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Views #330 | Intermediate 4

Growing Up Abroad

Eli talks about growing up outside of her home country of England.
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Eli
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.


Learn vocabulary from the lesson!

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:

  1. I spent a lot of time with him and we got very close to each other.
  2. 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:

  1. When we have finished our meal we will go on to the cinema.
  2. 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:

  1. Boarding schools are usually very expensive.
  2. 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:

  1. In term time I do a lot of extra curricular activities.
  2. 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:

  1. I would just love a place where I can call home.
  2. I lived there for so long that I started to call it my home. 

Vocabulary Quiz

close • go on • boarding
term time • call home
  1. He went to school from the time he was 15, so he doesn't have much experience with women.
  2. She got to the people she met while she was living in China.
  3. About 75% of our students to university studies.
  4. I just want a nice apartment that I can for the year.
  5. I spend the summer doing things that I don't have time for during .
Answer the following questions about the interview.

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