Different Customs — Spanish Phrases Conversation
The new phrases you learned are highlighted in this conversation.
| Tatiana | Al principio fue muy difícil. | At first it was very hard. |
| ¿Te acuerdas, Nina? | Do you remember, Nina? | |
| Al principio, sólamente comíamos tortillas. | At first, we only ate tortillas. | |
| ¡Cosas que nunca habíamos comido | Something we had never eaten | |
| en nuestra vida! | in our life! | |
| Antonina | Tortillas mexicanas. | Mexican tortillas. |
| No hay in Bolivia. | There aren’t any in Bolivia. | |
| Y a—y aquí lo veíamos | And—and here we saw it (them) | |
| En cada supermercado, | in every grocery store, | |
| así que decidimos probarlas y bueno. | so we decided to try them and that’s it. | |
| Eso fue las cosas que comimos al principio | That was what we ate in the beginning | |
| porque era todo— | because everything was— | |
| la comida, el proceso— | the food, the process— | |
| todo es diferente a Bolivia. | everything is different from Bolivia. | |
| No sólo por el—el hecho de que | Not only for the—the fact that | |
| aquí hay más comida rápida, | here there is more fast food, | |
| Sino porque nosotros tomamos, | but also because we spend, | |
| como, 3 a 4 horas--horas cocinando | like, 3 to 4 hours—hours cooking | |
| para poder comer | to be able to eat | |
| y nuestra comida más importante | and our most important meal | |
| Es el almuerzo. | is lunch. | |
| Y en la cena tomamos algo muy ligero. | And at dinner we eat something very light. | |
| Cosa que es contraria aquí. | Something that is the opposite here. | |
| Tatiana | Sí. Nos acordamos una vez | Yes. We remember one time |
| Que estábamos esperando— | that we were waiting— | |
| Nos habían invitado para un—para un “dinner,” | they had invited us for a—for a dinner, | |
| aquí es la cena. | here it’s dinner. | |
| Entonces nosotras habíamos almorzado algo—algo bien, | So we had already had a somewhat—somewhat big lunch, | |
| pero estábamos esperando la cena, | but we were waiting for dinner, | |
| como, a las 8 o 9 de la noche. | like, at 8 or 9 p.m. | |
| Porque nosotros en Bolivia | Because in Bolivia | |
| tenemos la cena, como, a esa hora: 8 o 9 de la noche. | we have dinner, like, at that time: 8 or 9 p.m. | |
| Entonces ellos nos lla—nos vinieron | So they—they came | |
| a recoger a las 4:30. | to pick us up at 4:30. | |
| Nosotras habíamos tenido el almuerzo | We had had lunch | |
| a las 3 de la tarde | at 3 in the afternoon | |
| entonces estábamos súper llenas. | so we were really full. | |
| Estábamos como—“No queremos comer más.” | We were, like—“We don’t want to eat more.” | |
| Y esa familia había cocinado tanta comida | And that family had cooked so much food | |
| para las 5 de la tarde y nosotras, como— | for 5 p.m. and we’re, like— | |
| “Ja! ¡Tenemos que comerla! ¡No!” | “(Gasp) We have to eat it! No!” | |
| Pero lo hicimos porque | But we did it because | |
| No queríamos que ellos se enojen. | we didn’t want them to get upset. | |
| Y ellos eran muy buenos. | And they were so kind. | |
| Antonina | Fue muy difícil, como, | It was very hard to, like, |
| adaptar lo que nosotros—nuestro estilo de vida | adapt what we—our lifestyle | |
| con el estilo americano. | to the American style. | |
| Pero ahora me encanta. | But now I love it. | |
| Antonina | Tuve la oportunidad de volver a Bolivia | I had the opportunity to return to Bolivia |
| en el verano pasado, | this past summer, | |
| y lo veía todo tan diferente, | and I saw everything so differently, | |
| tan diferente. | so differently. | |
| Espero que cuando mi hermana ahora vaya, | I hope that when my sister now goes, | |
| pueda acostumbrarse otra vez | she can again become accustomed | |
| Al—al estilo de vida de Bolivia. | to—to Bolivia’s lifestyle. | |
| Y su esposo pueda hacerlo también. | And that her husband can do it too. | |
| ¡Pobre Charles! | Poor Charles! | |
| Tatiana | ¡Pobre de él! | Poor thing! |
| Pero le va a encantar. | But he will love it. | |
| Yo ya le he enseñado muchas cosas. | I’ve already taught him many things. | |
| Le he enseñado de la comida, | I’ve taught him about the food, | |
| le he enseñado de la cultura, | I’ve taught him about the culture, | |
| del dinero, | about the money, | |
| del cambio de la mo—de la moneda, | about the exchange rate, | |
| del clima, | about the climate, | |
| y le dije que a él le va a gustar mucho, Bolivia. | and I told him that he will like Bolivia a lot. |
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Once you have learned these new Spanish phrases, you can return to the Spanish phrases menu for more conversations. There are also lists of Spanish words covering many different topics like family, food, and sports. You can also find information about the Spanish and Latin American cultures under the Spanish language theme. Continue working hard and you'll do great!
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