August 31, 2019　=========

☆  protect 保護する

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The final sample answer for our monthly question of, “Have you ever had trouble while traveling?” is “I had to protect myself from a pickpocket!” I hope this has never happened to you! It has never happened to me, and hopefully never will.

These days, there is less need to carry money or even a wallet when we travel though, so I guess protecting our cash is not as important. What do I mean? I use my phone to pay for most things these days. In Australia, at least in the main cities, you can just carry a phone with your banking app on it, and neverRead more about August 31 – protect[…]

August 30, 2019　=========

☆  entitle 権利を与える

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If you are entitled to something, you have the right to have it or do it. Some sports clubs in Australia are affiliated with American sports clubs, so their members are entitled to use the gym in anywhere in Australia or America! That’s pretty cool, don’t you think? One of the things that is hard to do while traveling is keep fit, but if you are entitled to use the local gym, you could do your regular workouts without it costing money.

Of course, if you stay at a hotel, there might be a gym or pool you are entitled to use, but these days, a lotRead more about August 30 – entitle[…]

August 29, 2019　=========

☆  rectify （誤りなどを）正す

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If you rectify something that is wrong, you change it so that it becomes correct or acceptable. If you are traveling, there are all sorts of things that might need to be rectified.

For example, the spelling of your name on your passport. My sister changed the spelling of her name from Gill to Jill. The British spelling is Gill, but when we moved to Australia, she changed it. When she tried to get her passport, they didn’t believe it was her, because of the J and G difference. It actually took her quite a bit of time and effort to get it rectified to J onRead more about August 29 – rectify[…]

August 28, 2019　=========

☆  overcharge  （高値を）ふっかける

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Continuing with the Q&A for the month, “Have you ever had trouble while traveling?” the second sample answer is “I was overcharged at my hotel.” Has this ever happened to you? If so, what did you do?

I have no memory of ever being overcharged at a hotel, but I have definitely been overcharged when shopping while traveling. When I was in Thailand, the street vendors change the price depending on how much they think you will pay! I was charged $10 when my friend was only charged $5… was I overcharged by $5 or did my friend get a $5 discount? Hmm… not sure!

Bye,

Chris

August 27, 2019　=========

☆  cancel  キャンセルする

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This week, we have the end of month Q&A. The question is, “Have you ever had trouble while traveling?” and one of the sample answers was, “My flight was canceled suddenly!” Has this ever happened to you?

In Australia, there is an airline company and their international flights are great, and they partner with Qantas, so it’s safe, and if they cancel a flight, you get re-booked or refunded.

However, their domestic service is hit and miss. You can get great service one day, and your flight will be on time, and the staff are wonderful. Then on another day, your flight will be canceled suddenly, and theyRead more about August 27 – cancel[…]

August 26, 2019　=========

☆  accept  受け取る

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There are a few different ways to use today’s word, but this time we are talking about accepting an unpleasant fact or situation. In this case, it means that you get used to it or recognize that it cannot be changed.

Nothing to do with traveling, but last week was “Book Week” for Australia. It means that around Australia, all the elementary schools celebrate books. This is a great idea of course, but the one thing that I dislike is that they have a parade and the kids have to wear a costume of their favorite book character.

Every year, I say, “Let’s get your costume organized soon!”Read more about August 26 – accept[…]

August 25, 2019　=========

☆  safety  安全性

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When you travel and choose your destination, is safety one of the things you rate as important? And what exactly do you mean by safety? For example, when they do the country rankings according to safety, they are ranking according to things like the likelihood of terrorist attacks, political instability and the number of murders.

However, when I think about safety, I’m mostly thinking about whether or not the public transport is good, and OK for families to travel on, and whether or not there are a lot of areas where people are using drugs or homeless.

How about you? What does safety mean to you?

Bye,

Chris

August 24, 2019　=========

☆  surcharge  追加料金

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A surcharge is an extra payment of money, in addition to the usual payment for something. It is added for a specific reason, for example, in Australia many restaurants have a surcharge on weekends, because they have to pay their staff higher wages on weekends.

Another common surcharge these days is for using a credit card instead of cash. Many small businesses charge a surcharge for using a credit card because the bank charges them a fee to allow credit cards to be used in their business. Many hotels charge a surcharge for an early check-in or a late check-out.

