Camino de Santiago: Food – Conversation Lesson

Kristin: So what did the food end up being like in Spain, particularly for you, Joe, being vegan?

Joe: Well, on the Camino, y’know, I remember before I started I actually looked at a bunch of entries on

this Camino forum where there’s a lot of information.

Kristin: Yeah.

Joe: And everyone seemed to be saying that it’s terrible for vegans and vegans should definitely become

vegetarians only when they do the Camino or they’re going to die…not really die, but they’re going to

starve to death, and…

Kristin: So was it difficult for you?

Joe: Y’know, I’m used to having the challenge of being a vegan so, and I knew what to expect, so no it

wasn’t super difficult. I mean, it would have been better if there were some other options at times, but no

it wasn’t too bad because I always made sure I had some source of protein with me. Like I always had

nuts with me and I knew that there were certain towns along the way, certain cities, like Pamplona, Leon,

Burgos and Logrono, and a few other places where there were vegetarian restaurants and health food

stores, they called them BO markets, but what we would call health food stores here.

Kristin: Yeah, yeah.

Joe: There were some towns that had those so whenever I was in one of those towns or cities I would

buy a bunch of supplies and I’d carry them with me. Like things like, they had vegan chorizo.

Kristin: Oh, okay.

Joe: Y’know? And little vegan sausages.

Kristin: Yeah.

Joe: And, y’know, I’d get hummus. Y’know, things like that.

Kristin: So what was…what was the typical food day to day? AJ?

AJ: Well, for me, for breakfast I would have what the Spanish call a tortilla but we would call kind of like a

quiche really, is what it was. It’s kind of…it’s made from eggs and then often had potatoes. So that

would be, that plus a coffee with milk, I would get that for a typical breakfast. And, of course, the famous

thing in Spain are the tapas, which are essentially little appetizers, lots of little appetizer plates that you

can eat a wide variety of them. I especially liked those when I was in, when we first got to Barcelona

when we were walking around they had like, y’know, cured hams, little sandwiches, plates with olives and

cheeses. So all of that was quite nice. On the Camino itself, when we were walking through little towns

sometimes the food got a little repetitive because it would be the exact same menu at every place in the

little towns so I got a little tired of eating, y’know, chicken and flan.

Kristin: So on the menu would you…did you have choices though? Like it might be chicken and beef?

AJ: Well, there was a menu of the day at most places we would go during the Camino, on the Camino.

You could go to a restaurant and get, y’know, just order ala carte. I did that in a town called Astorga, for

example, and had the best meal of the whole Camino for me. But most of the time I got the menu of the

day, set menu, just because it was…basically because it was cheap and easy.

Joe: Yeah, y’know, the menu of the day they’d give you three different courses I think it was. So

basically the first one was like an appetizer, the next one was the entrée or the main dish and then they

had a dessert.

Kristin: And so it was just a fixed price.

Joe: Fixed price, 10 to 12 Euros, I think is what it was. Y’know, you’re doing this for a long period of time

and it would get quite expensive if you were ordering ala carte and paying 20 or 30 Euros a day for your

meal. Usually the first dish, y’know, the appetizer was like a soup or a salad and there were a lot of

different choices.

Kristin: What would a choice be, what would an entrée choice be for you?

Joe: Well, vegan meant basically you would tell them to…

Kristin: Salad.

Joe: No, you’d say, “Give me the spaghetti but don’t put the fish in or don’t put the meat in.” But I very

rarely got the menu of the day. I would say maybe once or twice a week I had it and that was it. Y’know,

because normally I would have my own little food and I would just order a side salad or, depending on

where we were, y’know, the dishes changed. Like when you got to Galicia, that’s where they started to

have really good soup called Galician soup. And it had like a lot of beans and stuff and, y’know, I’d have

to ask if they had a meat broth in it, which I would ask in Spanish to make sure I knew how they made it.

But that was usually pretty filling. They made lentils a lot of the time but really a lot of the times they were

cooked with some sort of meat so you had to ask. But if they had lentils and they were veg, then I would

definitely eat those, too.

Kristin: Well, no wonder you lost weight. It sounds like you were starving.

Joe: No, I wasn’t starving at all.

Kristin: Starving yourself.

Joe: I ate plenty of food. No, no, no, every day for lunch I had bread, avocado, nuts and fruit, y’know?

And water and I would say maybe half the days or less I had what they call café con leche, which is

coffee with milk but it’s not like in America where they have the big cup of coffee. It’s just really two shots

of espresso and milk. And obviously, for me, I would only have the milk if they had a non-dairy milk, like

oat milk is really popular there. Occasionally they’d have almond milk, soy milk occasionally, y’know,

when you got to a big city the options opened up for you.

Kristin: Mmm.

Joe: But like when I went to the big cities and I would go to like a vegetarian restaurant, then I would just

gorge myself. I’d eat so much.

Kristin: Yeah, so what was the food like on the Camino compared to when you were in Barcelona or, AJ,

you were also in Madrid.

Joe: Well, there’s no comparison. I mean, you’re talking about a big city or two big cities versus, y’know,

a small city. I mean it’s just like what’s the difference between being in New York or in a small city in

America. I mean the choices in Barcelona and Madrid, be it meat or non-meat, you could get almost

anything you wanted. And in a small town it was whatever was there basically. A lot of places just

catered to peregrinos, the pilgrims, y’know? Because there’s not much else going on in those small

towns.

Kristin: So we’re talking basic staples along the Camino and then in the city it was probably, especially

like Barcelona maybe, I guess Madrid, too, you had more international choices.

Joe: Yeah, you had international choices for sure in Barcelona. AJ could comment on the food in

Madrid.

Kristin: Yeah, didn’t you actually say it was hard to find some good food?

AJ: No, I think I was just getting tired of the same food by the time we got to Madrid. The thing that was

hard to find in Spain was, say, Asian food. But it’s Spain, it’s not in Asia, so that’s why. It’s just that I

enjoyed, like I said the cured hams and meats and things and I enjoyed the cheese and other Spanish

dishes. But I think by the end of the Camino I was ready for a change and, of course, I like Asian food a

lot so I just didn’t have the opportunity to get as much good Asian food in Spain, not surprising.

Kristin: Yeah, so I never even asked you. The cheese was really good?

AJ: They did have some good cheese, absolutely, yeah. They had good cheese and I…y’know, they

had good cheese, good ham, sausages, things like that. That’s what I ate a lot of. And then things like

olives, sardines, all these kind of little tapas, y’know, appetizer plates. Of course, they had big, regular

main dishes, too, but those are the ones I remember most distinctly being, which felt Spanish, uniquely

Spanish.

Kristin: Y’know, something that you both were talking about whenever I’d speak with you on Skype that

really surprised me was how late people eat in Spain. Compared to here, it’s very different.

Joe: Yeah, on the Camino you had to eat a little earlier, but relative to bedtime, it was very late.

Because we would, I think we’d finish eating and in an hour later we’d be going to bed and you can’t

really stay up too late on the Camino because you have to wake up early the next day.

Kristin: Yeah, but like in Barcelona you said people would…

Joe: Oh.

Kristin: …would be going out to eat dinner at what, 9:00, 10:00 at night.

Joe: Oh yeah…oh, yeah, definitely, at least that late.

Kristin: Yeah, that’s very different than here.

Joe: There are a couple of staples of Spanish food, or what I thought were staples, and we had those a

couple of times, too, with varying degrees of quality. Like we had paella one time at an albergue, y’know,

a hostel, they call them albergues. And it was one of the better meals that we had and it was made fresh.

But then there are places that serve paella and it was like instant paella from a box.

Kristin: Ew.

Joe: And then the gazpacho I had, which I was really excited about because I love gazpacho, they…they

weren’t that great. I mean the gazpacho that we make at home is way better.

The All-Nighter – Mini-Story Lesson

Hi, I’m Joe Weiss and I’m one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English and I’d like to

welcome you to this mini-story lesson. Okay, I’m going to start this lesson by telling you about some of

the idioms that you will hear me use in the story. So let’s start.

Okay, first is to “set someone up on a date.” So if you set someone up on a date it means that you

arrange a date for that person. Here’s an example for you. I set John up on a date after he got

divorced. Okay, so what I’m saying is I arranged a date for John after he got divorced.

