Day 63: Back to Calabria at Eighty
In Wolfsburg, Rafael (B), a master's student, visits his grandfather (A), who came from Calabria in 1965 to work at the Volkswagen plant and has something important to tell him.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a German word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native German, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Rafael, setz dich mal. Ich spiele ernsthaft mit dem Gedanken, meinen Lebensabend in Kalabrien zu verbringen.
Rafael, sit down a moment. I'm seriously toying with the idea of spending my last years in Calabria.
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B
Nach über sechzig Jahren? Nonno, du sagst doch immer, dass in deinem Dorf nur noch Alte und Katzen wohnen.
After more than sixty years? Nonno, you always say there's nobody left in your village but old people and cats.
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A
Eben, mit achtzig gehöre ich ja auch zu den Alten. Ohne Nonna wird das Heimweh jeden Winter schlimmer.
Exactly, and at eighty I'm one of the old people too. Without Nonna, the homesickness gets worse every winter.
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B
Aber hier sind deine Ärzte, dein Bocciaverein und wir. So eine Entscheidung trifft man doch nicht leichtfertig!
But your doctors are here, your boccia club, and us. You don't make a decision like that lightly!
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A
Ich habe einundvierzig Jahre am Band gestanden. Jetzt will ich noch ein paar Jahre unter meinem Feigenbaum sitzen.
I stood on the assembly line for forty-one years. Now I want to sit under my fig tree for a few more years.
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B
Und wenn du krank wirst? Bis zum nächsten Krankenhaus fährt man da über eine Stunde.
And what if you get ill? From there it's over an hour's drive to the nearest hospital.
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A
Das lässt sich regeln. Ich bin hier wie dort verwurzelt, Abschied nehmen muss ich so oder so.
That can be sorted out. I've got roots here and there, so I'll have to say goodbye one way or the other.
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B
Dann komme ich das erste Jahr mit, Nonno. Meine Masterarbeit kann ich auch unter deinem Feigenbaum schreiben.
Then I'll come with you for the first year, Nonno. I can write my master's dissertation under your fig tree just as well.
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