Episode 3: Chatting at a Bar

This week on Coffee with Gringos, we head to the bar and have a really typical conversation! We discuss what we’ve been up to lately, a disastrous morning metro commute, and the World Cup. Of course, there are a million possibilities for conversations at a bar! You can chat about family, sports, work, hopes and dreams, or anything else you could possibly imagine. See how much you can understand of our conversation, and if you get lost, use the transcript to follow along. If you’re really stuck, the guide at the bottom of this post defines this episode’s most difficult vocabulary, phrases, and slang.

Download the Episode 3 transcript here!

Listen to Episode 3 of "Coffee with Gringos" here or on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher and Soundcloud.

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TRANSCRIPT

Paige: You’re listening to Coffee with Gringos! I’m Paige Sutherland

Mariah: And I’m Mariah Wika. Welcome back! Today, we’re doing Coffee with Gringos a little bit differently. Instead of the coffee, we’re having our conversation at a bar

Paige: So, this week, we’re gonna have actual conversations - move beyond the introduction and talk about things we care about, things we’re interested in.

Mariah: Right, so listen in!

Paige: Hey Mariah! How’s it going?

Mariah: I’m good! It’s good to see you! It’s been a little while. How have you been?

Paige: Same! I’ve been really good. How was your trip? I haven’t seen you.

Mariah: Oh yeah, that’s right, we haven’t seen each other since before my trip to Concepcion!

Paige: Yeah! How was it?

Mariah: It was really good. It was really good. It’s always great to leave the city.

Paige: I bet.

Mariah: To get away from the noise and the pollution. And I visited a friend there. We celebrated her birthday, we went to the beach. It was fantastic.

Paige: That’s perfect. Get away from the city, the noise, the smog! It’s much needed.

Mariah: It’s necessary. Yeah for sure. How about you? What have you been up to lately?!

Paige: Yeah, no, I’ve been working, busy. This weekend, we just kind of laid low, we went to the movies, went on a big bike ride in the city. So, it was a really good weekend. And so you’ve been back about a week. Did you get stuck in the Tobalaba crisis this week?

Mariah: I did, I did! Yeah, the chaos on Wednesday… that was crazy! I have to take Line 1 of the metro every single day, and so I was doing the change in Baquedano, and it was a mess. Mariah: People were so confused. The stairs were blocked off. Like, nobody knew what to do because it was during rush hour!

Paige: It was literally the worst time to have a fire.

Mariah: I know, I know! And, the metro is amazing. Like, usually there are not problems like that. And so, I think everybody was really thrown off. They didn’t know how to handle this because usually the metro is so reliable.

Paige: No, absolutely. I walk to work, and as soon as I got to the office there was all over the TVs “Tobalaba fire!” Like it was a national crisis. But I ended up having to take it to go to class, and it opened up again at noon, and ohhhh it reeked. The whole metro just smelt like burning plastic! I was like, “are you sure it’s safe to still go on the metro?! Did they open it too early?”

Mariah: Fair.

Paige: But yeah, so Tobalaba crisis of 2018.

Mariah: So funny. Hey, I was going to ask you - have you been watching the world cup?

Paige: So much!

Mariah: Nice.

Paige: My boyfriend is obsessed. We’ve watched almost every game, I feel like.

Mariah: Seriously?

Paige: We’ve been watching a lot of football. But no, it’s been amazing. We have a friend who’s Mexican, so we’ve been watching them, and they’ve been doing so well!

Mariah: Can you believe it? I was so astonished that Mexico beat Germany!

Paige: Nuts.

Mariah: I love the German team, I’ve been a fan of the German team for many years, but honestly, this world cup, I’m loving the underdogs. Mexico, Croatia, Iceland… It’s incredible!

Paige: And that’s what makes it so exciting. I mean, a powerhouse team, y’know, the favorite team, Argentina, might get knocked out. 

Mariah: Can you believe it?

Paige: This is crazy!

Mariah: I know, it’s a little bit Messi (messy :D).

Paige: Ohhh you went there! That was pretty good though! No, and that’s what’s so good about the world cup is that you have this kind of surprising, who wins, who loses feel to it. And especially watching it here, in South America, where everyone lives around football, it’s so much better than the US.

Mariah: Yeah, I feel like in the US, American football or basketball… those are the sports that everybody watches all the time. Or baseball, even. But soccer, or as they’d say, football. It doesn’t have the same draw for people. I don’t know why because it’s a fantastic sport! But here, people grow up playing it. It’s part of life here.

Paige: Exactly. So it’s so good that we’re here watching it.

Mariah: It’s special.

