Listening

A: How was your trip?
B: Great. Really amazing. Have you ever been there?
A: No. What’s it like?
B: It’s really wild. It took me by surprise, actually.
A: Yeah?
B: Yeah. I don’t know what I expected, really. I just thought it’d be quieter, but the nightlife is totally insane.
A: Really?
B: Honestly. We went out with these people and ended up in a place in the early hours and it was just absolutely packed.
A: Yeah?
B: Seriously. You literally couldn’t move. In fact, the whole city was still buzzing. You can still get stuck in traffic at three or four in the morning.
A: Wow!
B: Actually, that was a bit of a pain, the congestion.
A: Really? Is it bad?
B: Unbelievable! You just spend hours and hours in the taxi crawling along with everyone sounding their horns. You might as well walk really.
A: So did you?
B: Well no, actually, because it’s unbearably humid, and at least the car has air con. Honestly, you walk out of your hotel and it’s like hitting this thick wall of heat.
A: Gosh. Really?
B: Honestly. You’d just die if you walked for any length of time.
A: There must be a fair amount of pollution, then.
B: That as well. The smog is incredible. I mean, our hotel was supposed to have this amazing view – and I guess it would have on a clear day – but half the time you could hardly see a thing beyond about 200 metres. And you nearly choke on the fumes when you’re outside.
A: Sounds awful. Are you sure it’s so great?
B: Well, you know, it does have its drawbacks but, as I say, it just has a real buzz – especially downtown with the skyscrapers and the neon lights flashing and the people and the noise. It’s just a really, really vibrant place.

C: What’s your home town like? It’s supposed to be nice, isn’t it?
D: It is, if you like that sort of place.
C: What do you mean?
D: It’s just very, very conservative. You know, it’s very affluent – you see loads and loads of people in fur coats and posh cars, and the streets are spotless, but it’s also just incredibly dull. There’s not much going on.
C: Right.
D: I know it’s a bit more run-down here, but at least it’s more lively. There’s more of a music scene, you know.
C: Yeah, I know what you mean. So you wouldn’t consider going back to live there?
D: Maybe. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it is a good place to live if you’re bringing up kids – everything works very smoothly and, as I say, there’s not a trace of litter on the streets. So if I were to settle down, I might move back. It’s just not what I want right now.
C: Fair enough.