English Conversation Practice | Listen to English & Understand!

0:00 Well hey there!

0:01 Do you like to travel?

0:02 Today I'm sharing a real natural English conversation about

0:07 travelling and there are so many reasons to keep watching.

0:11 First, it's going to be fantastic listening practice,

0:15 you'll get to listen to a natural English conversation between native

0:20 English speakers as I chat with my friend Kat about her travels.

0:25 Secondly, you'll also learn lots of interesting travel phrases and vocabulary

0:30 and you'll hear them as they're used naturally in a casual conversation.

0:35 And thirdly, we have made you a fantastic

0:38 workbook that is free for you to download.

0:41 It includes explanations, examples and some activities that will help you

0:47 to practise using these words as you speak

0:49 about travel yourself and you can get that free

0:53 PDF workbook just down in the description below.

0:56 You need to sign up with your email

0:57 address and we'll send it through straight away.

1:00 So if you're ready to practise listening to a casual conversation about travel,

1:05 let's dive right in!

1:12 I've invited my friend, my colleague, Kat along to join me for a natural,

1:18 relaxed conversation about a topic that friends often discuss together.

1:24 Travel!

1:25 Travel.

1:26 And travel is something that Kat is a bit of an expert on.

1:30 A bit of an expert?

1:31 Bit of an expert, I would say that.

1:34 If Kat looks a little familiar that's because she is

1:36 one of our incredible coaches from inside the Hey Lady!

1:41 Community, an online, safe and supportive community to help women

1:46 develop confidence and freedom with their spoken English.

1:49 Our community is global.

1:50 There are women from over a hundred and twenty different countries.

1:55 Kat has met the most of them because she has

1:57 been travelling around the world for the last seven years.

2:02 Seven years?

2:02 Seven years.

2:03 I left Australia seven years ago, yeah.

2:06 The world has changed since.

2:07 So much.

2:08 Absolutely!

2:10 And right now we are in Turkey, in Istanbul, in fact.

2:14 That's why we're together.

2:16 Usually we're online teachers and we've got the opportunity

2:19 to spend some time together here in Istanbul for...

2:23 The Hey Lady!

2:24 Meetup.

2:24 We just went to Cappadocia.

2:26 We had almost forty of us together in one hotel.

2:30 It was like a school camp holiday.

2:33 We were going on buses, field trips together, seeing amazing things.

2:37 It was fabulous.

2:39 I'm sorry to interrupt the conversation but I could not let

2:43 this opportunity pass since Kat and I are talking about Hey Lady!

2:48 Did you know that you can access a Hey Lady!

2:50 Conversation Pack free for ten days?

2:53 And even join a conversation with one of our English Coaches?

2:57 You'll have access to lessons,

2:59 workbooks and group conversations for ten days and it's free!

3:04 To get instant access to your free Hey Lady!

3:07 Conversation Package, click the link down in the description below.

3:12 Let's start by talking about how many countries you have actually visited now.

3:18 It's so hard to say but I did count

3:21 them the other day and it was up to thirty-seven.

3:25 Yeah, thirty-seven countries.

3:26 Thirty-seven countries.

3:28 I wonder actually if any of you have been travelling as much as Kat has,

3:33 maybe you've been to thirty-seven,

3:34 maybe you've been to more and you could let us know down in the comments.

3:38 How many have you been to?

3:41 Which one has been your favourite?

3:43 For me it turns out the places that steal

3:46 my heart are the places I've spent the most time

3:49 in which says something about my personality that I

3:52 really like to get to know places as I travel.

3:55 So I spent the most time in Mexico, near Mexico City and it's a fabulous place.

3:59 I highly recommend going there, yeah.

4:02 So I can see why this type of travel is so appealing,

4:07 being able to live and immerse yourself

4:10 in different places and different experiences with different people.

4:14 When I look back to seven years ago,

4:16 I remember the moment where we were saying let's leave Melbourne,

4:20 where we lived and I was saying I really want to travel

4:24 and work like I really want to do that, let's make it happen.

4:27 And we were looking at the map, where do we want to go and it kind of turned

4:32 into let's go all the way around and one of the biggest,

4:36 unique things about this is we're doing it slowly,

4:40 as in slow travel which means no flights.

4:44 I fly sometimes.

4:45 It's a secret but Garth, my partner,

4:47 he is doing the whole world without flying and...

4:51 Circumnavigating the entire world.

4:53 Yeah.