Okay, so next is to “catch a cold” and this is a really common idiom. I hear it used a lot, actually. So if

you catch a cold it means that you get a cold, okay? You acquire a cold. It means that you are sick,

okay? Or you are ill, we could even say. Here’s an example for you. When John was a teacher, he

caught a cold every month. Okay, so what I’m saying is when John was a teacher, he got a cold every

month or we could even say that he got sick every month, okay? He caught a cold.

Okay, so next is to “take it in stride,” to take it in stride, you might even hear someone say take it all in

stride. So what it means is if you take it in stride you do not get upset if something unfortunate happens

or unpleasant happens or if something unexpected happens. It means you do not get upset about it,

okay? Here’s an example for you. When John lost his job, he took it in stride. Okay, so what I’m

saying is when John lost his job he did not get upset, okay? He heard something that was unpleasant

or something unpleasant happened to him, something unexpected happened to him, and he did not get

upset. He took it in stride.

Okay, so next is to “pull an all-nighter.” So if you pull an all-nighter it means you do not sleep that night,

okay? And, y’know, I used to hear this a lot when I was studying at university, okay? I would hear

people say that they pulled an all-nighter if they studied all night long for an exam. But let me give you

an example just to make sure you understand this one clearly. John had a physics exam on Tuesday

so on Monday he pulled an all-nighter because he was studying for the entire night, okay? So what I

said is John had a physics exam on Tuesday so on Monday he did not sleep because he was studying

all night. He pulled an all-nighter.

Okay, so I have one more for you. This one is to “give someone the cold shoulder.” So if you give

someone the cold shoulder it means that you ignore that person. But you don’t ignore them by

accident. You do it purposefully. Okay, you mean to ignore them. Here’s an example for you. After

Mark canceled his date with Mary, Mary gave Mark the cold shoulder, okay? So what I’m saying is after

Mark canceled his date with Mary, Mary purposefully ignored him, okay? She did not ignore him by

accident. She meant to do it. She ignored him.

Okay, so now I’m going to tell you a story but I’m also going to ask you a lot of questions as I tell you the

story. So when I ask you a question I want you to answer that question quickly. Just tell me the first

answer that you think of, okay? And don’t worry about making a mistake. If you make a mistake and

you learn from it, this can actually be a good thing, alright? And when you answer these questions, I

want you to speak loudly and confidently. Alright, well it’s time for our story then. So let’s begin.

There was a man and his name was John and John was a student. Yes, John was a student at New York Medical School. You see, John wanted to become a doctor. But unfortunately, John had a problem. John did not have a girlfriend. He wanted to have a girlfriend but he did not have one.

Okay, time for some questions. Was there a man or was there a woman?

There was a man, yes, there was a man.

And what was the man’s name?

John, his name was John.

And tell me this. Was John a student or a teacher?

Oh, he was a student, yes, John was a student.

And at what school was John a student? Was John a student at San Francisco Medical School?

No, no, he wasn’t a student at San Francisco Medical School.

At what school was John a student?

New York Medical School, John was a student at New York Medical School.

So what did John want to become after he finished school?

A doctor, that’s why he was going to medical school, John wanted to become a doctor.

So tell me this. Did John have a girlfriend?

No, no, John did not have a girlfriend.

Who didn’t have a girlfriend?

John didn’t, John didn’t have a girlfriend. He wanted to have a girlfriend but he did not have one.

Well, John had a brother and his brother’s name was Carlos. And one day Carlos set John up on a date. Yes, he set John up on a date with a girl named Mary. And John and Mary were both excited for their date but unfortunately, the day before the date John caught a cold. So John had to cancel his date with Mary. And although Mary was disappointed, she agreed to reschedule the date with John.

Okay, time for some more questions. Who had a brother? Did Mary have a brother?

No, no, Mary didn’t have a brother.

Who had a brother?

John did, right? John had a brother.

And what was John’s brother’s name?

It was Carlos, John’s brother was named Carlos.

So did Carlos set John up on a date?

He did, yes, Carlos set John up on a date.

Who set John up on a date?

Carlos did, Carlos set John up on a date.

And tell me this. Who did Carlos set up on a date?

His brother John, Carlos set John up on a date.

So did Carlos arrange a date for John?

He did, yes, Carlos set John up on a date so that means Carlos arranged a date for John. He set John

up on a date.

So who did Carlos set John up on a date with?

Mary, Carlos set John up on a date with Mary.

So tell me this. Who caught a cold? Did Carlos catch a cold?

No, no, Carlos didn’t catch a cold.

Who caught a cold?

John did, John caught a cold.

So did John get a cold or an illness?

Yes, sure, John caught a cold so that means he got a cold or he got an illness, okay? John caught a

cold so he got a cold or an illness.

So did John have to cancel his date with Mary?

Yes, yes, he did, John had to cancel his date with Mary.

And what did John have to do?

Well, he had to cancel his date with Mary.

Okay, but why? Why did John have to cancel his date with Mary?

Because he caught a cold, John had to cancel his date with Mary because he caught a cold so he didn’t

want Mary to get sick also.

So tell me this. Did Mary agree to reschedule her date with John?

Yes, yes, she did, she agreed to reschedule her date with John.

And what did Mary agree to do?

She agreed to reschedule her date with John.

Well, after a few days John was feeling better. He didn’t have a cold anymore. So John called Mary. He called Mary because he wanted to schedule another date with her. So John and Mary talked on the phone and they scheduled another date. And they planned to go to a concert for their date. But unfortunately, there was a problem again. You see, this time on the day of the concert, John was unable to start his car. So John had to cancel his date with Mary. It was the second time that he had to cancel his date with Mary. And although Mary was disappointed, she took it in stride. Yes, when John canceled his date with Mary, Mary took it in stride and she agreed to reschedule the date with John again.

Okay, time for some more questions. Who did John call?

Mary, yeah, John called Mary.

And tell me this. Why did he call Mary?

Well, he called Mary because he wanted to schedule another date with Mary. That’s why he called her.

John wanted to schedule another date with Mary.

So tell me this. Did John schedule another date with Mary?

Yes, yes, he did, John scheduled another date with Mary.

And what did John and Mary plan to do for their date?

Well, they planned to see a concert together, John and Mary planned to see a concert together.

Who planned to see a concert together?

John and Mary did, John and Mary planned to see a concert together.

So tell me this. Did John and Mary see the concert?

No, no, they didn’t, unfortunately, John had to cancel the date.

Why did John have to cancel the date?

Well, he had to cancel the date because on the day of the concert John was unable to start his car.

Okay, so tell me this. Who was unable to start his car?

John was, John was unable to start his car.

And what was John unable to do?

He was unable to start his car, yes, John was unable to start his car.

And when was John unable to start his car?

On the day of the concert which is also the day of his date with Mary, that’s when he was unable to start

his car and that’s why he had to cancel his date with Mary.

So tell me this. Was it the first time or the second time that John had to reschedule his date…excuse

me, was it the first time or the second time that John had to cancel his date with Mary?

It was the second time, it was the second time that John had to cancel his date with Mary.

So tell me this. How many times had John canceled a date with Mary?

Two times, John had canceled a date with Mary twice at that time.

So did Mary take it in stride when John canceled the date with her?

Yes, yes, she did, Mary took it in stride when John canceled the date with her.

Who took it in stride?

Mary did, Mary took it in stride.

So tell me this. Did Mary get upset when John unexpectedly canceled the date with her?

No, no, no, Mary took it in stride so that means she did not get upset when something unexpected

happened. In this case, the unexpected event was that John canceled the date with her. So Mary did

not get upset. She took it in stride.

Well, after John’s car was repaired he contacted Mary. And John and Mary scheduled a date for May 11 and they planned to have dinner at a restaurant that night. Well, on May 10, John was very busy. He had a lot of studying to do. So John studied all day long. But unfortunately, John was unable to finish all of his studying so he pulled an all-nighter. Yes, that’s right. On May 10, John pulled an all-nighter so on May 11 he was very tired. But he knew that he could not cancel his date with Mary a third time, of course. So even though he was tired, John had dinner with Mary at the restaurant. And their date started perfectly. John and Mary had great conversation and John really liked Mary and Mary really liked John. But unfortunately, before dessert there was a problem. Yes, you see at that time, John was very tired and before dessert he fell asleep. Yes, John fell asleep at the restaurant before dessert. He fell asleep in the middle of the date with Mary. Poor Mary.

