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Camping – 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 conversation Camping. I have the text of the conversation here and I’ve made some notes of some words or groups of words that you might have difficulty understanding. So I’ll be explaining those as they relate to this conversation.

Let me also say that in this conversation, as well as many of our conversations, you’ll hear the word “yeah” used a lot, y-e-a-h. Yeah is slang for yes. You’ll also hear and see “y’know” y-‘-k-n-o-w. Y’know is just two words put together, you and know. So when we speak, sometimes we speak very quickly and we put those, we say those two words together very fast, y’know, instead of you know.

And I also want to mention that you will see in the text and you will hear in the conversation “like”, the word like. You will hear this word a lot. Many times when we’re speaking naturally we use the word like and it doesn’t have a meaning, it’s just a filler word. So if you see or hear this word and it doesn’t make any sense to you for how you know the word means, like, it probably…it’s just a filler word. It doesn’t have any meaning.

Alright so let’s begin with the conversation Camping.

In the very beginning I say, “It was so nice all of us getting to go camping last month down in the redwoods.” So when I say down in the redwoods, I’m speaking about how we went camping about an hour and a half south of San Francisco in the state park where there are a lot of redwood trees. And redwood trees are these trees that can get really, really big. I’m guessing they’re some of the biggest trees in the world, if not the biggest trees. And you only find them on the western coast of the United States and also in Japan.

And then next AJ says, “Hiking in or backpacking.” And what he’s talking about is backpacking in, hiking in or backpacking in. So what he’s talking about is walking deep or far into the woods and then setting up camp. So that’s hiking in or backpacking in.

And then AJ says, “Backpacking in where you’re carrying everything on your back.” So when he says carrying everything on your back what he’s talking about is having a backpack on your back and then you put inside everything that you’re going to need, so a sleeping bag to sleep in, a tent to also sleep in to protect you. It becomes like your little house. Food, water, toiletry items like your toothbrush, toothpaste, things that you are going to need when you are away from home, sleeping away from home. All of this goes in your backpack. You carry it in.

And then AJ says, “There aren’t developed campsites.” So when he says developed campsites what he’s talking about is…a developed campsite would be a place where there are already fire pits made. So in other words, there are places to safely burn a fire to cook your food with. And there might be places, like in state parks where you can, there are toilets you can use and there are sinks with running water. And some of them you can even take showers in. So those are developed campsites, unlike what I was just describing when you hike in or backpack in, you don’t have a place already set up to burn a fire and there’s no running water unless there’s a stream or a river nearby. And there are no toilets, so it’s just…it’s very different. It’s a very different way of camping.

Then AJ says, “You’re just picking a place and setting up a campsite.” So when he says picking a place what he means is you’re just choosing a place.

And then AJ says, “The whole RV thing.” So an RV: this is a motorized vehicle that many people camp in and travel long distances in actually. You drive them. And they have a bedroom. Depending on how big, they might have two bedrooms. And they have a kitchen and a bathroom. And so you can actually stop in developed campsites, like in state parks or national parks, and you can actually pay to hook up the RV to have running water then. So you can actually take a shower and use the sink in the bathroom and use the sink in the little kitchen area.

Okay, next AJ says, “The height of luxury.” So he’s talking about RVs are the height of luxury and what he’s saying is they’re the most pleasurable.

Then AJ says, “You’re carrying your house with you on the road.” So when he says you’re carrying your house he’s saying you have all or most comforts that you’d have at your own house. You have all of that in an RV.

Okay, then Joe says, “There’s even different degrees of car camping.” So when he says there’s different degrees what he means is there’s different types. There are different kinds of car camping.

Then Joe says, “Camping with Jake’s family and Eric’s family.” So Jake and Eric, these are the names of two of our friends.

And then a little bit later Joe says, “They have an air mattress.” So an air mattress: this is something that you blow air into and it becomes a bed. So you sleep on it. Like if you’re sleeping in a tent you can put it inside your tent and sleep on it so it makes it more comfortable than sleeping on the ground.

And then AJ says, “That gigantic tent.” So gigantic means very big.

And then Joe says, “Eric’s tent is like a country in and of itself.” And then AJ says, “A little palace.” So when AJ says a little palace and Joe says like a country in and of itself, they’re actually laughing, making fun of Eric’s tent being so big.

Okay, then Joe says, “It’s massive, y’know?” So massive means very big.

And Joe says, “They all have those carts that they’re wheeling in all their things on.” So when he says wheeling he’s talking about transporting or moving their things from the car to the campsite.

And then Joe says, “They really take everything but the kitchen sink.” So everything but the kitchen sink, what Joe is saying here is they take a lot of things with them, a lot of things maybe they don’t even necessarily need.

And then Joe says, “Car camping or more back country camping.” So back country camping, what he means here is what AJ had mentioned earlier, hiking in or backpacking in. So it’s walking far or deep into the woods, carrying all of your stuff with you.

And then Joe says, “The more the merrier.” So what he means by this is the more people or the more friends, the more fun it will be.

And then I say, “Now that you mention it.” Mention it means now that you’re talking about it. Now that you mention it, mention, talking, talking about.

And then I say, “When I was little.” So what I mean is when I was a child, very small, when I was little.

And then I say, “Sometimes we would maybe just stop off on the side of the road.” So when I say stop off what I meant is we would actually stop the car and sleep for the night. We would put a tent up and sleep.

And then I say, “You don’t have a ton of things with you.” So a ton means a lot, a lot of, you don’t have a lot of things with you.

