Day 124: A Thesis on Monterrey's Sprawl
In her office at a university in Monterrey, Dr. Irasema Garza (B), a professor, listens as Priscila (A), an urban planning student, presents the idea for her thesis; García and Pesquería are outlying municipalities of the metropolitan area.
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
Mi tesis es sobre la expansión de Monterrey y los fraccionamientos lejanos, cuyos habitantes pasan media vida en el camión.
My thesis is on Monterrey's sprawl and its outlying housing developments, whose residents spend half their lives on the bus.
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B
Buen tema, pero “media vida” no es un dato. ¿Sale de sus encuestas o de un periódico?
Good topic, but “half their lives” isn't data. Does it come from your surveys or from a newspaper?
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A
De mis encuestas. Llevo ocho meses visitando fraccionamientos en García y Pesquería, y tengo más de cuatrocientos cuestionarios levantados.
From my surveys. I've been visiting housing developments in García and Pesquería for eight months, and I've got over four hundred questionnaires done.
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B
¿Y los levantó entre semana, de día? A esa hora solo está en casa quien no trabaja, lo cual sesga la muestra.
And did you do them on weekdays, during the day? At that time of day, the only people at home are those who don't work, which skews the sample.
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A
Por eso los levanté en las paradas, a las cinco de la mañana, mientras la gente esperaba el camión de personal.
That's why I did them at the bus stops, at five in the morning, while people were waiting for the company bus.
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B
Eso cambia las cosas, se lo reconozco. ¿Y qué encontró sobre los trayectos, más allá de las anécdotas?
That changes things, I'll grant you. And what did you find about the commutes, beyond the anecdotes?
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A
Un promedio de dos horas por sentido, lo cual suma cuatro diarias arriba del camión. Hay niños cuyos papás solo los ven despiertos los domingos.
An average of two hours each way, which adds up to four a day on the bus. There are children whose parents only see them awake on Sundays.
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B
Eso ya es una tesis, no una queja. Le confieso algo: viví diez años en García y nunca me atreví a contar las horas.
Now that's a thesis, not a complaint. I'll confess something: I lived in García for ten years and never dared to count the hours.
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A
Entonces ya tengo mi primera entrevista a profundidad, doctora, si me regala una hora esta semana.
Then I've got my first in-depth interview, if you can spare me an hour this week.
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