Okay, time for some more questions. Did John and Mary agree to have a date on April 16?

No, no, not on April 16.

When did John and Mary agree to have their date?

May 11, John and Mary agreed to have their date on May 11.

And what did they plan to do on their date? Did they plan to have dinner or breakfast?

Dinner, they didn’t plan to have breakfast. They planned to have dinner on their date.

And did John and Mary plan to have dinner at John’s house?

No, no, they didn’t plan to have dinner at John’s house.

Where did John and Mary plan to have dinner?

At a restaurant, John and Mary planned to have dinner at a restaurant.

So what did John do all day long on May 10? Did he ride his bicycle or did he study?

He studied, John studied all day long on May 10.

And who pulled an all-nighter on May 10?

John did, John pulled an all-nighter on May 10.

Did Mary also pull an all-nighter on May 10?

No, no, Mary didn’t pull an all-nighter, only John did.

Okay, but when did he do it? When did John pull an all-nighter?

On May 10, yes, John pulled an all-nighter on May 10.

And tell me this. How much sleep did John get on May 10?

He didn’t get any sleep, John pulled an all-nighter so that means he did not get any sleep. When you

pull an all-nighter it means that you get no sleep. So he pulled an all-nighter, he did not get any sleep.

So how did John feel on May 11?

Tired, yeah, John felt tired on May 11.

Why did he feel tired on May 11?

Well, he felt tired on May 11 because on May 10 he pulled an all-nighter.

So tell me this. We know that John was very tired so did he cancel his date with Mary on May 11 or did

he have dinner with her at the restaurant?

He had dinner with her at the restaurant, he did not cancel his date with Mary.

This is what I want to know next. Who fell asleep at the restaurant? Did the chef fall asleep at the

restaurant?

No, no, the chef didn’t fall asleep at the restaurant.

Who fell asleep at the restaurant?

John did, John fell asleep at the restaurant.

And where did John fall asleep?

At the restaurant, of course, John fell asleep at the restaurant.

And did John fall asleep at the restaurant before dessert or after dessert?

Before dessert, John fell asleep at the restaurant before dessert. He fell asleep in the middle of his date

with Mary.

Well, after John got home that night he slept for 19 hours. And when he awoke the next day he felt embarrassed. Yes, John felt embarrassed because he had fallen asleep during his date with Mary. And John really liked Mary and he wanted to call her that day. But he was afraid to call her. John was afraid to call Mary because he thought that Mary would give him the cold shoulder if he called her. So John did not know what to do. But then, John’s phone rang and it was Mary. Yes, Mary called John and she invited John to go to a party with her that night. Well, of course, John accepted her invitation. John said yes.

Okay, time for some more questions. How long did John sleep?

19 hours, he slept for a long time, he slept for 19 hours.

Who slept for 19 hours?

John did, John slept for 19 hours.

And tell me this. What did John do for 19 hours?

He slept, yes, John slept for 19 hours.

And when John awoke the next day, how did he feel?

Embarrassed, yes, he felt embarrassed.

Why did John feel embarrassed?

Well, he felt embarrassed because he had fallen asleep during his date with Mary.

Okay, so tell me this. Did John think that Mary would give him the cold shoulder if he called her?

Yes, yes, he did, John thought Mary would give him the cold shoulder.

Who thought that Mary would give him the cold shoulder?

John did, John thought that Mary would give him the cold shoulder.

So did John think that Mary would intentionally ignore him if he called her?

Yes, sure he did, he thought that Mary would give him the cold shoulder so that means he thought that

Mary would intentionally ignore him. He thought that Mary would give him the cold shoulder.

So tell me this. Who called John? Did John’s mother call him?

No, no, John’s mother didn’t call him.

Who called John?

Mary did, Mary called John.

And did Mary invite John to go to a party with her that night?

Yes, yes, she did, Mary invited John to go to a party with her that night.

So tell me this. What did Mary invite John to do?

Well, she invited John to go to a party with her.

And what did John say?

He said yes, John accepted Mary’s invitation to go to the party with her.

Well, I have some more information for you about John and Mary. That night John and Mary went to the party together and they had a great time. And John didn’t fall asleep during the date. And John and Mary were having such a good time, they didn’t want the evening to end. So they pulled an all-nighter together.

* * * * *

Okay, well, that’s the end of our story and I hope that you enjoyed that story because now it’s your turn

to tell the story. I want you to tell the story to someone who you know. It can be anyone who you know.

And if you really do not have another person to tell the story to, just tell the story to yourself but make

sure that you say the story out loud. Don’t just think it in your mind. Say it out loud. This will be good

practice when you are saying the story, okay?

And I also want you to listen to this lesson every day for at least seven days. Remember, I want you to

learn this material deeply, so the more you listen to this lesson the deeper you will learn the material.

Alright, well that’s all for this mini-story lesson. I’ll see you next time.

The All-Nighter – Point Of View Lesson

Hi, I’m Joe Weiss and I’m one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English. And I’d like to

welcome you to this point of view lesson. Okay, in this lesson I’m going to tell you the same story from

three different points of view. First, I’m going to tell you the story as if it’s happening right now in the

present, so let’s start.

There is a man and his name is John and John is a student at New York Medical School. You see, John wants to become a doctor. And unfortunately, John has a problem. John does not have a girlfriend and he wants to have a girlfriend.

Well, John has a brother and his name is Carlos. And one day Carlos sets John up on a date. Yes, Carlos sets John up on a date with a girl named Mary. But unfortunately, the day before the date John catches a cold so John has to cancel his date with Mary. Well, although Mary is disappointed, she agrees to reschedule the date with John.

Well, after a few days John is feeling better. He doesn’t have a cold anymore so he calls Mary. John calls Mary because he wants to schedule another date with Mary. And John and Mary talk on the phone and they schedule another date. And they plan to see a concert on that date. But unfortunately, there’s a problem again.

You see, on the day of the concert John is unable to start his car so once again he has to cancel his date with Mary. It’s the second time he has to cancel a date with Mary and although Mary is disappointed, she takes it in stride and she agrees to reschedule the date with John again.

Well, after John’s car is repaired he contacts Mary and John and Mary schedule a date for May 11 and they plan to have dinner at a restaurant for their date. Well, on May 10, John studies all day long but he still is unable to finish all of the work he has for school so he pulls an all-nighter.

Yes, that’s right, on May 10, John pulls an all-nighter so on May 11 he’s very tired. But he knows that he cannot cancel his date with Mary a third time so even though he’s tired, John has dinner with Mary at the restaurant.

Well, the night starts perfectly and John really likes Mary and Mary really likes John. But unfortunately, before dessert there is a problem. You see, at that time, John is very tired and he falls asleep at the restaurant.

Well, when John goes home that night, he sleeps for 19 hours. And when he awakes the next day, he feels embarrassed. John feels embarrassed because he had fallen asleep during his date with Mary the night before. Well, John really likes Mary and he wants to call her but he’s afraid to call her. You see, John thinks that Mary will give him the cold shoulder if he calls her. So he does not call Mary and he doesn’t know what to do next.

But then John’s phone rings. It’s Mary calling John and Mary invites John to go to a party with her that night. And, of course, John says yes. He accepts her invitation. Well, that night John and Mary go to the party and they have a great time and John doesn’t fall asleep during the date. And John and Mary have so much fun they don’t want the night to end so they pull an all-nighter together.

* * * * *

Okay, that’s the end of our first story in this lesson. So in that story, I told you the story as if it is

happening right now in the present. Next, I want to tell you the story as if it will happen in the future. So

let’s start.

42 years from now in the future there will be a man and his name is going to be John. And John is going to be a student at New York Medical School. You see, John is going to want to become a doctor but unfortunately, John is going to have a problem. John isn’t going to have a girlfriend.

