A Useful American Idiom: "Second Nature"

Hi everyone!  It's BRUTALLY hot and humid out (or, "yoomid" as they say in Brooklyn)--ninety-six degrees Fahrenheit and 99% humidity!  Phhhheeeeyew!   Remember that in this country we  use "Fahrenheit" as the temperature scale and not "Celsius" or "Centigrade" which is what you probably use in your home country.

Walking down  the street in New Jersey right now--you practically have to swim down the street!  Its pretty awful.   Thank G-d for air conditioning!  I don't know what I'd do without it.   And we aren't even into the worst high heat of the summer--that won't come until the end of July or the beginning of August, where the temperatures on the Jersey Shore, where I live, will regularly break a hundred degrees.

In any case.   I made and posted a new video--this one is about a great American idiom:  "Second nature".  The idiom "second nature" as in "its second nature to him" means it comes easily, it comes naturally, he does it easily and naturally and without difficulty.  Check out the video here:

All right?  All right.  I hope you find this idiom useful in your daily speech; its a very common one that Americans use pretty constantly.

Also remember that I have an American Idiom of the Day twitter feed and David Berlin's American Accent and ESL Training webpage if you are interested in taking ESL or accent reduction lessons.   You can call me at (732) 807-5424 to discuss or hit me up on Skype at david.berlin.esl -- I am always happy to work with international students.

Okay?  okay.  Have a great summer, take it easy, this is your friendly neighborhood ESL and accent reduction tutor, David Berlin, SIGNING OFF--see ya!

And Now Its The Beginning Of Another Summer!

Wow!  And now its the beginning of another summer!  Been a long time since I updated this blog.

Things are great down here at the Jersey Shore.   Its almost Memorial Day.   Memorial Day honors American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who have died defending this country.   (Veteran's Day, which is November 11th, honors ALL American Veterans.)

People are starting to think about barbecuing.  I've talked about barbecuing, baseball, and American culture in previous blog posts, and as always, if you have questions about baseball and how its played, or how to best respond to an invitation  to a barbecue from an American friend, give me a call at (732) 807-5424 or hit me up on Skype at david.berlin.esl and we'll figure it out.

Now in previous posts I've talked about garage sales and lemonade stands.  Another interesting part of American culture is street festivals.  In New Jersey, we are famous for street festivals--all you have to do is google the words, "street festivals NJ" and you'll get plenty of listings.  A street festival is when a town or municipality shuts down the main streets in the town and hires food vendors and art and craft vendors and all kinds of vendors to come in---some sell novelties, t-shirts, umbrellas, all kinds of things.

The food at a street festival is not to be missed.  If you are a vegetarian, you can still get zeppole--a kind of fried dough with powdered sugar, and fried potatoes with enough salt to give you a heart attack (the only way to eat them!) and all kinds of delicious foods.  You can get a tall cold glass of lemonade made with a lemon, sugar, and ice water--my personal favorite and the only way to properly make lemonade.

And street festivals always have bands, sometimes more than one.

All right?  All right.   Remember if you have any questions about this or any other points of American culture or if you think you need some help with your accent, or you need to speak better, clearer, more confident English, give me a call at (732) 807-5424.  Also check out my American Idiom of the Day Twitter feed or my website:  David Berlin's ESL and Accent Reduction Training Website.  Also check out my ESL/Accent Reduction YouTube Channel for more video lessons on proper American English pronunciation and help navigating American culture.

All right?  'Til next time, take care.  SEE YA!