Life in Idaho
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Roe
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Todd
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Todd: OK, so we're here. Do you want to go ahead and introduce yourself to the listener?
Roe: OK, my name is Hiroe Hashi. I've lived in America for about seven and a half years. I lived in Italy for two years.
Todd: Wow! You lived in Italy too.
Roe: Right, right. So all together I've lived in a foreign country for nine and a half years.
Todd: Wow! That's amazing. So did you live in America before you lived in Italy?
Roe: I was in Italy when I was 9 years old, no actually 7 years old to 9 years old.
Todd: Did you learn Italian?
Roe: A little bit. Basically slangs.
Todd: Wow, so then how old were you when you moved to America?
Roe: Yeah, I was 17. I was on a exchange program for when I went to Idaho.
Todd: Wow, what did you think when you first got to America?
Roe: OK. I bought new clothing cause my image was like L.A., New York, but it was Idaho, but I didn't know what to expect, and I got of from the airplane and I said to myself, "Oh, my god!". There was nothing there.
Todd: Yeah, so was it flat. Was it flat.
Roe: It was flat. I saw, There was...I remember the sun going down cause it was nothing, really nothing: a flat space, 360 degrees, an airport, cowboys.
Todd: Cowboys!
Roe: Potatoes. Real Cowboys. Spuds.
Todd: So Idaho is cowboys and potatoes.
Roe: Exactly. That's all. About.
Todd: Do you still like potatoes?
Roe: I stopped eating spuds since I came back cause I ate it everyday. You go to 31 Ice-cream shop and there they have spuds ice-cream.
Todd: Wow. So spud means potato.
Roe: Yeah, spud, it's like Idaho English.
Todd: Wow. And how about cowboys. Did you become a real cowboy?
Roe: I started to grow my hair, cause if you had short hair, people used to call you like a new-waver, like faggots. It was kind of a little disaster for somebody different to live.
Todd: Yeah, for sure, that would be really harsh. So tell me about your family
Roe: My family! I have two brothers and a sister, and my father passed away three years ago and my mom is working.
Todd: OK, Do you miss idaho?
Roe: Friends. I've made some best friends in Idaho actually.
Todd: Really.
Roe: Yeah, actually, I've lived in L.A., Washington State, but Idaho.
Todd: When is the last time you were in Idaho?
Roe: When I, that's when I finished my program, so a long time ago. 10, wow, 12, 13 years ago.
Todd: Wow, that is a long time. OK, and where do you live now?
Roe: I live in Yokohama.
Todd: Yokohama.
slang
Basically I learned slang.
'Slang' is informal vocabulary that is used in a particular country or area. It is frequently used by young people. Notice the following:
- Don't use slang when you write a report.
- My grandparents don't understand modern slang.
expect
I didn't know what to expect.
If you don't know what to 'expect' about a place you don't have an idea of what it will be or look like. Notice the following:
- I expected that the city would be bigger.
- She didn't expect that it would be so hot.
harsh
That would be really harsh.
Something that is 'harsh' is mean and terrible. Notice the following:
- He ended our relationship in a really harsh way.
- The cold weather has been very harsh recently.
passed away
My father passed away.
To say that someone 'passed away' is a nice and polite way of saying that he died. Notice the following:
- Their dog passed away today.
- When did your father pass away?
miss
Do you miss Idaho.
You 'miss' a place if you are not there and you want to be there. You notice the absence of things that made you happy. Notice the following:
- When I travel for a long time I begin to miss the food at home.
- Don't you miss your family?
Vocabulary Quiz
passed away • missed
Roe was an exchange student in Idaho. He talks about his stay while he was there.
