They say dogs are a man’s best friend, but not for this bloke! He’s living the life on a remote island with the local wombats. 🐾
Ever dreamt about escaping the rat race to your own personal utopia? Well, how about befriending local wombats? Back Roads guest presenter Paul West heads to Flinders Island in Tasmania to meet up with eco warrior Addy Jones and his little mate Womy the wombat.
Vocabulary chunks to learn from the video :
We’ve got a wombat in the car
I look after orphaned ones
What was it that first drew you to the island
The biodiversity
They are still untouched
The people are wild as the weather
He’s a bit of an eco-warrior
Whose passions range from
Making surfboards out of recycled materials
Wildlife rescue
In that regard its very special
I’m comfortably broke but very healthy
The environment for one
It’s not for everyone because it is very remote
Logistically it’s a bit of nightmare
You can’t have everything
It’s a pretty amazing lifestyle, it really is
Tom, Sarah, and their daughter Neesa live in a 20sqm off-grid tiny house on a property on the Coromandel Peninsula, New Zealand. Instead of paying rent, they share the work of looking after the land with the owners, and both families share in the farm’s abundant produce. We were inspired by how much happier they’ve found themselves by living with less.
Tom is a medical doctor and Sarah is an illustrator but both have chosen to reduce their work to almost nothing in order to have more time to focus on living well – a lifestyle choice that is more possible for many of us than we might think. This little 6-minute film has been one of our most popular to date – perhaps because it describes a lifestyle so many of us would love to be living.
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Vocabulary chunks to learn from video :
Living Simply
This is my wife Sarah
The house is 20 square meters
This L shaped space
A bit of a deck at the back
Mobile broadband
Hot water is from a gas cylinder
Keeping an eye on her
We need to radically rethink how to live
A healthy step for us
Be okay with the downsizing
Look out to trees and green
I don’t know the term for it
Working in the vegetable garden
Building, digging so that’s most of my work
Part-time I work as a GP (General Practitioner)
Our costs are fractional to what they were in town
I don’t have any stress about money
Which is a huge benefit
Emotionally I’m healthier
I’m much more in touch with sense of well-being
Maybe there is another way of being secure
Working in exchange for rent
Sharing and gifting of what we have
A more affluent lifestyle
Listen to what their hearts tell them will make them happy
Having the courage to act on it
For me this turns out to be what I love
Everybody would want to live this way
Michael lives in the old Victorian town of Oamaru, on the South Island of New Zealand. He is a ‘Trad’ – a Traditional. He embraces the good aspects of the past and tries to live a life that is a little more gentle than the modern day consumer world.
New research shows that trees communicate with one another and share nutrients through their roots! They need each other. In urban areas, trees also help us with health, economic and social benefits. They are part of our culture. We need them. So, how can we return the favor?
Vocabulary chunks to learn from video :
Great great great grandson
Run around in the woods
Make rope swings
Inland rain forest
We spent all of our summers in the bush
Trees in urban environments are essential
As equal partners
People recover more quickly from surgery in hospitals
The Danes are ranked as the world’s happiest people. Hygge may have something to do with it. Difficult to sum up in one word, “hygge” is a Danish ritual of enjoying life’s pleasures.
Vocabulary chunks from the video :
• The Danes are the happiest people on Earth
• At the top of the list
• Togetherness
• The art of creating a good atmosphere
• Hygge as part of our DNA
• Simple pleasures of life
• A cup of warm chocolate or tea
• At home with a candle
• Reading a book
• Spending quality time with friends and family
• Winter is the peak season for hygge
• More living space per person
• Lighting is important too
• Design concepts
• A state of mind
• A simple walk outside
• The focus is on being together
Vocabulary chunks to learn after watching the video :
A crazy reason
Eyeglass frames
Strange looking
Being a flea market freak
I like the big ones
The bigger to see you
I’d chat them up
They either strike me or they don’t
First impressions to me are exceedingly important
I fall in love with things
If it feels good here, then I know it’s right
The secret to a happy marriage
A sense of humor
My Russian heritage
It takes a little work
It really really pays off
IrisApfel might be 95, but don’t think for a minute that the legendary interior designer and fashion icon has resigned herself to a quiet life. In fact, Apfel shows no sign of slowing down any time soon, thanks to the popular demand for her brand of unapologetically colorful and outrageous style. Read more HERE
Vocabulary in Chunks 
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