Learn English with this VLOG Explore the USA (Subtitles + PDF)
if your goal is to improve your English skills and learn more about life in the United States then today's lesson is for you I'm taking you on a special road trip from the state of North Carolina all the way to my hometown of Buffalo New York during this trip we'll have the opportunity to go to My Best Friend's Wedding and will visit one of the most famous natural wonders of the world Niagara Falls I know this is a vacation but you're here to learn right so as always I've created a free PDF for this lesson you're going to learn a lot of General vocabulary for everyday speaking and writing and you'll also learn some specific terms that are useful for traveling in the US so anytime you see a box like this check the PDF for definitions example sentences pictures Etc we have a very long drive ahead of us so let's get started we left North Carolina around 5:00 a.m. and it takes about 12 hours to drive to Buffalo from here so we're on the road and I'm sitting in the back seat of the car my husband sahill volunteered to drive for the first part of this trip my friend Bart is sitting in the front passenger seat and I have my dog guda with me in the back road trips are a big part of the typical American Travel experience in many parts of the country you need a car to get around we're currently driving on I77 or innerstate 77 the interstate system is a network of Highway ways that connect cities and states across the United States making it much easier to travel long distances by car the interstates go across the entire country connecting the east coast to the West Coast and the North to the South the highways are numbered in a specific way even numbered highways like I40 or I90 generally run east west while odd-numbered highways like I95 or I17 run north south this helps drivers know the general direction they're going traveling on the interstates is the fastest way to drive long distances in the US the roads are wide with multiple lanes and there are a lot of rest stops gas stations and fast food restaurants along the way the interstate system is essential for the US economy because this is the primary way that companies transport products from one part of the country to another we're entering the Appalachia region of the US this is sometimes pronounced as Appalachia but in my experience if you talk to locals who were born in this region they don't pronounce it this way my father was born in this region and he spent his early childhood years in the small town of wvil Virginia I have a lot of relatives in this town this region is called Appalachia because of the Appalachian mountain range which Covers Part of 13 states because of the higher elevation it's really foggy here which is beautiful but it can be a little scary scary if you're not used to driving in conditions like this you can't see anything driving through the mountains here can be dangerous sometimes especially if you drive a large truck like this in the US we typically call this an 18wheeler or a semi Tru in Appalachia you can find Escape ramps these are are designed for large trucks that may lose control of their brakes while going downhill Escape ramps go uphill and this helps the driver stop the truck quickly and safely these ramps are essential for preventing accidents on the highway this is a beautiful region with a very rich history and culture for a long time the economy here depended on Industries like coal mining and logging or cutting down trees these industries used to provide a lot of jobs and money but unfortunately times have changed this is because of things like new technology cheaper energy sources such as natural gas and stricter rules about the environment as coal mines have closed many people lost their jobs and were forced to move away from the region to find work as we exit this tunnel you'll see that we have just crossed the border into the state of West Virginia welcome to West Virginia wild and wonderful even though the region of Appalachia a faces big challenges there are efforts to make things better in recent years people have been working to diversify the economy this includes things like tourism the appalachin mountains attract visitors for activities like hiking and exploring national parks soon after we left West Virginia we went to another rest stop in Pennsyl [Music] and as we move farther north you'll start to see fewer mountains and more open farmland and eventually cities and suburbs 12 hours later and finally we're back in the place where I was born and raised [Music] Buffalo is located in the western part of the state of New York very close to the border with Canada it's on the eastern shore of Lake Erie one of the five Great Lakes Buffalo is the second largest city in New York State the largest is New York City Buffalo is a much smaller city that has more in common with other cities around the Great Lakes it's a little more relaxed here and there's a stronger sense of [Music] community Buffalo is known for three things number one snow yeah Buffalo is one of the snowiest cities in the [Music] country number two buffalo style chicken wings people who live here just call them wings wings were invented at a local restaurant called the Anchor Bar in the 1960s and this restaurant is still extremely popular [Music] number three our very passionate sports fans there are two professional sports teams here the Buffalo Bills for American football and the Buffalo Sabers for hockey Unfortunately they don't always win but true fans never stop supporting their teams let's go Buffalo let's go Buffalo let's go Buffalo let's go Buffalo let's go no bab so now why am I here well my friends Jessica and John are getting married a typical American Wedding has two main parts first there's the ceremony and then there's the reception so let's go to the ceremony I would say this was somewhat nontraditional because only very close family and friends were invited to the ceremony also it was held at a very unique location Jessica and John got married in a beautiful Japanese garden behind the Buffalo History Museum this location was absolutely perfect because it reflects their personalities so well traditionally the bride and the groom choose a small group of people to support them on their wedding day this small group is called the wedding [Music] party the Bridesmaids are the bride's closest female friends or family members and you have the same thing with men on the groom side but they are called groomsmen you John take Jessica your wedded wife cherish love and friendship strength and weakness success and disappointment Faithfully traditionally after the bride and the groom both say I do the person who marries the couple typically says to the groom you may now kiss the bride but instead he says something else now out husband and wife please celebrate how you that basically means do whatever you want [Music] [Applause] now after the ceremony was finished the wedding party stayed behind to take some pictures with a professional photographer bridesmaids usually help the bride plan and Oran organize events and generally make sure that the day is fun and stressfree for the bride I had the great honor of being a bridesmaid with two of Jessica's sisters and three good friends okay I heard it ready no [Music] [Music] we took some classic photos and some funny photos super you guys pick him up everybody look my way yes all right very good 5 4 3 2 1 after that it was time to go to the reception which is the celebration with Drinks dinner and [Music] dancing the reception was held at a popular Italian restaurant and this is where more people were invited usually the reception begins with cocktail hour where people chat and enjoy a few [Music] drinks then it's time to eat our dinner for the evening was a buffet yes the tea is silent in Buffet this is where you can choose what you want to eat and you can take as much as you want after dinner comes dessert traditionally the bride and the groom Cut the Cake [Applause] together after that the bride and the groom have their first dance [Applause] he got louana to New [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Orleans and like true professionals you always get back up after you fall [Applause] [Music] [Applause] ladies and gentlemen at this time I have to invite the first man in Jessica's life to join her on the dance floor it is time for the traditional father and daughter dance [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] ladies and Gentlemen please put your hands together for Jessica and her father on her wedding day then the DJ starts playing some more music and invites everyone to the dance floor for the rest of the evening I wish I recorded more but at this point I already had too much alcohol to hold the camera [Music] [Music] one thing that I love about Buffalo is that it takes less than 30 minutes to drive to Niagara [Music] Falls okay so we we are at Niagara Falls State Park in the city of Niagara Falls New York there are actually three main waterfalls located on the border between the US and Canada on the American side there's the American Falls and bridal veil Falls which is much smaller a veil is something that many brides wear on their heads today we're going to see the largest and the most famous of the three waterfalls this one is called Horseshoe Falls because it's shaped like a horseshoe this is mostly on the Canadian side but you can still get a good view from the US [Music] you can also go on a boat tour that will take you much closer to the falls I would definitely recommend [Music] this all right so down here that's the niag river that leads to Niagara Falls right here and on the other side that's Canada beautiful day it's very windy though I already lost my hat twice [Music] [Music] [Music] you're going to fly away so there's another area where you can see Falls and if you look closely there's a rainbow it's our lucky day oh that's a [Music] we had a great time but now it's time to drive all the way back to North Carolina thank you so much for joining me on this adventure if you enjoyed it please like this video And subscribe to my channel if you'd like to see more Vlogs like this please let me know in the comments I'm Gina this is your World in English and I'll see you in the next lesson bye
2024-11-13 22:53