Well, John is going to have a brother and his name will be Carlos. And Carlos is going to set John up on a date. He’s going to set John up on a date with a girl named Mary. But unfortunately, the day before the date John is going to catch a cold. So he’s going to have to cancel his date with Mary. And although Mary is going to be disappointed, she’s going to agree to reschedule the date with John.

Well, after a few days John is going to be feeling better. He isn’t going to have a cold anymore. And John is going to call Mary. He’s going to call Mary because he’s going to want to schedule another date with Mary. So John and Mary are going to talk on the phone and they’re going to schedule another date. And they’re going to plan to see a concert for their date. But unfortunately, there’s going to be a problem again.

You see, on the day of the concert, John is going to be unable to start his car so he’s going to have to cancel his date with Mary again. It will be the second time that John cancels his date with Mary. And although Mary is going to be disappointed, she’s going to take it in stride. Yes, Mary’s going to take it in stride and she’s going to agree to reschedule her date with John.

Well, after John’s car is repaired he’s going to contact Mary and John and Mary are going to schedule a date for May 11. And they’re going to plan to have dinner at a restaurant for their date. Well, on May 10, John is going to study all day long but he’s going to be unable to finish all of his school work, so he’s going to pull an all-nighter.

Yes, on May 10, John’s going to pull an all-nighter so on May 11 he’s going to be very tired. But he’s going to know that he cannot cancel his date with Mary a third time so even though he’s tired, John is going to have dinner with Mary at the restaurant.

Well, the night is going to start perfectly and John’s really going to like Mary and Mary’s really going to like John, too. But unfortunately, just before dessert there’s going to be a problem. You see, at that time John is going to be very tired and he’s going to fall asleep at the restaurant.

Well, after John goes home he’s going to sleep for 19 hours. And when he awakes the next day, he’s going to feel embarrassed. John’s going to feel embarrassed for falling asleep during his date with Mary and John is really going to like Mary so he’s going to want to call her. But John is going to think that Mary will give him the cold shoulder if he calls her so John is not going to call Mary and he isn’t going to know what to do next.

But then John’s phone is going to ring. It’s going to be Mary calling John and Mary is going to invite John to go to a party with her that night. And, of course, John is going to say yes. Well, that night John and Mary are going to go to a party and they’re going to have a great time and John isn’t going to fall asleep during the date. And John and Mary are going to be having so much fun they will not the night to end so they’re going to pull an all-nighter together.

* * * * *

Okay, so that’s the end of our second story in this lesson. In that story, I told you the story as if it will

happen in the future. So for our last story in this lesson I’m going to tell you the story from John’s point of

view and I’m going to tell you the story as if it happened in the past, a long time in the past. So when I tell

you the story you have to pretend I’m John. Let’s start the story.

Hello, my name is John and I want to tell you a story about something that happened to me a long time ago. You see, at that time I was a student at New York Medical School and I wanted to become a doctor. But unfortunately, I had a problem. I did not have a girlfriend. I wanted to have a girlfriend but I did not have one.

Well, I have a brother named Carlos and one day Carlos set me up on a date. He set me up on a date with a girl named Mary. And unfortunately, the day before the date I caught a cold so I had to cancel my date with Mary. And although Mary was disappointed, she agreed to reschedule the date with me.

Well, after a few days I was feeling better. I didn’t have a cold anymore so I called Mary. I called Mary because I wanted to schedule another date with her. So Mary and I spoke on the phone and we scheduled another date. And we planned to see a concert for that date.

But unfortunately, on the day of the concert I was unable to start my car so I had to cancel my date with Mary again. It was the second time I had to cancel a date with Mary. And although Mary was disappointed, she took it in stride and she agreed to reschedule the date with me again.

Well, after my car was repaired I contacted Mary and we scheduled a date for May 11. And we planned to have dinner at a restaurant that day. Well, on May 10, I studied all day long but I was unable to finish all of my work so I pulled an all-nighter.

Yes, on May 10, I pulled an all-nighter so on May 11, I was very tired. But I could not cancel my date with Mary a third time so even though I was tired, I had dinner with Mary at the restaurant.

And the night started perfectly. I really liked Mary and Mary really liked me. But unfortunately, just before dessert there was a problem. You see, at that time I was very tired and I fell asleep at the restaurant.

Well, after I got home that night I slept for 19 hours. And when I awoke the next day I felt embarrassed. I felt embarrassed because I had fallen asleep during my date with Mary. Well, I really liked Mary and I wanted to call her but I was afraid to call her because I thought that she would give me the cold shoulder. So I didn’t call her and I didn’t know what to do next.

But then my phone rang. It was Mary calling me and Mary invited me to go to a party with her that night. Well, of course, I accepted her invitation. I said yes. Well, that night Mary and I went to the party and we had a great time and I didn’t fall asleep on the date. And Mary and I had so much fun that night, we just didn’t want the night to end so we pulled an all-nighter together.

* * * * *

Okay, well that’s the end of our third and final story in this lesson. In that story, I told you the story as if

John was telling the story. So you heard the story from John’s point of view. And the story was told as if

it had already happened in the past.

So that means we’ve come to the end of this lesson so I want you to listen to this lesson every day for at

least seven days. And as you listen to each story, I want you to just understand what’s happening in the

story.

And I want you to make sure you remember the point of view that the story is being told from. You’ll start

to notice that the words change as the point of view of the story changes. And as you listen to this lesson

over and over again, you’ll start to understand how the words change as the point of view changes.

Okay, well that’s all for this point of view lesson. I’ll see you next time.

Camino de Santiago: Food – Coaching Lesson

Hi, this is AJ, welcome to this month’s coaching lesson.

So there I was in Spain, with Joe in fact, on our second day hiking the Camino De Santiago. On the first

day we started in France and we walked up the Pyrenees Mountains and over the top and then down into

Spain. And we were super excited to be starting this great adventure, this month long hike across

northern Spain. And, we were quite surprised actually, we were a little nervous may, I know I was about

starting this adventure. I was a little nervous that, what if we get blisters or what if it’s too tough. But

actually the first day up and over the mountains was easier than we expected and, of course, that’s

because Joe and I actually did a lot of training before the Camino, so we were ready.

So we woke up the next morning and we both felt fantastic. We were not tired. We felt really energetic.

We were still excited and enthusiastic about doing the Camino at this great height, and so we got up full

of energy. We had our quick breakfast, boom and off we went, starting the second day and we had plans

initially. The plan was we would go height, probably about five or so hours, about halfway to the next city.

The next city was Pamplona, really the first city on the Camino. So we planned to go about halfway to

Pamplona and then on the next day, day three, to go and finish in Pamplona.

So we started walking, we’re walking and we’re both feeling really good and we start off in these trees, it’s

this beautiful countryside landscape right, walking, trees on both sides, really beautiful. Making our way

through the Spanish countryside through the trees, actually going downhill a little bit and then we would

also occasionally walk through little, small Spanish villages. So, in each village we had kind of a habit, we

would go into the village and each of these little villages would have at least one small café, sometimes

one or two small cafes.

And at the café’s we would always see other pilgrims, other people who were walking the Camino. So we

would see them and we would stop by usually, sit down, have a little coffee, water or a little snack and we

would chat with the other pilgrims, so it was a very fun, kind of social meeting, very nice. And then we’d

stay for, I don’t know, 20-30 minutes and pack up again and keep walking. This was a very enjoyable kind

of process.

Well, as we got to the halfway point we realized that it was still mid-afternoon and I looked at Joe and Joe

looked at me and we both had the same thought. We said, let’s just, let’s do the whole thing. Let’s walk all

the way to Pamplona. Let’s just do it, let’s go all the way. So all the way, that would mean 42 kilometers in

one day, so a very long day. We were planning to do about half that and we looked at each other and we

both smiled and said, let’s do it. And we decided there that we were going to walk all the way to

Pamplona on day two. We were going to do 42 kilometers about, in one day, which is almost a marathon.

So, we were excited and off we went again, boom, we were going, walking, feeling really good. After six

or seven hours, however, we did start to feel tired. The legs started to get a little heavy and a little achy,

and we started feeling little hot spots. They’re called hot spots on our feet. That’s where your shoes are

rubbing against maybe one spot on your foot and it’s before you get a blister you usually will get a hot

spot. The rubbing will make that spot on your foot hot and if you keep going for too long you’ll get a

blister. That’s when the water comes in and it raises up and it can become quite painful.

