Free Spanish Lesson 67. Air on your neck at night.

Vocabulary For Today’s Free Spanish Lesson – Vocabulario para el boletín

mientras en – while in

in some very hot areas – en unas areas muy calurosas

pueblos – villages (cities)

(la) arena – (the) sand

o – or

(el) polvo – (the) dirt

durante el día – during the day

aire acondicionado – air conditioning

ciertas ciudades – certain cities

hacía tanto calor – it was so hot

ventiladores/abanicos – fans

en los apartamentos – in the apartments

el calor – the heat

con quien me quedé – whom I stayed with

para mi salud – for my health

me explicaron – they explained to me

mi cuello – my neck

con un dolor – with a pain

que estaban bromeando – that they were joking/kidding

compañero nativo – native companion

dolores de cuello – neck aches

como resultado – as a result

la parte más chistosa – the funniest part

durante la noche – during the night

en micuello – in my neck

un dolor de cuello – a neck ache

prendido – on

me divertó mucho – I had a lot of fun

en mi almohada – on my pillow

les expliqué que – I explained to them that

la gente Latina – the Latin people

su cultura – their culture

son buena gente – they are great (good) people

todos tenemos ideas – all of us have ideas

dolor – pain

nuestros propios remedios – our own remedies

la cosa interesante es que – the interesting thing is that

la ciencia – science

audiencia internacional – international audience

en sus país es – in your countries

Mientras en Latin America, I lived very close to the equator en unas areas muy calurosas. I mainly lived in lower-income pueblos that had streets made of arena o polvo. It was extremely hot durante el día and still very warm at night; none of the areas I lived in had aire acondicionado.

As I would walk through the streets of ciertas ciudades, la arena and/o polvo was so hot it would almost burn my feet.

At night, hacía tanto calor that I could hardly sleep. There were usually ventiladores en los apartamentos I lived in so, of course, I would turn on the fans at night in attempt to take the edge off el calor.

As I did that, the native Latin Americans con quien me quedé would get very upset and tell me how bad it was para mi salud. Me explicaron that if I slept with air blowing on me at night and it hit mi cuello, I was sure to wake up con un dolor or a kink in my neck.

I thought qu e estaban bromeando and I made a joke about it, but they were dead serious. Since I was a missionary there, I always had a compañero nativo with me. Usually he would never let me turn on el ventilador at night so we wouldn’t wake up with dolores de cuello in the morning. Como resultado, I almost learned to sleep in very hot temperatures at night!

La parte más chistosa was when I got my way and had the fan on durante la noche, every once in a while I would wake up with a kink en mi cuello (which is normal for me with or without un ventilador going.) The native people I was staying with, when they noticed I had un dolor de cuello, would always accusingly ask if I’d slept with el ventilador on.

When I’d tell them I had, they would all gang up on me and say ah ha – we told you so!!! Then they’d give me a bad time for sleeping “with un ventilador prendido.” Actually me divertí mucho light-heartedly arguing back and forth with the m trying to prove that the cause of mi dolor de cuello was from how I slept en mi almohada. Les expliqué que many Americans regularly sleep with fans on (ceiling fans or AC) and don’t get dolores de cabeza from them.

I absolutely loved getting to know la gente Latina and conversing with them and learning about su cultura and different ideas they have. Son buena gente!

Moral of the Story: Todos tenemos ideas about what causes ailments o dolor in our lives, and many of us have nuestros propios remedios that we swear by – chicken noodle soup, tonic, cod-liver oil and so forth. La cosa interesante es que whole cultures can have completely different ideas about ailments, causes and cures. La ciencia has proven many things, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions that we can all speculate about.

Now to our audiencia internacional, what ailments and interesting cures do you have en sus países? We’d all love to hear abou t them!

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Written by David S. Clark President/Director, U.S. Institute of Languages. Copyright © 1999-2011 US Institute of Languages All rights reserved.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.