2 Reasons

2.1 Intro

This channel is hosted and operated by a couple of spouses, Kara and Nate, as the channel’s name suggested. Their job is to travel around the world, visit every corner in person, and make their journey a video. So far, they have visited more than 100 countries. During the pandemic when many countries enforce restricted entry of their borderline, they did not stop moving forward; they switched to hone in on exploring the US, starting their van life.

2.2 Content

The contents on this channel include experiences of (1) traveling by different kinds of transportation (aircrafts, overnight train, border-crossing by RV, etc), (2) luxurious/shabby hotel staying, (3) van life, (4) challenges, (5) unboxing world’s adj.-est, and so on. They not only stay in their comfort zone to live their best life, but also walk out to challenge their limits. For example, they might stay in a private mansion with stewards for 24 hours, but go run a full marathon tomorrow.

I awarded this channel with the title of my favorite because (1) it reveals many corners that I could never catch a glimpse of, and (2) the hosts potentially imparted to the channel a life philosophy I share with–facing the unknown without fear.

3. Critique

3.1 The way they present it.

Time Frame

The length of videos on the channel is ranging from approximately 10min to 30min, with which a viewer can select their best bet depending on the time they allot to video watching.

Filming Style

The vlogs are mainly conducted in the way where monologue is used to introduce the background information and reflect on vlogger’s feelings of every location, and conversation/adventure footage is interwoven in between to lessen the boredom.

3.2 The benefits a viewer might get.

Daily Life Conversation

Since the videos are filmed by two hosts, lots of conversations are included. For example, I learned how they do the hand game–Rock, Paper, Scissors–in the US on an occasion where they needed to decide who could claim the business class seat on board. They shout out “rock, paper, scissors” with their right hand made into a stone tapping on the fully-open left hand to produce the tempo. In addition, I learned the fact that the lingo, “best of three,” indicates 三戰兩勝 in Mandarin.

English for Traveling Purposes

For advanced learners, they can easily understand the videos by listening, but might encounter some difficulty of actually actively speaking English for traveling uses, such as “layover,” “jet bridge,” “check oneself into hotel,” “put sth in storage,” “jetlag caught up to sb,” and so on. They can learn all of them on this channel if they pay careful attention to the speakers’ wording and jot down some notes.

Multicultural Perspectives

This one is an obvious advantage a viewer can take from the channel. Whenever the vloggers visit a new place or on the way to, they usually interact with locals and explore some non-touristy spots, which allows viewers to develop an extensive horizons.

A Slide that I Made for My Presentation of "Sharing One's Favorite Source for Keeping English Listening Journal."