Dialog:

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Andy:  So Add, tell me how life back in Canada is.  Add:  Overall I’d have to say so far so good.  It has definitely been an adjustment period for us though. Andy:  What are some of the biggest challenges? Add:  Trying to get re established here.  I left Canada right after university.  At that time all my friends had a lot of free time.  Now everyone is really pre-occupied with family and work and doesn’t have much time to spare. Andy:  What are some of the major benefits of being back? Add: It’s a nice change of pace.  The fresh air.  I like owning a house vs renting.  It’s nice to have a garage and a place to store stuff.  I also really like “attempting” home reno projects..

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So far so good:

common and important phrase in spoken English.  A perfect way to simply answer how something new is going.

 

Eg.  How is the new job going?  How is it living in the new house?

 

Adjustment period – If you “adjust” to something it means you “get used to it”.  It gets common and easy.  It is your “new normal”.  So an “adjustment period” is a period of time it takes to get used to something new.

 

Eg.  Adjustment period for a new job.

Adjustment period after you break up with someone.

Adjustment period after you graduate university and start working.

 

Re-established:

If you “re” do anything it means you “do it again”.  If you get “established” it means you get settled in and become stable.  You can get “established” in your career for example.  Senior people in a company are established in their careers so they often make more money and are less likely to get fired.

So if you get “re established” it means that you used to be established, then you were not established, then you need to get established again.

Like having a good job, then quitting and travelling around the world for a couple years, and then going back to the same job.

Pre-occupied:

If you are pre-occupied with something it means that you have been thinking about it a lot.  In fact, it’s basically the only thing you are thinking about.

 

If you go and talk to someone who is pre-occupied with something else, then it’s like they are not even paying attention to what you are saying, even if they are still answering.

 

Eg.  Can get pre occupied with work, relationships, anything either really exciting, stressful, or interesting.  Even can become pre occupied with a news story.

Change of pace:

This is like a big change in the speed of life.  A totally different situation.

 

If you love living in a big city, you may sometimes enjoy going on vacation to a quiet island and just sitting around and reading a book, mainly just for the “change of pace”.

 

Vs:

This is written as “vs” for short, but it means versus.  It is a comparison of 2 things.  What do you think of A vs B?

 

It can also be used to indicate a competition.  The Toronto Raptors Vs the LA Lakers.

Garage:

This is a very North American thing.  We’re talking about a private garage at someone’s house.  Like a separate building beside the house.  Some people put their cars in there, but a lot of people use it for tools, lawn mower, sports equipment, snow shovel, bikes, Christmas decorations, etc.

Attempting:

“Trying” to do something, but not necessarily succeeding.

 

Eg.  If you listen to these podcasts you will not only be attempting to learn English, but you will actually succeed!

 

Home reno:

This is short for “home renovation”, which means to fix your house.  Things like building a new basement.  Re-doing your kitchen.  Putting in a new floor.  This is more structural stuff, not just decorations.  Very common part of life in Canada.