Paige: Just the energy and passion that you see when you’re watching the games out at a bar.

Mariah: It’s totally different

Paige: It makes the experience so much better.

Mariah: Absolutely, absolutely.

Paige: Are you gonna be watching some more this weekend?

Mariah: Well, maybe, but I’d have to be watching it in the United States because I’m leaving for the US on Friday.

Paige: Oh that’s right, you’re going home!

Mariah: Yeah, I’m visiting my family, and one of my college roommates is getting married, so I’m a part of the wedding.

Paige: That’s amazing! And this is the first time you’ve been home in 10 months, right?

Mariah: It is, it is.

Paige: So you must be excited.

Mariah: I’m so excited. I’m so excited. How about you? Will you be watching more games in this weekend?

Paige: I actually won’t. I’m going away. Not as far as the US, but we’re doing our first trip up to Atacama.

Mariah: Fantastic. You’re seeing the north of Chile. Cool.

Paige: Yeah, we’re just very pumped. We have not been up there at all. I’ve been googling photos, asking all my students. It looks like a different planet up there.

Mariah: It’s like being on the moon. It’s so cool.

Paige: I’m so excited. So, I think the World Cup might have to be on a little pause while we’re up there enjoying the beautiful landscape - but next week.

Mariah: Next week, next week it will be another soccer week! Well, I actually have to run, but have a fantastic weekend!

Paige: Thanks! Have so much fun with your family. I can’t wait to hear all about it.

Mariah: Cool! And let’s reconnect when you get back. We can share pictures and just catch up after our vacations.

Paige: Perfect, yeah, I’ll see you soon then! 

Mariah: Awesome. Bye Paige, take care!

Paige: So, that was Mariah and I having an actual conversation.

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Key Vocabulary, Phrases, and Slang

How’s it going? (phrase) - another way of asking “How are you?”

Example: Hey Paige! How’s it going?

It’s been a little while. (phrase) - a common part of a greeting when you haven’t seen somebody recently

Example: It’s good to see you. It’s been a little while.

How have you been? (phrase) - a common phrase that uses the present perfect to ask about a person’s life recently

Example: We haven’t seen each other lately! How have you been?

To get away (phrasal verb) - to leave, escape

Example: It was great to get away from the city for the weekend.

Smog (noun) - air pollution, contamination

Example: It’s always nice to go to the sea and escape Santiago’s smog.

To lay low - to relax and not do too many activities

Example: This weekend was restful, we just laid low.

Rush hour - the busiest time of the day for transportation

Example: The fire happened at the Tobalaba Metro Station during rush hour. It was terrible timing because so many people were trying to commute to work!

Literally (adverb) - used to emphasize the truth of a statement, frequently used informally as a synonym for actually or definitely

Example: Rush hour was literally the worst time for a fire!

Throw off (phrasal verb) - to disrupt

Example: Everybody was thrown off by the problem with the metro.

To handle (verb) - to deal with or respond to

Example: The people were surprised by the crisis and didn’t know how to handle it because usually the metro is so reliable.

To reek (verb) - to smell very, very bad

Example: After the Tobalaba fire, the metro station reeked of smoke.

Obsessed (adjective) - to be a fanatic about something

Example: Paige’s boyfriend is obsessed with football.

Astonished (adjective) - to feel very surprised

Example: I was astonished when Mexico beat Germany in the World Cup.

Underdog (noun) - a team that nobody expects to succeed

Example: I love when the underdogs succeed because it makes the World Cup so much more exciting!

Amazing (adjective) - incredible, fantastic

Example: Watching the World Cup in South America has been an amazing experience.

Powerhouse (noun) - a strong force, can be used to describe sports teams, businesses, people, etc.

Example: Argentina is a powerhouse in the football world.

Knock out (phrasal verb) - defeated and removed from a competition

Example: I can’t believe that Argentina was knocked out of the World Cup so early.

Messy (adjective) - disorderly, confusing

Example: When Argentina got knocked out of the world cup, it was messy! *Do you understand the joke? Messy, the adjective, is pronounced just like Messi, the star player on the Argentinian national team.

Draw (noun) - attraction

Example: In the United States, soccer doesn’t have the same draw for people as it does in Latin America.

Pumped (adjective) - very, very excited

Example: We’re very pumped to travel to the north of Chile!

I have to run (phrase) - another way of saying that you need to leave quickly

Example: I have to run! My next class starts in 30 minutes.

Catch up (phrasal verb) - to chat after you haven’t seen somebody for a little while

Example: We should catch up after we both return from our vacations!

Download the Episode 3 transcript here!