Category Archives: Role Play

La primavera. Little writting in Spanish and English

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Por fín llegó la primavera y estamos super contentos. El tiempo ha sido perfecto, sín lluvia, cielos despejados, el sol ha brillado como nunca… Que más se puede pedir, casi me parece que estamos en España!
Pero bueno, la verdad es que yo estoy enganchada de la alergia, asi que tengo los ojos y la cabeza que…. mejor no hablar. Me tomaré las pastillitas y a ver si se me pasa pronto y podemos disfrutar al máximo el buen tiempo.
Tendremos que ir pensando en que semillitas vamos a plantar este año en el jardín por que el año pasado plantamos una pipa y nos brotó un girasol,pequeñito pero salió. Nos hace mucha ilusión asi que os tendremos al día, a ver que decidimos.
Bienevenida Primavera!

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Spring has arrived and we are very pleased.
The weather is been beautiful , every day we’ve had clear skies, blooming flowers and trees…. We love Spring, but ever since it arrived I’ve been suffering hay fever so… here I am with my eyes and my head bumping as if I hadn´t sleep the whole night. I hate it!
I started to take some hay fever tables and hopefully I’ll start to feel better soon…. Hope so! This is a season to go out, enjoy the outdoor activities and we want to do the most of it, so I hope to be posting some colourful photos for our colourful Spring gardens.
Welcome Spring!

 

Activities for the children in Valencia: el Bioparc

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If you are planning to visit Valencia this year with the children, I am sure you want to go to the beach and enjoy as much as you can the sunshine but… in Valencia there are also some other very good alternatives to keep the children entertained and happy, and one of my family’s favorite ones is the “BIOPARC”.

https://www.bioparcvalencia.es/

We went with our son when he was little, at that time  we still lived in Valencia and he loved every minute of that day.

The Winter and the Spring are the best seasons from my point of view to visit it because during the summer is quite hot but, truly…. anytime is a good time.

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It would be a good practice for the children to learn the name of the animals and follow the map around the find them all: El rinoceronte, el elefante, el león….  And the blue sky is always there!

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A2 Spanish exam: “Mar de plástico”

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Racism, multi cultural society, immigration… these are all A2 exam topics for that some of you will be having very soon.

They are very hard topics to talk about in any language so I can understand how complicated it can be to express yourself in Spanish when talking about them.

The other day I found this series in Netflix and I thought it was perfect in order  to get the feeling about these serious problems that take place in Spain, as well as in many other parts of the world: “Mar de plástico”.

Feel free to send me an email or any questions related to the topics and the A2 exams. Muchísima suerte!

At the airport

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When travelling abroad to Spain or any latin country is very useful to know some basic sentences to find you way at the airport.

The following is a standard conversation you could have with a stewardess when doing your check in at the airport:

 

A- Buenos días señor/señora! (Good morning, Sir/madam)
C-  Buenos días (Good Morning)
A-¿Su pasaporte o DNI por favor? (Pastport or Identity car, please?)
C-Aquí tiene. (There you are)
A-Muchas gracias  ¿Lleva maletas para facturar? (Thank you. Are you checking in any  luggage?)
C-Si, tengo una. (yes, one case)
A-Por favor colóquelas sobre la cinta transportadora. ( Please, can you put the on the band so that I can weight it?)
C-Si, un momento. ( Yes. One moment please!)
A- Pesa 20kg*. ¿Lleva también equipaje de mano? (It is 20kgr. Do you have any hand luggage?)
C-Si, llevo esta maleta pequeña. (Yes, this little case)
A-Por favor colóquela también sobre la cinta transportadora. ( Please, can you put the on the band so that I can weight it?)
A-Bien aquí tiene su tarjeta de embarque. La hora de embarque es las 19:25 por la puerta de embarque numero 20. Muchas gracias y que tenga un buen viaje. ( This is you boarding card. Boarding time is 19:25 at gate number 20. Thanks you and have a nice flight!)
C-Muchas gracias, adiós. (Thank you. Good bye!)
 
 

If the suit case was overweight the this might be the end of the conversation:
*A- El peso de su maleta es superior a 20 kg. Le recuerdo que por cada kg que supera los 20kg, el coste es de 4€. Su maleta excede 6kg por lo tanto tendría que abonar en nuestra oficina de tasas 24€ y luego regresar a facturación con la factura que le darán y  finalizar su embarque. ( Your case is over weight. I remind you that every kilogram extra costs 4 euros. Your case is 6kg overweight there for you would need to pay 24 euros taxes at our office and, after that, come back with your payment receipt  to finish your check in)

C- ¿Dónde está la oficina de tasas? (Where is you office?)
A-Esta justo en frente. (It’s there, in front of us)
C- Muchas gracias (Thank you!)
A-Gracias a usted

Asking directions.

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¿ DÓNDE ESTÁ….?    Where is…..?

This is the basic question you need to know to ask for directions. You just need to say “where is” and add at the end the place you are looking for.

