Tourists in our own town
Hello Xuan and Everyone,
Great to hear from you Xuan! You said that you have been busy for the past 3 days (not *I was busy on 3 days). I bet you have spent most of the time revising for your next exam. Only one more week to go (not *one more week pass) until the exam. Good luck to you! (not * good luck for me). Or you can say, 'wish me luck'. The pictures of the flowers are beautiful – thanks for posting them.
You talked a little bit about the weather in Vietnam. I also like it when it rains at night. I love being in bed and hearing the rain hammering at the window. Thailand is a tropical country as well. Like you, when its hot, we tend to stay at home too. Or we go to places that have air conditioning. It’s really difficult to get around town with the kids when its really, really hot. We live about a 10 minute walk from the nearest metro stop, which is a long walk when you are 3 years old. I took the kids out to play this morning and we walked back home from the metro. Poor Josh was exhausted when we got back. However, we are very lucky in that we do have a tuk-tuk service to take us from our building to the end of the road. Here is a picture of me and my friend Maria, who lives in my building, at the end of our road in the tuk-tuk. Can you see what a tuk tuk is, now?
Normally I use the tuk-tuk (Josh likes to sit on the front seat and help the driver drive). You can phone the driver when you get off the metro, and he will come and pick you up, but today I wanted to buy some spring rolls from a particular lady who has a stall on my street. This meant that we had to walk home. Do you like spring rolls, Xuan? I especially love Vietnamese spring rolls, either the ones that you deep fry, or the ones made out of rice paper that is so fine. Do you know the ones I mean?
Anyway, talking of electricity, we had a big power cut a few weeks ago. One of the cranes on one of the building sites on my street (there are 2!) collapsed. It literally fell over. Fortunately, no one was hurt but it took all the electricity pylons down (they fell like dominoes) so we had no power for 2 days. They are finally getting round to completely fixing it this weekend, so the power is going to be off for 2 days again. As this is difficult to manage with the kids (don’t really want to have candles in the kids’ bedroom…) we have decided to check into a hotel. We have a voucher to exchange for a free stay in a hotel 2 streets away from our house, so we have decided to use it. We are going to be tourists in our own town! Monday is a bank holiday, so we can make a nice long weekend of it. I’ll tell you all about it in my next blog.
(Image from www.bluepeak.net)
Well done for having a go at answering the quiz questions, Xuan. You got all 3 questions correct.
• An umbrella keeps the rain off you. What is the name of the object, that looks like an umbrella, that keeps sunshine off you? A sunshade or a parasol.
• Rearrange the letters to form name of the illness you get if you spend too long in the sun. (ROTESHATEK) Heatstroke. Cris also suggested sunstroke, which is correct as well.
• What is the illness you can get if you spend too long outdoors in the cold and your body temperature drops to a very, very low level? It starts with the letter ‘h’. The answer is hypothermia.
• How many expressions can you think of in English to mean ‘it is raining heavily’? You all had lots of ideas. Here is a summary: it’s raining cats and dogs; its pouring (down); it’s bucketing down; it’s tipping it down; it’s chucking it down; the heavens have opened.
• What are wellies (this is a slang word)? They are waterproof boots that you wear when it is raining. These can also be called gumboots, as Silwal Kishor points out. Leila – I had no idea that NOKIA started out by making wellies. How incredible!
• What is a sou’wester? Do you know the history of this word? A sou’wester is a type of rain hat. According to wikepedia, a sou’wester, “was traditionally worn by sailors off the Noth coast of the USA and Canada and is distinguished by a wide brim that becomes especially long in the back for to protect your neck from the elements. The name derives from nor'easter which is generally considered the worst storm pattern in the area. A sou'wester protects one from the elements and is thus named opposite the storm.” (taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sou'wester)
Now, on to the challenge I set you to write a story about the black and white photo of the man standing in the rain with the cello. Well done to Vladimir and Maione for attempting the task. I have corrected what you wrote and posted it below. Can you compare my version with yours and identify what changes I have made? You can ask me any questions to clarify what I have changed, if you need to. And Vladimir, welcome back from your trip. Did you have a good time?
VLADIMIR. Frankly speaking, it’s a bit of a sad story. I suppose, the man certainly had colourful aspirations when he started to play the violoncello forty-five years ago. There is no doubt, there were a lot of ups and downs in his career as a cello player. Probably, one of the most significant events was the day he successfully passed all his exams and his mother shed a tear of joy. There were many other stepping stones in his life and all of them came to mind as he was standing on the pavement, when a second later he recognized his first love amongst some women who were passing by. That’s why he is lost for words and still standing in the rain on the pavement.
I really enjoyed this story. I was not exactly sure about the sequence of events here. Was he thinking about the other stepping stones in his life WHEN AT THE SAME TIME he saw the woman, or did one event first followed by the other? I hope I haven’t changed what you wanted to say.
