So, just to confirm: we are meeting on Wednesday 1st October at 7pm (19.00)
The bar is called La Tasqueta de Vila y Vila. It is on Carrer de Vila i Vilà in Poble Sec, very near Paral.lel Metro stop (see Google maps here)
It is a new bar and it is usually not busy at that time (that is why I chose it!) But since it is new, I can't find the address online. Don't worry – Carrer de Vila i Vilà is very small. The red dot below shows the location of the bar:
I'm looking forward to seeing you there. Have a great weekend!
I have lived on Paral.lel for about 5 years. During that time, I have had the same postman but I don't know his name.
He is a very friendly postman and we always say hello to each other in the corridor.
Also, my postman likes me because I am usually at home during the day. For a Barcelona postman, this is very useful information. It means that I can let him in when he buzzes.
The other day, I was having coffee in my local cafe and my friendly postman walked past. He was walking away from my front door and I asked him:
Did someone let you in?
Yes thank you. Someone let me in. Anything for me?
This was me making small talk. I didn't really expect an answer. But my postman decided that he had to give me an answer.
He looked down at the ground and he scratched his head. I was just about to tell him that it wasn’t important when he looked up and said:
¿Coca?
I assumed that I had misheard him but he repeated:
¿Coca?
I just laughed and pretended that he was making a joke. Then there was an awkward silence. Then my postman left and I sat there thinking: WTF? My postman is trying to sell me drugs!
Then I went back to my flat. Of course, I checked my postbox to see if my postman had left any cocaine. But he hadn't.
What sould I do about this situation. What would you do?
El Cóndor Pasa is a traditional song that Manuel and Max will know very well. It is by Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles. Simon and Garfunkel did a cover of the song in 1970. here it is:
The lyrics are as follows:
I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would
Away, I'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
Its saddest sound
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would
I'd rather be a forest than a street
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would
So what about you?
Would you rather be a hammer or a nail?
Would you prefer to be a hammer or a nail?
Would you rather be a sparrow or a snail?
Would you prefer to be a sparrow or a snail?
Would you rather be a forest or a street?
Would you prefer to be a forest or a street?
These two questions mean the same thing. But note the small grammatical difference (would + verb); (prefer to verb).
'Would you rather ... ?' is a very common question in English. It is title of a board game and a children's book.
And here are my friends – James and Jess – answering a 'Would you rather ...?' question (you can turn on the subtitles).
Today you discussed the following questions:
Would you rather be the world's greatest singer or the world's greatest dancer?
Would you rather eat a sheep's eyeball or walk to work naked?
Would you rather be able to fly or make yourself invisible?
There are lots of hypothetical would and could possibilities here. Here are some of the things you said:
"I would prefer to be the world's greatest dancer."
"You could / would earn more money if you were the world's greatest singer."
"I would like a singer's life."
"I would be embarrassed if I had to walk to work naked."
"It would be much more fun if you could fly."
"I wouldn't mind walking to work naked because I don't care if people look at my body."
"I sheep's eyeball could taste quite good."
"I would vomit (be sick) if I ate a sheep's eyeball."
"It would be easy to walk to work naked if you worked on a nudist beach."
Suzanna and Paquito used to be in a relationship. But they broke up. Since then, Paquito has moved on – he has met someone else. Suzanna, can't accept this – she is living in denial. She thinks that Paquito still loves her. She thinks that they will get back together.
Every night Suzanna prays.
She preys that Paquito realises that he still loves her.
She prays that Paquito leaves the other woman.
She prays that they get back together.
She prays that the other woman doesn't get pregnant.
Poor Suzanna. She still wants to be the mother of Paquito's child.
To make things even worse, one day Suzanna discovers that Paquito is going for a dirty weekend with the other woman. And where are they going? Paris - the city of lovers.
Suzanna can only keep praying. She has to prey that everything that can wrong wrong does go wrong. For example, she prays that:
A few of our ideas:
The other woman realises that she is actually a lesbian.
They get robbed and lose all of their money.
Paquito cheats on the other woman.
Paquito realises that Suzanna is the woman for him.
In Paris, Paquito discovers that the other woman is rude and reckless. So he dumps her.
Their suitcases get lost and don't arrive at the airport.
Paquito finds out that the other woman works as an escort. So he dumps her.
The other woman has her period. It lasts the whole weekend.
Paquito gets arrested.
On the flight to Paris, there is a lot of turbulence. They have to make an emergency landing at another airport.
Paquito gets bitten by a group of teenagers.
Paquito gets beaten up by a group of teenagers.
They get bitten by fleas.
The hotel doesn't get their reservation (= doesn't receieve their reservation).
The hotels room smells bad and the toilet doesn't flush.
They fall off the Eiffel Tower.
The service is terrible.
The locals treat them badly. Everyone is really mean to them.
Paquito finds out the other woman is having an affair.
