Shadowing Practice: Camping in New York City was Not What I Expected.. - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Dude, this is madness.

Drivers in New York City spend about 107 hours per year searching for parking.

And that is in small, compact, tiny little vehicles.

Being in this seven -ton truck camper in a major metropolitan area is terrifying.

I bought this truck camper to get me off the beaten path.

I certainly did not buy her to camp in a city.

But I think pushing your limits stretches your capability.

All right y 'all.

So I have the luxury of owning a RV.

It's highly modified and it's been my home for years and years and years now and I love my home.

There's one thing that scares me more than anything in this camper and that is big cities.

Driving my truck camper which is meant for places like this and not places like this.

It's my home, it's close to other cars, I don't even really know if my insurance is up to date on either the camper

or the truck at all times of the year.

Like my shoulders are tight right now just even talking about driving this huge truck camper in the city.

And also at the exact same time you can get into something

and have all these discomforts consistently and when you continue to do it, your capabilities are just stretched entirely.

Arts and crafts, Griff, can explain.

Take it away, Griff.

So let's say you've started a new thing.

You're one month in.

This could be anything from skateboarding to surfing to even driving a gigantic camper on the roads.

Your skill levels will slowly increase, but you're not pushing yourself.

You're taking it easy, and you're learning day by day.

But the minute that you do push yourself, that bar is raised forever, if you maintain that skill.

The bar is set to a new height, your skills have increased, and you're more comfortable as time goes on.

Having a little bit of discomfort in that thing will continue to just raise that bar as time goes on.

You'll continue to get better and more comfortable at whatever that new thing is.

I figured if I take the camper to New York City, I would have no further fear of driving in any city knowing

that I could just climb the Mount Everest of driving RVs in cities, which is Manhattan, New York.

Manhattan has about 1 .6 million residents.

It's one of the most densely populated places in the United States.

Population density is roughly 70 ,000 to 75 ,000 people per square mile.

So, with that being said, we leave Tennessee.

We camped here last night, side of the road in West Virginia.

Had my earplugs in and was surrounded by big semis.

But today we hit the big freaking city, man.

We're out, we got about a four and a half hour drive until we're in New York City.

I'm gonna hopefully get there on two or three and hunt down a parking spot,

which I assume will take a long time Easy pass only I gotta get over brah.

All right first toll, please don't hit me.

Holy Nike this is tight dude Stop,

take, take it Dude Holy Holy shit.

All right, ticket acquired.

I know I'm going to miss 40 million exits on this whole journey.

I'm just going to go slow, and people can just get out of my way.

You know what I mean?

Finally starting to see the skyline out in the distance.

I'm like 30 minutes away from the city.

Traffic is really starting to pick up here.

I can see the freaking, I want to say Eiffel Tower.

That's not the Eiffel Tower.

You can see the Empire State Building from here.

Pretty freaking rad.

We're getting fully into it, and I'm starting to really question why I'm doing this.

Holy tight dude.

I'm already seeing cars stacked everywhere and to make things even more tricky.

New York just had a huge snow a few weeks ago

and it hasn't really gotten above freezing so there could be parking spots even being taken up with snow piles.

I'm giving this, I'm calling it an hour.

It's 2 .50 right now.

I'm getting in right before three and I would not be surprised if I'm still driving at 3 .50.

We'll see what happens.

Whoever would have thought three months ago when I was sitting at

that campsite in eastern Oregon that my camper would be in Manhattan with Sadie and I, dude.

What?

It's such a walkable city and I just think of like using my two feet

when I'm here not being in my 14 ,000 pound F -350 truck camper.

Alright, I gotta pay attention to the road.

I'm gonna keep you guys posted and see if I find anything.

Everybody's looking at me like, what the hell is he doing here?

Who invited him, huh?

Holy shit!

I drove and I drove and I drove some more driving through the city.

It ended up being about two hours.

I thought I'd seen a spot.

It was almost like the only road in Manhattan that people had truck campers or they had RVs, and it felt a little bit like a cheat code,

like I had just envisioned parking on some main avenue.

But I'd been driving for two hours, I did not see a single other spot.

