Welcome to a new episode of English Vocabulary Booster.
My name is Lara and I'm a SALSA certified English teacher.
Learning new vocabulary usually takes a long time, but we'll do it in a way that's easy, quick and efficient.
In every episode, we'll learn how to use five new English words or expressions, so that you too can start speaking like a native.
So let's get learning!
What is up you guys?
How's it going?
How's life?
I've been doing pretty well.
I'm busy and stressed as per usual, but I've been doing fine.
I wanted to tell you a couple of things before we get started.
Number one is, you know, I've been working day and night. on the new Anbu platform.
And I'm super excited.
I think it's going to be super useful because, I mean, the podcast is great, but let's face it, it's only once a week.
And on the new platform, on the new website, you're going to have a lot of other resources.
You're going to have magazine articles that you're going to be able to read and listen to, because I record it with my own voice.
You're also going to have interactive content quizzes, just like the questions that I ask you on the podcast, but you're actually going to be able to answer those questions.
And then there's also going to be interactive videos with me, where we watch a clip together and then again interactive quizzes.
So I ask you a question, but you're actually going to be able to answer me.
Yay.
So I'm super duper excited about that.
Okay, enough with that.
Let's listen to today's story, which is about relax.
So guess what?
I got fired.
What?
Why?
I have no idea.
I was at work the other day and I mean, you know how much I've been working lately.
I just felt like I really needed some time to unwind, you know? to decompress.
All I'd been thinking about was all the meetings and emails and presentations.
I mean, I'm a human.
All I wanted was to take my mind off of that for a few hours.
Yeah, of course.
So I decided to treat myself because, you know, I never really do that.
So I had some chocolates and some wine delivered.
Then I put on some jazz music.
I don't know what it is about jazz music, but I find it really soothing.
And then I had someone come over to give me a massage.
And then someone else to fix my hands and feet.
You should have seen my toes.
And then right when I started to feel a bit better and a bit more relaxed, boom, I got fired.
Wait, your... your boss called you and said you were fired?
No, he didn't call me.
He came to my desk.
Wait, you didn't leave your office?
No, I was at my desk the whole time.
Um, don't you work in an open space?
Yeah, why?
Why?
Let's begin with expression number one, unwind.
I just felt like I really needed some time to unwind and decompress.
When do you feel the need to unwind?
After feeling particularly stressed or particularly calm?
You feel the need to unwind after feeling particularly stressed.
You need a break.
You need to unwind and relax.
So how do you feel after unwinding?
Well, to unwind means to relax.
So hopefully after unwinding, you're going to feel relaxed and calm.
How much time do you usually need to unwind properly?
Just a few seconds or more?
Well, if you need to unwind, it usually takes a little bit more than a few seconds.
We're talking at least a few minutes.
Sometimes it might even take you a week.
That's why we go on vacation to unwind, to kind of take a break and relax.
So what things do you do to unwind?
Um, I think taking walks always helps me unwind.
Um, if I stay in the house, like watching TV, for example, it doesn't help me very much.
It makes me in a way more stressed.
Um, so definitely taking a walk or, um, listening to music, but it's better if I'm, if I'm walking.
Oh, and then I got another one, riding the bus.
If I'm sitting on the bus listening to my music, um I just it really helps me unwind, for some reason.
So I love it.
Expression number two, decompress.
I just felt like I really needed some time to unwind and decompress.
When do you feel the need to decompress?
After feeling particularly stressed or particularly calm.
Same as before, you need to decompress if you're feeling particularly stressed.
So how much time do you usually need to decompress?
Just a few seconds or more?
Okay, that's the same question I asked for unwind.
Here's the difference.
Unwinding is probably a little bit of a longer process.
Decompressing it can take you even just a few seconds.
Let's say, for example, I've just had a stressful, I just went through a stressful situation, or maybe I just worked really hard all day.
Well, before going home, maybe I will want to decompress. to kind of take all the stress away.