MAIONE. The man in the rain is a famous musician who, after many misadventures, is living in poverty. The only thing he still has is his cello that he keeps playing on the road to survive. After the death of his wife he refused the success and the company of his old friends. Now, he is alone and is obliged to go out even in the rain to collect some money. At the moment the umbrella is protecting the instrument rather than him and he is dreaming of a blazing fire, because it's raining cats and dogs. Let's hope he doesn't get hypothermia.
You were right, this is a sad tale but it is well written. I liked the way you used some of the ‘rain’ vocabulary from the quiz. Well done!
Thank you to everyone else for your comments. I am really sorry but I have to fly off now, so we can get the kids to the hotel in time for their tea. 
Image from http://z.about.com/d/goflorida/1/0/e/8/sunset4.jpg
Take care, have a good weekend and speak to you all soon,
Anne
xxx
PS – can you guess the meaning of today's vocabulary? Use the context to help you, as always.
hammering at the window
power cut
fell like dominoes
fly off
Comments
Hi Anne, I liked your tuk-tuk service. It reminded me of the one I saw while vacationing in Cuba. The only difference was that the this latter had 3 wheels and was a motorcycle. Hammering at the window: the special sound you hear when the rain drops hit the window. power cut: when the electricity is cut down. fell like dominoes: one element fell after the other like the dominoe game. fly off: go very quickly. Anne, I want to ask you a question. People is the plural of person and it's gramatically incorrect if you say persons; but in "1984" George Orwell wrote "persons". Are there any exceptions to this rule? Hope you have a nice long weekend as a tourist :-) Bye for now, xxx Cris
hi Anne I likestayinginbed and listening the noise of the rain that sounds like the one of a hammer, "power cut is like power failure the result is the interruption of electricity."fell like dominos2means one afterthe other like in the domino game."fly off" to escape.I like the way you describe your life in Thailand'it is so communicative that it seems to be reading a letter of an old friend.Bye Bye
Dear Anne, In my opinion, it will be a great experience to be a tourist in your own city during a long weekend when there is blackout. Do you have any plan to visit any sea beaches to enjoy your a long weekend? Outlook of tuk tuk is attractive which completely different than tuk tuk found in Nepal. Several years ago, Kathmandu valley was full of tuk tuk but they were replaced either by taxi or microbus (Van) when tuk tuk was banned from valley. Tuk tuk was considered as a major source of air pollution in Kathmandu valley. It took long time to banned tuk tuk though constant rising voices to government by consumer society for it.- Word meaning: Hammering at the window- Constant beating of rain at the window, Power cut-blackout, Fell like dominoes-If something falls in one end, it strikes another thing in series and the process continues until it reaches another end collapsing all things in that series., Fly off-leave quickly,
Hi everybody, I think the meaning of the above set words is as follows: Power cut = blackout (power failure cut) Fell like dominoes = fell down one after the other. rain hammering at the window = rain was hitting or striking constantly at the window. Fly off = have to go away. Bye for now Sylvana
Hi Anne!! I really enjoy how you face the power cut, go to a hotel!!! It is a quite practical and convenient choice. I have faced some power cuts in my city, but they have been very short (not two days) and we do not have kids in the house right now; so, it have not been a big problem... Well, I will try to guess of the vocabulary, but I am not sure: hammering at the window - knocking at the window power cut - blackout fell like dominoes - fell down one after another fly off - go back quickly Take care :)
Hi Anne, GREAT idea to be tourists in your own town. I really like the way you creatively turn the dull periods into enjoyable/magical moments of your life. It's something that I really need to learn from you. Dear Anne, thank you for the individual replies to my comments (it's really encouraging) and thank you for your interest to know about my city "Ahwaz". Ahwaz is the Centre of Khouzestan province (southwest of Iran) and it is located in the middle of it. Ahwaz is built on the banks of Karun river with its 45o miles length which runs in the middle of Ahwaz. Ahwaz has seven bridges over the Karun river and the nights of Ahwaz are among the most beautiful nights according to the views of many visitors. While the summers are very long, and hot in Ahwaz, the winters are short and mild. The max. temperature might excced + 50 degrees celicus during July in Ahwaz. In spite of all these, you can bet on having the most hospitable people in the world. Our doors are always open, ready to receive guests. There is an Arabic proverb which says, the place of my guest is upon my eye. So dear Anne, your place is on my eye, you are most welcome anytime you desire to honour us with your visit...