So I figured I'd just take the opportunity to take the spot, and it felt like the perfect place to call home for the night.

All right, y 'all, dude, we're in Manhattan.

Hudson River is right there, which is so sick.

I'm gonna take Sadie Girl on a little walk, come back and maybe make a little bit of food.

Been here so many, so many times, but this is definitely the most interesting experience I've had in New York.

It's like I'm seeing it through a whole other lens. so Before

I start cooking food of my own, I want to tell you guys about the sponsor of today's video which is Farmer's Dog.

You guys know how much I love my dog Sadie.

I've had her for eight years now and she is pushing 10 this upcoming June.

I think her age started to freak me out just a little bit

so I went ahead and took her to my vet

and just asked the best ways that I could make her the healthiest 10 year old dog.

And I didn't really realize how processed normal kibble was.

My vet recommended Farmer's Dog.

It's human -grade food.

It's good for her and I know that I'm feeding her the absolute best

when it comes to mealtime She never really was a food driven dog until I started feeding her human -grade food, which is farmers dog She is now obsessed with breakfast

and dinner and she is just chomping at the bit to get her daily meal So

if you guys go check out the link in my description

You will get 50 % off your first box of farmers dog

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and thank you all farmers dog

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so much I was already such a huge supporter of you guys

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and just knowing that you are supporting Sadie Nye is huge

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Alright so I want to cook something different here in the city

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and I felt like jambalaya would be the best thing for that It seems like an intro dish.

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My mom used to make it a ton when I was a kid

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And I love whenever she'd make it

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so I got a ingredient list from my mom the other day

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and and went when I was in Tennessee and got some groceries.

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And I'm gonna start chopping

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and kind of give you guys a rundown of each ingredient going into it as I cook it.

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First we start out with kielbasa sausage, a chicken breast, we've got three veggies.

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We've got an onion, a green pepper,

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celery, butter of course, diced tomatoes in a can,

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brown rice and quinoa, some very questionable looking basil that looked really good yesterday,

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garlic, and then we have some vegetable broth.

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Mom, if I mess this up, I apologize in advance.

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I promise it'll probably still taste good to me.

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I feel like you guys are gonna be roasting me for the way I'm cutting most of the stuff.

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I'm not much of a cook, y 'all.

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All right, chicken breast is going on.

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I'm going to do some sausage.

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Sausage going on.

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So we cleared the chicken and the sausage over.

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We got this kind of waiting over to the side.

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And then we've got all of our veggies here.

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Garlic down.

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Oh man, a cast iron just feels so much better than nonstick.

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Celery added.

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We're going to add our tomato paste now.

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Diced tomatoes I mean.

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Add those in there.

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I'm going to add just a little bit of veggie broth to this.

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I'm going to add the chicken and the sausage back in there.

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Then I'm going to add the rice in there.

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Not sure how much, I'm just going to eyeball it.

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Half, a little over half.

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And a little bit more garlic in there.

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Gonna give that a super duper good stir.

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Dude, if the cops show up, they're getting a bowl of jambalaya.

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Alright, we're gonna bowl this.

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Hopefully this tastes decent.

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That looks pretty dang good to me, man.

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Alright, first little taste.

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Let's see how this is, eh?

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Almost forgot.

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We have one more thing we need to get.

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Got a classic bottle of 19 crumbs.

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Go with it, baby.

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Got my camp cup with me.

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We are camping, you know?

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Got some jambalaya.

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Maybe the first meal I've ever made with a recipe.

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And I am one year away from turning 30.

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I don't know whether to be proud of that or be ashamed of that.

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Here's y 'all.

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First taste of the jambalaya on the streets of New York City. That was good.

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That was really good.

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It doesn't taste like my mom's, but I should have expected that to be the case.

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I've got like two more portions for maybe lunch tomorrow.

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I'm gonna enjoy this.

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Thanks for joining me, y 'all.

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Called it a night and it was such a quiet street.

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I didn't hear any cars go by in the night.

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It was honestly the perfect place to camp in New York.

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Yeah, we've had a wonderful, wonderful little morning here.

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I put a post out online mentioning to all of my fans to come

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and visit me that are from New York City.

