#164 Disneyland

Mark: Hi again, Mark Kaufmann here for the EnglishLingQ Podcast joined by Jill Soles, as usual, on a nice sunny afternoon here in Vancouver. We should mention before we get started that this podcast is just one part of the exciting LingQ Language and Learning System, which you can find at LingQ.com to use this podcast to learn English. You should listen to it at least once and then read the transcript and use LingQ's vocabulary tools to learn from it. Sign up for a free account and you'll find our podcast there in the store. Now today Jill, we were going to talk about… Jill: Mention the… Mark: …my vacation plans, I guess. Jill: Yes.

Mark: Oh yeah, we wanted to mention… Go ahead… Jill: …mention, again, the ability to choose a tutor now on LingQ. Mark: Right and, yeah, the fact that you can now go to the settings page, at the bottom of the settings page you can click on…I can't remember what the link says exactly, but you can go to the page where you see a list of our tutors with a little picture and a bio. Jill: I think the link says “Choose a Tutor” and then you click on it and then you see the tutors listed.

Mark: And especially in English, we have quite a few tutors to choose from. Many of you already have a tutor that you know and like and if not, take a look at the bios and choose one. You know, you can always change if you'd rather have someone else as your tutor because, of course, our members are free to talk to any tutors when they sign up for or create events or join events in the LingQ System. So, it's quite possible you could have one tutor, but you prefer speaking regularly with another and then at that point you can go back in and change your tutor. Jill: Yeah and it just may be that the tutor you choose originally doesn't have a lot of times that are convenient for you to speak and you may want to speak with your tutor often, so then you can choose another one or you may be somebody who likes to just speak with different people and you don't care about speaking with your tutor and you just will speak with whomever and that's fine too. Mark: Absolutely and we do have tutors in other languages as well. We will be adding more. I'm not sure, I don't think we have them in all languages right now, but quite a few of the languages we have a tutor and, obviously, the busier they get the more effort we'll make in trying to find new tutors for those other languages. Otherwise, yeah, only Plus and Premium members require a tutor. So, any of you listening who are Plus and Premium members and don't have a tutor already, please do go and pick a tutor so that we know which tutor will write you your monthly report. Jill: And who will answer your questions on the Ask Your Tutor Forum.

Mark: Right.

Jill: And, hopefully, your tutor will also correct your writing. It won't always happen that way. If your tutor can't get to it quickly enough another tutor may take it, but your tutor will certainly try to correct your writing. Mark: Right.

For those of you who are not Plus or Premium members you can, of course, go look at the tutors and pick a tutor, but you won't receive those special personal tutoring services unless, of course, you upgrade, which we encourage you to do. Anyway, otherwise… Jill: Not a lot new to update this week. Mark: Not a lot new to talk about this week. Maybe we'll instead talk about what's new with Jill. Jill: Oh, not a whole lot, really.

Mark: Any big plans on the weekend?

Jill: I'm actually going to have a big Christmas shopping day tomorrow with my mom, my sister and my sister-in-law, so it should be lots of fun. We all love each other a lot and have fun together and we're all crazy about Christmas. Actually, we are helping out. I have a cousin, my mom's niece, my first cousin, who is really struggling and has three little kids and really doesn't have any money and so the four of us are actually going shopping for her kids for Christmas. Mark: Oh nice.

Jill: We're going to all go together and buy some things, some clothes and things like that that they need and then their grandma, my mom's sister, will be able to buy them fun things like toys and bikes. She can't really afford to do both. She can't buy them the fun things and the necessities, so we said well, we'll buy them the necessities. So, we're going to do that tomorrow and then I'm going to take my little two and a half year old nephew home with me and keep him for the night and have him on Sunday. Mark: Oh great!

Jill: So yeah, it will be fun.

Mark: Have you done that before?

Jill: Yeah, I have and he's an extremely easy kid. You put him to bed; you never hear from him. He sleeps 12 hours.

Mark: Nice.

Jill: He'll have a three-hour nap in the afternoon. He's extremely agreeable, never has tantrums, he's just amazing, so it's not a problem at all, so I'm looking very forward to it. Mark: So, you mean, I know you were talking earlier today about the fact that when you were a kid you were the… I can't remember the words that you used. Jill: I think I said I was the best child ever.

Mark: I think…I was going to say… Jill: Not to toot my own horn or anything! Mark: That's right. From the sounds of it maybe your nephew might have you beat or you were… Jill: Yeah, he's up there anyway. He's a pretty darn good kid and I have to say, I was always partial to girls. I've been around girls, little girls, my whole life and taken care of a lot of little girls. When I would do things with them and I'd see boys they always seemed very loud and obnoxious to me and I really didn't want boys, but after seeing that not all boys are that way, my nephew certainly isn't and your son certainly isn't that way, I'm completely okay with having boys. Mark: That's good, because you know there's a 50 percent chance Jill. Jill: That's right. Mark: You can't send them back. Jill: No.