For example:

¿ Dónde está la estación?  Where is the station?

¿ Dónde está la biblioteca? Where is the library?

¿ Dónde está el banco? Where is the bank?

There  are other type of questions that you could use, such as:

¿ HAY UN SUPERMERCADO POR AQUÍ?   Is there a supermarket near here?

¿ ESTÁ LEJOS DE AQUÍ ?  Is it far from here?

There is some basic vocabulary you´ll need to learn to understand any possible answer to these questions:

Siga todo recto  Go straight on

Gire a la derecha  Go right

Gire a la izquierda  Go left

En la esquina  On the corner

Justo a la vuelta de la esquina   Just around the corner

Gire a la izquierda en el cruce de semáforos  Turn left at the traffic lights

Todo recto, pasando el mercado  Straight on, past the market.

Tome la primera a la derecha.  take the first road on the left.

Example dialogue:

_ Buenos días señora, estoy buscando un supermercado ¿ hay alguno por aquí?  ( Good morning madam. I´m looking for a supermarket. Is there one near by?)

_ Buenos días. Sí, tienes un supermercado muy cerca.  Camina todo recto y en la primera esquina , gira a la derecha. Al final de la calle lo encontrarás. Enfrente de la iglesia. ( Good morning. Yes, there is a supermarket supermarket near by. Walk straight on. On the first corner turn to the right. You´ll find it at the end of the road, in front of the church)

_ Muchas gracias. Que tenga un buen día. (Thanks you very much. Have a nice day!)

_ De nada. ( Your welcome!)

 

At the restaurant

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There are some common situations such as getting around the airport, ordering a lunch menu at a restaurant or shopping at the supermarket where you might find  handy to learn very basic Spanish vocabulary or  standard  conversation.

In this section I want to  give you some tips. I hope you find them useful!

 

At the restaurant.

These are some of the most popular dishes you would find in a  Spanish bar-restaurant menu:

Tapas:

  • Patatas bravas (Deep fried potatoes topped with a spicy red chilli  and tomato sauce)
  • Boquerones (Anchovy fillets marinated in a seasoned olive oil dressing)
  • Mejillones a la Marinera (Steamed green lip mussels in a cream, white wine, lemon and garlic sauce)
  • Pan de Ajo (V,  Homemade garlic bread slices)
  • Tortilla Espanola (V, Traditional Spanish omelette filled with potatoes, peppers and onion)

Primer Plato:

  • Ensalada con tomate (tomato salad)
  • Sopa de ajo con bacon (garlic soup with bacon)
  • Ensalada de lechuga y cebolla (lettuce and onion salad)
  • Aceitunas (Olives)

Segundo Plato:

  • Pollo con verduras ( Chicken with vegetables)
  • Pollo con patatas fritas y huevo frito ( Chicken with chips and a fried egg)
  • Macarrones con salsa de tomate y ternera ( Pasta with beef on tomato sauce)
Postres (Puddings):
  • Arroz con Leche  (Rice Pudding w/Crackle Glaze)
  • Tarta de Chocolates (Chocolate cake)
  • Tarta de Santiago  (Traditional Almond Cake that the pilgrims received on their journey to Santiago de Compostela)
  • Crema catalana (The original “Crème Brûlèe,” a creamy-style Custard topped with caramelized sugar)
  • Churros con chocolate (Sweet Spanish Fritters with thick Spanish Hot Chocolate).
  • Fruta fresca (Fresh fruit)
  • Yogur (Youghurt)
Bebidas (Drinks):
  • Agua (water)
  • Cerveza (beer)
  • Vino (Wine): Blanco (White), Tinto (Red), Rosado (Rosé)
  •  Zumo de piña o naranja ( Pinapple or orange juice)

If you speak very basic Spanish you may want to have a look at the following conversation example:

Customer: ¡Oiga camarero! Me pordría traer el menú, por favor! (Waiter, could you please bring me the menu)
Camarero: Ahora mismo ( Rigth now)  ¿Qué van a tomar? (What would you like to eat?)
Customer: De primer plato, sopa de ajo con bacon y de segundo, pescado con patatas ( I would like garlic and bacon soup for first dish and fish with chips as second dish).
Camarero: ¿Qué va a beber? ( Anything to drink? )
Customer:  Una cerveza, por favor. ( A beer, please!)
Customer: ¿Me podría traer la cuenta?
Camarero: Son 50 euros (It´s 50 euros)
Customer: ¿ Puedo pagar con tarjeta? ( Can I pay by card?)
Camarero: Por supuesto….. Introduzca su número PIN. ( Of course. Could you type you PIN number?)  Aquí tine su recibo. Muchas gracias por su visita. ( This is your ticket. Thanks!)

It´s a very basic one but it´ll help you with your order.

After reading the conversation translation you might  realize that is very hard to translate a sentence “word by word”. It´s almost impossible most of the time, but don´t worry because if you practice long enough you get used to the Spanish expressions.
Don´t hesitate to post any comments or doubts you might have. I´ll be happy to help!