Growing Up Abroad
Eli
I am totally English, but I spent my whole life basically living in other countries, well, my parents spent most of my life living in other countries. I've actually been at school in England for quite a while of it. Living away from your own country is great. I guess it's really good when you're young you get to see different countries. I stopped off in Africa and Nigeria. I was actually born in England, but I went there fifteen days after I was born so, my first plane flight was 15 days old, and I can't really remember obviously that much of that but then we went to Holland for nine years, which is great and it's, you know, I'm very lucky to have grown up in a different culture, although very embarassingly I can's speak the language cause I always went to an Enlgish school, but it's kind of difficult cause you, wherever you go, you make friends. You get close to people and then suddenly you have to move, and move house, go on to somewhere else, and I found this to be the sort of hardest thing, when I was 8, I went off to boarding school in England cause my parents thought I'd get a better education that way than moving around to different schools all over the world, and this was you know, it was good it was fun, but something like I always envied was the way, all the other kids at school, there school friends were just their friends in term time, but their real friends were friends that, you know, they had known since they were little, since you know, since they had been born or, you know their early school friends and they still knew them and you know even when I was 18 years old, still, my friend's from school had their real friends at home who they'd known all there lives, and I've kind of always envied that because we've always been moving around and as I say, you know, I'm very lucky, we've been in Holland, Scotland, and Africa, and I've very lucky to have seen all of these places but it's kind of hard as well, not having a root, not having a place where you can actually call your home, somewhere to go back to at the end of the day and have all of your family and friends around you.
get close to
You get close to people.
When you 'get close to' someone it means that you form an
emotional attachment to her.
Notice the following:
- I spent a lot of time with him and we got very close to
each other.
- I think you need to get close to someone before you can
ask them personal questions.
go on to
You have to move, and move house, go on to somewhere else.
When you 'go on to' somewhere or something it means you
move along to that place or thing.
Notice the following:
- When we have finished our meal we will go on to the
cinema.
- I am planning on going on to Africa after I have visited
Europe.
boarding school
When I was 8, I went off to boarding school in England.
'Boarding school' is a type of school where the pupils live
during the school year.
Notice the following:
- Boarding schools are usually very expensive.
- I had great fun at boarding school.
term time
Their school friends were just their friends in term time.
'Term time' is the time that children spend at school when
they are not on holiday. The school year is split into
different terms.
Notice the following:
- In term time I do a lot of extra curricular activities.
- The school is only open in term time.
call your home
It's kind of hard as well, not having a root, not having a
place where you can actually call your home.
When you 'call somewhere your home' it means that you feel
as though that is where you belong or feel most comfortable.
Notice the following:
- I would just love a place where I can call home.
- I lived there for so long that I started to call it my home.
Vocabulary Quiz
term time • call home
