Podcast for English Learning - One House in Two Countries

Why is a Belgian town inside the Netherlands? Baarle is one village split between two countries: Baarle-Nassau in the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in Belgium. Its border is a tangle of small pieces, and to understand it we follow the marshland of the twelfth century, the lords who swapped land, a treaty from 1843, and the parcels that were assigned one by one. Penny the Compass explains the map and Skip the Paper Boat asks the questions you would ask. Along the way you will learn the English words enclave, exclave, marshland, duke, independence, treaty, survey and parcel, plus expressions like "is surrounded by", "is split between", "runs along" and "lies between". Chapters 0:00 A pin in the sidewalk 0:30 One village, two countries 1:25 Where Baarle is 3:58 No river, no mountain 5:35 Lords, dukes and a treaty 8:36 The ordinary border 9:44 Why there are pins in the street 11:25 Key words 11:51 Your challenge Challenge: in the comments, describe a border near you in one sentence. Use "lies between" or "is surrounded by". Sources: Wikipedia (Baarle, Baarle-Hertog, Baarle-Nassau); DutchNews, "Dutch destinations: untangle the history of Baarle-Nassau/Baarle-Hertog"; International Court of Justice, "Sovereignty over Certain Frontier Land (Belgium/Netherlands)".