Day 92 of 160

Day 92: Back in Zacatecas After Berlin

At the university in Zacatecas, Abel (A), a first-year student, asks Eleazar (B), an older student who spent two years in Berlin on a scholarship, whether he should try for one too.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. 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.
  3. 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

  1. A

    Me contaron que estuviste dos años en Berlín con beca. ¿Vale la pena que yo mande una solicitud?

    I heard you spent two years in Berlin on a scholarship. Is it worth my sending in an application?

  2. B

    Primero termina la carrera: yo me fui con una beca de maestría, cuyo primer requisito es el título.

    Finish your degree first: I went on a master's scholarship, and the first requirement for that is a degree.

  3. A

    Ya sé, me faltan cuatro años. Pero dime la neta: ¿no te dieron ganas de quedarte allá?

    I know, I've got four years to go. But tell me straight: didn't you feel like staying there?

  4. B

    Estuve a punto de quedarme: me ofrecieron trabajo en un laboratorio, lo cual, para un zacatecano como yo, era un sueño.

    I very nearly stayed: they offered me a job at a lab, which, for someone from Zacatecas like me, was a dream.

  5. A

    ¿Y lo rechazaste? No manches, yo habría firmado sin pensarlo dos veces.

    And you turned it down? No way, I'd have signed without thinking twice.

  6. B

    Lo difícil no fue adaptarme, sino una noche en el súper: me puse a buscar tortillas de maíz y me eché a llorar.

    The hard part wasn't settling in, it was one night at the supermarket: I started looking for corn tortillas and burst into tears.

  7. A

    ¿Regresaste por unas tortillas? Eso sí no te lo creo.

    You came back because of some tortillas? Now that I don't believe.

  8. B

    Por lo que significaban: mi abuela, las comidas de los domingos, mi idioma. El arraigo pesa más de lo que uno cree.

    For what they stood for: my grandmother, Sunday lunches, my own language. Your roots pull harder than you'd think.

  9. A

    Entonces termino la carrera, me voy y, antes de que me gane la nostalgia, me pongo a aprender a hacer tortillas.

    Then I'll finish my degree, go, and before homesickness gets the better of me, I'll start learning to make tortillas.

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