Day 74: Tabasco Words on the Night Bus
On an overnight ADO bus from Mexico City to Villahermosa, Nicole (A), a biology student on her way to do fieldwork in the Centla wetlands of Tabasco, sits next to Irasema (B), a woman from Tabasco, who takes an interest in her notebook.
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
Perdone la lucecita, señora; ya casi termino de repasar mis apuntes para el trabajo de campo en Centla.
Sorry about the light, ma'am; I've nearly finished going over my notes for my fieldwork in Centla.
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B
Déjela prendida, que en el ADO no pego el ojo. A ver, ¿“lagartija que corre sobre el agua”? Eso tiene nombre.
Leave it on, I never sleep a wink on the ADO. Let's see, “lizard that runs on water”? That's got a name.
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A
Basilisco, segĂşn mi guĂa, pero la escribieron en Toluca; por eso dejĂ© espacio para el nombre local.
A basilisk, according to my guide, but it was written in Toluca; that's why I left a space for the local name.
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B
PĂłngale toloque. En Tabasco no hay nadie que le diga basilisco, y a quien lo diga lo miran como a un marciano.
Put toloque. Nobody in Tabasco calls it a basilisk, and anyone who does gets looked at like a Martian.
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A
Toloque, anotado. ÂżY esta tortuguita que sale en todas las fotos? En el laboratorio nadie sabe cĂłmo le dicen en Tabasco.
Toloque, got it. And this little turtle that's in all the photos? Nobody at the lab knows what they call it in Tabasco.
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B
Es un pochitoque, y mi mamá lo guisaba en verde, con momo. ¡No ponga esa cara, que eso era antes!
That's a pochitoque, and my mom used to cook it in green sauce, with momo leaves. Don't make that face, that was back then!
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A
Perdón, deformación profesional. Lo que sà traigo bien es el pejelagarto: “pez primitivo, fósil viviente, de escaso consumo humano”.
Sorry, occupational hazard. What I have got right is the pejelagarto: “primitive fish, living fossil, rarely eaten by humans.”
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B
ÂżEscaso? Cuentan que apenas hubo llegado mi abuelo de Monterrey, le sirvieron pejelagarto asado, y no bien lo hubo probado, pidiĂł la mano de la cocinera.
“Rarely”? The story goes that no sooner had my grandfather arrived from Monterrey than they served him roast pejelagarto, and no sooner had he tasted it than he asked for the cook's hand.
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A
No me diga que la cocinera era su abuela. Entonces corrijo: “consumo frecuente, con efectos secundarios matrimoniales”.
Don't tell me the cook was your grandmother. Then I'll correct it: “frequently eaten, with matrimonial side effects.”
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B
Mi abuela en persona. Desde entonces decimos que quien prueba el pejelagarto ya no se va de Tabasco.
My grandmother herself. Ever since, we've said that whoever tastes pejelagarto never leaves Tabasco.
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A
Con razón se quedó su abuelo. Tenga, táchele lo que quiera: a este paso llego a Villahermosa con otra tesis.
No wonder your grandfather stayed. Here, cross out whatever you like: at this rate I'll reach Villahermosa with a different thesis.
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B
Hay que tachar media libreta. De tarea: no hay fonda en Centla que no sirva pejelagarto; pruébelo, nomás no le pida la mano al cocinero.
Half this notebook needs crossing out. Your homework: there isn't a fonda in Centla that doesn't serve pejelagarto; try it, just don't ask the cook for his hand.
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