Now blisters: that was our big fear for the Camino. We knew that our muscles were strong enough. We

knew that we were excited, that our minds were strong enough, but we feared the blisters because if you

get really bad blisters it can be very painful and it’s hard to train your feet not to get blisters, so we were a

little worried about it. So we’re walking along and it’s getting longer and longer, getting later and later into

the afternoon, both of us are getting these hot spots on our feet, we start worrying about blisters. We stop

and it starts feeling very long. We’re getting more and more tired and kind of hungry, because we’d

stopped for a few snacks but we really didn’t have a nice big meal. Because we were going through such

small places we didn’t see any like, decent restaurants to eat at, so we both just decided, let’s just keep

going.

So we keep going, keep going and the sun finally starts getting lower and lower and lower. The hours go

by. We’re starting to get really tired. Legs getting sore. Getting hungrier and hungrier and hungrier until

finally, just around sunset, just before sunset, we see Pamplona, which is this great medieval city, kind of

up on this hill. You know, the stone wall, the old middle-ages medieval stone walls and then we both got

excited again, yeah great. We walked up this big hill to get into the old city with our tired legs and then as

we came into the town, came into the city… really it’s a town it’s not so big… we came into the town and it

was kind of a shock, because there were people everywhere. The streets were filled with people and they

were all drinking and loud. It’s like this huge street party through the whole town.

The reason it was a shock is because for two days previous, right, when we were walking from France

through the mountains and in through all these tiny villages, we had a very quiet life. We were in very

small places, kind of out in nature, no noise. We got away from all the noise and all the busyness of

modern life and suddenly, walking into the town we were hit with all the noise and busyness. I think for

Joe, it didn’t affect him so much because Joe’s a much more outgoing guy who loves that kind of thing,

but for me it was a bit of a shock. Oh, my God! It was a little too much suddenly, I like the quiet. I loved

being out in nature and that kind of quiet feeling. So anyway, it was a shock.

Then we had to find our hotel. We had booked a hotel already, so we went through the streets looking.

Actually no, we had not booked a hotel but we knew where we wanted to stay, so after a long time

walking through the busy streets and all these drinking people and craziness we finally found our hotel

and got in there. I was so tired I just went up to my room. I ordered some quick room service and fell

asleep and I slept very deeply and very well.

Next day, got up and I was starving, I was so hungry, because for two days we’d been walking and both

of our first two days on the Camino were very, very, very long we walked a lot and we were eating, but

probably not enough. So I’m starving and wanted food. I didn’t know where to go so I went down into the

hotel and the hotel had a café. Sometimes in Spain they call them bars, but eh… In America a bar is a

place where you just drink, but in Spain sometimes it’s more like, we would say a café.

So I went down there and I was wanting some breakfast. I was looking around on the counter and there

was this little thing that looked like a cake made from eggs. And I asked the uh, I said oh what is this?

They said it’s a tortilla, tortilla, which confused me because in America a tortilla, we have the Mexican

Spanish idea of a tortilla, which is like bread. But in Spain a tortilla is really more of an omelet, so it’s like

an egg omelet, but it’s a different style. It’s actually really; it’s more like what we would say in America is a

quiche. It’s like a very dense omelet and I got one with potatoes and cheese. And again I was starving so

I sat down, this was my first Spanish tortilla, Spanish omelet and I ate it /ah/ it was fantastic!

They cooked it just perfectly. The cheese was just melted a little bit and had the little pieces of potato just

right. I was like oh my God, and I scarfed it down, which means to eat something very fast. I was like oh

that was fantastic! I went back to the bar and got another one; ate it again. And I think I got a third one

that day, so I think I ate like three big pieces of Spanish tortilla and I also had, I can remember as well,

café con leche, which means coffee with milk Spanish style. I had a couple of those as well.

What’s interesting to me is that I have such a strong and positive memory of that breakfast, and really it

was quite simple, you know, it’s just an omelet with cheese and potatoes. Probably if I ate a cheese and

potato omelet back in America in my normal life I wouldn’t remember it, wouldn’t even think anything

about it. Would hardly even notice it, I’d probably just eat it quickly and not notice it, but that morning it

tasted like the best thing I had ever eaten, right? I mean, and just all the little flavors and smells, I noticed

all of them. That even the feeling, the texture of chewing the potato and the cheese in my mouth, it was

all wonderful. I noticed all of those little subtleties. Same with the coffee with milk. I drink coffee with milk

all the time, but I don’t know that one tasted better.

So the question is, was that meal really better? Were the cook’s just geniuses or something or was

something different in my mind? I think that is actually what it is. Something was different in my mind. My

senses, my sight, my hearing, my sense of taste and smell they were all heightened. We say heightened

senses. It means they were sharper. It means I was noticing more things right. The colors seemed a little

brighter. The taste seemed stronger. I was more in the present moment, noticing much more, heightened

senses.

So that’s interesting, why is that, right? Why was it such a special experience that morning? I had many of

these kinds of experiences during the Camino de Santiago, in fact. And I have such sharp memories of

them, that’s the other thing is that even now, seven, eight months later, I still have such a sharp clear

memory of that breakfast. It seems like it’s nothing special, but my memory is so clear.

Well, I think there are a few key points to this experience, a few key things that I learned from it and that

maybe you can learn from it.

Number one is that in our normal life, over indulgence dulls our senses.

So we can say that in that Camino experience I had heightened senses or we can even say I had

sharpened senses. My senses… taste, touch, hearing… they were sharper or heightened, right? They

were more clear, more strong, more sensitive. Well the opposite is dulled senses, to dull your senses and

in modern life in our day-to-day life, often we can have dull senses because we over-indulge. To

overindulge means to do too much. For example, we eat too much or we eat rich heavy foods too much.

So, for example, if you eat an omelet every day, every day, every day, every day, maybe the first time you

eat it you really notice it as something special, but after the 100th time, typically your senses are less

sensitive. They’re dull, and you just don’t notice it as much, you don’t enjoy it as much. This is a common

thing. It happens with all aspects of our life.

Another key point, the opposite of this is the tough challenges, especially physical challenges, tend to pull

us back into the present moment. Right, because again in our normal daily lives we can get really

distracted. I know with… many times for example, I’ll be eating breakfast but I’ll be thinking about the

future, like what do I have to do today? I’ll be thinking about my business, Effortless English /Ouh/ what

do I need to do? The thing like, I tend to think of the future more than the past, but some people will be

thinking about the past. The point is though you’re not there in the moment right now. It’s easy to do in

normal day-to-day life, especially with all the distractions, the phones and computers and TVs and all that

stuff that we have to distract us and take us away from this moment, what’s happening right now.

What’s cool is though the tough challenges, especially physical, they kind of force us back into this

moment right now. Right, because when I, for example, that day on the Camino because I was getting

tired I started to notice my body, I noticed what was happening in the moment. I could feel the tiredness. I

could feel the hot spots happening in my foot, in my feet. So I could feel all these things and they kind of

pulled me back into right now, instead of thinking about the future, thinking about the past or being

distracted. I was in the moment and that’s one of the key reasons I think the next morning, I was still in

the moment so I was noticing everything much more and that was a happy experience, a very positive

experience.

Final point about this experience is that we need contrast in our lives and sometimes we don’t realize this,

sometimes we’re always wishing for the good and what we think is the positive and we think oh, if I could

just have that all the time I would be so happy and life would be perfect, but it’s actually not true. So, for

example, if you love food. It’s actually not true that if you could just eat, eat, eat, eat, eat all the foods you

love all the time that that would make you happier. It won’t! It won’t! That’s the truth that’s just the way our

brains work. The truth is, if you constantly eat what you love all the time you’ll stop loving it, because it’s

too much, you’re over-indulging.

If you can imagine this experiment you can even try it if you want. Imagine your favorite food whatever it

is. Maybe it’s chocolate or whatever, some pizza or whatever it is, it doesn’t matter what it is. But imagine

if you ate that food every single meal, breakfast, lunch and dinner and you did that for one year or more.

