Camping

Take a gander at the great outdoors, get a whiff of the wild flowers and flourishing fauna, and don’t forget to grab your hiking boots as we gear up for an earthy episode. Pack your fishing poles in your backpacks, and prepare to pitch your tents as we contemplate camping on this week’s episode of FYI!

Transcript

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take a gander at the great outdoors get a whiff of the wild flowers and flourishing fauna and don't forget to grab your hiking boots as we gear up for an earthy episode pack your fishing poles in your backpacks and prepare to pitch your tents as we contemplate camping on this week's episode of f y i welcome to for your info english you got it[Music] hello hello hello and welcome to another exciting edition of fyi i was just looking at it over here on my records and i can't believe it but we are in the fourth season and we are just humming along to hum but also when we think about humming we think of an engine but wait a second that's the cars episode i think today we're going to talk about camping if you haven't figured it out i'm excited i love camping i've always been a happy camper and this is a an expression we'll start right off with an expression if somebody is a happy camper it's another way of saying that they are a happy customer or a happy person and sometimes we use it in the negative i'm not a happy camper so we have a lot of expressions that have to do with camping and the great outdoors and we're going to take a look at a lot of those expressions throughout today's episode so let's clear something up before we get started i know in spanish you say vamos aung kamping well for us that's not the noun the noun would be a camp site camp grounds and the verb is to go camping as we've seen many many times in the past to go hiking to go camping to go kayaking we usually use this structure with activities so just remember we don't say i'm going to a camping this weekend you can say i'm going to go camping but the place is a campsite or a camp ground all right well we cleared that up why don't we take a look at the intro because as always there is a lot of vocabulary in there on purpose i started out by saying take a gander and this is another way of saying icha umbistato take a look but i wanted it to sound good with the great outdoors so i said take a gander at the great outdoors ques el exterior no la vida the great outdoors it's another way of saying nature and i think we looked at this in our national parks episode then i said get a whiff a whiff of the wild flowers and i think wild you say silvestres or tamien salvaje the wild flowers and flourishing fauna and i know you know the word fauna the only thing is we pronounce it a little bit different in english we don't say fauna we say fauna and to flourish is floreter so floreciente or prospero would be flourishing great word there and then i went on to say don't forget to grab iste verbolo in english grab agara koje grab your hiking boots las botas de senderismo as we gear up and this is i did this on purpose because gear is camping but also to gear up for something is to prepare for it and i said we're gearing up for an earthy episode pronounce that word with me earthy yeah i know it's a difficult one that's why i chose it and earthy is i think you guys could figure that one out on your own and then we heard a shovel or a spade write a spade son estas palas pequenas que usamos en el and remember we have a very common expression let's call a spade a spade es las cosas so you heard a spade or a shovel well yeah we were digging a pit a fire pit and the word to dig is cavar but we'll talk about some of the traditions a little bit later as well sitting around the campfire but the word dig i wanted to highlight this as well the word dig also means me gusta so remember this expression here i don't dig digging holes hey i know it's a ridiculous sentence but if it helps you remember this word great because there are so many words in english with double meanings and then i said pac which is in bakitar we don't say to make the suitcase or to do the suitcase we say pac and then i said your fishing poles what are your fishing poles cagnas de pescar i think you say you can also say a fishing rod a fishing rod or a fishing pole and your backpacks las mochilas again if you're british take your rock sack they use the german word and prepare to pitch your tents an attempt is and to pitch i think from the context you can figure out means pitch your tents as we contemplate camping so are you guys ready have you got all your gear well don't worry we're gonna go through our gear checklist a little bit later on but let's start as we always do with a broad or general definition of camping because we can get a lot of vocabulary just by defining what we're talking about so let's see what wikipedia says and remember you have to trust everything you read on wikipedia no i'm i'm just kidding but this is pretty straightforward straightforward is kenoi mucho rodeo it says camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays you sleep over it's an overnight stay away from home le jos de casa fuera de casa either without shelter and shelters like a house a place to protect you or using basic shelter such as a tent or a recreational vehicle and we'll talk about all the different kinds of camping a little bit as well then they go on to say typically participants leave semarchen they leave developed