Mark: Yeah, well that's good. Jill: Yeah and you, you're doing something exciting. Mark: We are, you know. We are going to California tomorrow morning and the whole family is going, so my three kids don't know that we're going. We've never done this before, but my wife wanted to do this. Jill: It's a big surprise. Mark: It's a big surprise and we're on an early flight, so I think it's going to be an interesting morning. I think at 5, waking everybody up at 5 or 5:30 and telling them that we're going to get on a plane to California; I think they'll certainly remember it. We're not sure if they're going to be happy or sad. Jill: Well, I know your kids don't love getting up early. Mark: No, they're not real early risers. Jill: But to go to Disneyland, I think they'll deal with it. Mark: Exactly. You know, that's the thing, obviously, we're going to Disneyland. That's going to be pretty exciting. Jill: I wonder if they'll even believe you when you first wake them up and tell them. Mark: I think they probably won't. They'll just be kind of out of it and wondering… What? Ha? Disneyland, what are you talking about?

Jill: Am I dreaming?

Mark: Yeah, what about school? What about, you know, the dog? Annie, for sure, is going to be upset because we're leaving the dog. Jill: Oh, are your mom and dad taking care of the dog?

Mark: No, friends of ours are taking care of the dog. Two different families are going to sort of share him, like three days at one place and three days at the other, which is nice and people that he knows, so, you know, he's a pretty… Jill: He's a mellow dog. Mark: He's a mellow dog, yeah, oh yeah, he's easy to handle, but he always wants people around, like he needs a lot of attention for a dog. Jill: Well, I think most dogs are that way though.

Mark: Yeah, it's true. Jill: They love being with people; they're not loners. Mark: No, they're not. Jill: So.

Mark: Anyway, we'll see; it will be fun. I mean the weather will be nice. My mother-in-law has rented a condo down there in Palm Springs or Palm Desert or wherever it is, so we're flying to L.A. and renting a car and driving up there and then we'll make, I think, probably a day trip to Disneyland. I don't know if we'll do two days there or what we'll do, but anyway it will be… Jill: …it will be great! Mark: It will be great, yeah.

Jill: Disneyland is so much fun; they'll love it. Mark: Have you been to Disneyland?

Jill: Yeah, I've been quite a few times actually. Mark: Oh yeah?

Jill: And most recently was about three years ago, so whatever, I was 26 or 7 and I loved it then. I loved it when I was a kid going and I love it as an adult. It's kind of a magical place, as cheesy as that sounds. Mark: Yeah.

I mean, it's fun; it is neat. I mean, I went once as a kid and then when I was living in Japan we went like every year, but the kids were so small they don't really remember. Jill: Oh, that was the Disneyland in Tokyo.

Mark: In Tokyo, yeah. I mean, it was like a two-hour drive, so we'd go. Once a year we went and took the kids. I mean, they loved it at the time, but they were, you know, really little, so they don't… Maybe my oldest remembers, but the other two, they don't really remember at all, but that was fun. In Tokyo they have the Disneyland and they have Disneysea. They've got two theme parks, so we'd spend one day in one and one day in the other and well, that was lots of fun. I mean, it is fun.

Jill: It is; it's fun. It's fun just seeing the kids enjoying themselves so much. Mark: Oh yeah, for sure.

Jill: Even if you don't get a big thrill out of the rides, it's just a fun place to be. Mark: Oh yeah, I mean it's so much different than just your regular amusement park because of the themes and the Disney critters walking around and all that. Jill: And the parade in the evening is quite a big event.

Mark: Yeah.

I don't know if I've ever lasted long enough for the parade. Jill: Well yeah, if you go first thing in the morning it's quite a long day, but I think you can go in and out, get a stamp, and you could leave and then come back. Mark: I think you can.

Jill: And you know what, we planned on doing that the last time I went. I went with my dad and my little brother actually and we always thought we would do that, but after being there for hours by the time we left at dinner time, we had no desire to go back to watch the parade, we were just too tired.

Mark: That's what we found. Like, do you want to either leave and come back or stick around for the parade and we just always, you know, especially when the kids were little, everybody's had enough, let's go. Jill: Yeah, yeah, but I would say to try to see it one time because it is worth it. It is quite a… Mark: Well, you know what, I shouldn't say that, I've seen the parade like during the day, but there's a parade at night, right, with the lights and everything. I'm not sure actually. Jill: And fireworks, although I was there one time sort of around New Year, so I'm not sure if the fireworks are every night or if that was just that time of year; I'm not sure. Mark: Yeah, I have no idea.

Jill: I think they do have fireworks at night.

Mark: The other thing I'd like to try down there…I remember going as a kid, I don't know what it's like now…is Universal Studios. I remember almost liking it better than Disneyland.

Jill: Yeah, it's really great! Mark: There was some cool stuff that they did there.

