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| INTRODUCTION |
| Carlos: I’m freezing. |
| Natalia: Hello Carlos, how are you? |
| Carlos: Natie, how are you doing, I am okay. |
| Natalia: That doesn’t sound too convinced. |
| Carlos: Okay. No I am really good actually, don’t listen to her like I am just feeling the flow, getting the vibe, getting ready for another lesson today. |
| Natalia: Okay. |
| Carlos: Let’s do it up. |
| Natalia: What? |
| Carlos: Just a saying. |
| Natalia: And why are you so excited? |
| Carlos: Well other than my usual too-good personality, today is a very special day. |
| Natalia: I don’t like your tone. I don’t even know if I want to know. |
| Carlos: Well as always, I’m going to tell you anyway. Today’s lesson awards me with a very good opportunity. |
| Natalia: For what? |
| Carlos: Well Natie, today we are going to talk about the weather of Costa Rica. |
| Natalia: And why does that get you excited? |
| Carlos: Well it reminds me of the dreary skies and snowstorms that I left in the Northeastern US. |
| Natalia: My god, are you actually criticizing New York? |
| Carlos: What can I say, I hate winter. |
| Natalia: Really, me too. |
| Carlos: Natie, have you ever seen snow? |
| Natalia: I don’t think so. I don’t like snow. I really, really run away from cold places. |
| Carlos: So you’ve never seen snow? |
| Natalia: No sir. |
| Carlos: So you have no idea what I am talking about. |
| Natalia: Thank god. |
| Carlos: It’s just white stuff that comes out. |
| Natalia: Ah Carlos! |
| Carlos: All right, you have no comprehension of what real winter is like. |
| Natalia: Well anyways let’s get down to business. |
| Carlos: Oh oh! She is cracking the whip. What our conversation is about today? |
| Natalia: Well Andres and Sylvia are faced with a very uncomfortable situation for Ticos. |
| Carlos: And what’s that? |
| Natalia: Being cold. |
| Carlos: And Natie, what’s cooler than being cool? |
| Natalia: Me. |
| Carlos: I said what’s cooler than being cool? |
| Natalia: What are you on like? |
| Carlos: What’s cooler than being cool? Ice-cold yeay! All right, all right, all right, all right, all right. Come on, you don’t know that song? |
| Natalia: I mean out of silence, I am just not going to comment. Let’s go back to newbie lesson 15. |
| Carlos: It’s a great song. Don’t hate on it. |
| Natalia: Okay in lesson 15, we heard the following conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| MARCELO: ¡Hace frío! ¿Usted tiene frío? |
| DANIELA: ¡Sí! Yo tengo frío. |
| MARCELO: Yo también tengo frío. |
| DANIELA: ¿Necesitamos abrigos? |
| MARCELO: Necesitamos gorros y guantes también. |
| Carlos: This time with the translation. Ahora incluiremos la traducción. |
| MARCELO: ¡Hace frío! ¿Usted tiene frío? It’s cold out, are you cold? |
| DANIELA: ¡Sí! Yo tengo frío. Yeah I am cold. |
| MARCELO: Yo también tengo frío. I am cold too. |
| DANIELA: ¿Necesitamos abrigos? Do we need coats? |
| MARCELO: Necesitamos gorros y guantes también. We need hats and gloves too. |
| Natalia: Carlos, you must miss something about the winter in the states. |
| Carlos: Yeah days off because of snow. |
| Natalia: Typical. Well alright, now let’s get a taste of what this conversation might sound like in Costa Rican Spanish. |
| DIALOGUE - COSTA RICAN |
| ANDRES: ¡Mae, Qué frío! ¿No se esta congelando! |
| SYLVIA: Si, me estoy palmando de frío. |
| ANDRES: Estoy como una paleta. |
| SYLVIA: Necesitamos una sueta. |
| ANDRES: Sueta, gorro, de todo. |
| Carlos: Once again slowly. Una vez más, esta vez lentamente. |
| ANDRES: ¡Mae, Qué frío! ¿No se esta congelando! |
| SYLVIA: Si, me estoy palmando de frío. |