areas to spend time outdoors right because we spend a lot of time indoors if you're like me you're in the studio all day you're in the office you're in front of a screen your body is begging you to go outdoors and everybody is in pursuit of more of a natural atmosphere and we'll talk about some of the activities that people can do to enjoy their time outdoors and it goes on to say it can be an educational experience sure nature how much can we learn from nature and then there's a little distinction here it says the night or more spent outdoors distinguishes camping from day tripping because a day trip is like what we do here in madrid if you go to segovia you can go and come back in the same day another popular activity which is similar but you don't spend the night picnicking these are more short term whereas camping you're gonna go there and you're gonna stay for at least one night i'd like to trace the origins of camping like when did camping start this is one of the first questions i ask myself when we get into any topic where did it all begin and there are many answers it's never a black and white answer but one of the first recorded mentions of a tent is in the bible okay genesis 4 20 jabil or jabal i don't know how to say his name described as a guy as the first to live in tents so there it is guys they were camping back in the biblical times but really modern camping as we know it because i imagine a lot of those people well they were on the go they were nomads some of them were camping because well they didn't have another choice right it's not like they had a mansion in jericho if you catch my drift so when did it become popular as a recreational activity well this was in the early 20th century where it became popular with elites so that's people with a lot of money and with time it grew in popularity to other socio-economic classes and that happens with everything if you think about air travel right first it's the wealthy and then it becomes accessible to everyone so they could say the early 20th century is when it became a fad or a trend for the first time and a lot of people say that a british traveling taylor say that five times fast a tailor is un sastre and obviously traveling means he's on the go well a guy named thomas hiram holding is said to be the guy who is the godfather or grandfather if you will of camping but they say that that's a nice story and all that and you know you want to have a nice figurehead but really it was popular before thomas hiram holding and it's because people used to camp on the river thames in the uk and by the 1880s there were large numbers of visitors who took part in this pastime so again when did it really start well you could say the bible or even before but when did it become popular well for the sake of easiness let's say the early 20th century and i think camping now is more popular than ever especially because of all the different options that are available for example let me give you an example from the united states over 42 million americans go camping each year that is 14 of the population it's also a key part of many youth organizations so if you think about the boy scouts the girl scouts i mean they have camping trips i remember going on some of those camping trips and if you guys want to hear about my own camping experiences when i went as a kid in the u.s and also when i went camping at festivals which is another form of camping i'll tell you some of my success stories and some of my horror stories and we'll do that in the bonus episode remember guys every week there's a bonus episode that's available exclusively for patrons well unless you're a very patient person and you wait until i release it which i have released a lot of episodes from the first and second season but if you want it when it comes out you can consider becoming a patron and for as little as three euros a month you can have access to that bonus content starting with a bonus episode and you can even get pdfs so you can follow along with this episode and the bonus episode plus my other students my higher level students my super duper students and my interstellar students will they join me in a weekly class and a monthly class so if you do the math that's five classes a month with me if you're interested or just want to find out more information you can go over to patreon.com slash alberto alonso but my students are the proof you can talk to any of my patrons and you can see that they're all making amazing progress so keep up the good work patrons i want to send a shout out to all of you especially my super duper students javier roberto david jose maria mila alex patricio and edgar and don't forget about my interstellar students issa paco diego and carmen you guys are kicking butt and taking names if you guys want to get more information or find out how you can be a part of our curious community go over to patreon.com alberto alonso and if you're not sure let me know and i can send you a little sample let's get back to camping as i said now we've got camping with youth organizations we've got camping for festivals music festivals air shows what about the army electro i mean think about how important their campsites are they have hospitals on their campsites so these are even in some cases somebody's livelihood now today we're going to focus mostly on recreational camping all right so let's go through our checklist what are we going to need when we go on our camping trip well it