Day 115 of 135

Day 115: Quitting the Bank to Plant Cacao

Over Sunday lunch at her house in Project 4, Quezon City, Sonny (A), a bank vice president of forty-eight, has news for his mother, Dorotea (B), who worked her way off her parents' farm in Quezon province.

How to study this lesson 3 steps
  1. Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
  2. Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense.
  3. Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Tagalog. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.

Dialogue

Audio for this lesson is coming soon. For now, read the dialogue and its translation.

Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day

  1. A

    Ma, magre-resign na po ako sa bangko sa katapusan ng buwan.

    Ma, I'm resigning from the bank at the end of the month.

  2. B

    Ano? Bise presidente ka na, Sonny. Saan ka lilipat, sa mas malaking bangko?

    What? You're a vice president, Sonny. Where are you moving, to a bigger bank?

  3. A

    Hindi po. Uuwi po ako sa Quezon at tataniman ng kakaw ang lupa nina Lolo at Lola.

    No. I'm going home to Quezon to plant cacao on Lolo and Lola's land.

  4. B

    Anak, pinag-aral kita para hindi ka na maputikan. Ilang taon akong nakayapak sa pilapil para lang makapag-aral.

    Son, I put you through school so you'd never have to get muddy. For years I walked barefoot along the paddy dikes just to go to school.

  5. A

    Utang ko po sa inyo ang lahat, Ma. Pero burnout na po talaga ako, gusto ko naman ng buhay na may saysay.

    I owe you everything, Ma. But I'm truly burned out, I want a life that means something.

  6. B

    Burnout? Noong panahon ko, pagod ang tawag diyan, at tulog ang gamot. Ubos-ubos biyaya, bukas nakatunganga, anak.

    Burnout? In my day, we called that being tired, and the cure was sleep. Spend it all today, sit idle tomorrow, son.

  7. A

    Hindi po ako nagwawaldas, Ma. May ipon po ako para sa limang taon, at may plano: kakaw sa ilalim ng niyog.

    I'm not throwing it away, Ma. I have five years of savings, and a plan: cacao under the coconut trees.

  8. B

    Plano. Ganyan din ang sabi ng tatay ko tuwing taniman, tapos dumarating ang bagyo at ang utang.

    A plan. My father said the same thing every planting season, and then came the typhoon, and the debts.

  9. A

    May crop insurance na po ngayon, Ma, at hindi ako mangungutang. Basbas lang po ninyo ang kailangan ko.

    There's crop insurance now, Ma, and I won't be borrowing. All I need is your blessing.

  10. B

    Alam mo ba kung bakit hindi ko ipinagbili ang lupang 'yan, kahit tatlong beses nang may nag-alok?

    Do you know why I never sold that land, even though three different people offered to buy it?

  11. A

    Hindi po. Akala ko nga po, ayaw na ninyong maalala ang probinsiya.

    No. I actually thought you never wanted to think about the province again.

  12. B

    Hindi ko rin alam noon. Siguro, hinihintay ko lang na may anak akong uuwi roon na nakasapatos. Magdala ka ng bota, maputik pa rin doon.

    I didn't know either, back then. Maybe I was just waiting for a child of mine to go back there wearing shoes. Bring boots, it's still muddy there.

Your progress is saved in this browser only, with no sign-up. The course page and the menu show where you left off. Well done! Next up: Day 116: A Caregiver for Papa 

If this free course has helped you in your Tagalog journey, please consider supporting the project. It's a one-person effort, and even small contributions help keep it running and free for everyone.