Let’s say pizza, let’s say you love pizza for an example. So you eat pizza for breakfast, you eat pizza for

lunch, pizza for dinner, pizza for snacks, pizza, pizza, pizza for one month, two months, three months;

and on and on and on what would happen? Would you become happier? Would it be, oh this is the best

thing in the world because I’m getting this pleasure that I love all the time? I think you know what would

happen.

Eventually, you would get sick of pizza. After a while you wouldn’t really enjoy it anymore. It wouldn’t be

pleasurable. And there’s a good chance that after enough time, you might even grow to hate it, right?

Have you ever had this experience? I have, where you work in a place like a restaurant or a place that

has food. I remember I delivered these kind of sandwiches onetime and because I was an employee I

could eat there for free. So every day I was eating those sandwiches, well you know, it seemed like a cool

thing wow! Free food this is great and I like this place and I like their sandwiches. It seemed really cool

but guess what? After about four, five, six months I grew to hate their sandwiches, I just got sick of it. It’s

because our senses get dulled and eventually what was pleasurable becomes unpleasurable, if you do it

too much.

So we need the contrast. We need to be full, for example, with food, to feel full and satisfied, but we also

sometimes need to feel empty. We can only enjoy the fullness if sometimes we feel empty. Sometimes

you’re hungry. You only enjoy eating, truly enjoy it, if you also experience hunger. I was hungry on the

Camino, especially in the beginning. And so, I enjoyed the food so much more; I’ve had the same

experience sometimes camping where I’ll go out and camp and get really hungry from hiking all day and

then I’ll eat and it’s just the simplest food, just basic food, from a box even like, but it’ll taste so good that

night because I had been so hungry before.

So we need is contrast. The key thing is that, even though we think if we just get pleasure all the time that

we’ll be happier. The truth is we won’t. Some of the things, many of the things that we think are negative,

actually can make us happier, that we need those things, we need to be deprived sometimes. We need to

do without. We need tough challenges and difficulties, because they help us appreciate the easier times,

the fun times when we get everything we want. Getting everything you want all the time is not a recipe for

happiness it’s actually, usually a recipe for misery.

And if we can really understand that we can actually even train ourselves to sometimes, at least, to enjoy

the tough times, to enjoy the challenges. I enjoyed that hike even though it was sort of tough physically, I

felt very alive while doing it. And so, you also can teach yourself to /fi/ and to notice things more and to

really learn to enjoy those difficulties, whether they’re physical difficulties or mental difficulties.

Okay. So, in our modern world usually the problem is over-indulgence, we have so much, it’s so easy,

there’s so much food. In the United States, for example, even poor people are big and fat because there’s

so much cheap food everywhere. So our problem tends to be, in modern life, too much. Too much food.

Too much laying around. Too much ease. And so, in modern life, for most people, not all, I know there

are people who don’t have that experience but for many of us the problem is too much, and so it’s

actually very useful to, by choice, to choose to have less, to choose to do without something that’s

enjoyable or pleasurable.

By doing that you’ll help yourself appreciate it more again.

So, here’s your homework for this month. Choose one favorite pleasure in your life, something you love,

love, love, love and that you like to do a lot. It might be a favorite food that you just love, love, love, love,

love or it could even be some kind of favorite activity that gives you a lot of pleasure. Choose one thing

that is very, very, very pleasurable that you get a lot of. You do it a lot or you get it a lot and for four

weeks, just for four weeks this month, don’t do it at all do without. Foods an easy one, so choose your

favorite food or maybe your favorite drink even and this month or four weeks, not at all, zero. Do without

it. It might be tough I don’t know. Do without it.

And then, here’s the good part, the fun part, at the end of the four weeks have a little celebration and

enjoy that pleasure again. Notice how much more you enjoy it and how much more you appreciate it and

how much more you notice. This is a big thing, you don’t want to just be feeding yourself pleasure,

pleasure, pleasure all the time you have to take a break from that sometimes so you can come back to it

and appreciate it again.

So that’s your job this month. To do without something you love and then come back to it at the end.

I look forward to hearing about it. I think this’ll be a very interesting experience for all of us, so I look

forward to hearing more about it on our social site or you can contact me on Twitter too and tell me your

experience.

All right. See you next time. Bye.

Camino de Santiago: Food – Commentary Lesson

Hi, this is Kristin. Welcome back to the commentary for the conversation Camino Food. So I thought for

this commentary I would talk about my diet, which like Joe’s, like it was mentioned in the conversation,

Joe being a vegan, I’m also a vegan. And it’s been mentioned in past conversations as well. It gets…it

gets mentioned quite often actually that I have a vegan diet and Joe has a vegan diet.

So I thought I would talk a little bit about that because I’ve never really, y’know, I’ve always explained it in

conversations, what a vegan diet is, but I’ve never really talked about it. So I would say from what I

remember of growing up, I never really liked eating a lot of meat. Maybe chicken, I liked chicken.

I did like seafood and seafood is fish and shrimp, clams, lobster, anything basically coming from the sea

or the ocean, we say seafood. I did like seafood a lot. But as far as turkey or chicken or beef, remember

beef comes from a cow, or pork or ham, pork and ham, remember they come from a pig, as far as those

meats, I didn’t really enjoy eating them.

Well, as I got older then, I can remember maybe high school and definitely my first two years of college, I

was actually still living at home my first two years of college, going to a small college close to where my

mother and father lived. Y’know, I started eating less and less of meat. In fact, I can remember my mom

saying, “Oh, I think you’re going to become a vegetarian.”

And remember the difference, a vegetarian doesn’t eat meat. It’s not as strict as a vegan diet. A vegan

doesn’t eat anything that comes from an animal, so no meat, no cheese, no…they don’t drink milk. No

butter, they don’t eat butter. But a vegetarian’s just no meat.

So I remember my mom saying that and she said, “Y’know, I wouldn’t be surprised if you do.” And she

said that because she thought that maybe my uncle, her brother, was influencing me because he’d

actually been a vegetarian for many, many years. So she said that and I didn’t…I didn’t think too much

about it. I thought, “Yeah, if I do, I do. If I don’t, I don’t.” But I wasn’t making any decision to become a

vegetarian, and definitely not a vegan at that time.

But then when I did start college. So my first two years of college, like I said, I was still living with my

parents. But I was suddenly around a lot of new people that I had not been around growing up. And I

was introduced from, y’know, being around new people, I was introduced to a lot of new ideas about

things and I also started learning about animal rights, how animals were, could and are abused in many

different ways. And I started learning about factory farming.

So factory farming here in America is…it’s just the whole industry of where our meat comes from. So

basically animals are not treated well because they’re put in very small areas together and it’s, a lot of

times these areas where they’re kept, they’re not very clean. The animals, like I said, they’re not treated

well and they’re given food and medicine that’s not necessarily very good for them or for us if we eat them

then. So that’s factory farming. It’s…it’s the whole meat industry that’s here in American which is not

good, in my opinion.

So anyway, I started learning about this and I still was eating meat though, but I was definitely eating a lot

less. And then my last two years of college, I actually moved away to another town to finish college or

university. And so it was the first time being on my own and being, y’know, having to learn how to cook

for myself, making my own food choices, basically, not just eating what my mother cooked.

And because I never really learned how to cook, I actually ate out at restaurants a lot and in the particular

town where I finished my college, there were a lot of restaurants that actually had vegetarian options.

And I’d never seen this before. So it was…it was very, it opened my mind a lot and made me realize,

“Wow, I don’t have to have meat in every meal.”

And also, it was much cheaper, being a student, and, y’know, I did have a job but I didn’t make a lot of

money because my focus was on finishing my college degree. So I didn’t have a lot of money and

eating…eating in restaurants where I wasn’t ordering meat items, it was cheaper. By just eating

plantbased items, it was much cheaper.

So again, I still did not make the decision but I definitely by that time was hardly eating any meat.

Basically, I would say at that time I was only eating seafood. And that wasn’t even a lot because seafood

is expensive. Lobster is very expensive here. Shrimp can be expensive. Fish can be expensive.

