Context

More fun Spanish learning video from Ben and Marina! We look at the different customs at the Spanish dining table, and Spanish superstitions involving the salt! Do listen to the second half analysis in English to get the most from the video.

Vocab and phrases from the ‘Analysis’ section

No se usa la servilleta – Serviettes aren’t generally used (in the UK)
En España se come mucha ensalada – A lot of salad is eaten in Spain
Otra cosa que se suele ver en la mesa española es una aceitera – Another thing you tend to see on the Spanish table is an olive oil bottle
Me resulta un poco violento pedirles una servilleta – I feel a bit uncomfortable asking them for a serviette
Cuando yo pongo la mesa – When I set the table
Soy un chapuza(s) – I don’t do things properly/I do things in half measures
Hacer chapuzas – To do some DIY
Hacerlo de manera chapuza – To do it not very well

More Great Spanish Learning Resources…

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May 10, 2011

Here is a great email we got recently from a listener (when it was still cold here in Madrid!):

“Hola Ben, I’m a big fan of your website and podcasts. They definitely helped me make the leap and move to Madrid. I’ve been here for a year and am having a great time.

Some real Spanish for you that you might like to share with the other users. This morning, I left home at 7.30 and it was freezing cold. I saw my “portera” on the way out of my building and she said to me “¡Vaya mañana!”

I think this use of “vaya” is very common in Spain and can be translated as “What a morning!” in English. I don’t know if you’ve written about this already, if not it could be interesting. All the best, E.”

That is a great use of Vaya, we love it! You could also use ‘Vaya mañana’ (What a morning!) if it was pouring with rain, or incredibly hot, or just if you’d had a hard start to the day!

Vaya is also often used in response to bad news, to mean ‘oh dear’:

Enrique: Me han despedido – I’ve been fired
Ben: Vaya, lo siento mucho – Oh dear, I’m really sorry

Here is another typical use of Vaya, in this wonderful and common expression:

Vaya tela – What a nightmare

For example:

Vaya tela que tienes con tu trabajo, además de tener un jefe inaguantable te han asignado el cliente más complicado – What a nightmare you?ve got at work. As well as having an unbearable boss, they’ve given you the most difficult client!

Fill your life with more Real Spanish now! Listen to our Real Spanish Conversations and pick up one of the Real Spanish learning products in our store!

We wanted to share one or our favourite expressions, and other related vocab, from one of the episodes in our Gold Two program:

Hoy me he levantado con el pie izquierdo – I got up on the wrong side of the bed / in a really funny mood today.

You can also say the following two phrases, to mean the same thing:

Hoy me he levantado del revés – I got up in a really strange mood today
Hoy me he levantado un poco torcido – I got up in a funny mood today

“Torcido” literally means crooked, or bent, for example:

Ese marco está torcido – That frame is not straight (on the wall).

Tengo la columna torcida – My spine / back is a bit bent.

Here in Spain it is commonly used in other phrases to say that things haven’t gone quite right:

Después de hablar con mi jefe se me ha torcido el día – After speaking to my boss my day has gone completely wrong.

Se me ha torcido el viaje con la huelga de pilotos – My trip has gone out of the window due to the pilot’s strike.

Gold Season Two is full of real-life, organic Spanish like this, for upper intermediate and advanced learners.