How about in Japan? Are the many placesRead more about August 24 – surcharge[…]

August 23, 2019　=========

☆  refund 返金

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One of the useful phrases for this week is, “Did you ask for a refund?” When would you use this? Can you imagine a situation? I haven’t used it that often, but mostly concerning food at restaurants.

Once, I remember being at a pizza café, and the staff brought my pizza. There was a very long hair on top of it!! Yuck!! Even thinking about it now, I feel a bit sick!! Ha ha. So, I told the staff, and she said she’d get me another pizza, and I said, “No thanks, I’d prefer a refund.” Seriously, I was no longer hungry and definitely not going toRead more about August 23 – surcharge[…]

August 22, 2019　=========

☆  journey 旅

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A journey is a trip, an excursion, an expedition, or tour. Generally, we talk about the difference between a trip somewhere and a journey somewhere as being that the trip is more lighthearted and fun, whereas a journey implies that the person is going on a journey and changing or developing themselves at the same time.

So, we can talk about a “journey of discovery” or an “inner journey” but we wouldn’t say, “trip of discovery” or “inner travel/trip”. You can also use journey when the trip you are taking is long or more difficult. For example, you might plan to take a journey across America. OnRead more about August 22 – journey[…]

August 21, 2019　=========

☆  mishap  災難

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A mishap is an unfortunate event that happens to someone, but it is usually not too serious. Other similar words are accident, misadventure, mischance and misfortune.

It’s interesting to look at the origin of this word. I always thought that it was a shortening “happening.” In other words, we add the prefix “mis” to make it negative. So, it was a bad happening, as opposed to a good happening… however, I have just learned something new! The word “hap” actually means “luck”! So, this word, mishap, literally means, bad luck. The word “hap” is very rarely used these days, except in this kind of word, like mishap.

Interesting!Read more about August 21 – mishap[…]

August 20 2019　=========

☆  reaction 反応

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Your reaction to something that has happened or something that you have experienced is what you feel, say, or do because of it. When traveling, your choice of reaction can make a big difference. If your flight is delayed, you have two reactions to choose from (well maybe more, but two main ones) – you can feel angry or you can feel calm.

If you’re on a plane with a screaming baby next to you, same kind of reactions, right? Calm or angry. If the hotel made a mix-up, or the airline lost your luggage….

It’s not always easy to choose the peaceful reaction, but if you haveRead more about August 20 – reaction[…]

August 19, 2019　=========

☆  memory  思い出

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One of the best things about traveling is the memories that you can make, right? And of course, hopefully they are all good memories! Although, I have the rather unfortunate memory of our travel in London, I do have some great memories of that trip, too.

For example, I have the memory of catching a taxi in Paris, and getting to use my very limited French language skills from high school! Ha ha, luckily the driver spoke English too.

I also have a hilarious memory of the memory of going to a famous horse race in America, and trying to place a bet. The staff couldn’t understand myRead more about August 19 – memory[…]

August 18, 2019　=========

☆  hassle  口論する

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If you hassle someone, you cause them problems by repeatedly telling them or asking them to do something – usually in an angry or annoying way. So, if you read yesterday’s email, I said there was a problem with the hotel rooms when my students and I went to London.

At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing, talking with the staff in order to get the problem sorted out. However, now looking back, I can see clearly that I was hassling the staff, and arguing pointlessly with them. There was no solution to the mix up that they had made, but they didn’tRead more about August 18 – hassle[…]

August 17, 2019　=========

☆  embrace 受け入れる

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If you embrace something, it means that you accept it, or come to terms with it. (You might know that it also means to hug someone, but not in today’s situation.)

What kinds of things might you have to embrace while traveling?

Delays? Plans being rescheduled? Hotel booking mix-ups? When I went to London with my English students many years ago, there was a big mix-up with the hotel room booking. We had a big group, and so I had to negotiate with the hotel staff. They were being very unhelpful, and so I got angry – unfortunately a lot angrier than was necessary. I apologized, but stillRead more about August 17 – embrace[…]

August 16, 2019　=========

☆  request 依頼する

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If you request something, you ask for it politely or formally. While traveling, if you run into trouble, being polite and requesting help – rather than just asking – can mean that people are more likely to help you. So, what is the difference between requesting some help and asking for some help?

The main difference is in your intonation and choice of words. If you are asking for help, you’d probably speak more casually and whereas when you are requesting help, you’d be more likely to use soft intonation and polite words, just as a simple example:

Asking for help: Hey, can you help me?

