Day 185: Outside the Consulate in Monterrey
Outside the United States consulate in Monterrey, Marcelino (A), a farm worker who goes north for the harvest every year, notices Miguel Ángel (B), a young man waiting for his first seasonal work visa interview.
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
¿Primera vez, joven? Se le nota: lleva media hora revisando sus papeles.
First time, young man? It shows: you've been going through your papers for half an hour.
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B
¿Tanto se nota? Dicen que por cualquier detalle se la niegan a uno.
Is it that obvious? They say they'll turn you down over the slightest thing.
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A
No crea: yo llevo diez cosechas en Carolina del Norte, y nunca me la han negado.
Don't you believe it: I've done ten harvests in North Carolina, and they've never once turned me down.
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B
¡Qué suerte que me haya tocado junto a usted! ¿Qué es lo que preguntan?
How lucky that I ended up next to you! What is it they ask?
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A
Dónde va a trabajar y si ya ha ido antes. Es importante que conteste corto y diga la verdad.
Where you're going to work and whether you've been before. It's important that you keep your answers short and tell the truth.
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B
¿La verdad? En la solicitud puse que sé manejar tractor, y nomás me he subido a uno dos veces.
The truth? On the application I put that I can drive a tractor, and I've only ever been on one twice.
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A
Pues sabe poquito, que es más que nada. Por lo tanto, si se lo preguntan, dígalo tal cual.
Well, you can drive a bit, which is more than nothing. So if they ask you, tell them exactly that.
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