Day 117: Hurricane Warning at a Cancún Agency
At a tour agency in Cancún, where a hurricane warning has canceled every trip, Nicolás (A), a junior employee, reads angry messages from tourists to his boss, Jorge Luis (B).
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Spanish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Spanish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Jefe, los turistas vienen escribiendo desde las seis y no paran. Con la alerta naranja se cancelaron todas las excursiones.
Boss, tourists have been writing in since six and they won't stop. With the orange alert, every trip has been canceled.
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B
Léemelos antes de contestar, que un mensaje mal escrito en plena alerta sale más caro que el huracán.
Read them to me before you reply, because a badly written message in the middle of an alert costs more than the hurricane.
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A
Este es de un tal Jaime, de Valencia: “Nos dejáis tirados con el catamarán a Isla Mujeres. ¿Vosotros sabéis lo que es la seriedad?”.
This one's from a Jaime, from Valencia: “You're leaving us in the lurch with the catamaran to Isla Mujeres. Do you people know what professionalism is?”
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B
Que quede claro: no fuimos nosotros quienes cancelamos, fue la Capitanía de Puerto la que suspendió la navegación por la marejada. Ofrécele otra fecha o el reembolso completo.
Make it clear: we weren't the ones who canceled, it was the Harbor Master's Office that stopped all sailings because of the swell. Offer him another date or a full refund.
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A
¿Y le prometo que el sábado ya sale el sol? Según el último aviso, para entonces el huracán estará en el golfo.
And do I promise him the sun will be out on Saturday? According to the latest bulletin, by then the hurricane will be in the Gulf.
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B
Jamás prometas el clima: el pronóstico cambia con cada aviso, y el turista guarda las capturas. Promete solo lo que depende de nosotros.
Never promise the weather: the forecast changes with every bulletin, and tourists keep the screenshots. Only promise what depends on us.
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A
Ahora una tal Florencia, de Rosario: “¿Vos sabés lo que me costó este viaje? Quiero la guita de vuelta, y la quiero hoy”.
Now a Florencia, from Rosario: “Do you know what this trip cost me? I want my dough back, and I want it today.”
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B
“Guita” es lana, en argentino. Dile que el reembolso ya está autorizado, pero sin fecha: eso depende de su banco, no de nosotros.
“Guita” is Argentine for cash. Tell her the refund has been approved, but with no date: that depends on her bank, not on us.
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A
Demasiado tarde, jefe: anda diciendo en Instagram que aquí contesta un robot, porque le llegó tres veces la misma respuesta.
Too late, boss: she's going around saying on Instagram that a robot answers here, because she got the same reply three times.
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B
Entonces escríbele tú, con su nombre y sin plantilla: al turista enojado se le contesta como a una persona.
Then write to her yourself, using her name and no template: you answer an angry tourist like a person.
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A
Ya le escribí, y hasta me mandó un corazón. ¿Cómo le hace para estar tan tranquilo? Voy en el cuarto café y el huracán ni ha tocado tierra.
I've written to her, and she even sent me a heart. How do you manage to stay so calm? I'm on my fourth coffee and the hurricane hasn't even made landfall.
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B
Empecé aquí dos días antes de Wilma, en 2005. Fue Wilma quien me enseñó que el turista perdona el huracán, pero no que lo dejen sin respuesta.
I started here two days before Wilma, in 2005. It was Wilma that taught me tourists forgive a hurricane, but not being left without an answer.
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