Requesting help: ExcuseRead more about August 16 – request[…]

August 15, 2019　=========

☆  reschedule  計画を変更する

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If you reschedule something, it means that you have to change your plans in regards to the time which something was supposed to happen. If it’s just a dinner date with a friend, it’s pretty simple to reschedule, just send a text with an apology and suggestion of a different date, right?

But, how about if you need to reschedule your travel plans? That can be time-consuming, and expensive! Airline tickets usually charge a fee to reschedule dates or times. Hotels are the same – they keep a certain percentage of your payment, or they keep the deposit. Ouch!

Have you ever had to reschedule your travel plans?Read more about August 15 – reschedule[…]

August 14, 2019　=========

☆  delay 遅らせる

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Once when I flew from Japan to the USA with a couple of Japanese clients, we were caught up in a big pilot strike, so there were not as many flights taking off as usual. It was very bad timing and we were delayed and rerouted through a different city, too!

The airport staff didn’t seem to care that we were heading to a seminar in Atlanta, they rerouted us through a tiny city way up north even though we landed in San Francisco. And, because our flight was delayed, we missed the connection to Atlanta! In the end, we made it to the seminar, but onlyRead more about August 14 – delay[…]

August 13, 2019　=========

☆  refuse 拒む

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One of the useful phrases this week, is “I would refuse to pay the extra charge.” What could this situation be? For example, a tax on your hotel or dinner that you weren’t told about. Or it could be travel insurance that you didn’t agree to pay for.

If you are planning to travel to another country it’s a good idea to learn some basic phrases so that you can confidently refuse things. You can probably find an app that would help you, but some basic phrases are also good to know, such as:

Sorry, I didn’t order that. (to refuse food at a restaurant)
Sorry, this seat isRead more about August 13 – refuse[…]

August 12, 2019　=========

☆  hitchhike  ヒッチハイクをする

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Have you ever hitchhiked? I did while traveling in Japan when I was younger, but I was always with a group of other girls. There were three of us trying to hitchhike and get a ride to the next city. It was surprising how many people stopped to help us… although only one person actually offered us a ride! Ha ha. It was a woman in her twenties who was confident in her English, so we had a lovely chat.

However, I would never, ever, hitchhike in Australia. And I certainly wouldn’t recommend to my kids to ever hitchhike – anywhere – not just in Australia, butRead more about August 12 – hitchhike[…]

August 11, 2019　=========

☆  grumpy  気難しい

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Someone who is grumpy is bad-tempered and miserable. You will mostly hear this word used to describe old men! For example, “Don’t worry about my dad, he’s just a grumpy old man.” This can be said in a humorous or serious way, the nuance will be different depending on the person’s intonation – and of course, the dad – maybe they really are grumpy! Maybe not.

When traveling, it’s easy to become grumpy if you run into trouble. Someone noisy next to you on the plane, so you can’t sleep. Your train is late, so you miss your connection to the next city. You couldn’t speak theRead more about August 11 – grumpy[…]

August 10, 2019   　=========

☆  anxious  気がかりな

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If you are anxious you are nervous or worried about something. Do you travel outside of Japan often? I know a lot of my students really wanted to learn English, in order to travel to other countries. They felt anxious that they wouldn’t be able to travel without fluent English.

Believe it or not though, lots of people feel anxious about traveling, and not just related to language differences. People all around the world feel anxious about things like flying, what to eat, the weather and what clothes to pack, and of course, whether or not you have your passports and the right visas.

There are manyRead more about August 10 – anxious[…]

August 9, 2019   =========

☆  unfortunate 不運な

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Today is my sister’s birthday. I hope nothing unfortunate happens to her, and that she has a fortunate day! I haven’t talked about this in a while, but a simple way to increase your vocabulary is to learn prefixes, like today’s “un”. By adding “un” to words, you turn them into the negative of the original word. So, instead of saying something like “that is not fortunate.” You can say something much more natural and native-like, by saying, “That is unfortunate.”

There are lots of “un” words that I’m sure you know. Here are some:

unfair
unclean
unclear
unhappy
undated
unloved
unfazed
unsavory

Can you add any other “un” words to this list?

