Welcome to Spanish for Beginners: Lesson Ten! Bienvenido a la lección diez!
Today we get a chance to listen to part 2 of Maestra Elena. We will also learn a new song called Me Levanto A Las Seis which means I get up at six. So, to get started, let’s get straight to our song.
Activity 1: Song: Me Levanto
In this song we are going to learn some typical actions we perform throughout the day.
We begin our day by getting up out of bed. We say “me levanto” for “I get up.” The sign for ‘me levanto’ is having two legs moving up and onto the floor. Your right index and middle finger represent the two legs. The palm of your left hand represents the floor. Me levanto a las seis.
Our next action is “Me baño”, I bathe. To bath one’s self, make two fists with your thumbs pointing up, and rub your chest. Me baño a las siete.
After bathing, I eat breakfast at 8, ocho, me desyuno a las ocho. For desyuno, we will use the gesture for eat, comer. Desyuno a las ocho.
After breakfast I work. Trabajo. You may remember the gesture for trabajo — hands in fists, tap the wrists. Trabajo a las nueve
At 12:00 I eat lunch, almerzo a las doce. Again, we will use the gesture for comer for almerzo. Almerzo a las doce.
I have coffee at 4, a las cuatro. Tomo café a las cuatro. We will use the gesture for beber, to drink, for drinking our café. Tomo café a las cuatro.
I go home at five, me voy a casa a las cinco. The sign for “I go” is our two index fingers pointing out with our hands moving away from our body. Me voy. For home or house, casa, we will make the shape of a house starting at the peak of the roof. Casa. Me voy a casa (pause), Me voy a casa. Thus we have me voy a casa a las cinco.
I eat supper, ceno, at six, a las seis. We will use the sign for comer for ceno. Ceno a las seis.
After ceno, I walk the dog, camino a mi perro. For camino, we will have our index and middle finger representing legs walking. Perro, if you remember is a tap on your hip and then a snap of the fingers. Camino a mi perro a las siete.
After I walk the dog, I watch TV at 8, miro la tele a las ocho. For miro, point, with your index and middle fingers from your eyes outward. We will make the T, V, signs for tele. For ‘T’, stick your thumb between your first finger and middle finger. For V, make a v shape with your index and middle finger. Miro a tele a las ocho.
I read at nine, leo a las nueve. Move back and forth over your left palm with your first and index fingers. Leo a las nueve.
And, finalmente, I go to bed, voy a cama, at 10 a las diez. Simply lay your head on your pillow, your flattened palm. If you want to include voy, I go, simply move away from your body. And remember, diez is one thumb up. Voy a cama a las diez.
So, here are the phrases:
Me levanto a las seis.
Me baño a las siete
Desyuno a las ocho.
Trabajo a las nueve.
Almerzo a las doce.
Tomo café a las cuatro.
Me voy a casa a las cinco.
Ceno a las seis.
Camino a mi perro a las siete.
Miro a tele a las ocho.
Leo a las nueve.
Voy a cama a las diez.
Now, let’s go ahead and try these gestures with our song.
[S3AUDIO file=’M125/MeLevantoALasSeis.mp3′]
[S3FILE file=’M125/MeLevantoALasSeis.mp3.zip’ anchor = ‘Download Me Levanto’]
Activity 2: Maestra Elena: The New Teacher
Step 1: Listen to the continuing story of Maestra Elena. Try to follow as much of the story as you can.
[S3AUDIO file=’M125/Elena2.mp3′]
[S3FILE file=’M125/Elena2.mp3.zip’ anchor = ‘Download Maestra Elena’]
Step 2: Read the story without the recorded audio. Notice the new words.
The continuation of: Teacher Elena, or Maestra Elena
If you recall from our last lesson, Elena was just about to embark on her first day of teaching.
She woke up earlier than planned, went down to her cocina and hizo una taza de café.
While Elena was sipping su café she felt as though she was too nervous, demasiado nerviosa, to eat any breakfast.
Yes. Being her first day, she was demasiado nerviosa para comer.
She decided to take a shower, tomar una ducha, and then see if she felt hungry, tenía hambre.
She finished drinking her café and then started to walk upstairs, arriba, to her cuarto de baño.
From the cuarto de baño she could enter her walk-in closet.
Before she went into her closet she thought she would turn on the agua caliente in the shower, la ducha, to let the water warm up. Yes. Elena turned on the agua caliente en la ducha to let la agua warm up.
