English in 10 Minutes

In the last episode of English in 10 Minutes, Nick and Wendy give their top tips for language learning, including how to enjoy the process, how to practice speaking, and which smartphone apps to use.

Our guest Jovanka tells us how she arrived in Rome from New Zealand, why she stayed there, what her favourite Roman places are, and what changes she noticed after recently returning to Rome.

Nick and Wendy talk about visiting two favelas, the famous slums of Rio de Janeiro. In particular, they discuss the security situation and the level of development in the favelas.

Nick and Wendy return to the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the last major destination on their trip in South America. They talk about Rio’s staggering natural beauty, from the beaches to the mountains.

Our guest Jovanka talks about her home country of New Zealand. In particular, she discusses the differences between the north and south islands, the indigenous Māori culture, the All Blacks, and New Zealand’s rivalry with Australia.

While in Salvador, Nick and Wendy attended a ceremony of the Afro-Brazilian religion candomblé. In this episode, they talk about the experience and the religion in general.

Nick and Wendy visit the Brazilian city of Salvador de Bahia. They talk about the Afro-Brazilian culture of Salvador, including music and capoeira.

Nick and Wendy continue their trip in Brazil and visit three colonial cities in the northeast of the country: São Luís, Recife and Olinda. They talk about their experiences in each city.

Nick and Wendy visit the Brazilian capital Brasília. They talk about their impressions of Brasília and about other planned cities such as Washington, D.C. and Canberra.

Back in Brazil, Nick and Wendy discuss their visit to the world’s largest wetlands area: the Pantanal. In particular, they talk about the various animals they saw while they were there.

Nick and Wendy visit a working silver mine in Bolivia. They talk about the extremely difficult conditions they saw and the impactful experience they had in the mines.

In our fourth Roman Stories episode, our guest Jill talks about why she moved to Rome 13 years ago. She chooses her favourite place in Rome and explains why life in Italy is different from life in the United States.

Nick and Wendy talk about returning to Bolivia 13 years after their last visit. In particular, they discuss the country’s amazing natural beauty, including the world-famous Salar de Uyuni salt flats.

Nick and Wendy talk about spending a few days in Paraguay. They discuss Paraguay’s attractions such as the Jesuit missions in the south and the capital Asunción.

Our guest Tyson tells his story of moving from the United States to Rome in 2000, starting by working in a bar and eventually becoming a city tour guide and then a tour director throughout Europe.

Nick and Wendy visit Iguaçu Falls for the second time and have a much better experience than on their disappointing first visit. They talk about the wonders of both the Brazilian and Argentine sides of the falls.

Nick and Wendy begin their South American trip in the mega-city of São Paulo, Brazil. They talk about their expectations before they arrived and how São Paulo turned out to be a big surprise for them.

In our first ever three-person conversation, Nick, Wendy and Nick’s brother Tim talk about the German city of Munich. In particular, they talk about Munich’s parks, its traditional beer culture and its untraditional urban surfing culture.

As Nick and Wendy prepare to go to Brazil, Wendy reminisces about the time she went to Rio de Janeiro to study Portuguese as a university student in 1995.

In the second episode of Roman Stories, Wendy talks about how she found herself living in Rome many years ago and why she keeps going back, as well as nominating her favourite neighbourhood in Rome.

Our guest is Nick’s brother Tim, who returns to the podcast to talk about his experiences learning German while living in Germany, both as a teenager and as an adult.

In the first of our Roman Stories episodes, Nick shares the story of how he visited Rome for the first time and how he eventually came to live there and to fall in love with the city.

Nick and Wendy talk about their recent trip to Slovakia in Central Europe. They discuss Slovakia’s natural beauty as well as its cities and castles and how it’s a fairly undiscovered country.

Our guest, Nick’s mother Marion, talks about her mother’s life journey, from the Netherlands to Indonesia to spending time in a Japanese prison camp in World War II to finally moving to Australia.

Nick and Wendy recently visited Prague in the Czech Republic. They talk about what they did there and they also reminisce about their previous trips to Prague in 2000-2001.