So by the time I turned 22, it was maybe about a year after I graduated from college, that’s when I made

the decision to stop eating meat. It was very difficult for me at first to stop eating the seafood, what little I

did eat of it. But I felt like I…this is, I want to make this decision. I love animals and I don’t…I don’t want

to eat them and I don’t like how they are treated in factory farm situations.

So I stopped, eventually stopped eating meat. Some…sometime, y’know, at 22 I was still eating a little bit

of seafood but sometime after 22 years old, me turning 22, I stopped even eating seafood. And I did think

about actually eating vegan at times, but growing up cheese was my favorite food. Anything that…or I

shouldn’t say anything, but many things coming from cows, like sour cream, which is this cream that I

believe it’s got milk in it, that’s…so it comes from a cow. We like to put it on potatoes and you can find it

in Mexican food.

So sour cream, cheese, there’s something else called cottage cheese. Again, it’s made with milk. What

else? There’s…those things, especially cheese, I just, I couldn’t give up. Giving up meat or, y’know, not

eating meat, was one thing. But to not…the idea of not eating cheese. I couldn’t do it. I loved cheese

way too much.

But that idea stayed in my head. I should do this sometime. And the reason I felt I should do it is

because the animals that are…the animals used to get milk from to make butter, cheese, sour cream,

those animals are not treated well either and they’re in…they’re also in the same type of situation like I

was describing with the factory farming.

So it only seemed to me for many years like I was only half…halfway committing to something I believed

in. Y’know, not taking part in a system where animals were treated badly and…but I still just could not let

go of the idea of not eating cheese.

So finally, finally, finally, it was about 9-1/2 years ago when I moved to San Francisco actually, or soon

after I moved to San Francisco, I made the decision. I had been living in Thailand where I had not been

eating really any cheese or any sour cream. Y’know, dairy products, as we call those, they’re not

commonly found in Thailand. So it wasn’t in my diet. It wasn’t in the food I was eating day to day.

So I thought, y’know, when I moved to San Francisco I was excited because I was thinking, “Yeah, I can

get all this food that I haven’t been able to get in Thailand for 2-1/2 years, like cheese.” But at the same

time, I thought, “Y’know, this would be a good time to actually just make the decision to go vegan and

stop eating it altogether because I really haven’t been eating it much at all anyway.”

Well, when I first moved here, I did eat cheese. I ate a lot of it, as well as a lot of other dairy products.

But, I’d say it was maybe about six months after living here, I thought, “You know what, I can do this now,

and I want to do this now.” And so I made the decision to stop eating all dairy and to become a vegan, so

not eating anything that comes from an animal.

And it was about six months later, maybe, that I met Joe. And Joe had already been a vegan for many,

many years, I can’t even remember…18 maybe or 20, I don’t know…many years. And I was impressed

by that. And actually I have to say that by meeting him, and that was one way we connected

immediately, it’s really helped me to stay strong in not choosing to eat any dairy products because of Joe.

He’s very strict about it and I don’t know that I would have stayed a vegan because I don’t cook so I do

eat out a lot. And although it is easy in San Francisco to eat in restaurants where there are vegan

options, vegan and vegetarian options, it still would have been maybe difficult or challenging for me. But

Joe likes to cook and he’d been cooking vegan for many years so it really helped me.

And, y’know, that was something else I was going to talk about is vegan food. It’s actually, over the

years, and I’ve seen this with vegetarian food since I stopped eating meat many, many years ago, has

changed so much. Now there are many fake meats, as I call them, as many people call them. So

they…it’s something like was described in the conversation. It may look like a real meat and it may taste

pretty similar or pretty much like a real meat, but it’s not meat. It’s made from plants.

So there’s many foods like that now to look and taste like real meat. I don’t so much like those. Joe

really does. I, just my personal opinion, I don’t necessarily think they’re so healthy for my body. But

something that I do love is in the cheeses are getting so much better, the vegan cheeses. There is now

many cheeses being made from nuts, like cashews or macadamia nuts. And some from almonds even.

And they’re really good and they taste very, very similar or very much like real cheeses. So that excites

me because, like I said, cheese was always my favorite food so not eating that was very difficult in the

beginning but I don’t even think about it now because these nut cheeses are so amazing. They’re so

delicious.

Okay, so that is why I have a vegan diet. Just thought I would talk more about that, as I said in the

beginning, since I’ve never really explained. So it’s, y’know, it’s mainly because I don’t want to eat

animals. I love animals. I don’t want to see them mistreated in the process of becoming our food. And I

don’t…I think also another reason in wanting to not eat dairy products, such as cheese or milk, is for my

body it wasn’t healthy. My body had a hard time digesting it, digesting meaning breaking it down.

And it’s also better for the environment. So in other words, if less people are eating meat there is less

cows, for example, that are being…taking up space where maybe forests have been cleared, y’know,

trees cut down and pastures put in, or just grassy areas for these cows to live until they are then, y’know,

killed for food. So there’s other reasons that it’s better for the environment to not eat meat.

And if you’re able to, I highly recommend, highly meaning strongly recommend renting the movie

Cowspiracy. It’s spelled Cowspiracy. It’s a documentary basically about how the environment is affected

from raising cows mainly for our food.

Okay, so it’s…that is why I choose to not eat meat. And I know many people who do eat meat. Everyone

in my family still eats meat. And I don’t judge them. That’s their choice. And, y’know, I hope that people

don’t judge me for my choice in choosing not to eat meat or any part of an animal.

Alright, so that’s all about me and the vegan diet and that concludes, or that finishes this commentary for

this month’s conversation Camino Food. I’ll see you next month. Bye-bye.

Camino de Santiago: Food – Vocabulary Lesson

Hi, this is Kristin Dodds, one of the teachers and directors of Learn Real English.

Welcome to this month’s vocabulary lesson called Camino Food. So as always, I

have the text of the conversation here and I’ve made some notes about some words

or groups of works that you may have had difficulty understanding. So I will be

giving you the meanings for those words as they relate to this conversation. They

could have another meaning in a totally different conversation, but I’ll be giving you

the meanings as they relate to this conversation.

And, as always, I like to start out letting you know that there are three words that we

commonly use in conversation, Joe, AJ and I, as well as other native American

English speakers. So the first one is yeah. Yeah is a slang word for yes.

The second word is like. Now, as you probably know, like means to have positive

feelings for someone or something. But it can also be a filler word. So what that

means is it doesn’t have a meaning. It can just be used…you can hear it a lot in

conversations but it doesn’t really have a meaning.

And the next word is actually two words combined together, y’know. It’s actually the

combination of you and know. So sometimes when we’re speaking very fast it

sounds like y’know.

Okay, so let’s begin now the conversation, Camino Food.

So first I would like to explain, in the title, Camino is actually short for Camino de

Santiago. And the Camino de Santiago is the name of a 500-mile hike which Joe

and AJ actually did. 500 miles is roughly about 805 kilometers. So they did this

hike. They started in France and then they hiked, or walked, across a good part of

the northern part of Spain. Traditionally people would walk this for religious

purposes, for religious reasons.

Alright, so now let’s begin.

In the very beginning I say, “So what did the food end up being like in Spain,

particularly for you, Joe, being vegan?” So when I say what did the food end up

being like, I’m actually asking how was the food. And when I mention vegan, y’know,

Joe being vegan, a vegan is someone who has a diet where they don’t eat anything

that comes from an animal. So they don’t eat meat. They don’t eat cheese. They

don’t drink milk. They don’t eat honey. Nothing that comes from an animal or

another living being, because honey comes from bees.

Okay, then Joe says, “I actually looked at a bunch of entries on this Camino forum.”

So a bunch means a lot.

And then Joe says, “Vegans should definitely become vegetarians.” So a vegetarian

is someone who has a diet where they don’t eat meat. It’s not as strict as the vegan

diet because a vegetarian will drink milk. They might eat cheese. They might eat

honey, if they choose to, if they like it. So it’s not as strict as a vegan. The only thing

that they do not eat is the meat from an animal. That is the main difference.

And then Joe says, “They’re going to starve to death.” So when he says they’re

going to starve to death, he says they’re not going to get enough to eat.

And then Joe says, “It wasn’t super difficult.” So super here means too, it wasn’t too

difficult.

And then Joe says, “There were some other options at times.” So options here is

choices.

