Simple Stories in Spanish

Latest Episodes:

Unos viajes en Indonesia, parte 4 Apr 14, 2023

Show notes

This new season of fresh stories all about personal experiences. Living in Indonesia had a huge impact on my mother. Although she was young, she remembers much of her time there. While most of her time was spent in Kisaren, she also traveled to other places with her family. Her journey home marked a literal journey around the world that changed her forever.

This story is told in the first and third person using the past tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “fueron” (they went), “llegaron” (they arrived), “tuvieron” (they had), “volaron” (they flew) and “se quedaron” (they stayed).

No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2023/04/15/simple-stories-in-spanish-unos-viajes-en-indonesia-parte-4/

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Una vida con animales en Indonesia, parte 3 Mar 29, 2023

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This new season of fresh stories all about personal experiences. Many of my favorite stories of my mom’s life in Indonesia are about animals. I loved seeing pictures and hearing stories of her animal encounters. Today, I am going to share these stories with you.

This story is told in the third person using the past tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “lagarto” (lizard), “techo” (ceiling/roof), “cabra” (goat), “piel” (skin) and “silvestre” (wild).

No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2023/03/30/simple-stories-in-spanish-una-vida-con-animales-en-indonesia-parte-3/

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Una vida en Indonesia, parte 2 Mar 21, 2023

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This new season of fresh stories all about personal experiences. Last episode I shared my mother’s journey from Michigan to Sumatra, Indonesia when she was eight. My mom and her family had a lot to learn when they arrived in Indonesia. Life there was quite different from life in Michigan. From school to food to shopping, nothing was quite the same.
This story is told in the third person using the past tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “recuerda” (she remembers), “nivel” (level/grade), “hacía calor” (it was hot), “llevaban” (they wore), “lluvia” (rain) and “zanjas” (ditches).
No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2023/03/22/simple-stories-in-spanish-una-vida-en-indonesia-parte-2/

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Un viaje a Indonesia, parte 1 Mar 12, 2023

Show notes

This new season of fresh stories all about personal experiences. Today’s story is about my mother and her family. When my mom was eight years old, she moved with her family from Michigan to Sumatra, Indonesia. I always loved hearing her stories and today I am going to share the story of her journey with you.

Today’s story is told in the third person using the past tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “viaje” (trip), “barco” (boat) “abuelos” (grandparents), “llegó” (arrived), and “holandés” (Dutch).

No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2023/03/12/simple-stories-in-spanish-un-viaje-a-indonesia-parte-1/

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Las gallinas Feb 27, 2023

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This new season of fresh stories all about personal experiences. Today’s story is about chickens. Josh and Marya were looking for a change of pace during the pandemic and they found it by becoming the owners of a few backyard chickens. With the help of a local Chicken Guy, Marya and Josh got set up for success in their new urban farming adventure.

Today’s story is told in the third person using multiple tenses, including the present, past, and conditional. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “gallinas” (chickens), “gallinero” (chicken coop) “el pollero” (the Chicken Guy), “el jardín” (garden/yard) “alquilar” (to rent), and “poner huevos” (to lay eggs).
No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2023/02/28/simple-stories-in-spanish-las-gallinas/

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Mi viaje español Feb 20, 2023

Show notes

This new season of fresh stories all about personal experiences. Today’s story is about my own personal Spanish journey. As you are aware, I am not a native Spanish speaker. While you can read a bit about why I’m a Spanish teacher on my blog, a couple of listeners have asked me to share the story of my Spanish journey in Spanish.

Today’s story is told in the first person using both the present and past tenses. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “viaje” (journey), “idioma” (language), “seguir” (to continue), “tuve” (I had), and “extranjero” (foreign).
No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2023/02/21/simple-stories-in-spanish-mi-viaje-espanol/

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Sugar 'n Sage Feb 13, 2023

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This new season of fresh stories all about personal experiences. Today’s story is about a very talented musical family and their band, Sugar ‘n Sage. Based in Vancouver, Canada, this groups gets audiences on their feet, dancing and singing along to their toe-tapping songs.
Today’s story is told in the third person using both the present and past tenses. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “juntos” (together), “agrega” (adds), “baterista” (drummer), and “cantante” (singer).
Learn more about Sugar 'n Sage on their website: https://www.sugarnsage.ca/
No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2023/02/14/simple-stories-in-spanish-sugar-n-sage/

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Amor a primera vista Feb 06, 2023

Show notes

This new season of fresh stories all about personal experiences. Today’s story is one I did not write. It is a very special story of love told by someone I happen to share a name with. Camila is a native of Colombia. Her husband, Stephen, listens to this podcast to practice his Spanish, so Camila decided to write a story especially for him.

Today’s story is told in the third person using mostly the past tenses. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “hermoso” (beautiful), “conocer” (to meet/to know), “disfrutar” (to enjoy), and “vista” (view/sight).
No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2023/02/06/simple-stories-in-spanish-amor-a-primera-vista/

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Skipper y Ransom Jan 30, 2023

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This new season of fresh stories all about personal experiences. Today’s personal experience comes from Skipper. Skipper was an amazing volunteer in his community, but he didn’t work alone. Skipper trained therapy dogs. His leonberger Ransom visited people from all walks of life, bringing them love and comfort.

Today’s story is told in the third person using both the present and the past tenses. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “dueño” (owner), “entrenamiento” (training), “equipo” (team), “consuelo” (comfort), “discapacidad” (disability), “entrenar” (to train) and “entretener” (to entertain).
No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2023/01/31/simple-stories-in-spanish-skipper-y-ransom/

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Un viaje a las Islas Galápagos Jan 23, 2023

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Today marks a new season of fresh stories all about personal experiences. I am kicking off the season with one of my favorite travel stories. When I went to Ecuador ten years ago, I had the opportunity to snorkel twice with blowfish, sea turtles and sea lions, which in Spanish are called sea wolves. The first day was amazing, but the second was a little scary.

This story is mostly in the first-person plural (pronoun “we”) and the past tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: “barco” (boat), “fuimos” (we went), “tortuga” (tortoise), “tiburón” (shark), and “lobo marino” (literally sea wolf, although we call it a sealion).

No matter where you are in your language journey, stories will help you on your way. You can find a transcript of the story and read along at https://smalltownspanishteacher.com/2023/01/23/simple-stories-in-spanish-un-viaje-a-las-islas-galapagos/

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