For our 100th episode, Nick and Wendy talk about their favourite city in the world: Rome, Italy. They discuss Rome's historical layers and the difficulty of having a functioning modern city on top of a ruined ancient city.

Our guest, Nick’s mother Marion, talks about visiting Europe as a 21-year-old in 1969. In particular, she talks about travelling to Europe from Australia by boat and visiting places places like London, Prague and Rome.

Nick and Wendy talk about visiting the North African country of Tunisia. They talk about enjoying Tunisia’s cultural heritage, taking a Roman bath, and accidentally stumbling onto a tourist resort.

Nick and Wendy talk about one of their favourite countries in Africa: Ethiopia. They discuss the country’s history and food and talk about some of the places they liked the most in Ethiopia.

Our guest, Nick’s father Geoff, is back to talk about his home town of Sydney, Australia. He talks about Sydney’s harbour, beaches and beauty.

Nick and Wendy talk about the famous Portuguese music style known as fado. They discuss the concept and origins of fado, and how to see it in Lisbon.

Nick and Wendy talk about visiting Maya archeological sites in Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. They discuss the Maya pyramids, the surrounding landscapes and the value of visiting several different sites.

Nick and his father Geoff talk about their home country of Australia. In particular, they talk about identity and development in Australia, the country’s popular sports, and some special places in Australia that Geoff has visited.

Nick and Wendy talk about walking the Camino Primitivo - the Original Way - of the Camino de Santiago in Spain. They talk about the people they met along the way, the difficult weather conditions, and the spirit of the camino.

Nick and Wendy talk about their recent trip to the Douro Valley in northern Portugal. They talk about the region’s famous vineyards and its other attractions.

In the second part of this two-part conversation about his overland trip from South Africa to the UK in 1976, our guest Reg talks about travelling through Arabia, including Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

In the first part of a two-part episode, our guest Reg talks about living in Apartheid-era South Africa in the 1970s and the challenges he faced and experiences he had driving through Africa in 1976 in a kombi van.

Nick and Wendy talk about Porto, the second largest city in Portugal. They talk about life along the riverfront and the other things they did during their recent trip to Porto with Nick’s family.

Nick and Wendy talk about another one of their favourite countries: Egypt. They discuss Egypt’s incredible ancient sites as well as its natural beauty.

Our guest Hairul talks about his home country of Singapore. He talks about doing army service as well as Singapore’s ethnic mix, its delicious food and its famous chewing gum ban.

Nick and Wendy talk about the country Wendy listed as her second favourite in the world: Peru. They talk about Peru’s archeological sites and incredible nature.

Nick and Wendy talk about one of their favourite (and most surprising) countries: Pakistan. They discuss Pakistan’s friendly people and beautiful mountain scenery.

Our guest Alex talks about his hometown of St. Louis in the United States. He talks about the city’s famous arch, its charm and what he thinks of its reputation as the best baseball town in America.

Nick and Wendy talk about Iceland, which Wendy ranked as her fourth favourite country in the world. They discuss the extraordinary natural beauty of Iceland and doing a hike that didn’t exactly go according to plan.

Nick and Wendy talk about their visit to Madagascar several years ago. The highlight, of course, was all the different lemurs they saw while they were there!

Our guest Joanna talks about her experiences living and working in Papua New Guinea. She discusses Papua New Guinea's languages, culture and love for her favourite sport, rugby league.

Nick and Wendy talk about visiting the chocolate festival held in the beautiful medieval town of Óbidos in Portugal.

On a short trip to Berlin, Nick and Wendy take an ‘alternative’ walking tour to discover some of the lesser known sites and areas of the city.

Our guest, Nick’s brother Tim, talks about being in Germany as a teenager when the Berlin Wall came down in November 1989 and visiting Berlin shortly afterwards.

Wendy talks about her love for ice skating. She talks about the many opportunities she had to go ice skating while living in Switzerland and her search for a skating rink this winter while living in Portugal.

Nick and Wendy talk about their memories of the Winter Olympics from childhood, and Nick talks about his experiences volunteering and working at four Winter Olympics for the Olympic News Service.