---

¡Viva viernes!     (Long live Friday! In other words, TGIF!)

La fecha es el diecisiete (17) de enero del año dos mil veinticinco. (The date is January 17, 2025.)

Sólo el Mar (Only the Sea) is a pop song by Chilean singer Nicole. The sea is a metaphor for a person’s inner emotions.

“Bucear en el fondo de tu alma” (Diving in the depths of your soul),

“Tenderme en tu calma y en tu borde navegar” (Lying down in your calm and navegating on your border),

“Agua, cielo, cielo y agua resumen en ti” (Water, sky, sky and water sum up to you),

“Sólo el mar…” (Only the sea).

“Contemplarte, en tus tardes cenicientas y en las caracolas de tu enfado naufragar” (To gaze at you, on  your ash-gray afternoons and to get shipwrecked in the conch shells of your ire),

“Nubes grises mil tormentas resumen en ti” (Gray clouds, a thousand storms sum up to you),

“Sólo el mar…” (Only the sea).

“Y en tus olas mi temor y en tu brisa mi deseo y al compás de tu marea el puñal de mi mareo y mirarte y encontrar solamente tu reflejo en el mar…” (And in your waves, my fear, and in your breeze, my desire, and to the beat of your tide, the stab of my dizziness, and to look at you and only find your reflection in the sea…).

“Derramar tu esencia en el cuenco de mi mano” (To pour your essence in the cup of my hand),

“Perderte, recogerte y volverte a derramar” (To lose you, collect you, and pour you over again),

“Sal, coral, espuma y barro resumen en ti” (Salt, coral, foam, and mud sum up to you),

“Sólo el mar…” (Only the sea).

¡Cantemos! (Let’s sing!)  Sing along to la letra (the lyrics).

¡Que tengas un viernes volante!     (May you have a flying Friday!)

L. A. Feliz

---

---

¡Hoy es jueves jovial!     (Today is jovial Thursday!)

La fecha es el dieciséis (16) de enero del año dos mil veinticinco. (The date is January 16, 2025.)

Visitemos Antofagasta, Chile.   (Let’s visit Antofagasta, Chile.)

This six-minute video tour takes us to four free sites across various landscapes in Antofagasta, Chile.

Here is some new vocabulary from the video:

salitre	(salt residue)
ferrocarril	(railroad)

¡Que tengas un jueves gigante!     (May you have a gigantic Thursday!)

L. A. Feliz

---

---

¡Hoy es miércoles melado!   (Today is honey-colored Wednesday!)

La fecha es el quince (15) de enero del año dos mil veinticinco. (The date is January 15, 2025.)

El postre de la semana es:   berlines.   (The dessert of the week is:   berlines.) 

Berlines are a Chilean treat inherited from Germany. They can be described as cream-filled doughnuts sprinkled with powdered sugar. 

Para preparar los berlines necesitamos:     (To prepare berlines, we need:)

azúcar	(sugar)
levadura seca	(dry yeast)
leche tibia	(warm milk)
huevo	(egg)
harina	(flour)
mantequilla derretida	(melted butter)
aceite	(oil)
crema pastelera	(pastry cream)
azúcar impalpable	(powdered sugar)

Learn to prepare your berlines dough and filling in this one-minute video receta (recipe). ¡Qué dulce! (How sweet!)

¡Que tengas un miércoles merecido!   (May you have a well-earned Wednesday!)

L. A. Feliz

---

---

¡Hoy es martes meditativo!   (Today is meditative Tuesday!)

La fecha es el catorce (14) de enero del año dos mil veinticinco. (The date is January 14, 2025.)

El dicho de la semana es:

Un chancho embarrado quiere embarrar a otro.

(The saying of the week is:     A muddy pig wants to muddy another.)

This Chilean proverb can refer to corrupt people looking for the company of good people or guilty people trying to place blame on someone else.

Practice saying this phrase whenever you observe someone with a bad reputation trying to take advantage of others.

Can you think of a similar saying in English? Please share it with us.

¡Que tengas un martes mensajero!     (May you have a messenger Tuesday!)

L. A. Feliz

---

---

¡Hoy es lunes lingüístico!     (Today is linguistic Monday!)

La fecha es el trece (13) de enero del año dos mil veinticinco.     ​(The date is January 13, 2025.)

La letra de la semana es e.     (The letter of the week is e.)

Ciudad, república, provincia, departamento, and estado are some divisions used to distinguish different places in Spanish-speaking countries. To practice reading and preparing ourselves for travel in Spanish-speaking countries, we will learn names of places that start with E.

Sitios que se inician con la letra E (places that begin with the letter E):

1 (uno) – Entre Ríos, Argentina

2 (dos) – Empalme Olmos, Uruguay

3 (tres) – Encarnación, Paraguay

4 (cuatro) – Estación Zaldivar, Chile

5 (cinco) – El Alto, Bolivia

6 (seis) – Esmeraldas, Ecuador

7 (siete) – Envigado, Colombia

8 (ocho) – El Tocuyo, Venezuela

9 (nueve) – Elías Piña, República Dominicana

10 (diez) – Emberá, Panamá

For a refresher on pronunciation rules, refer to pages 12-18 and 30 of You Can Speak Spanish! – Volume 1.

¡Que tengas un lunes legendario!     (May you have a legendary Monday!)

L. A. Feliz

---