depends it depends on the person because some people like to pack light in general and some people like to pack the kitchen sink como de timos unless you really want to literally sleep under the stars you're going to need a tent you'll also need some steaks no no digochuletones yeah pack those two but i mean estacas they're homophones they sound exactly the same lo que no puedes de theres stick tartar no it's steak suena exactamente como estaca so you'll need a tent you'll need some steaks maybe a hammer or you can just grab a nearby rock what about sleeping bags sure okay maybe in the summer you won't need one but if you're camping out remember at night it can get a bit chilly even in the spring and in the fall so you're going to want to have a sleeping bag maybe even some long johns long johns it's another way to say long underwear this thermal underwear which believe it or not that stuff works and of course bring a couple changes of clothes because well if you go on a hike and you fall into a brook a brook a little river riacuelo i think you say well you might get your shoes wet you might get your shirt your pants so always have a change of clothes or two i'd say even an extra one so if you're staying three nights grab a fourth change of clothes just in case hiking boots are really good too because well they can take a beating aguantan muchisimo then don't forget your canteen you'll need some water to stay hydrated right also i'd say bring a nice bottle of scotch right some nice scotch whiskey that you can pass around the fire later on but don't forget the water you'll need some water you'll also need a lantern or a flashlight now in american english a flashlight is you know the one you have in your house the one the common one and a lantern is like the one that you know you carry and it usually the old lanterns had a candle in them but now you can buy lanterns that run on gas or led lights but that's the difference in the way you hold them the lantern versus the flashlight you'll also need a compass well if you're gonna go on a hike on a nature walk como de timos mencantalos nature walks you know you're describing you're observing we call it a nature walk and be careful with the pronunciation there it's not natur or not it's nature so you'll need your compass unless you have your phone with you but you might need service and you could run out of battery and really do you want to be using your phone when you're out there in the great outdoors i don't i mean if you need it you need it but i think i'm gonna put my phone away on this trip because the phone is a double-edged sword right it's great because if we get lost or if we need to call somebody we have it on hand but also when you're checking what direction you're walking in you might want to post a picture on instagram and that's okay but part of the reason we go camping is to disconnect or as a good friend of mine said why do we go to the great outdoors to disconnect no to reconnect with what's important nature also sunblock oh man you don't want to get sunburned out there that could really ruin your trip mosquitoes oh god i hate mosquitoes and for some reason they love me they love my blood so bring some mosquito repellent i think i'm running out most so if you guys could bring some extra mosquito repellent especially if we decide to go to canada on our camping trip well canada is home to more than 57 000 different species of insects so yeah mosquito repellent we can also call it bug spray and then you want to be careful because then there are bugs and there are bugs and the ones i'm referring to in this case is a tick garapata so that's another one that you got to be really careful i grew up in nature as many of you guys know and that was a reality in fact i i know a few people who caught lyme disease from a camping trip or from being out in the woods so don't underestimate uh you know these things these first aid products and that's another thing you should have a first aid kit you know you never know when you'll need a band-aid if you get mauled by a bear well a band-aid is not going to help you if you get mauled by a bear and i was looking into it and i know what you think you think well what are what is the leading cause of injuries or deaths when people are camping and you'd think well animal attacks nope not at all it's number one is drowning quesa hogan so drowning is number one falling and car accidents so well remember to get to these national parks you have to drive there and well sometimes these rvs these trailers can be big especially if you're not used to driving bigger vehicles so i didn't i would never think that if you told me to list what are the three most common injuries or things that happen when people go camping i would think okay they get sunburned maybe i would say no sequema also they get attacked by an animal and no drowning falling and car accidents oh man that was uh quite surprising to say the least um we said before a spade or a little shovel right that's important too if you need to dig a hole maybe you might have to go to the bathroom okay number one kiss orina well you can just find a tree or a bush but number two you want to move far away from the campsite dig a little hole and bring some toilet paper i don't personally like to use leaves to wipe my butt why i'm allergic to certain plants and you don't want to know what happens to me if i wipe my butt with poison ivy let's move on to the next topic because not only