ESL Podcast 579 - Telling People Where You're From

from around here - from the local area; born in the surrounding area; born in this town or city

I've lived here most of my adult life, but I'm not from around here.

originally from - referring to the place where one was born, usually when one has not spent very much time in that place

He's originally from Delaware, but he has spent most of his adult life in North Dakota.

native - born in a particular place

Her ancestors for the past 200 years have been natives of Texas.

to grow up in - to spend one's childhood in a place; to become an adult in a particular place

Megan grew up in Idaho with her grandparents.

quite a bit - a lot; a large amount

They ate quite a bit of the casserole, but you can have what's left.

to spend some time - to do something for an undefined period of time, usually not for very long

Carolina spent some time working as a waitress before she decided to go back to school and get her nursing degree.

adopted hometown - the town or city where one has chosen to live and where one has now lived for so long that it feels like one has always lived there

Even though Craig was born in Alaska, he has lived here since 1963 and now he considers Trenton, New Jersey to be his adopted hometown.

to show (someone) around - to take someone to many different places in a city or area, helping him or her become familiar with the most important things

Sun was really grateful to her co-workers for showing her around Minneapolis when she first moved there for her new job.

to get reacquainted - to become familiar with someone or something after a long period of separation

We haven't seen each other in years, but I don't think it will take us very long to get reacquainted.

to have a lot of catching up to do - to need to learn many things in order to be as familiar with something as another person is, or to learn about all the things that have happened while one was away

Karina missed about one month of school while she was sick, so now she has a lot of catching up to do if she wants to graduate with her classmates.

local - a person who lives in the local area; a person who is from a particular place

When they travel on vacation, they try to eat where the locals eat, avoiding the touristy restaurants.

to hang out - to spend one's free time doing fun but unimportant things, usually with friends

Do you want to hang out at my house this weekend?

to treat - to act toward someone in a particular way; to behave in a particular way toward another person

Why are you still dating him if he always treats you badly?

newcomer - a person who is new to an area, having moved there recently from another place

All the newcomers to New York City get lost the first few times they try to take the subway.

one-man - one-person; doing something alone, without help from others

That was a great performance by a one-man band. I had no idea one person could play the drums, guitar, and harmonica at the same time!

welcome wagon - a service that welcomes people who have recently moved to a new area, often by giving them food and/or coupons for local businesses

We weren't expecting a welcome wagon, but it would have been nice if the neighbors had come over to introduce themselves when we moved into our new home.