Category Archives: Spanish questions

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Here we are in 2021, yet we’re still talking about COVID-19. A phrase that’s often heard and is even printed on t-shirts in my home of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico is “Pinche COVID!” (F***ing COVID!). While I wish this post could be on my usual topics of holidays, food, or travel, I’m going to give an update on COVID-19 in Mexico.

Image by fernando zhiminaicela from Pixabay

Across Mexico, COVID cases have been surging recently. There have now been several days in a row where overall new cases crossed the 20,000 mark. The surging numbers have been blamed on several things – fiestas navideñas y corporativas, se incrementó la interacción social e intradomiciliaria (Christmas and corporate parties, increased social and home interaction).

This is being called “la segunda ola” (the second wave) of COVID-19. In total, Mexico has had over 1.6 million cases and 140,000 deaths. As the testing rate is quite low, it’s believed that this number is actually closer to 200,000.

Mexico has been using a semáforo (traffic light) system to identify the severity of the situation across the country. It actually uses four colors – red, orange, yellow, and green. Just today, the number of states listed as semáforo rojo (red light) doubled from five to ten.

There are currently 19 states colored orange on the map, with 17 of them at high risk of soon turning red. Only one lone state – Campeche – is green. The situation is especially dire in Mexico City, where 88% of hospital beds for COVID patients are currently occupied. For the total country, that number is around 60%.

“A Year of COVID in Mexico” from Al Jazeera.

I live in the state of Jalisco, which is one of those five that turned red today. Just a few days ago, the governor once again hit el botón de emergencia (the emergency button). These are the indicators used for hitting the emergency button:

• Si la saturación del sistema hospitalario llega al 50% (If the saturation of the hospital system reaches 50%).
• Si la tasa de incidencia semanal por fecha de inicio de síntomas alcanza los 400 casos (If the weekly incidence rate by symptom onset date reaches 400 cases).

From January 16-31, many restrictions are in place here as well as in our neighboring state of Nayarit. Anyone who can do their work remotely must do so in these two weeks, and any activities that generate a crowd are shut down. Las personas mayores de 60 años deberán permanecer en casa (People over the age of 60 must stay home).

El Gobernador de Jalisco anunció el cierre de bares, antros, salones de eventos, cines, teatros, museos y casinos, mientras que los restaurantes podrán operar hasta las diez de la noche (The Governor of Jalisco announced the closure of bars, clubs, event rooms, cinemas, theaters, museums and casinos, while restaurants will be able to operate until ten at night).

The governor’s office put out a statement that began: No podemos esperar más: es ahora cuando nuestro estado y su personal médico necesitan de la corresponsabilidad de todas y todos (We cannot wait any longer: it’s now that our state and its medical personnel need the co-responsibility of each and everyone). Let’s hope that everyone takes it seriously this time, as one reason for the surging numbers was listed as “falta de apego a las medidas sanitarias y relajamiento de estas” (lack of adherence to sanitary measures and relaxation of these).

All over the country, people are being encouraged now more than ever to #QuedateEnCasa (Stay at Home). People are being reminded of the methods to prevent the spread of COVID-19 with signs all over the city instructing people to “lava tus manos con agua y jabón” (wash your hands with soap and water), “usar un cubrebocas” (wear a mask), and “mantener la sana distancia” (maintain social distance).

A creative way that Mexico has been encouraging social distancing is with the use of a superhero called Susana Distancia. It’s a play on words, as “su sana distancia” means “your healthy distance.” That’s the phrase they’ve gone with in many ad campaigns instead of the more direct translation distanciamiento social. Just take a look at one of the video ads that features her. It’s a quick and relatively easy exercise for Spanish listening and reading!

There is some positive news with the rollout of la vacuna (the vaccine) here to healthcare workers. However, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador recently announced that Mexico will accept a delay in more shipments of the Pfizer vaccine in order to send more doses to poorer countries. He did his best to ensure an uneasy population by saying ““Ya vamos a tener vacunas suficientes” (We’re going to have enough vaccines).

Personally, I feel safer here in Mexico than I would back in the US at the moment. I’m definitely fortunate to be a younger person in good health who can work from home. In general, I find most people here in Puerto Vallarta are wearing masks when social distancing isn’t possible, for example when riding the bus. Stores requires masks and always take your temperature. Many restaurants here are open-air and they’ve reduced capacity as well. I hope that hitting the emergency button will help to stabilize the numbers and look forward to the day when we can stop saying “la nueva normalidad” (the new normal). In the meantime, it’s up to all of us as individuals to do our part to stop the spread of pinche COVID!