| ANDRES: Estoy como una paleta. |
| SYLVIA: Necesitamos una sueta. |
| ANDRES: Sueta, gorro, de todo. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Natalia: Carlos |
| Carlos: Yeah Natie. |
| Natalia: You know, these two conversations are quite different. |
| Carlos: You know that’s my line. |
| Natalia: Well I say better this is mine now. |
| Carlos: We will let the audience decide. |
| Natalia: Futile. |
| Carlos: Well if it’s going to be like that, I think we should begin with newbie lesson when we heard |
| Natalia: “Yo tengo frío.” |
| Carlos: I am cold. |
| Natalia: Yo tengo frío. |
| Carlos: Natie, how did this sound in our Tico conversation? |
| Natalia: Me estoy palmando de frío. I am dying of cold. “Me estoy palmando de frío.” What would you like to talk about? |
| Carlos: Well, other than recognizing the gerund, I think we should talk about “palmarse”. |
| Natalia: We actually discussed that in lesson 10 remember? |
| Carlos: How could I forget? ¡Sylvia me palmo de hambre! |
| Natalia: My god, I am never going to forget that. I tell you. |
| Carlos: Sylvia. |
| Natalia: Okay. |
| Carlos: No but yes, yes we discussed “palmar” already but now I think we should examine it from another angle. Let me get my gloves. |
| Natalia: Oh this is disgusting! |
| Carlos: All right now in all seriousness, I think this conversation provides us with a good springboard to talk about reflexive verbs. |
| Natalia: Reflexive verbs. |
| Carlos: Yep that’s them. It’s actually a little confusing for me. So I was hoping you’d clarify. |
| Natalia: Con mucho gusto. |
| Carlos: Well our tone just changed. You know what the thing is, in English, reflexive verbs are very easy. |
| Natalia: It says you. |
| Carlos: Now I think so really. In English, they include the word self and that makes them pretty easy to spot. |
| Natalia: Yeah that’s true. I guess they will be a little harder to spot in Spanish but Carlos, you are forgetting something. |
| Carlos: And what’s that? |
| Natalia: Umm well, flex your memory and tell us the definition of a reflexive verb. |
| Carlos: Hold on. Let me remember, let me think back to when I was an English teacher. |
| Natalia: Oh just go! |
| Carlos: Well, class reflexive verbs are verbs in which the subject and object are the same or looked another way where the action reflects back on the subject. |
| Natalia: Well that was pretty technical. How about simple? |
| Carlos: Okay well pretty much, there are actions which usually are done by the subject to or for him or herself. |
| Natalia: Well that’s a little better. |
| Carlos: So let me turn tables around. Miss Araya. |
| Natalia: Uhoo… Araya |
| Carlos: Araya |
| Natalia: Araya. |
| Carlos: Araya |
| Natalia: Araya |
| Carlos: Well, I am not going to go into that again. |
| Natalia: Yeah that’s another lesson. |
| Carlos: How can we recognize a reflexive verb in Spanish? |
| Natalia: Well look for a reflexive pronoun. |
| Carlos: Well, you will need to go and help me with that one. |
| Natalia: Sin duda. Okay here we go: Me |
| Carlos: Okay I can do that one. That must mean myself. |
| Natalia: Yes. |
| Carlos: Okay what else? |
| Natalia: Te |
| Carlos: Alright. “Te”, to, yourself? |
| Natalia: Yes, “te” yourself. Next up “se”. |
| Carlos: You know, I remember you talking about the importance of patterns and if this is following the same conjugation pattern, “se” must be for “usted, él, ella”. |
| Natalia: Good observation. It’s all about the pattern. Once you learn that, you have the key to the system. So then “nos”. |
| Carlos: Oh come on, that’s easy “nosotros”. |
| Natalia: Don’t get cocky but yes “nosotros”. |