When the agua was caliente, Elena walked back into the cuarto de baño, pushed aside the cortina de la ducha and stepped into the ducha.
The agua felt too caliente, so she turned on some agua fria.
Then the agua felt too cold, so she turned down the agua fria.
Ah, just right. She stepped into the agua and let the agua stream down her body.
She reached over to the ledge, grabbed the champú, and poured some champú into the palma de su mano, the palm of her hand, the palma de su mano.
Then she massaged the champú into her pelo.
She then rinsed out the champú and reached for the conditioner, el acondicionador.
She poured a small amount of acondicionador in the palma de su mano and then massaged el acondicionador into her pelo.
After un minuto she rinsed out el acondicionador.
She then reached for the container of body wash, gel de baño.
She poured a small amount of gel de baño into the palma de su mano and then lathered the gel de baño all over her body, su cuerpo.
Finally, she rinsed off su cuerpo and turned off the agua.
Elena stepped out of the ducha and took a towel, una toalla from the hanger next to the ducha.
She wrapped su pelo in a small toalla, una toalla pequeña, and then wrapped her cuerpo in a large toalla, una toalla grande.
Then Elena walked over to the mirror, took the hair dryer, la secadora de pelo, and a brush, un cepillo, out of the cupboard, and began to secar and cepillar her long dark pelo.
After she finished secarse and cepillarse her pelo she removed the toalla and slipped into her panties, her bragas, and then walked in to her walk-in closet.
She looked through some of the skirts, las faldas, hanging in the closest.
She couldn’t decide whether to wear una falda or slacks, pantalones.
She looked at her black skirt, her falda negra.
No, su falda negra was too dark.
She looked at her blue skirt, su falda azul.
No, su falda azule looked too formal.
She looked at her grey skirt, su falda gris.
No, su falda gris made her look too frumpy.
Then she realized, if she wore una falda she would have to wear nylons, medias de nylon, but sus medias de nylon, had a hole in them.
Elena decided it would be better to wear pants, so she looked through her pantalones.
She looked at her pantalones negros.
No, sus pantalones negro were wrinkled and needed to be ironed.
She looked at her pantalones azules.
No, her pantalones azules didn’t look right.
Then she looked over her pantalones grises?
Yes, perfecto.
¿But what blouse would go well with pantalones grises?
She looked through her blouses.
Negro? No.
Azul? No.
Ah, this white blouse, this blusa blanca, would be just right.
So Elena took the pantalones grises and her blusa blanca from the hangers.
Then she found some comfortable panties, bragas, and a nice pair of black socks, calcetines negros.
Then she put on her bra, her sostén.
Then she slipped on her calcetines.
Then she slipped on her pantalones grises, and then her blusa blanca.
The pantalones felt a bit too tight.
She turned around and looked at herself in the mirror.
Oh no, los pantalones were too tight.
This would not do.
Elena hoped that she had another pair of pantalones that would fit better.
She walked back into the closet and found a pair of brown slacks, pantalones marrones.
“Oh,” she thought, “these would work. I hope they fit.”
She slipped off los pantalones grises and slipped on los pantalones marrones.
The pantalones marrones fit perfectly. “And,” she thought, “they will go well with my blusa blanca.”
Elena turned back to the mirror and started to put on her make-up, her maquillaje.
She didn’t want to use too much maquillaje.
Just a little bit of blush, rubor, and some eye liner, delineador de ojos.
She rubbed a little rubor on her cheeks, and then applied a little bit of delineador de ojos around her eyes. Perfecto.
She would just pick out some comfortable shoes, zapatos, and she would be lista.
She walked back into the walk-in closet and looked at her zapatos.
Hmmm. Her zapatos negros were too formal.
Her zapatos azules wouldn’t go well with her pantalones marrones.
Ahh, but her zapatos marrones would be perfect with her pantalones marrones.
Elena grabbed her zapatos marrones, walked out of the closet, into the dormitorio, out of the dormitorio, down the vestíbulo, and then down la escalera into the cocina.
Elena looked at el reloj. It was 6:30.
She still had time to have a bite to comer.
She thought that it would be una buena idea.
She might need the energía.
What would she have to comer?
She could make herself un huevo.
Perhaps a fried huevo, un huevo frito.