4:54 Without catching a flight.

4:56 Yeah.

4:56 So what are the means of traffic?

4:58 Yeah so, it takes ages so we started by taking a campervan to Perth.

5:03 Perth and.

5:04 That's where I live.

5:06 Then we- he took a boat to Singapore and then you know,

5:11 slow travel, buses, trains,

5:13 everything is actually quite accessible with this public transport.

5:18 The biggest, you know, the biggest part is the oceans and I've done one ocean,

5:23 I did a cruise from New York to Southampton but Garth

5:27 has gone across the Pacific on a freighter ship which is like,

5:32 it's a transport company.

5:34 Like a cargo ship.

5:35 A cargo ship and you have to pay for it, you can't like just.

5:38 Is it comfortable?

5:39 Yeah it looked really comfortable.

5:41 He got his own room, he got meals every day, it's like your hotel,

5:45 your room and your board and your travel, all of it, inclusive.

5:49 And he did it.

5:50 He got from Vietnam all the way to California and it took twenty-one days.

5:56 Amazing.

5:57 Slow travel.

5:57 Slow travel.

5:59 That's like going back in time to the way

6:01 that our grandparents used to you know from Australia

6:04 catch the ship back to England and to visit

6:07 family and stay for long periods of time.

6:10 Yep.

6:10 It's pretty impressive and kind of unique because the rest of us,

6:16 we travel in an instant.

6:17 We try and get there fast so that we can spend

6:20 as much time as possible there while we've got our time off work,

6:25 you know, we have such limited time.

6:26 Yeah.

6:27 That I guess it's a luxury...

6:29 It is a luxury.

6:30 To be able to move at that pace and working

6:33 online and having the flexibility in your work also helps.

6:37 Absolutely.

6:37 To make that happen.

6:38 We have spent a year in some places, like a year in Vietnam teaching.

6:43 Two years in Mexico teaching.

6:45 So you have long spells but as soon

6:47 as we had the opportunity to switch completely online

6:51 as teachers all of a sudden that door was

6:55 opened and we saw this possibility of let's do it,

6:58 let's actually be that digital nomad and let's go from place to place to place.

7:02 We have a routine within our crazy world.

7:07 Tuesday's travel day.

7:09 So on Tuesday, you pack your bags and you take a train or a bus and you go

7:14 to the next place and it's funny because in that routine

7:17 you have a normalcy and you get used to it.

7:20 It sounds so abnormal to me, like the idea of packing up.

7:27 Everything.

7:27 I have so many questions for Kat because the idea of packing

7:30 up your bag every week and moving to a new place.

7:33 Yes.

7:33 Catching a bus, catching a train, catching a ferry.

7:36 Yeah, lots of ferries.

7:36 To the next destination, setting up, finding where to get ingredients to cook,

7:44 being able to locate yourself and work out where to go,

7:48 what to do, learn new languages.

7:50 Yeah.

7:51 I think it takes a certain type of person to be able to function

7:56 in this way and also to be able to really enjoy it and embrace it.

8:01 Yeah.

8:01 What do you think are the characteristics of someone who travels like you do?

8:08 Lives this nomadic lifestyle,

8:10 moving from place to place and taking your things with you.

8:13 Yeah so I have learned a lot in seven years and you see your skills develop,

8:18 you see your ability to be patient, increase.

8:21 You have to be open-minded.

8:23 You have to be flexible and a little bit resilient

8:27 because plans change like at the drop of a hat.

8:31 We've had so many moments where we planned

8:33 to go to this country and then because of pandemic,

8:36 because of, you know anything that happens internationally,

8:39 there's always something that you can't plan for and you have

8:44 to be okay to say that won't work, let's do this.

8:48 Let's change it.

8:48 So that sort of resiliency, patience,

8:52 flexibility and curiosity because why do this to yourself if you don't,

8:58 if you're not curious and the benefits are that you're trying new food,

9:02 you're learning about the world,

9:04 you're seeing beautiful places, picking up history,

9:07 going to museums, all the things that we normally do as tourists,

9:12 you're doing this every week and a curious

9:15 mind is essential I think for this because that is the true benefit compared

9:21 to all the inconvenient aspects of this lifestyle.

9:25 I feel like in these situations you know,

9:28 where things don't go right or you've got to change your plans,

9:32 I feel like I would become quite frazzled

9:35 you know and anxious and I think that that's

9:39 something that you have to build resilience

9:41 in to be able to deal with those different situations.