is it graphic it's also painful so that's another thing that's high on my list tp baby what is tp toilet paper but you know what you want me to be really honest i don't even bring toilet paper because i don't go camping if there's no outhouse or plumbing nearby now an outhouse are these little portable bathrooms that you find right an outhouse well not really a porta john is the the portable ones that you'll find at a festival and an outhouse are the ones that you'll find you know that they used back in the day before they had plumbing so i'll need some kind of space to do my business because you know the expression when nature calls[Laughter] so yeah that's a big big issue for me even more important than the sun block because well i'll just put on my baseball cap and i'll protect myself that way and i'll wear long sleeves but if i got to go to the bathroom and i don't have the right accommodations it could be pretty dangerous for everybody involved we'll also need provisions so we'll need some food if we're spending the night and a way to prepare that food so we might need a bunsen burner or i think what we said before was a great idea we'll start a little bonfire and we'll use it to cook and then we'll use it to roast marshmallows and we'll be taking a look at some of those traditions in a little bit because what would a camping trip be without roasting marshmallows around the campfire it's indispensable it's a must so we got to bring food we got to bring some goodies provisions as we say trail mix sabes trail mix trail mix is this thing that they give you when you order a copa a mixed drink here in spain and it has corn nuts kikos it has pieces of pretzel it has fructose nuts it's like a little bit of everything and it supposedly gives you energy oh and don't forget your knife not just to protect yourself against those bears out there but also uh well just in case you need to cut something a piece of fabric a tree branch so that's another one a pocket knife a pocket knife is el pequeno que to be a litter bug the verb is to litter so don't litter bring a trash bag or as many as you need with you because if it comes in with you it should leave with you right that's the general rule about taking care of our national parks and campgrounds around the world and as we said you know camping is just part of it there are so many activities we said you can take a hike que significa go take a hike a nature walk some people like rock climbing you got water sports such as kayaking canoeing i remember i remember once when i went camping we went white water rafting embassy i think you say that was awesome it was absolutely awesome fishing very common activity especially if you're going to eat what you catch do you know what i caught last time i went fishing a cold yeah i never catch anything and then i know some people don't like water hey i understand it call it respect well there are many other activities that you can do that don't have to do with water such as archery right with a bow and arrow those are very common or simply kicking around a soccer ball or tossing around a football the idea is to keep yourself busy out in nature and hey not all activities have to be physical you can just read a book you know that that's a cool thing to do reading a book at yosemite that must be a different experience altogether and now we're going to wrap up the first part of today's show talking about a couple traditions and then in the bonus part as i said we're going to talk about some of the best places to camp out i'll tell you a little bit about my experiences camping we'll look at some camping movies and songs some idioms as well and we'll talk about the therapeutic side of camping as well so so much to do in the bonus part but as i said it's not a camping trip if you don't bring marshmallows and you can make s'mores what are s'mores well these are cookies with marshmallows and chocolate yeah you melt the marshmallow you put it between the cookies and you dip it in chocolate does that sound yummy to you well you know why we call it s'mores because can i have some more can i have some more some more can i have some more s'mores because they're that good but remember starting a campfire isn't easy you gotta go find that firewood and then you have to kindle it this is an interesting word because it's a word you're all familiar with because there's uh well these e-readers are called kindle but to kindle a fire a fire excuse me is infinid o prender so that's a word you were all familiar with but you didn't know it had something to do with fire and camping and i said the word to bonfire before a bonfire i think you say ogerai it normally means a bigger fire a lot of times we talk about a fire pit as well the fire pit is a pit and you got to be really careful with this stuff because well it's not just an idiomatic expression if you play with fire you'll get burned it's true and you could start a forest fire and we've all seen on tv those are not easy to put out apagard one word i like when we're talking about fire because well you're right no matter how you say it something is either flammable or inflammable it means the same exact thing but folks let's be honest there's nothing like that night sky escaping everyday life and embracing the outdoors sleeping under the stars i hope you guys enjoyed the first part and i hope you are happy campers and that you'll join us in the bonus episode of today's fyi[Music][Music][Applause] you