Jill: Yeah, yeah.

Mark: Have you been recently, like when you went there three years ago?

Jill: No, I don't think we… I can't even remember. We went to the zoo. We went to the San Diego Zoo.

Mark: Oh yeah.

Jill: Which is amazing; I love it.

Mark: Really?

Jill: It's really great. Mark: Yeah.

Jill: We did the zoo and I think then we did Disneyland in California, the theme park that's right at Disneyland, the other one that's mostly… Mark: How was that one? Jill: I wasn't that thrilled. Mark: Yeah.

Jill: It's just more like a regular amusement park where you've just got rides. Mark: Right.

Jill: There's not really the whole theme aspect of it. Mark: Oh, okay.

Jill: So, you know, some people probably really like it, but I prefer Disneyland, so we spent a few hours there and went back to Disneyland.

Mark: Oh yeah, ha.

Jill: Because you can go into both.

Mark: Go back and forth?

Jill: Yeah.

Mark: Oh.

Jill: So, but I think some people really like it. But the last time I went to Universal Studios was about I think six or seven years ago when I went and it was amazing, I remember.

Mark: Yeah, ha.

Jill: But the zoo in San Diego is really great too.

Mark: That's a bit further though. If we're in, I don't know… I mean, as it is we're going to be driving from Palm Springs to Anaheim where Disneyland is and then probably back and then… Universal Studios I think is in L.A. somewhere.

Jill: Yeah, it is.

Mark: But San Diego is quite a bit further.

Jill: It's, I think, a couple more hours. Mark: Yeah.

Jill: An hour and a half to two hours further, yeah.

Mark: I've never been there, but I mean I've heard San Diego is really nice. Jill: Yeah, it is a nice city, kind of like Vancouver without all the rain, so really not like Vancouver, but… Mark: Not really. Jill: Just on the ocean.

Mark: Then like Vancouverites always say, that it's not as green as Vancouver. Jill: That's for sure, it's much more brown; much drier. Mark: The reason that it's so green is because it rains all the time; that's right. But next week you've got plans of your own. Jill: Oh yeah, next week my mom and my sister and I are going to New York for, well, basically, it's four days because the first night we get there at 8 o'clock at night, so basically four days. We've never been and we're just going to do a lot of shopping with the strong Canadian dollar and… Mark: Well, that's the thing now. Jill: You know, New York having so many great things to choose from.

Mark: Yeah.

Jill: So, we're going to do some shopping and we're going to go to the Museum of Natural History and we're going to go see Ground Zero and, of course, we're going to go to a Broadway show and do all of the sightseeing stuff and we're staying right near Central Park. I mean, I love walking and jogging and being outside so, hopefully, a few days early in the morning we'll get out for some fresh air. Mark: It's funny you know, I mean I've been to New York and I went to school out nearby for four years, but I've never really went sightseeing in New York. I've never been to Central Park. Jill: Oh wow!

Mark: I've never done any of the touristy things there. It's kind of funny. I don't know why, I guess I was so close I just didn't really bother. Jill: Yeah, yeah.

Mark: It's funny. People talk about going to New York and I'm like well, why? But I guess it is amazing. Just the sheer size or it and, you know… Jill: …the volume of people… Mark: …the volume of people and downtown Manhattan there. It's like you're in a tunnel; all the tall buildings on either side of you down that main drag, whatever it's called. Jill: Wall Street?

Mark: It could have been I can't remember now. Is that…? I mean, I don't know. But I mean, yeah, it's neat; it's neat. Maybe we someday should go there, Andrea and I. Jill: It's, I mean, it's expensive. It's one of those things where… Mark: (?????) for sure it will be.

Jill: Yeah, to go for four nights. We could go, you know, we could go to Mexico for a week for the same amount that it's going to cost us for four nights and air to New York. It's going to be more expensive once we get there as well for food and I don't think it's a cheap city, so you're definitely spending a fair amount of money, especially if you're shopping a lot. Mark: But less now because our dollar is worth more than theirs.

Jill: That's right, how great is that? Mark: For the first time in, well, I don't know, I never remember our dollar being stronger than the American dollar, so. Jill: Apparently it was. I heard this on the news, it was in the late ‘60s or early ‘70s or something, yeah, yeah, so it should be great.

Mark: Well, I believe we'll be doing a fair bit of shopping ourselves when we're down there. You know, things are just so much cheaper with the enormous swing in the dollar value, but you have to shop if you're going down there. Jill: Yeah, if you're going to the states, yeah. Mark: Especially with Christmas coming up.

Jill: Yeah, that's right, so I guess we'll both have fun shopping. Mark: Well that's right. I don't know how the whole podcast thing is going to work if we're both away next week, but we'll figure something out I'm sure. Anyway, with that we'll probably wrap things up and we'll talk to you again next week. Jill: Alright, bye, bye.