| Carlos: Sorry. Next |
| Natalia: “os” |
| Carlos: Ouch. That one is hard. I’ve never heard it in Costa Rica. Is that the “vosotros” form? |
| Natalia: Good job. |
| Carlos: Elementary my dear Natalia. |
| Natalia: Okay don’t get it all over your head. |
| Carlos: You don’t know of Sherlock Holmes? |
| Natalia: I of course do but I don’t remember what he says back. |
| Carlos: He says elementary, my dear Watson. |
| Natalia: I know but I don’t remember what Watson said, you know, yeah dude, I don’t remember. |
| Carlos: Yeah dude, okay. Last but not least must be “ustedes, ellos,” and “ellas”. |
| Natalia: It actually is now, “se”. |
| Carlos: “se” |
| Natalia: Yeah it’s the same for both forms. |
| Carlos: Well that’s a little confusing. |
| Natalia: With time Carlitos, patience. So let’s take a common reflexive verb and conjugate it. |
| Carlos: I am game, which verb? |
| Natalia: lavarse |
| Carlos: To watch one self. |
| Natalia: Yes. |
| Carlos: Okay here we go, let me try: Me lavo. |
| Natalia: Keep going. |
| Carlos: Te lavas. Se lava. |
| Natalia: Se lava. |
| Carlos: |
| Se lava. Nos lavamos. |
| Natalia: lavamos |
| Carlos: Os lavais. |
| Natalia: laváis. |
| Carlos: lavais |
| Natalia: You sort of sing it “lavAis. |
| Carlos: laváis |
| Natalia: Exactly. |
| Carlos: Se lavan. |
| Natalia: Yeay good. |
| Carlos: The pattern is the key to the system. I feel like I’ve just jumped down the rabbit hole. |
| Natalia: Oh I love Alice in Wonderland. Carlos, why do you shush me? |
| Carlos: Because it’s the matrix ha ha ha! |
| Natalia: No comments. Again, I have no comments. I do have a comment. |
| Carlos: Comment then. |
| Natalia: You got terrible, terrible, terrible taste. Alice in Wonderland is playing the best imagination you could ever have. |
| Carlos: It’s because she is a hippie. |
| Natalia: What hippie? Oh okay, just to recap, in newbie lesson 15, we heard “Yo tengo frío.” |
| Carlos: And in our Tico conversation, we heard |
| Natalia: Me estoy palmando de frío. |
| Carlos: I am dying of cold. |
| Natalia: Me estoy palmando de frío. |
| Carlos: Man, that is a lot more expressive. I like it. ¡Sylvia, estoy palmando de frío! |
| Natalia: Oh my god. Carlos, you have a tendency to repeat a joke to death. The first 40 times, it was hilarious but it gets old. It really, really, really, really does. |
| Carlos: She loves it. That’s why you left. She can’t hide it. |
| Natalia: I laugh at your face Carlos. It’s impossible not to laugh at your face. |
| Carlos: Uh it’s getting personal, guys. Okay I need to make a comment on something. |
| Natalia: What is it? |
| Carlos: Well Andre says “Estoy como una paleta.” |
| Natalia: Aha what does that mean? |
| Carlos: I am like a Popsicle. |
| Natalia: Good work. You remember lesson 12. |
| Carlos: That’s right: Estoy como la perrita del cura. |
| Natalia: I am like the priest’s little dog. |
| Carlos: “Como” means like. |
| Natalia: And |
| Carlos: “Cómo” with an accent indicates a question. |
| Natalia: Ey that’s good. |
| Carlos: But I still have to make a comment. |
| Natalia: Okay. |
| Carlos: Andres compares himself to a Popsicle. I mean if he is a Tico, I don’t agree with this comparison. |
| Natalia: Why not? |
| Carlos: Well not for nothing. I have noticed something about the weather here. |
| Natalia: That is beautiful, isn’t it? |
| Carlos: Well yes and no, I love it but…. |
| Natalia: But… |
| Carlos: You don’t really have varied weather. It’s either raining or it’s not. |
| Natalia: Well we have the rainy season and the dry season or we could call it winter and summer. |
| Carlos: Okay when do the seasons start? When does the rainy season start and when does the dry season start? |
