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Hello, Sunshine.
I'm Maria.
And my name is Rory.
And we are the hosts of the IELTS Speaking for Success podcast.
The podcast themes to help you improve your speaking skills as well as your listening skills along the way.
We're starting this podcast to give you band 9 vocabulary and gorgeous grammar for your high IELTS score.
Band 9 score.
Yeah.
Yeah.
This week on our premium podcast we're going to go with describe a plan in your life that is not related to work or study.
And speaking part three section, we're going to go with planning.
Check it out.
Oh, Rory, where'd you get that bracelet from?
I think I got it from a market in Haiti.
Oh, shall we talk about markets?
Yes, it's a coincidence.
Ruru, do you like to go to street markets?
I like it when I go on holiday to pick up some trinkets or souvenirs for people back home.
Otherwise, a more targeted shopping experience in online stores or shops is what I prefer.
How often do you go to markets?
Whenever I'm on holiday and there's one to hand, it's fun to go with whoever I'm with.
You can find and see and even experience lots of different things.
Tell me about an outdoor market you've been to.
Well, there's one based around the High Street in Wa, which is a town in the upper west region of Ghana.
You can find just about anything there, from phones to spare parts for scooters and motorbikes.
I can remember wandering around the sort of ramshackle stores in this sort of chaotic grid pattern, looking for a fan and a kettle.
I needed them for when I lived at the school nearby and we found them eventually, but it took ages because nothing is well, sort of well signposted there.
Which do you prefer, markets or shopping malls?
Oh, shopping malls, without question.
Especially now in the summer when the air conditioning comes in handy.
That aside, the layout's more logical and it's easier to follow than the mess that usually characterises even small markets.
You really have to hunt around in them to find what you want, especially if you don't live there, and that can be a huge waste of time.
Do many people go to markets in your country?
I imagine they don't as much as they used to since there are ongoing restrictions.
But under normal circumstances it's quite common, especially if you live in or near the countryside.
And sometimes they get set up in towns or cities for the people there.
Have your shopping habits changed over the years?
Well, I've always been pretty frugal, but there has been a bit more of a shift from just direct and to the point shopping to enjoying the experience of window shopping.
And I've turned it into more of a social experience and I probably get sidetracked more easily as well.
That's probably because I have a bit more time on my hands these days.
Rory, thank you very much for your answers.
Shall we go shopping for the vocabulary in them?
Let's hunt around.
Hunt around, by the way.
You said like us, markets are difficult to hunt around.
Yeah, well, if you're hunting around, it means just like you're looking for something very specific.
It's like you're hunting for the thing.
And instead of an animal, it's a, well, in my case, it was a fan and a kettle.
Yeah, so it's difficult to hunt around in markets and it's more straightforward in shopping malls because everything is signposted.
Trinkets.
You usually buy trinkets or souvenirs at the markets.
Trinket?
No, trinket's like a small gift that you pick up for people.
Yeah, some magnet or bracelet, yeah.
You said that whenever I'm on holiday and there is one to hand...
Yeah, so if something is to hand, it doesn't mean like it's in your hand.
It means it's close by and you can get to it easily.
So do you ever go to markets?
Yeah, if there is one to hand.
You're nice.
You wander around the market.
Yeah, so if you wander around, it's like there's no specific plan.
You just sort of go around this area without any specific purpose.
Yeah, I enjoy wandering around the street market or an open-air market.
You said ramshackle stores.
Well, the ramshackle stores just means they're not very well-maintained.
Kind of like, are they in poor condition?
Messy?
Yeah.
Messy, yeah.
Are there any ramshackle stores in Moscow?
Have you seen any?
I haven't seen any.
There's probably more around the outskirts.
Maybe some in villages.
Yeah.
Okay.
Chaotic greed pattern.
Oh, there's one.
Sorry, I just realized.
There's one that's in Vladimir Oblast, which is just outside the Moscow region.
And it's got the word productive, which is like a place where you buy, like groceries, but it's upside down.
So i was looking at this sign upside down, like why are all these russian letters in such a strange pattern?
I was like ah, it says productive but it's upside down, so that's a bit ramshackle, Yeah.
So kind of old, messy, like not organized.
Yeah, it was a bit of a mess.
But I found what I wanted once I understood what kind of shop it was.
And also markets could have a chaotic, chaotic grid pattern.
So usually a grid pattern is quite well organized and easy to understand.
This had a grid pattern which was like completely without logic, but you could tell it was supposed to be a grid.
It's just not in an orderly manner.
Nothing like the grid patterns you see in America, for example.
Rory chooses shopping malls because he enjoys air conditioning.
