Cool Spanish and A Secret Page

A great sign I saw this morning – Watch out! Wild boars! Slow down!

Queridos amigos,

It’s time for some more real Spanish for you (and a secret page at the bottom of this post!)

I was walking to my car this morning in a small village near Madrid where I like to come and work some days, when a man approached me and said, ‘Caballero, ¿dónde puedo comprar una baraja?’

I saw his wife packing a picnic in the back of their car and so thought he had asked where he could buy ‘una navaja’ – a pocket knife. So, unsure, I said ‘¿Perdón?’

‘Una baraja’ he repeated, and made the sign of shuffling a deck of cards with his hands.

‘¡Ah!’ I said, ‘Aquí a la derecha hay una papelería’ – Here on the right there is a stationary shop.

‘¡Gracias!’ he said and off he went.

This encounter made me happy for two real-Spanish-related reasons. First of all, I love it how the Spanish will often start an encounter with a complete (male) stranger with ‘Caballero…’ which can be translated as gentlemen, honorable man, or knight!

And I loved the fact that he reminded me of the word ‘baraja’ for a deck of cards. There’s something satisfying about that word! It reminded me too of the verb, barajar, to shuffle, and the phrase ‘barajar varias posibilidades’ – to consider various options.

For example, ’Después de barajar varias posibilidades, acabamos reservando una mesa en La Taberna Miranda’ – After considering various possibilities we ended up reserving a table at La Taberna Miranda.

Summer comes early, and a secret page for keen learners!

It’s mid-June, and it’s 38 degrees celsius here in Madrid! That’s 100 degrees fahrenheit! And it’s set to be like that all week! Goodness knows what the rest of the summer has in store for us!

The heat, combined with the summer holidays, means that pretty much everyone’s productivity levels are about to grind to a halt! Before we swoon in the heat I’d like to share a secret with anyone that is somewhere cooler and still has the energy to study – which hopefully is you! Get going with your Spanish! Summer is a Spanish time if ever there was one! ‘¡Hace calor! ¡Estupendo! ¡Cuánto más mejor!’ – The more the better!

If you’re feeling motivated, love our podcasts, and want to enhance your Real Spanish learning experience with our worksheets, then shhhh, look here… a secret page I hid a while ago for astute Googlers!

Saludos desde Madrid,

Ben y Marina

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