Little Seal English

And here are some shots from my home-home. Home = Canada Home-home = Ireland We usually repeat a word for emphasis on when it has a deeper meaning. In this case, I have two homes. I have lived in Canada for over a decade. I got roots there. I got friends, community, a job, the works. However, Ireland is also my home. Where I was born and raised. Where I have memories that run deeper than my Canadian memories. Ireland will always be one of my homes, as will Canada. Take a look at my beautiful hometown. Oooooh Ireland, how I've missed you. Sligo is located on the Atlantic ocean. I could sit and watch the ocean come in and out all day. Kelowna is a landlocked city but surrounded by mountains. They are two gorgeous places but vastly different in terms of natural beauty. Of course I miss the ocean and salty air, but I also now miss the mountains covered in trees and alpine lakes. Happy to not be teaching these days and relaxing instead.

Here is something I recently did, sleep in a national park in BC! This is a trip that my hiking friends and I have been planning for years and here are some snaps from it. Location: Mount Revelstoke National Park Camp location: Eva Lake (look it up!) Notes: - Mosquitos are cunts and I HATE them - Alpine lake are refreshing to swim in but COLD! - The 'fur' you see on the trail is not animal fur, it's from a tree. Yes, the trees grow a thing that looks like animal fur but is spelt 'FIR' and to make it more confusing is pronounced more or less the same as the coat of an animal (you can see the pic of the tree above) - The big container is called a Bear Cache. This is where you store your food. You DON'T store food in your tent or at your campsite because then you'll have unwelcomed visitors (bears, cougars, wolverines, etc.). If there is no bear cache, you can use a Bear Hang but that's a little more complicated. - There was a small rustic cabin there which gave us some reprieve from the mosquitos.

Howdy strangers! Today is July 23rd, the last time I posted was June 23rd, this is a pure coincidence and I like it! Anyway, today I am going back to Ireland and I can't wait! I put together this YouTube video showing you what I'm actually packing away in my suitcase. I bet there are some surprises and great nuggets of English to be learnt here. Enjoy and if you have any questions, hit me up! https://youtu.be/fhDLxlJZPCU

https://youtube.com/shorts/7RdrkEx-cPo?si=fcQDgjQdwluMqAvb A wee short video about the word Awful! It was actually a positive word in the past, but now it's more negative. However, in some places we still use it for both positive and negative. I asked my Canadian friend if he would say: Awful cold He said he would say "awfully cold" - for me, awful cold is not a problem because that's Hiberno English. He is using Canadian English which adheres to a different set of rules. I didn't know this until today, 11 years in Canada and still learning Canadian English!

https://youtu.be/XvlBcRJciuU Alright kids, it's time to learn some very important life skills: How to roll a joint In this video, I sit down to walk you through the process of rolling a joint. I also cover some of the English related to rolling. Please let me know if you have any questions, I'll do a more detailed video soon. I was just testing out my new setup and figured an impromptu video like this was the perfect test-drive. Enjoy, Ronan

Just some random notes that came up in my class the other day. We were chatting about brands because I picked up a brand new pair of kicks. I usually buy Asics for running, but now I'm switching to Hoka! I'm excited to give them a test run later this week. Anywho, here are some notes about brands and things that came up. Discussion 1. Do you have a favorite brand of shoe? 2. What companies are known to be reliable brands from your country? 3. What is a brand you can justify spending a lot of money on? 4. What brands do you think are overpriced? Enjoy, Ronan

Bear country | Noun An area of land that is occupied by bears! I live in BC, Canada. BC is bear country! This means that there are bears all over BC. We have bears in the mountains, along the highways, in the forests, in the villages and towns, and sometimes even in the cities. If you live in Toronto, that's not bear country. There are no bears in Toronto - at least not in the downtown area. However, if you live ANYWHERE in BC, you are never too far from a bear. It's not like I need to be cautious of bears at all times, but whenever I go to the bush - I need to be cautious. Occasionally, bears come downtown. Maybe they are lost, maybe they are looking for a beer, either way, it does happen from time to time. There are places in Canada where you can't go outside without preparing to meet a bear. In some places, you are not allowed to lock your car door on the street IN CASE someone comes across a bear and needs a quick escape. Would you like to live in Bear Country?

Last week in class we started talking about recovering from injuries or illnesses. As you know, I have a lot of experience with recovery and was able to share some phrases, idioms, and just general English related to the topic. Here is some useful English my class and I came up with! Enjoy, Ronan