9:44 Yeah and it is helpful if you have a partner with you like

9:48 someone who you can rely on, who can help you in those moments.

9:52 For example I just flew to Turkey to be here at this meetup and my partner

9:58 is not doing that because he doesn't fly

10:00 and I was frazzled because it's the first,

10:03 it's a solo trip and solo travel's different to traveling

10:06 with your travel buddy but you rely on each

10:08 other to help each other out of tight spots

10:11 but you learn how to just take a breath, problem solve, look around,

10:15 say okay what can I do to fix this situation and you do

10:19 get better at it and you say yeah of course you'll have bad days,

10:23 good days, just like any day.

10:25 Any normal life is full of ups and downs too.

10:28 So Kat what do you miss most about a location-stable lifestyle?

10:33 Just staying in the same place.

10:36 Yeah.

10:37 Everyone asks me: Where where do you live?

10:42 That's a good question.

10:43 Where?

10:44 And so someone once asked me okay where do you get your mail delivered to?

10:48 And so I would say in my hometown in California where my parents live,

10:53 that's where all my bank statements go,

10:55 all of that, that's where I send all my souvenirs that I buy.

10:59 Every six months I'll send a package to California,

11:03 say can you keep this for me?

11:05 Yeah.

11:05 So I miss nesting.

11:07 I wish I could buy that.

11:08 I want that for my house.

11:10 What house?

11:12 So we have chosen in terms of a lifestyle,

11:16 we have chosen travel over stability, stability is a home, it's friendships,

11:23 it's predictability and that's something that we talk about a lot,

11:27 that one day when we have a home we will do this.

11:30 The grass is always greener on the other side,

11:32 everyone says you're so lucky and I say

11:34 but you have a lovely home full of things and..

11:37 You have dinner parties with your friends.

11:38 Yeah, dinner parties and so I miss obviously my friends

11:42 and community and just having a place to put things.

11:46 I imagine that travelling around, sending things home because you, you know,

11:52 you can't carry things constantly with you,

11:55 what are the things that you carry with you?

11:57 You know, what are the essentials,

11:59 something that you would, you just could not live without?

12:02 It's funny because I think about this a lot as I'm carrying

12:06 my suitcase and I can give some general tips that I can stand by.

12:10 So first of all, the essentials, practical shoes.

12:14 I usually only have one pair of shoes, maybe two,

12:17 and it's seasonal so in the winter, in the spring and autumn,

12:21 I might have my really good boots and I will wear them

12:24 out until they are full of holes and then I get sandals,

12:28 lovely walking sandals that you can have in the summer.

12:32 I only have enough clothes so that I can do laundry one time per week,

12:37 one load of washing per week and that's enough so a few dresses,

12:42 socks, the bare minimum so I would say you have

12:46 to be a little bit low-maintenance about what you wear.

12:50 And I guess as well, you're travelling and going through different seasons,

12:55 different climates, different requirements, how do you manage that?

12:59 Yes.

12:59 Are you continually adding to your pile of stuff?

13:03 Acquiring and purging so I'm as we say in the United States,

13:07 a thrifter, I don't know what you, op-shoper?

13:10 Op-shopper.

13:11 Yeah so someone who goes to second-hand stores, I love it.

13:14 So it's a hobby of mine so I will buy a dress,

13:17 get rid of a dress, buy some jeans,

13:19 get rid of this, so it's like a circle of my wardrobe and it's

13:23 affordable so you don't have to invest a lot in a high-quality pricey item.

13:29 So right now it's, well, we've just come out of summer,

13:32 it's really still very hot here.

13:34 Yeah.

13:34 In Istanbul, as you start getting towards November,

13:37 December, you'll probably purge?

13:40 Yeah.

13:40 I like that word, purge a bunch of stuff.

13:42 Yep.

13:43 And find some...

13:45 A good jacket.

13:45 Good jackets and warmer things.

13:47 But apart from the essentials,

13:49 I also have luxury items so what I mean by that is for example I carry

13:54 a little satchel of small perfume bottles so I

13:58 have five different what would you call them, aromas?

14:02 Fragrance?

14:02 Fragrances.

14:03 Yeah I have five different fragrances to choose

14:06 from, they're so small, they pack well.

14:08 I carry earrings.

14:09 Garth carries a pocket square.

14:12 What's that?

14:13 It's just like.

14:14 Like a handkerchief?

14:14 Yeah that you can fold up and put in your pocket so you look fancy.

