Day 91: Debrief After the Chocolate Distributor
In Comalcalco, Tabasco, Gabriela (A) and her husband Antonio (B), who run a small cacao and chocolate brand together, talk over the meeting they have just had with a distributor from Monterrey.
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
¿Viste cómo hablaba el de Monterrey? Como si la marca fuera suya y nosotros nomás le surtiéramos cacao.
Did you see how the man from Monterrey talked? As if the brand were his and we just supplied him with cacao.
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B
Y encima pidió exclusividad en el norte y cuarenta por ciento de margen. Solo le faltó pedirnos la finca.
And on top of that he wanted exclusive rights in the north and a forty percent margin. The only thing he didn't ask for was our farm.
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A
Y nosotros sin números. Si hubiéramos traído el costeo, le habríamos demostrado que así perdemos dinero.
And us with no figures. If we'd brought our cost breakdown, we'd have shown him we lose money that way.
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B
Fue mi culpa, por decir que solo íbamos a conocernos. Si te hubiera hecho caso, otro gallo nos cantaría.
That was my fault, for saying we were only going to get to know each other. If I'd listened to you, it'd be a different story.
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A
No te azotes. Lo que me preocupa es que le decías que sí a todo, como si ya hubiera trato.
Don't beat yourself up. What worries me is that you kept saying yes to everything, as if we already had a deal.
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B
Era cortesía. Pero con él entraríamos a tiendas de Monterrey que solos nunca pisaríamos.
That was just politeness. But with him we'd get into stores in Monterrey we'd never set foot in on our own.
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A
Entonces le mandamos una propuesta: exclusividad solo si se compromete a un volumen mínimo por trimestre.
Then we send him a proposal: exclusivity only if he commits to a minimum volume per quarter.
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B
Con muestras, para que pruebe lo que quiere comprar tan barato. A ver si sigue hablando como si nos hiciera un favor.
With samples, so he tastes what he wants to buy so cheaply. Let's see if he still talks as if he were doing us a favor.
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