And then I say, “Eric and Jake bring all their dishes and utensils.” So utensils: these are things to cook with as well as things to eat with, like a fork, a spoon, a knife.

And then AJ says, “A little bit of leftover frontier culture.” So frontier: this means an area that has not been explored. And frontier culture, what he means by that is early Americans moving from the East

Coast across the country to the West Coast, because the West…when the, when people were coming from mostly England or the UK and settling into America, they were mostly settling on the eastern part of the United States and so then they started moving across the country to the western part.

And then AJ says, “This idea that, of just hitting the road.” So hitting the road: this means traveling or taking a trip. And usually it’s a trip where you’re driving a car and it can be for a long period of time.

And then AJ says, “Packing up the car and taking off.” So taking off: this also means leaving on a trip, usually a long trip.

And then I say, “My cousin did it when she was in college and she loved it, drove from out west to the East Coast.” So what I’m…what I meant by this is she was in the state of Montana, which is actually on the border of Canada, so it’s up in the very north, almost…almost over to the West Coast. And then she…so she drove from that state, Montana, all the way across the country down to the southeastern part of the United States to the state of Georgia.

Then Joe says, “When I moved from Pennsylvania to San Francisco.” So Pennsylvania is a state in the northeastern part of the United States and that’s where Joe had been living before he moved to San Francisco. And San Francisco, this is a city in California on the western, West Coast, the western part of the United States.

And then Joe says, “We would follow around this one music band.” So the music band, the name of the band that he would follow was called the Grateful Dead.

And then Joe says, “When you think of the frontier and, y’know, setting out on the road.” So setting out on the road: again this means leaving to go on a trip, usually driving and can be for a long period of time.

And then AJ says, “Yeah, it’s a huge place.” So what he means by a huge place, he means it’s a very big country. The United States is a very big country.

And then Joe says, “Provides easy access to points all over the country.” So when he says points he means places.

And then AJ says, “Everything from Kerouac’s ‘On the Road.’” So Kerouac: this is the last name of a man. His first name was Jack, Jack Kerouac. He was an American author and poet. And “On the Road” is the name of a book that he wrote, maybe one of…maybe his most famous book.

Then AJ says, “I also want to hike the Appalachian Trail.” So the Appalachian Trail: this is a trail that people will hike. It’s a…the trail is actually through a range of mountains that go…the mountain range is on the northeastern part of the United States from the southeastern state of Georgia, the state I grew up in, it goes all the way up the eastern coast to the state of Maine, at the very tip of the United States. And so people will usually hike this in the spring and summer. Some people will start in Maine and go south to Georgia. I think more people usually start in Georgia though and go north to Maine. And it can take anywhere from five to six months. It can maybe even take longer if people are really walking slowly or not walking a lot each day.

And then I say, “Willie Nelson’s got that song On the Road Again.” So Willie Nelson: this is the name of an American country singer and On the Road Again is the name of a song of his.

Then AJ says, “That’s a classic song, yep.” So yep: this is like yeah, it’s just slang for yes.

And then Joe says, “I read it just as I was about to finish college, when really, y’know, the world was my oyster.” The world was my oyster, what Joe was saying is all opportunities were open to him.

And then Joe says, “I really did hit the road.” So hit the road: this is yet another way to say to leave to go on a trip, usually a driving trip. It can be for a long period of time.

And then Joe says, “What type of adventures I was going to run into.” So going to run into, what he was saying is what type of adventures he was going to experience.

And then I say, “Sometimes there’d be a whole parade of them.” So when I say a whole parade of them, I’m saying many RVs following each other.

And then AJ says, “A caravan.” So a caravan is a group of people all traveling together.

And then AJ says, “I think the stereotype is retired people.” So stereotype: this is an idea held as the standard of something. That’s a stereotype. And retired, retired people: these are people who have reached the age or they’ve gotten to the age where they no longer have to work, so it’s usually in the later years of their life. They’ve stopped working.

And then AJ says, “That aren’t going to sleep on the ground.” So what he means by sleep on the ground is actually sleep in a tent and I described a tent earlier. Actually it’s like a little house you put up. It gives you protection. It’s very lightweight usually.

And then AJ says, “Some of them are basically like big houses on wheels. They’re elaborate.” So elaborate means fancy or detailed. The exact opposite of simple.

And then Joe says, “Some of these RVs are like palaces.” So what he means here are some of these RVs here are very big, just like when I think it was AJ was joking about Eric’s tent being like a little palace. A palace is usually pretty big, so…

And then AJ says, “They’ve got the little things that pop out.” So he’s talking about the…it’s actually a part of the RV that will come out from the side of it, from the side of the RV. It’s like a whole room that will come out.

And then Joe says, “For shade you mean.” So shade is…is just something, Joe’s thinking it’s actually something that comes out from the RV that gives protection from the sun. That would be shade, protection from the sun.

And then AJ says, “When they’re driving they…it kind of retracts in.” So retract means it goes back in, goes back into the side of the RV.

And then I say, “You know, what I just remembered, too, there are campers.” So in this sentence, a camper, what I’m talking about is a vehicle but unlike an RV you don’t drive it. You actually pull it behind a truck or a van but it’s…it can have a little kitchen in it and a little bathroom and maybe some beds in it. They are usually smaller than RVs.

And then at the very end of the conversation, AJ says, “Just roaming around and camping.” So roaming means moving about, traveling without much of a purpose or plan.

Alright, this concludes the vocabulary lesson for the conversation Camping and I’ll be back in just a moment with the commentary.