And then Joe says, “I always made sure I had some source of protein.” So source

means type. And protein is something that we get from food. It’s something very

important for humans to have. Their bodies, our bodies, need protein to be able to

grow.

And then Joe says, “There were vegetarian restaurants and health food stores.” So

a health food store, this is a grocery store but it has a little bit…it has healthier food

than a normal grocery store. So the vegetables and the fruits are not sprayed with

any chemicals and, which means that they’re organic. Organic means not sprayed

with any chemicals to keep away bugs or insects when it’s being grown. And the

other food as well being sold in health food stores is healthier than what you would

find in a normal grocery store, like a big chain, a big…when I say a big chain, I mean

a company that has many stores. So health food stores are usually smaller and

they’re not, usually not big companies, although we do have one big company called

Whole Foods here in America.

Alright, then Joe says, “They had vegan chorizo.” So chorizo is, it’s pork sausage.

Now pork is, pork means it’s the meat from a pig. So it’s pork sausage. So when he

says it’s vegan chorizo, what he’s saying is it’s not made from pork. It’s actually

made from plants. So it’s plant-based. But it’s made to look and taste like pork

sausage, like the regular chorizo.

Alright, then Joe says, “And little vegan sausages.” So here again, a vegan sausage

would be a plantbased, plant-based food that looks like, looks and tastes like a real

sausage but it’s made from plants. It’s not made from animals.

And then Joe says, “I’d get hummus.” So hummus is a type of food and it’s made

from garbanzo beans, or garbanzo beans are also known as chickpeas. So it’s, it’s

kind of a very light brown, or as we would say, tan colored bean.

And then I say, “What was the typical food day to day?” So typical means usual.

And then AJ says, “I would have what the Spanish call a tortilla but we would call

kind of like a quiche. So a tortilla is like a flat bread made from flour usually or corn.

So, y’know, it comes from plants. It’s plant-based. And a quiche, a quiche is…it

looks like a pie but it’s a savory pie. So savory is the opposite of sweet.

Okay, then AJ says, “Which are essentially little appetizers.” So essentially means

basically. And appetizers, an appetizer is a small food item that’s usually eaten

before the main food item.

And then AJ says, “You can eat a wide variety of them.” So when he says wide

variety he means large, a large variety or, in other words, you can eat many of them.

And then AJ says, “When we first got to Barcelona.” So Barcelona is the name of a

city in Spain.

And then AJ says, “They had cured hams.” So ham, like pork, also comes from pigs.

It’s pig meat. Cured ham is salted pig meat.

And then AJ says, “Sometimes the food got a little repetitive.” So repetitive means it

was the same food again and again and again.

And then AJ says, “I got a little tired of eating chicken and flan.” So when he says he

got a little tired, he’s saying he got a little bored. And flan is a dessert, so it’s sweet.

And then I say, “It might be chicken and beef.” So beef is the meat of a cow. It’s

cow meat.

And then AJ says, “Just order ala carte.” So ala carte means individual food items.

And then AJ says, “The best meal of the whole Camino.” So whole means entire.

The best meal of the entire Camino.

And then Joe says, “They’d give you three different courses.” So a course is a

specific set of food items.

And then I say, “It was just a fixed price.” So a fixed price, this means it’s the same

price no matter which option was chosen for each of the three food items.

And then Joe says, “It would get quite expensive.” So quite here means very. It

would get very expensive.

And then Joe says, “Usually the first dish.” So dish here means food item.

And then Joe says, “Give me the spaghetti but don’t put the fish in.” So spaghetti,

this is…this is a type of food item or dish that is basically pasta and like a tomato

sauce and there’s meat in it. It’s an Italian food item or an Italian dish.

And then Joe says, “But I very rarely got the menu of the day.” So when he says I

very rarely, what he’s saying is I hardly ever got the menu of the day, or he’s also

saying he didn’t get it very often.

And then Joe says, “Like when you got to Galicia.” So Galicia is an area in the

northwestern part of Spain.

And then Joe says, “I’d have to ask if they had a meat broth in it.” So broth is a soup

base. It’s the base of a soup, so it’s the liquid part of the soup and many times in

soups that liquid part comes from an animal, like chicken, chicken-based or chicken

broth.

And then Joe says, “But that was usually pretty filling.” So when he says it was

pretty filling what he’s saying is he didn’t feel hungry after eating it. It actually filled

him up, or he felt full.

And then Joe says, “They made lentils a lot of the time.” So a lentil is a type of food

that comes from a specific plant and lentils look like little beans, really small beans.

And then Joe says, “But if they had lentils and they were veg.” So veg, this is a

shortened word for vegetarian. So it means not cooked, or what veg refers to in this

sentence is not cooked with a meat base. So it’s vegetarian. Remember

vegetarians don’t eat meat. They wouldn’t eat…or something made from meat like a

broth.

And then I say, “Well, no wonder you lost weight.” When I say no wonder, I’m saying

I’m not surprised you lost weight.

And then I say, “It sounds like you were starving.” So when I say starving, I’m saying

it sounds like you were not eating very much food.

And then Joe says, “For lunch I had bread, avocado, nuts and fruit.” So an avocado

is…it’s technically a fruit although most of the time we think of fruits as being sweet

and an avocado is not sweet. But it is technically a fruit and it’s green color. You

have to, you don’t eat the outside of it so you only eat the inside part. And it’s soft,

creamy. It’s very delicious. It’s shaped like a big egg.

And then Joe says, “Oat milk is really popular there.” So oat milk, this is a plant-

based milk instead of an animal-based milk. You usually, when you hear about milk,

you think of it coming from a cow or a goat. But oat milk is made from oats which

is…oats come from a plant.

And then Joe says, “They’d have almond milk, soy milk occasionally.” So almond

milk, soy milk, there are other plant-based milks so they…almond milk is made from

almonds, the nuts…the nuts almonds, and soy milk, soy is like a little bean. So

again, these come from plants, not from animals.

And then Joe says, “When you got to a big city the options opened up for you.” So

when he says the options opened up, he’s saying there were more choices.

And then Joe says, “Then I would just gorge myself.” So when he says gorge, he’s

saying he would eat a lot.

And then I say, “AJ, you were also in Madrid.” So Madrid is the name of another city

in Spain.

And then Joe says, “Two big cities versus a small city.” So versus here means

compared to.

And then Joe says, “A lot of places just catered to peregrinos, the pilgrims.” So

catered means provided food, drink and other necessary items for. And peregrinos

is the Spanish name for pilgrims and a pilgrim is a person who travels to a very

special place for religious reasons.

And then I say, “So we’re talking basic staples along the Camino.” So when I say

basic staples, I’m talking about basic local food choices.

And then I say, “Didn’t you actually say it was hard to find some good food?” So

when I say hard, I mean difficult. Wasn’t it difficult to find some good food?

And then AJ says, “And then things like olives, sardines, all these kind of little tapas.”

So sardines, this is a type of small fish.

And then AJ says, “Those are the ones I remember most distinctly.” So distinctly

means clearly.

And then AJ says, “Which felt Spanish, uniquely Spanish.” So uniquely here means

special, or uniquely Spanish, special to Spain.

And then Joe says, “But relative to bedtime, it was very late.” So relative here

means compared, but compared to bedtime, it was very late.

And then Joe says, “You can’t really stay up too late on the Camino.” So stay up

means stay awake.

And then Joe says, “There are a couple of staples of Spanish food.” So staples here

means food eaten regularly.

And then Joe says, “With varying degrees of quality.” So varying degrees of quality

means the quality could be good or the quality could be bad.

And then Joe says, “We had paella one time at an albergue, y’know, a hostel.” So

paella, this is a type of Spanish food with rice and usually a meat. And a hostel, this

is a cheap place to stay, a cheap place to spend the night, like a very cheap hotel.

But sometimes you actually share a room with someone.

And then Joe says, “And then the gazpacho I had.” So gazpacho, this is a Spanish

style soup made from tomatoes and other vegetables.

And then Joe says, “The gazpacho that we make at home is way better.” So when

he says way better, he’s saying much better.

Alright, this concludes or this is the end of our vocabulary lesson for the conversation

Camino Food and I’ll be right back with the commentary.