Bye,

Chris

August 8, 2019      =========

☆  desperate 絶望的な

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There are three ways to use “desperate”. Firstly, you can be desperate. If you are desperate, then you are in a bad situation, and you are willing to try anything to change it. For example, “I was desperate to find my lost passport, so I called the hotel where I had stayed last week.”

Secondly, you can be desperate “for something” or “to do something”. You want or need something very much. In this situation, there can be some nuance of desire, not hopelessness. For example, “I’m desperate to visit Tokyo during the Olympics next year!”

And, thirdly, you can be in a desperate situation, a situationRead more about August 8 – desperate[…]

August 7, 2019 =========

☆  surprising 意外な

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Today’s word reminded me of a surprising travel experience I had in the USA. I was traveling on a small taxi bus with some other people I didn’t know. And we crashed! Our minibus was hit by a car that went through a red light. It wasn’t a bad accident and no one was hurt, but my friend and I were in a hurry to get to the airport!

The police arrived and took our information and checked we weren’t hurt, and then we told the Texan policeman that we needed to get to the airport quickly. The first surprising thing was that he said heRead more about August 7 – surprising[…]

August 6, 2019　=========

☆  terrifying  恐ろしい

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The second useful phrase for this week is, “That must have been terrifying.” Have you ever had a terrifying travel experience? I have! It was actually so terrifying, that sometimes when I think about it, I wonder how my friend and I didn’t get ourselves killed!!

Once, in Nagoya, my friend and I got separated from our group of friends. It was late, and my friend had drunk too much wine. She walked off with three Japanese men, maybe in the 50’s, with lots of tattoos. She got in a car with them, and no matter how much I tried, she wouldn’t get out… so I gotRead more about August 6 – terrifying[…]

August 5, 2019　=========

☆  frustrating イライラした

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Today’s word, frustrating, means that something annoys you or makes you angry because you cannot do anything about the problems it causes. This week’s useful phrase is “How frustrating!”

So, in terms of troubles while traveling, what situation might cause you to say, “How frustrating!”?

How about when the airline company loses your luggage? Or when your train is late and you miss your connection? Or when you arrive at the museum only to find that it is closed for the day? Or … what else? Can you think of any frustrating situations you might have while traveling?

Bye,

Chris

August 4, 2019　=========

☆  attack 攻撃

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An attack could be an assault on you physically or verbally. I hope you have never experienced an attack while traveling – or in fact, I hope you’ve never experienced an attack ever!

Have you ever thought about what you would do if you were the victim of an attack while traveling? For women traveling alone, the risk of an attack is unfortunately higher than for men traveling alone, however, we should all be prepared and alert for danger while traveling.

My Japanese friend told me that once when she was traveling in Italy, a pickpocket stole from her handbag – lucky for her, they didn’t get herRead more about August 4 – attack[…]

August 3, 2019            =========

☆  compensation 賠償

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Compensation is the money you receive when you suffer a loss, in the case of our topic, you usually receive that compensation from a travel insurance company. However, you could receive compensation from your employer or the government, or if you are in a car accident, possibly from the other person’s insurance company.

In the case of our running stroller, we were so lucky that it was just a damaged wheel, and we received compensation quickly and easily. However, you often hear of people who have gotten sick overseas, and need the compensation to pay their medical bills but the insurance company says they will notRead more about August 3 – compensation[…]

August 2, 2019      =========

☆  damage 損害

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Today, we have another of the useful phrases for the week: How bad was the damage? This was one of the questions the insurance company asked us when we asked for the money to replace the running stroller I mentioned yesterday. The company wanted to know if the damage was so bad that we needed a replacement, or whether they could just buy a replacement wheel.

In fact, the damage wasn’t so bad that we needed a new stroller, it could still be used… however, in the end, it was the same price to replace a wheel and axle from the US as buying a newRead more about August 2 – damage[…]

August 1, 2019　    =========

☆  insurance 保険

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This month our topic is “Troubles while traveling” and the useful phrase is “You should definitely get travel insurance.” What do you think about this? Do you usually get travel insurance?

I very rarely buy travel insurance – it seems like an expense for something I never need… however, one time when I was flying back to Australia, for some reason, we decided to get insurance. We were lucky we did! On our arrival at Sydney airport we discovered that Qantas had damaged our expensive running stroller wheel, so we couldn’t use it anymore. Luckily the insurance paid for a replacement stroller.  

How about you? DoRead more about August 1 – insurance[…]