Air conditioning comes in handy.
Yeah, it just means it's useful.
Yes, it's useful to have air conditioning in summer, especially if it's boiling hot plus 35 degrees.
Mm-hmm.
Rory has always been pretty frugal.
Yes, which just means that you don't spend lots and lots of money on things.
Yeah, frugal.
And Rory enjoys experience of window shopping.
Mm-hmm.
So window shopping is just when you well, it doesn't have to be looking at the things in the window.
It usually means you're looking at things in the window just to see what's there and maybe think about what you want for the future, but you're not going to buy it now.
Rory, I know what you're going to be doing this weekend.
So because you're leaving Russia, right?
So you're going to get some souvenirs for your friends and your parents, your family.
So you're going to go to a market somewhere in Moscow.
And Rory, you need to buy five souvenirs, so i'm gonna tell you what you can buy and then you're gonna tell me which like five things.
Well, that's three three, three things that you're gonna buy.
Okay right, It's not an option, so you just have to choose.
Okay, ready?
So, Matryoshka doll.
So, it's like the famous Russian doll.
Amber is the fossilized tree thingy.
Amber stone.
You're gonna buy хохлома.
You just made that word up.
Хохлома is a traditional Russian craft originated in the 17th century.
So хохлома, painting.
You're gonna buy валенки.
Valenki are Russian boots.
You can get some designer valenki, you know, the warmest footwear.
You're gonna get wooden toys, carved figures of animals, like carved bears.
You would go for Russian chocolate, like Alenka.
Russian chocolate is traditional and epic.
You would go for Russian vodka.
You said five, but you're actually on seven now.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But you need to choose from them.
Oh, I see.
Yeah.
You're going to get ushanka.
Ushanka is a traditional Russian winter hat.
So it goes something like that.
So ushanka.
All right, winter hat, fur hat you're gonna go with.
Um faberge eggs, which are supposed to be traditionally russian.
Okay, faberge eggs, one or two, maybe three.
Um jostova trays So beautiful metal trays to put next to your cupid.
How many items are on this list?
Awesome.
You're going to go with this traditional Russian metal container traditionally used for heating water during the tea ceremony.
So, Rory, what are they, these five souvenirs?
Vodka, vodka, vodka, and vodka, and more vodka.
I have friends that are really into it, and one of them is a real connoisseur of this kind of thing, so I need to buy different kinds.
Oh, would you go for Beluga?
Beluga is supposed to be the most expensive and the purest vodka.
Beluga yes, but also also Putinka.
Putinka, for obvious reasons, Right.
We can't find it anywhere.
Do they still make it?
I have no idea.
I haven't seen a bottle of Potinka in like three years.
I hope they're still making it because I just think I find the whole idea hilarious.
Wow.
Wow, dear listener.
Well, now you know what traditional souvenirs we have in Russia that you can get at the market or in different shops.
And Rory is being really Scottish, bringing alcohol to his Scottish mates.
But hopefully you enjoy the gifts of our vocabulary.
Bye.
Bye.
Do you like to go to street markets?
I like it when I go on holiday to pick up some trinkets or souvenirs for people back home.
Otherwise, a more targeted shopping experience in online stores or shops is what I prefer.
How often do you go to markets?
Whenever I'm on holiday and there's one to hand, it's fun to go with whoever I'm with.
You can find and see and even experience lots of different things.
Tell me about an outdoor market you've been to.
Well, there's one based around the High Street in Wa, which is a town in the upper west region of Ghana.
You can find just about anything there, from phones to spare parts for scooters and motorbikes.
I can remember wandering around the sort of ramshackle stores in this sort of chaotic grid pattern, looking for a fan and a kettle.
I needed them for when I lived at the school nearby and we found them eventually, but it took ages because nothing is well, sort of well signposted there.
Which do you prefer, markets or shopping malls?
Oh, shopping malls, without question.
Especially now in the summer when the air conditioning comes in handy.
That aside, the layout's more logical and it's easier to follow than the mess that usually characterises even small markets.
You really have to hunt around in them to find what you want, especially if you don't live there, and that can be a huge waste of time.
Do many people go to markets in your country?
I imagine they don't as much as they used to, since there are ongoing restrictions.
But under normal circumstances it's quite common, especially if you live in or near the countryside.
And sometimes they get set up in towns or cities for the people there.
Have your shopping habits changed over the years?
Well, I've always been pretty frugal, but there has been a bit more of a shift from just direct and to the point shopping to enjoying the experience of window shopping.
And I've turned it into more of a social experience and I probably get sidetracked more easily as well.
That's probably because I have a bit more time on my hands these days.