Hi Anne! Hope you are doing good. I always read your blogs twice. I like your way of pointing mistakes. You are a good teacher. Also the pictures you send in your blogs are all lovely. I like this tuk-tuk. Hope one day i will visit and take a ride in tuk tuk:). You have mentioned about the problem of power surge for about two days thats not a big deal for us because we are use to powercuts lol. In summers we dont get electricity for about 5 to 8 hours daily without any notice ;). What a pity :(. Well, what can i say . Anyways here is the HW: hammering at the window: the sound of the rain drops when they hit the window, powercut = no electricity, fell like dominoes = A small rectangular block used in playing the game of dominoes; the face of each block has two equal areas that can bear 0 to 6 dots( this one i've taken from the dictionary), fly off = sign out. Tc and keep smiling!.
Hi,Ann i bet the big power cut was a blessing in disgise for your family and it sounds fun to stay in a hotel where is 2street away from your flat.i have a go for the meaning of your vocabulary homework? here you go.1.hammerign at the window -it rains hard and the rain drop hit window the window.(with a cup of Jasmine tea i could listen to the sound all day long.2. power cut- no electricity.3.fell like dominoes-one event causes a few other things to happen and which can be unavoidable.4.fly off-you have to go now.
hi Dear Anne tnx for ur lovely blog, could u tell me what do u mean by "having a go " in the sentence just beneath the 2nd picture(tourist crossing)? sorry if it's some absurd question!! tnx anyway
Hello Anne, I hope you are keeping well. While writing my answer to your grammar explanation to your previous post, I completely forgot to write about how I liked the post about flowers so much. And your own flower, little Rachie, has no match and I like her very much she is very cute. Here are my answers to today's vocabulary:1)hammering at the window- rain drops tipping on the window to make a particular sound.2)power cut- when the electric supply is completely stopped (here in Pakistan we everyday suffer from power load shading:-<).3)fell like dominoes- domino is a kind of game, I should better look forward to your explanation to this one.4)fly off- to leave. Best wishes, Naheed
Hello Anne, I'm sorry to hear that you and your family have to stay in a hotel, but luckily are only 2 days. About bank holiday I find out some things from staff blog but, unfortunately we don't have something like this in Romania. Hearing the rain hammering means the sound of rain drops hit the window's glass, power cut means when you don't have power at all, fell like dominos means when all is crushed and when time fly off means that time passes very quickly. Have a nice bank holiday!
Hi, Anne, I've been visiting BBC website for such a long time, but I didn't know about this blog. I really liked it, and found it a good way to improve my English voccabulary. "power cut" must be the lack of electricity for a period of time in an settled area. "fell like dominoes" is the act of falling one after the other, sequentially. Just like the game. "fly off" is to depart fastly from one place to another in order not to get late. "Hammering at the window", I presume it's the act of something falling all over the ground and the roof, especially the rain. I'm very glad to have the opportunity to be writing here. I was chosen among more than three thousand people to represent my country in a youth program for 15 days in the US. I think it was such a great experience to improve my English and to know a different culture. I'm putting down a travelog and hope to share with you every single amazing adventure I had there. Thank you!!
Hello Anne. I've loved your last blog talking about flowers. I've sent a comment but maybe it was too late to be published. I wished I could take a tuk tuk for a sightseeing even if I was a tourist in my own city. It seems to be confortable. I would ask the driver to let me drive it. :-)
Hi Anne! I hope you´re enjoying your weekend. The tuk tuk looks lovely :-). Best wishes, Ana Paula.
I think I know what spring rolls are.It taste delicious.Bet you like.But the words u write are so small,
Hello Anne. IÂ’m glad you ask me about my trip. In spite of a cold whether and poor nutrition we were enjoying our trip. As you remember there was a rafting. There were plenty of extremities such as: fast flowing cold water and rain that was hammering in the tent all the night. Fortunately, the night at Easter eve was clear and calm. I was woken up by ringing bells at 3 am! There was a church not far from our camp. I really appreciate the amendments youÂ’ve done. ItÂ’s very important for me to get feedback. As for about the sequence of events in my story, I was going to underline two consequences: 1) The cello player had passed exams then his mother shed a tear of joy. 2) The stepping stones came to mind after he had recognized his first love. IsnÂ’t that correct enough?
Hello Anne, Like always it was such a pleasure to read your post.I found the tuk-tuk a bit strange transport mean because, we in Europe, are never given the opportunity of driving in this kind of transport.I think tuk-tuks are a good solution for traffic congestion, which is a major problem in the big cities. As you said,the context can help us a lot.One should not look it up in a dictionary to reach the meaning of the words.If something "fell like dominoes" it could cause the domino effect.It can be a bad event. Thanks Cris from Argentina.I recalled when I had read George Orwell's 1984 in high school.It's one of my favourite books. Btw Cris, the noun person has two plural forms, persons and people, but I found only persons in a formal contex (textbooks). My best wishes for all blogers and thank you very much Anne!!!!
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