Rocket Spanish Newsletter Series:
"El Aeropuerto" (The Airport)
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Conversation Practice
Hello, and welcome to today's newsletter! Two weeks ago, you met Carlos and Carmona. They’re taking a trip to Ecuador , where they hope to see the Galapagos Islands, the Amazonian rain forest, and the colonial district of Quito. In this newsletter, they’ve arrived at Quito International Airport . They need to make their way to their hotel. As the plane lands at the Aeropuerto Internacional Mariscal Sucre, or the Mariscal Sucre International Airport , Carlos and Carmona put on their backpacks and watch excitedly through the window. They file off the plane.
"Look at the sign, Carlos," says Carmona. "BIENVENIDOS A ECUADOR." That means ‘Welcome to Ecuador,’ doesn’t it?”
They follow the path marked Llegada for Arrivals and stand in line at Aduana, or Customs. After passing through customs, they follow the signs to el reclamo de equipaje, or baggage claim, to pick up their luggage.
Now, they need to find a taxi to their hotel. Carmona stops a security guard. Follow along with their conversation by clicking on the play button.
| Click on the arrow to listen. Click again to stop. |
| Carmona: | Perdón, señor. ¿Dónde está la parada de taxis? |
| Guardia: | ¿La parada? Está por esas puertas. Los taxis azules son los mejores. ¿Necesitan ustedes ayuda con las maletas? |
| Carmona: | No, gracias. Estamos bien. |
Now, play the conversation again, trying to hear each word and phrase in terms of its English meaning.
| Carmona: | Excuse me, sir. Where is the taxi stop? |
| Guard: | The stop? It is through those doors. The blue taxis are the best. Do you need help with the suitcases? |
| Carmona: | No, thank you. We’re fine. |
Here are some of the important words and phrases that you should be able to pick out of the conversation.
| Listen along. |
| ¿dónde está? | where is? |
| aeropuerto internacional | international airport |
| bienvenidos | welcome |
| llegada | arrivals |
| aduana | customs |
| el reclamo de equipaje | baggage claim |
| la parada de taxis | the taxi stop |
| está | it is |
| por esas puertas | through those doors |
| los taxis azules | the blue taxis |
| los mejores | the best |
| ¿necesita ayuda? | do you need help? |
| las maletas | the suitcases |
| no, gracias | no thanks |
| estamos bien / estoy bien | we’re fine / I’m fine |
At the taxi stop, Carlos and Carmona hail the driver of a blue taxi. As the taxi driver puts their suitcases in his car, Carlos attempts to find out how much it will cost to get to their hotel.
| Listen along. |
| Carlos: | Vamos al Hotel Windsor en la calle Amazonas. ¿Cuánto cuesta el pasaje? |
| Chofer: | No sé, señor. Depende. |
| Carlos: | Pero más o menos. |
| Chofer: | Bueno, más o menos, cuesta dos dólares. |
| Carlos: | ¿Está muy lejos? |
| Chofer: | No está muy lejos, pero hay mucho tráfico. |
| Carlos: | ¿Qué tan largo es el viaje? |
| Chofer: | Unos diez minutos. |
Play the conversation again as you try to follow it in English.
| Carlos: | We’re going to the Windsor Hotel on Amazonas Street. How much does the fare cost? |
| Driver: | I don’t know, sir. It depends. |
| Carlos: | But more or less. |
| Driver: | Well, more or less, it costs two dollars. |
| Carlos: | .Is it very far away? |
| Driver: | No, it’s not very far away, but there is a lot of traffic. |
| Carlos: | How long is the trip? |
| Driver: | About ten minutes. |
Here are some of the important words and phrases that you should be able to pick out of the conversation.
| Listen along. |
| vamos a / voy a | we’re going to / I’m going to |
| en la calle | in or on the street |
| ¿cuánto cuesta? | how much does it cost? |
| el pasaje | the fare |
| no sé | I don’t know |
| depende | it depends |
| pero | but |
| más o menos | more or less |
| bueno | well |
| cuesta X dólares | it costs X dollars |
| ¿está lejos? / ¿está cerca? | is it far away? / is it close by? |
| ¿qué tan largo es el viaje? | how long is the trip? |
The taxi driver gets into the taxi as Carlos and Carmona slide into the back seat. The driver turns the ignition. The taxi coughs several times, then dies. Carlos and Carmona look at each other. Carlos asks the driver, “¿Hay algún problema?” or Is there a problem? The driver grunts and tries again. This time, the taxi roars to life, and the driver peals off into the streets of Quito .
Well, that’s it for now. In two weeks, you'll learn the further adventures of Carlos and Carmonal. They arrive at their hotel only to find that the hotel has lost their reservations, and they’re going to have to figure out what to do.
Until next time! ¡Hasta la próxima vez!
Mauricio Evlampieff
Rocket Spanish
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P.P.P.S Here’s a grammatical side-note. You may have noticed in this section that the order of some words are reversed. For example…
Aeropuerto Internacional = International Airport
La calle Amazonas = Amazonas Street
El Hotel Windsor = the Windsor Hotel
This is because nouns and adjectives are reversed in Spanish. In other words, you don’t say “blue taxis.” You say, “taxis blue,” or taxis azules!
There is another way in which nouns and adjectives are reversed in order. Whereas in English you can say “the train fare” or “the bus stop,” in Spanish you have to say “the fare of train” (el pasaje de tren) or “the stop of buses” (la parada de buses). You also have to say, “the suitcase of Carmona” (la maleta de Carmona) rather than “Carmona’s suitcase”!
P.P.P.P.S I almost forgot! Here are some exercises to practice what you have learned. You’ll need to use vocabulary from the previous lesson, so I hope you’ve studied!
Exercise 1
Pretend that you’re in Carlos and Carmona’s shoes. How would you ask the following questions?
| 1. Where is the airport? | ________________________________________ |
| 2. Where is the baggage claim? | ________________________________________ |
| 3. Where is the hotel? | ________________________________________ |
| 4. Where are the restrooms? | ________________________________________ |
| 5. Where are the suitcases? | ________________________________________ |
Hint: there’s a difference between “where is” and “where are”!
Exercise 2
Now, try asking how much things cost by translating the following questions.
| 1. How much does the beer cost? | _________________________________________ |
| 2. How much does the packet of potato chips cost? | _________________________________________ |
| 3. How much does the breakfast cost? | _________________________________________ |
| 4. How much does the fare cost? | _________________________________________ |
| 5. How much does the taxi cost? | _________________________________________ |
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