Day 98: Empty Houses Built With Dollars
In a small hardware store in a town in the Mixteca region of Puebla, which also pays out money sent from abroad, Nahúm (A), a young man collecting money from his brother in New York, chats with the owner, Don Braulio (B; don is a respectful title).
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
-
A
Buenas, don Braulio. Vengo a cobrar el envío de mi hermano, el de Nueva York.
Afternoon, Don Braulio. I've come to collect the money from my brother, the one in New York.
-
B
Aquí tiene, contadito. ¿Ya terminó su hermano la casa de la loma, la de vidrios polarizados?
Here you are, counted out. Has your brother finished the house on the hill yet, the one with the tinted windows?
-
A
Ya casi, pero ni piensa regresar. Así se va el dinero del pueblo: en casas vacías.
Nearly, but he's got no intention of coming back. That's how the town's money goes: on empty houses.
-
B
No lo veo así. De hecho, esos dólares le dieron chamba a medio pueblo, y a esta tienda también.
I don't see it that way. In fact, those dollars gave work to half the town, and to this store as well.
-
A
Mientras duró la obra. En cambio, un taller daría trabajo fijo, no casas con candado.
While the building lasted. A workshop, on the other hand, would give people steady work, not padlocked houses.
-
B
Aquí nadie abre un taller sin buena carretera ni compradores; por lo tanto, las remesas se vuelven ladrillos y promesas de volver.
Nobody opens a workshop here with no good road and no buyers; so the money sent home turns into bricks and promises to come back.
-
A
Promesas que nadie cumple. Fue mi abuelo quien levantó la primera casa, y murió en Queens sin estrenarla.
Promises nobody keeps. It was my grandfather who built the first of those houses, and he died in Queens without ever living in it.
-
B
Yo sí cumplí la mía, joven: fue en Nueva Jersey donde junté para esta tienda. Algunos volvemos, aunque seamos pocos.
I kept mine, young man: it was in New Jersey that I saved up for this store. Some of us do come back, few as we are.
Your progress is saved in this browser only, with no sign-up. The course page and the menu show where you left off. Well done! Next up: Day 99: Monarch Butterflies in a Morelia Taxi
If this free course has helped you in your Spanish journey, please consider supporting the project. It's a one-person effort, and even small contributions help keep it running and free for everyone.