No. She didn’t feel like un huevo frito.
Perhaps a boiled egg, un huevo herbido.
No, she didn’t feel like un huevo herbido either.
Perhaps scrambled eggs, huevos revueltos.
No, she didn’t feel like huevos revueltos either.
Then she thought that she could make herself a cheese omelet, una tortilla de queso.
But did she have any queso?
She opened la puerta del refrigerador and looked in the side cajón to see if there was any queso.
No hay queso!
Well, as far as she was concerned, no había queso, no había tortilla.
So, rather than having una tortilla de queso, she decided that she would have a bowl of cereal, un plato de cereal, and a glass of juice, un vaso de jugo.
She reached into the refrigerador and pulled out the milk, la leche.
Then she walked over to the cupboard and took a plato from the shelf.
Then she walked over to the side cupboard, opened the puerta, and reached in for a box of her favorite cereal. Corn Flakes.
She opened the caja of corn flakes, poured some cornflakes into el plato and then sprinkled some azúcar on the flakes.
Then she poured some leche over the corn flakes.
She reached into the drawer and took out a spoon, una cuchara.
Finally she tasted the cereal. Mmm. Está bueno she thought to herself. Maybe I was hambre.
After Elena finished eating, she put the leche back into el refrigerador.
She put the caja de cereal into the cupboard, and then she put el plato and la cuchara into the dish washer.
“Oh, some jugo,” she thought.
Elena took una vasso from the cupboad, then walked over to the refigerador and opened la puerta del refrigerador.
She reached into the refrigerador and took out a jug of orange juice, jugo de naranja.
She poured some jugo de naranja into the vaso and took a drink.
Excellente. Now she was lista.
Step 3: Listen to the audio while reading along.
Here is some vocabulary for you to read through and to reference as you read through the story.
kitchen (cocina)
cup of coffee (taza de café)
too much (demasiado)
nervous (nervioso, nerviosa)
too nervous (demasiado nervioso(a))
eat (comer)
too nervouse to eat (demasiado nervioso(a) para comer)
shower (ducha)
take (tomar)
take a shower (tomar una ducha)
hungary (hambriento)
to be hungry (tener hambre)
up, upstairs (arriba)
Her bedroom was arriba.
Su habitación estaba arriba.
bathroom (cuarto de baño)
water (agua)
hot (caliente)
hot water (agua caliente)
curtain (cortina)
shower curtain (cortina de la ducha)
skirt (falda)
slacks, pants (pantalones)
black (negra, negro)
black slacks (pantalones negros)
black skirt (falda negra)
blue (azul)
blue skirt (falda azul)
grey (gris)
grey skirt (falda gris)
nylons (medias de nylon)
blue pants (pantalones azules)
grey pants (pantalones grises)
perfect (perfecto)
white (blanca, blanco)
blouse (blusa)
white blouse (blusa blanca)
panties (bragas) (calzones?)
socks (calcetines)
black socks (calcetines negros)
cold (frío)
shampoo (champú)
palm (palma)
hand (mano)
palm of her hand (palma de su mano)
hair (pelo)
conditioner (acondicionador)
body wash (gel de baño)
body (cuerpo)
towel (toalla)
large (grande)
large towel (toalla grande)
dry (seco(a))
hair dryer (secadora de pelo)
brush (cepillo)
panty lines (líneas de ropa interior)
brown (marron)
brown slacks (pantalones marrones)
make-up (maquillaje)
blush (rubor)
eye liner (delineador de ojos)
shoes (zapatos)
ready (listo)
black shoes (zapatos negros)
blue shoes (zapatos azules)
brown shoes (zapatos marrones)
hallway (vestíbulo)
stairs (escalera)
clock (reloj)
good idea (buen idéa)
energy (energía)
egg (huevo)
fired egg (huevo frito)
boiled egg (huevo herbido)
scrambled eggs (huevos revueltos)
cheese (queso)
omelet (tortilla)
cheese omelet (tortilla de queso)
bowl (plato)
bowl of cereal (plato de cereal)
glass (vaso)
juice (jugo)
glass of juice (vaso de jugo)
refrigerator (refrigerador)
milk (leche)
door (puerta)
box (caja)
sugar (azúcar)
spoon (cuchara)
that’s good (esta bueno)
orange (naranja)
orange juice (jugo de naranja)
Until next time, have a great weekend!