TOM: You are sure we are not forgetting anything? (commonly used) EXAMPLE: Tom is going on a trip with some friends. He is not certain that they have packed everything they need. His friend Jane is a very responsible and reliable person. So Tom checks with Jane. Jane says they have everything. But Tom wants to be absolutely certain, so he asks her again: "You are sure we are not forgetting anything?" TOM: You are sure we don't forget anything? (rarely used; maybe in a science fiction movie) EXAMPLE: "We don't [ever] forget anything" is about a personal habit. Tom and Jane have incredible memories. Their friends say about them that they don't forget anything. Tom has his doubts. For the first time in his life, he thinks he has forgotten something very important.

It depends on what your goals are and what you like doing. If I only had the money to visit a handful of cities, I would visit San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C. They are all cities that are in the news and on television a lot, and your experiences would give you a good foundation for planning future trips.

It's like Peachey says. It's a conversational and storytelling style that draws the listener in. We often use the historical present when we are telling a story about a trip or sharing photos with friends, e.g., "In this photo, we're playing basketball with some of the local children." More on the historical present: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_present

[ʌ] cup, [ə] ago = above Brazilian Portuguese low central [a] in mouth [oʊ] load, [ʊ] book = lips less rounder and more relaxed than Brazilian Portuguese [u] [ɹ] risk = Brazilian Portuguese has a flapped r that touches the gum ridge briefly. For the English [ɹ], don't touch the gum ridge.

It may not be easier and it is American English, but NPR (National Public Radio) is a news program I often recommend to students: http://www.npr.org/ (I listen to the local edition of NPR while driving.)

A lemon is yellow o amarillo. A lime is green o verde. Pero en méjico un limón es un limón verde, what we call a "lime" en inglés. This might be true only in Mexico.

I don't use the word "tyke" at all, and neither do my friends. I use "toddler" for a child three years and younger. An older child I might call a "kid."

The Free Dictionary at http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/ lists many idioms and examples.