The post An Update on COVID-19 in Mexico first appeared on Spanish Language Blog.

In this Spanish lesson we are going to practice talking about Books in Spanish. First we will learn some relevant vocabulary and then see if you can follow a short audio conversation in Spanish. The transcript to the audio will be given at the end of the post but please try not to look at it until you have tried playing and understanding the audio a few times.

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

Talking about Books in Spanish:

El libro: book
El autor / La autora: author
El/la novelista: novelist
El escritor / La escritora: writer
El poeta / La poetisa: poet
El lector / La lectora: reader
La biblioteca: library
La librería: book store
La librería / La estantería: book case
El estante: book shelf
La colección de libros: book collection
El título: title
La historia: story
El argumento / La trama: plot
Las ilustraciones: illustrations
La literature: literature
La poesía: poetry
El drama: drama
La prosa: prose
Ficción: fiction
No ficción: non fiction
Los libros clásicos: classic books
Los libros de poesía: poetry books
El cuento: short story
La biografía: biography
La autobiografía: autobiography
El formato digital: digital format
El libro electrónico: e-book
El audio libro: audio book
La novela: novel
La novela corta: novella
El capítulo: chapter
El índice: index
El contenido: contents
El prólogo: prologue
La portada: front cover
La contraportada: back cover
Los personajes: characters
El ilustrador: illustrator
El género literario: literary genre
El best seller: best seller
Hojear: flick through
En impresión: in print
Fuera de impresión: out of print
El marcapáginas / El marcalibros: book mark
La tapa blanda: paperback
La tapa dura: hardback

Now play the audio to listen a conversation. Can you understand what is being said? Play the audio a few times before you look at the transcript. Don’t worry if you don’t understand every single thing the two people are saying. Try to catch whichever words you can and then try to piece things together to work out what is being said.

(Play the audio a few times before you scroll down and look at the transcript)

Transcript:

Gabriela: ¿Conoces a Andrea?
Toby: Por supuesto.
Gabriela: ¿Alguna vez has ido a su casa?
Toby: No, ¿por qué?
Gabriela: ¡Nunca había visto una colección de libros tan increíble!
Toby: Me lo puedo imaginar. A Andrea le encanta leer.
Gabriela: ¡Tiene una biblioteca en su casa! Una sala entera dedicada a sus libros. ¡Y también es una habitación enorme! Estanterías llenas de libros increíbles.
Toby: No sé si los libros que le gustan a Andrea me gustarían a mí.
Gabriela: Yo tampoco lo sé, la verdad. A Andrea le encantan la poesía y las novelas clásicas. Yo prefiero los thrillers modernos o las historias de crímenes. A veces las biografías.
Toby: A mí me gustan los cómics.
Gabriela: La mayoría de los libros de Andrea ya no se imprimen.
Toby: Y son lentos y aburridos.
Gabriela: Ella dice que la literatura moderna no es nada en comparación con la literatura clásica.
Toby: ¿Quién soy yo para discutir? Confío en su palabra. Sin embargo, no voy a leer nada de eso.
Gabriela: Creo que haber tenido que estudiar El Quijote en la escuela acabó con cualquier interés que yo pudiera tener por la literatura clásica. Comprendo que la historia sea interesante, pero es tan lenta. ¡Y mi maestra era un desastre!
Toby: En Inglaterra tenemos que estudiar a Shakespeare. O a Chaucer. Recuerdo que no podía entender nada de lo que estaba pasando, ya que todo estaba en inglés antiguo.
Gabriela: El Quijote se considera la primera novela de la historia. Tanto Cervantes como Shakespeare vivieron y escribieron a principios del siglo XVII. Y ambos murieron el mismo día.
Toby: ¿En serio? No lo sabía.
Gabriela: Andrea es coleccionista de libros y un día quiere tener un Quijote de primera edición.
Toby: ¿Cuándo se publicó por primera vez?
Gabriela: En 1605. La última vez que alguien compró un Quijote original fue en 1989, por un millón y medio de dólares.
Toby: ¡Dios mío! Bueno, el primer cómic de Spiderman, publicado en 1962, también está valorado actualmente en un millón y medio de dólares.

So, how did you get on? How much did you understand of the listening? Please let me know in the comments section below…

Don’t worry if you didn’t understand that much, keep reviewing the vocabulary and phrases and you will soon be up to speed and ready for the next lesson in this course. See you next time!

