Day 23 of 135

Day 23: Save the House, Close the Street

The morning after a strong earthquake in Pila, Laguna, Troy (A), a volunteer architect, joins Lola Remedios (B), Norman (C), the town's building official, and Alma (D), its disaster officer, outside her nineteenth-century stone house, whose balcony now hangs over the main street.

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

    Lola Remedios, huwag po muna kayong pipirma, may paraan pa po para mailigtas ang balkonahe.

    Lola Remedios, please don't sign yet, there's still a way to save the balcony.

  2. B

    Wala akong lalagdaan, iho. Ang bahay na ito'y saksi sa isang daan at tatlumpung taon ng aming angkan.

    I shall sign nothing, young man. This house has borne witness to a hundred and thirty years of our family.

  3. C

    Lola, iginagalang ko po ang bahay ninyo, pero isang aftershock lang, babagsak ang balkonahe.

    Lola, I respect your house, but one aftershock and that balcony comes down.

  4. D

    Norman, kailangang bukas ang kalsada bago magtanghali, dito dadaan ang mga trak ng relief.

    Norman, this street has to be open before noon. The relief trucks come through here.

  5. A

    Kung tutukuran po namin ang balkonahe at kalahati lang ng daan ang isasara, puwede po ba?

    If we shore up the balcony and close only half the road, would that work?

  6. C

    Kung matapos ninyo ang shoring bago mag-alas-onse at pumirma ang structural engineer ninyo, sige.

    If you finish the shoring before eleven and your structural engineer signs off, fine.

  7. D

    Isang lane lang ang kailangan ko, pero isang aftershock pa, isasara ko ulit.

    One lane is all I need. But one more aftershock and I'm closing it again.

  8. B

    Kung gayon, tukuran mo, iho. Ang bahay na ito'y hindi lumuhod sa digmaan, hindi rin sa lindol.

    Then shore it up, young man. This house did not kneel to the war, nor will it kneel to an earthquake.

  9. A

    Opo, Lola, nasa trak na po ang mga kahoy at jack, sisimulan na po namin.

    Yes, Lola, the timber and jacks are already on the truck. We'll start right away.

  10. C

    Alas-onse ako babalik, at kapag hindi pa tapos iyan, ako mismo ang magpapagiba.

    I'll be back at eleven, and if that isn't done, I'll have it torn down myself.

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