| Natalia: Well you know what, in the last few years, it sort of starts whenever. Pero esque ahora está loco. The rainy season starts from May to November and the dry season, well from November to April and to May again. |
| Carlos: Okay. |
| Natalia: But the thing is that now-a-days, it started like the weather is going crazy and then all of a sudden in the dry season, it starts raining in the hot season and in November, things are just mixed up. |
| Carlos: Okay well listen, if the rainy season is starting right now being that it’s May, I really disagree with the characterization of it as winter. |
| Natalia: And why? |
| Carlos: Natie, it was 80 degrees today. |
| Natalia: How many? |
| Carlos: Oh yes all right, 25 degrees Celsius. |
| Natalia: Yeah that’s our winter weather. |
| Carlos: Okay when at Rome, is it the rainy season all over the country? |
| Natalia: Well as you know, here in San Jose, we are in the central valley. |
| Carlos: Yeah so? |
| Natalia: We are at a higher elevation, the weather here is milder. |
| Carlos: So it’s a lot hotter on the coast. |
| Natalia: Carlos, stop playing dumb. You have been to the coast, you know this but just so you guys know, it does change. Sometimes it’s raining in San Jose in the central valley and the other side of the country, people are so hot. It’s unbelievable. |
| Carlos: Yes. Okay so you see I was playing down I’ve been to the coast and you cannot stay in the sun long. |
| Natalia: Well it’s pretty intense. |
| Carlos: Well I was happy when I got to bring some sweaters down. I mean the climate in the central valley really is cooler. I mean I like the fact that I don’t need air conditioning. I mean you could sleep comfortably with a blanket. |
| Natalia: Sí, tengo muchas suetas. |
| Carlos: And what does that mean? |
| Natalia: “Sueta?” Yes I got a lot of sweaters. |
| Carlos: Wait, I thought that “sueter” means sweaters. |
| Natalia: suéter |
| Carlos: “Suéter” means sweaters. |
| Natalia: Well it does “sueta” is just the short version. |
| Carlos: Man, you have to tell me these things. It’s confusing when you spend time learning a word and then you have a shortened version. |
| Natalia: Well Carlos, that’s why you are here. I am telling you right now. What else have you heard? |
| Carlos: porfa |
| Natalia: Now come on Carlos, that’s easy. |
| Carlos: First time I heard it, I kept expecting the “avor” to come out. |
| Natalia: Ay porfa... |
| Carlos: Speaking of shortened versions |
| Natalia: What? |
| Carlos: I went to a bar in my neighborhood last week and I had |
| Natalia: ¿una birria? |
| Carlos: Well yeah but I also had drum roll please |
| Natalia: What…. |
| Carlos: My god, you did it. “Un chifrijo” or “chicharrones con frijoles” and I must say Natie, you are right. As a bar food, man, that hits the spot. |
| Natalia: Slowly but surely grasshopper, you are adopting the tico way. |
| Carlos: Al chile. |
| Natalia: Yes, see, you are a tico man. |
| Carlos: Ha ha! |
| Natalia: It comes down natural now. |
| Carlos: ¿En serio? |
| Natalia: It does. Sí señor. |
| Carlos: Ay porfa. |
| Natalia: Ai mae. |
| Carlos: Qué dicha. |
| Natalia: Oh my god! |
Outro |
|---|
| Natalia: This will conclude today’s lesson. Don’t forget to reference this lesson with newbie lesson 15 and be sure to pick up the PDF at spanishpod101.com Also leave us some love on the forum and comments on today’s lesson. |
| Carlos: And let us know what you liked and didn’t like. We are here for you. We will see you all again next week. |
| Natalia: Hasta la otra semana. |
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