The post Colloquial Spanish Course – Talking about Books in Spanish first appeared on Spanish Language Blog.

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In this Spanish lesson we are going to practice talking about The Kitchen in Spanish. First we will learn some relevant vocabulary and then see if you can follow a short audio conversation in Spanish. The transcript to the audio will be given at the end of the post but please try not to look at it until you have tried playing and understanding the audio a few times.

Image courtesy of Pixabay.com

Talking about The Kitchen in Spanish:

El abrelatas: can opener
El sacacorchos: corkscrew
El abrebotellas: bottle opener
La tabla de cortar: chopping board
La batidora: mixer, blender
La licuadora: juicer
El cucharón: ladle
La huevera: egg cup
El bol: bowl
El cuchillo de trinchar: carving knife
La vaporera: steamer
El exprimidor: squeezer, juicer
La licuadora: blender, liquidizer
El tamiz: sieve
El batidor de alambre: whisk
Los guantes para horno: oven gloves
El delantal de cocina: kitchen apron
La procesadora de alimentos: food processor
El molde para repostería: cake mould
La espátula: spatula
El rodillo de cocina: rolling pin
El molinillo de café: coffee grinder
La cafetera: coffeepot, coffee maker
La tetera: teapot
La tostadora: toaster
La taza: cup
El plato: plate
El vaso: glass
La sartén: frying pan
La cazuela: casserole dish
La olla: pot
La cacerola: saucepan
La vajilla: crockery
Los cubiertos: cutlery
La cuchara: spoon
El tenedor: fork
El cuchillo: knife
La cucharilla: teaspoon
El horno: oven
El hervidor: kettle
El microondas: microwave
El salero: salt shaker
El molinillo de pimienta: pepper mill
El fregadero: kitchen sink
Descorchar: to uncork

Now play the audio to listen a conversation. Can you understand what is being said? Play the audio a few times before you look at the transcript. Don’t worry if you don’t understand every single thing the two people are saying. Try to catch whichever words you can and then try to piece things together to work out what is being said.

(Play the audio a few times before you scroll down and look at the transcript)

Transcript:

Julia: Robert, ¿has visto la tabla de cortar?
Robert: Creo que está para lavar, junto al fregadero. La he usado antes.
Julia: ¿Por qué no la has lavado todavía?
Robert: No he tenido tiempo cariño, lo siento.
Julia: No te preocupes, pero tengo mucho que cocinar esta noche.
Robert: ¿Qué vas a cocinar?
Julia: ¿No te acuerdas? Hablamos de esto en el desayuno. Ramón, Ana, Enrique y Silvia van a venir esta noche, así que voy a cocinar una cena para cinco.
Robert: Oh, sí.
Julia: ¡Oh, no, qué es esto! ¡No has lavado los platos en todo el día! ¡Qué desastre!
Robert: Estaba a punto de hacerlo.
Julia: Por supuesto. Mira, tienes que hacer esto ahora. Necesito la cazuela, todos los cubiertos, todas las copas de vino, el cucharón, el cuchillo de trinchar y todos los platos.
Robert: Está bien.
Julia: ¿Qué has estado haciendo hoy Robert? ¡Incluso la licuadora y el procesador de alimentos están para lavar!
Robert: Hice un zumo de frutas y unas hamburguesas para el almuerzo.
Julia: ¡Nunca había visto tantos platos sucios juntos! Tienes que venir y lavar esto de inmediato para que pueda empezar a cocinar.
Robert: ¿Qué te parece si cocino yo y tú lavas los platos?
Julia: ¡Sí hombre! La comida de esta noche tiene que tener buen sabor.
Robert: Tenemos que comprar un lavavajillas, Julia.
Julia: En eso estoy de acuerdo.
Robert: Otro problema… Ayer le presté nuestro sacacorchos a Juan.
Julia: ¡¿Qué?! Entonces, ¿cómo se supone que vamos a descorchar la botella de vino esta noche?
Robert: Puedo usar la llave de mi coche para empujar el corcho.
Julia: ¡Eres lo peor! Ya voy a casa de María para pedirle que nos deje su sacacorchos. ¡Esto es increíble!

So, how did you get on? How much did you understand of the listening? Please let me know in the comments section below…

Don’t worry if you didn’t understand that much, keep reviewing the vocabulary and phrases and you will soon be up to speed and ready for the next lesson in this course. See you next time!

The post Colloquial Spanish Course – Talking about The Kitchen in Spanish first appeared on Spanish Language Blog.

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