really exciting!

This is my boyfriend David. You guys might recognize him because we did go on a big road

trip this summer, and I did talk about it a lot on Rachel’s English. But the thing

that’s exciting, that I wanted to tell you, is that he’s not my boyfriend anymore. He’s

my fiancé. We decided to get married.

So, we’re going to get married this January. And, one of the things that, um, culture,

I think, is focused around, is big events like weddings. And so, I’m going to talk

a little bit about my wedding, and about how I’m preparing for it, we’re preparing

for it, um, as a way to, sort of, talk about American culture. So I’m going to make a

couple YouTube videos over the next couple months, maybe two or three. And, I’m hoping

that you guys will also share stories about your cultures, and what weddings are like

there.

Um, so to begin, we’re just going to talk for a little bit about how we got engaged,

and, what is, sort of, tradition, as far as that’s concerned, in America. So, David

did one thing that’s pretty traditional, that I was a little surprised about, which

is … do you know what it is?

>> I bought you a ring. >> Yes, two things, actually. The buying of

a ring is pretty standard. >> ‘kay.

>> I, I didn’t necessarily think I needed one. I didn’t need one, but it was really

awesome when he gave me one. Very pretty. The diamond ring is typical in America, and

you wear it on this finger of your left hand. But the thing I was thinking of, actually,

is that you got down on one knee. >> Oh, um-hmm.

>> Which is pretty traditional, and, I think it’s less frequent for that to happen than

for a ring to be presented. >> You’re probably right. [4x]

>> But the thing I was thinking of, actually, is that you got down on one knee.

>> Oh, um-hmm. >> Which is pretty traditional, and, I think

it’s less frequent for that to happen than for a ring to be presented.

>> You’re probably right. >> Yeah. But he did it. He’s just such a

traditional guy. Not really. >> Not really.

Not really. Did you notice how we both dropped the T in ‘not’ in the phrase ‘not really’?

Not really, not really. This doesn’t follow any of the rules for pronouncing T. According

to the rules, this should be a stop T because the next sounds is a consonant, not really,

not really. But, because it’s such a common phrase, you will hear Americans simplify it

even further, like we just did, dropping the T altogether. Not really, not really. Listen

again.

>> Not really. [6x]

>> Um, but one tradition that David didn’t do, is he didn’t ask my parents for permission,

which I think is a much less strong tradition now than it probably was 50 years ago. Although,

I asked my Dad, and he said he did not ask my mom’s parents for permission, either.

So. And that was almost 50 years ago. Um, but also, part of it is just where we are

in life. We’re…older. And so, it, I’m not, like, I don’t know. I’m not so closely

tied to my parents in that familial kind of way. You know, I mean, I’m not as young,

I’m more independent now. So, asking them for permission also might have been a little

bit weird because of that. >> Mm-hmm.

>> Um, why don’t you just say…

Did you notice how ‘you’ sounded like ‘chew’? Americans will do this sometimes

when there’s an ending T followed by the word ‘you’. Instead of a T sound, it’s

more of a CH sound. Don’t you, don’t you, why don’t you. Listen again.

>> Um, why don’t you just [3x] say, for a minute or two, about where and how we got

engaged. >> Sure. So, we got engaged on a—Wednesday

evening? >> Mm-hmm.

>> And, basically, I had gotten the ring, I was feeling pretty good about the ring.

And decided that I would ask you in the park. So, I made some dinner reservations and tried

to be casual about it. I was trying to surprise her a little bit. And so, we rode our bikes

to dinner, but I had told her that I wanted to stop in the park for a little bit, and

just hang out. >> When he told me that, I thought, maybe

he’s got something up his sleeve. >> So I sort of, I, I tipped my hand a little

bit there. But, um, yeah, we sat down in the park, on a park bench. And, I didn’t know

how to start. So, I just at some point, just kind of got to the point. And, yeah. Then

I sort of slid off the bench and I got onto one knee, and I asked you if you would marry

me. >> And I said, “Mm-hmm.” Just kidding.

I said “Yes!” And probably there were people in the park that were noticing this

was happening, but we didn’t notice them. And then we rode our bikes to dinner, and

had a great, a great dinner. >> We did.

>> So, it was also, it was in Rittenhouse Square, which is a very cute little park in,

um, in Philadelphia. And it was just, it was a special place for that to happen, because

it’s just, I don’t know. It’s beautiful, outdoors, very cute. And somehow it was very

personal even though it was in a public space. So I thought that was really sweet.

>> So, we’re going to get married in January, and that’s a pretty short engagement period

in America. In America, I think a year is a little bit more standard. But, we’re just

not standard people. So we’re getting married in January instead, which means, um, first

of all, it’s probably going to be a less formal event because of the timing of it.

And also, um, yeah. Just means less time to stress, which is always good.

>> Um, so. So in order to help this still be an English exercise, a pronunciation exercise,

I noticed as we were talking that we did some sort of fun idioms, so stay tuned and I’m

going to go over those. And, that’s it guys. I do want to add, if you’re interested in

joining the conversation and learning about American culture through the process of getting

married and of weddings, then I invite you to sign up for my mailing list if you haven’t

already. I’m probably going to post…

>> I’m probably going to post [3x]

“As I said, some people will reduce this to two syllables. So, you might hear ‘pro-bly’.”

>> I’m probably going to post a few extra pictures and write a little bit more about

my experience there than I will, um, on my Facebook page, for example. So, click on this

link or in the description to go sign up for my mailing list. It’s free. And, yeah. I

guess, until the next video. That’s it guys, and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.

Let’s learn the idiom to have something up your sleeve. I said, “Maybe he’s got

something up his sleeve”.

>> Maybe he’s got something up his sleeve.

This is a hidden or a secret plan or idea. In this case, I was pretty sure he didn’t

want to stop by the park just to enjoy the park, I thought he might have a plan in mind,

proposing.

>> Maybe he’s got something up his sleeve.

This idiom comes from card playing, when one might cheat by hiding a card up their sleeve

to his or her advantage.

A variation to this idiom, to having something up your sleeve, is to have a trick up your

sleeve.

In response to my idiom, David also used a card playing idiom: I tipped my hand a little

bit there.

>> So I sort of, I, I tipped my hand a little bit there.

If you’re playing cards, you want to keep your hand of cards hidden, of course. If you

tip your hand, you intentionally or not let people see what cards you have. The idiom

to tip your hand means revealing your plans.

Let’s listen to this exchange of idioms again.

>> Maybe he’s got something up his sleeve. >> So I sort of, I, I tipped my hand a little

bit there.

I’d love to hear about the ritual of engagements in your culture. Tell me about it in the comments

below, or share your personal engagement story.