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I'm going to put my address up in the next 10 minutes, and I'm going to supply free coffee and good hangs and a Q &A.

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I'm going to walk her, go get a bunch of Starbucks coffee, and yeah, meet some really rad people.

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See you guys there.

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About 20 or so people showed up over the course of the hour and we just got to talk, chat, and they got to meet Sadie and take a tour of my camper.

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And it was really, really cool to get to meet all of you guys.

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And I will definitely be doing more BYOMs in the future, whether that's camping or being on tour or whatever, but it was a really good time.

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I scurried on out of Manhattan and had to drive the two

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and a half miles across the island to get to Brooklyn, which I had reserved a camping spot.

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And it had a skyline view.

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So our plan all along was for my girlfriend for Valentine's Day to fly to New York City, and we would get to enjoy New York from the convenience of my home, Marlene.

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So we had a fantastic weekend to have my own home, to have my dog, and to know that I was saving costs and camping was really cool.

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I think it was my favorite experience in New York so far.

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I really appreciate you guys watching this video today.

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I hope this gets you inspired to get outside and have a strange or not -so -strange adventure of your own.

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In any capacity, getting outside is what's so good for each

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and every one of us and hopefully teaches us to treat our planet just a little bit better.

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If you want to help support Sadie and I, you can buy merch down below, which looks like this.

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Liking and subscribing helps so freaking much.

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And you guys have been so insanely supportive the past couple of months.

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And Sadie and I cannot thank you enough.

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So thank you all again.

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We really appreciate you all.

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And I'll see you guys in two weeks.

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Exploring Urban Camping Challenges: A Story of Pushing Limits

The video follows a traveler’s unexpected journey camping in New York City with a seven-ton truck camper, a vehicle designed for remote areas, not dense urban streets. The speaker shares fears of navigating tight spaces, heavy traffic, and parking struggles, while highlighting how discomfort can stretch one’s capabilities. This relatable narrative blends personal anecdotes with practical insights, making it a rich resource for English learners seeking real-world language practice.

Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication

"Pushing your limits": To challenge yourself beyond current abilities. Example: "Pushing your limits in a new city helps build confidence."
"Off the beaten path": Away from popular or busy areas. Example: "I prefer camping off the beaten path, not in cities."
"Hunt down": To search for something persistently. Example: "I need to hunt down a parking spot before sunset."
"Take it easy": To proceed calmly or slowly. Example: "When driving in traffic, take it easy to avoid mistakes."
"Pick up": To increase in intensity or volume. Example: "Traffic starts to pick up as we near the city."

Step-by-Step Shadowing Guide for This Video

Shadowing is a proven technique to improve English pronunciation and fluency. Here’s how to use this video effectively:

1. Listen and Analyze

First, watch the video without subtitles. Focus on the speaker’s tone—notice how fear and excitement are conveyed through intonation. Pay attention to casual phrases like "Dude" and "Holy shit," which are common in informal speech.

2. Repeat in Real Time

Use a shadowing app to pause and repeat short segments (5–10 seconds). Mimic the rhythm and stress of words like "terrifying" and "luxury." This trains your mouth to form sounds naturally, improving pronunciation.

3. Focus on Connected Speech

The dialogue includes contractions ("y’all," "I’m") and linked words ("gonna," "gotta"). Practice these to sound more fluent. For example, "I’m gonna" becomes a single, smooth phrase, not three separate words.

4. Record and Compare

Record yourself shadowing and compare it to the original. Note differences in pace and emphasis. Tools like shadowspeak or shadowspeaks can help identify areas to refine.

5. Expand Vocabulary in Context

Learn phrases like "population density" and "Easy pass only" by using them in sentences. This reinforces memory and ensures you can use new words in real situations.

By following this guide, you’ll not only master the language of the video but also build confidence in understanding and speaking everyday English.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	it's been · you've started · have increased
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is meant · are just stretched · is raised
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	camper which is · cities, which is · there, which is
Superlatives the -est / the most … — the top or bottom of a group	the most densely · the most interesting · the best

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: Camping in New York City was Not What I Expected.. - Learn English Speaking with Video

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