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🇪🇸 Spanish · Fluency Level 1

PART 1 · LESSON 3 OF 30 · 40 MINUTES

The Fish That Bites Its Tail

Sarah goes to a government office to have her title recognised, and finds herself in the oldest trap in Spanish paperwork - to get one document she needs another, and for that one, the first. Back in Triana, Julian and Encarna have paperwork stories of their own. Complain the Spain way, with irony - unbelievable, this is a joke, would you believe it, they're giving me the runaround - and stay polite while you do it.

Audio instruction: English

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THE STORY

It's Friday, January 19th, 2029, eleven in the morning, in a government office in the centre of Seville. Last Friday, with the apostille on her title, Sarah brought her papers here, and they kept the original of her university marks. This morning she took a number at half past eight. Her number is 147. The screen says 139. Finally, the screen says 147, and a tired man behind glass waves her over. At three, back in Triana, she tells Julian and Encarna. This is the conversation you'll be able to say by the end of the lesson.

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Words and phrases

The lesson is for your ears. Open this afterwards, to see what you learned.
el certificado de notas traducidoehl sehr-tee-fee-KAH-doh deh NOH-tahs trah-doo-SEE-dohthe translated transcript
Le faltaleh FAHL-tahYou're missing
Lo traje la semana pasada.loh TRAH-heh lah seh-MAH-nah pah-SAH-dahI brought it last week.
me dijeron que no hacía faltameh dee-HEH-rohn keh noh ah-SEE-ah FAHL-tahthey told me it wasn't needed
Ahora sí hace falta.ah-OH-rah see AH-seh FAHL-tahNow it is needed.
Ha cambiado la norma.ah kahm-bee-AH-doh lah NOHR-mahThe rule has changed.
Vaya tela.BAH-yah TEH-lahUnbelievable. In Spain.
necesita la apostilla primeroneh-seh-SEE-tah lah ah-pohs-TEE-yah pree-MEH-rohyou need the apostille first
Que lo tienen ustedes.keh loh tee-EH-nehn oos-TEH-dehsWhich you've got. Politely.
Es la pescadilla que se muerde la cola.ehs lah pehs-kah-DEE-yah keh seh MWEHR-deh lah KOH-lahIt's a vicious circle.

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