Just a few seconds, you know, maybe I sit down.
I don't know, I listen to my favorite song or I talk to a friend.
There you go.
I've decompressed and now I can go home.
Do you take some time to decompress after work?
I always take some time to decompress after work.
I don't like going from one sort of like stressful activity onto another.
So usually after work, I will take a few minutes to decompress.
So I will take my phone and you know, watch like a YouTube video, something silly that doesn't require a lot of, you know, a lot of effort.
And that's how I decompress.
Expression number three, take your mind off of something.
All I wanted was to take my mind off of that for a few hours.
If you do an activity to take your mind off of something, is it because you want to keep thinking about it or because you want to stop thinking about it?
If you want to take your mind off of something, you want to stop thinking about it.
You don't want your mind, you don't want your thoughts to be there.
And why would you want to take your mind off of something?
To kind of take a break.
Imagine it's something stressful, maybe like work, or maybe you just got into a fight with your boyfriend or your girlfriend.
And, you know, you keep thinking about it.
You get more and more stressed.
Well, it gets to a point where you just say, listen, I don't want to think about that now.
So I want to take my mind off.
I want to distract myself, do another activity that's not going to make me think about that unpleasant thing.
If you want to take your mind off of something, what do you do?
For me, like I said before, it needs to be something physical.
So if I watch TV, that doesn't help me take my mind off of something.
I'll still like I'll watch the movie, but I'll still be thinking about that unpleasant thing.
So what I do is listening to music helps sort of.
And then doing chores.
If I start like doing the dishes or cleaning the house, that really because I have to be focused on something physical that helps me take my mind off of whatever.
Expression number four, treat yourself.
So I decided to treat myself because, you know, I never really do that.
If you treat yourself, do you do something that makes you feel better or worse?
If you treat yourself, you do something that makes you feel better.
And do you have to spend money to treat yourself?
No, not necessarily.
Sometimes you do.
For example, if you pay for a massage to treat yourself, Yes, you're spending money.
But you can also decide, for example, to take a break from work and not work for one day, or maybe take a relaxing bath.
That's also treating yourself.
So you don't have to spend money to treat yourself, because you just need to do something nice for yourself.
Is treating yourself something special or a habit?
When you say that you're treating yourself, it usually means that it's something that you don't often do.
So let's say that, for example, you never take a bath, but you feel like you deserve it.
You've been stressed.
You want to relax.
Well, you're going to treat yourself to a bath and so on for many things.
So yeah, it's usually a special thing.
When was the last time you treated yourself?
I think the last time.
Well, that would have to be yesterday, because I had a small purse that I loved that broke.
And so I went and I treated myself to a purse to kind of, you know, feel better.
I didn't spend a lot of money.
I only spent six euros, but it still made me feel better.
And, you know, it was something special because I don't often go shopping.
So yeah, last night I treated myself and you should treat yourself too.
Expression number five, soothing.
I don't know what it is about jazz music, but I find it really soothing.
If something is soothing, does it make you feel more nervous or more relaxed?
If something is soothing, it makes you feel more relaxed, more calm, like these words.
If something is soothing, does it make you sleepy?
No, not necessarily.
It just means that you feel more calm, more relaxed, more at peace.
What things do you find soothing?
Um, so one thing that for some reason, I find soothing is listening to someone speak with an American accent.
I don't know why I've always had a thing for the American accent.
And now I listen to audio books.
So if I listen to So someone speaking with an American accent, it just relaxes me.
So I find it very soothing for some strange reason.
And then another thing, for example, is listening to jazz music.
I'm not a fan of jazz music per se, but I do find it soothing.
So sometimes I will take a bath.
Well, I used to take a bath because I don't have a bathtub now.
But when I did, I would take a bath and listen to some jazz music.
And I found it really soothing.
And that is it for today.
And remember, if you want to access the transcript, as well as lots of other resources, visit enboocom.
That is E-N-B-O-O-O dot com.
Have a great day.