14:17 So these are just the small luxury items that pack well and make you feel fancy.

14:23 So if you have the opportunity to go to the opera.

14:25 Yeah which I have done.

14:27 Or do something like that, you've got a few of these little...

14:30 Fancy items.

14:31 Fancy items, luxuries.

14:33 It does make you feel like you're not just backpacking,

14:35 you know, you need to feel normal.

14:37 Would you say that like would you describe

14:39 the way that you travel now as backpacking?

14:41 No.

14:42 Backpacking is travelling light, being mobile.

14:45 We are mobile.

14:46 I do travel lightly but you would be

14:48 so surprised if you opened my suitcase because

14:51 what you will find are some creature comforts

14:54 that nobody in their right mind would travel with.

14:58 What's in there?

14:58 Yeah so if you were to open the suitcase you would

15:02 find a small cooking pot and a plastic box full of spices.

15:11 That's interesting.

15:12 Yeah.

15:13 Because home cooking is quite challenging when you are travelling so frequently,

15:18 moving from place to place, getting ingredients.

15:21 Yeah.

15:21 Getting the things that you're familiar with.

15:23 Or just yeah because when you buy spices,

15:25 they're expensive and if you go from place to place

15:28 you're always buying the same thing again and again.

15:30 So is that the essential item that you

15:34 would not travel without or is there something else?

15:37 That for me, as my current lifestyle, I think it is.

15:41 So we're in Turkey now.

15:42 Where are you off to next?

15:43 In about a week I will take an overnight train from Istanbul to Bulgaria.

15:49 I'll reunite with Garth there and then from there

15:52 up to Poland and towards the beginning of next year,

15:57 January we're going to start heading towards Asia,

16:00 East to connect the dots so to speak so I'm almost anxious about completing

16:06 the end of the journey because then I have to decide you know, where's home?

16:11 I don't know.

16:11 Everywhere is home.

16:12 Where am I gonna settle down?

16:13 Yeah and that's the big question of the year, I think.

16:17 What kind of advice do you have

16:19 for anyone who is thinking about this nomadic lifestyle?

16:23 If anyone's been watching and they're like wow, how do I do this?

16:27 I'm so excited about this.

16:29 What do I need to do to prepare or to start thinking?

16:33 Yeah, absolutely, so if you want

16:36 this nomadic lifestyle and you're working, of course,

16:38 there's the practical things like always have data on your phone

16:42 so that you have an internet connection wherever you are.

16:45 I recommend going to Airbnbs because you have,

16:49 you know real homes you can be in.

16:51 If you like to share a space,

16:53 it's always really nice to actually live in a room with a local host,

16:57 it's a nice warm home feeling.

16:59 For me, going from place to place on a weekly basis, for me,

17:03 my favourite stay is two weeks at a time,

17:05 I think that's enough to relax, enjoy where you are, explore.

17:11 Of course, do your research beforehand because there's always visas,

17:15 border checks pandemics,

17:17 all these things that can get in the way and you have to be prepared for so.

17:22 I can't quite tell if I'm like,

17:24 half of me is a little bit envious and half of me is a little bit overwhelmed.

17:28 Yeah.

17:30 By the pace of travelling and moving,

17:33 I wonder what you guys all think about Kat's lifestyle and whether or not

17:38 it's something you'd be interested in doing if you could make it happen?

17:42 Like you say, it's something that you have

17:45 to create space for in your life, in work life,

17:49 in family life, but lots of people do it and people who do travel a lot,

17:54 talk about how incredible that experience is in meeting different,

17:58 people different perspectives,

18:00 understanding different cultures in different parts of the world.

18:03 It's been wonderful.

18:05 Yeah.

18:05 Kat, thank you so much for joining me

18:07 and for having this interesting discussion with me,

18:11 always curious to hear about different lifestyles and different

18:14 perspectives and it's certainly been interesting chatting with you today.

18:17 Wonderful.

18:18 I hope you all enjoyed it.

18:20 What we have done is prepared a little workbook

18:23 for you that includes a lot of the different expressions,

18:26 the words and things that have come up in our conversation,

18:30 helped you to put a little bit of context

18:34 around the way that we use these expressions and words

18:37 so we've included all this information on the worksheet which

18:40 you can grab down in the description below this video.

18:44 Hope it's useful and I hope we get to see you again very soon.

18:48 Bye for now!

18:49 Thanks!

18:51 Cool, high five!