not meet many dedicated Catholics walking the Camino.

Alright, that is the end of our vocabulary lesson for the conversation Camino de Santiago: People and I’ll be right back with the commentary.