Lesson 1: Day of the Dead

I arrive in Guatemala on The Day of the Dead, November 1st. I’m curious about this holiday, so I go to the cemetery to see what’s happening. What I find is quite interesting.

The atmosphere is like a party. There are people everywhere. Families are sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors. They clean the graves and add fresh flowers. I walk through the cemetery and admire the beauty of all the colorful flowers.

There is also color in the sky, because many kids are flying kites. Some families are having a picnic next to the graves. They eat, drink, and chat together. People laugh and smile.

In the Unites States, cemeteries are always somber. We certainly never have festivals or parties next to graves. We don’t laugh or play music or fly kites in cemeteries either.

I find that I prefer the Guatemalan approach. I like the way they remember and celebrate those who have passed away. I like that they acknowledge death, instead of denying it the way Americans do. I like that there is life, as well as death, in their cemeteries.

Guatemalans call it “The Day of the Dead”, but it is also a day to appreciate life.

Welcome to the mini story for Day of the Dead. In the mini story I will do 3 things. I will make a statement. For example, “I arrived in Guatemala.” When you hear a statement, a sentence, you just
say, “Ah,” or, “Oh.” You need to say that. Show that you understand this is not a question. A statement is not a question, so when you hear a statement say, “Ah.” For example, “I arrive in
Guatemala.” “Ah.”
The second thing I will do is ask a question you know the answer to. For example, “Where do I arrive?” I will stop. You say the answer. You must say the answer to every question. I say, “I arrive in Guatemala. Where did I arrive?” You say, “Guatemala.” Easy.
And No. 3, I might ask a question you don’t know the answer to. If you don’t know the answer just guess. Say any answer, but you must answer every question. Use your pause button if necessary. Let’s begin. Here we go.

I arrived in Guatemala on the Day of the Dead, November 1st. Did I arrive in Guatemala? Yes.
Yes, I arrived in Guatemala. Where did I arrive? Guatemala, right. I arrived in Guatemala.
I arrived in Guatemala on the Day of the Dead, November 1st. Who arrived in Guatemala on the Day of the Dead? Well, me – AJ. I arrived in Guatemala on the Day of the Dead, November 1st.
Did I arrive in Guatemala on November 3rd? No, no. I didn’t arrive in Guatemala on November 3rd;
I arrived in Guatemala on November 1st.
What day did I arrive in Guatemala? November 1st. I arrived in Guatemala on November 1st.
Where did I arrive on November 1st? Guatemala. I arrived in Guatemala on November 1st.
I arrived in Guatemala on the Day of the Dead, November 1st. I was curious about this holiday so I went to the cemetery to see what was happening. Was I angry about this holiday? No, no. I wasn’t angry about this holiday.
Was I sad about this holiday? No, no. I wasn’t sad about this holiday. I was curious about this holiday. Who was curious about this holiday? Well, I was – AJ. I was curious about this holiday.
What was I curious about? The holiday. I was curious about the holiday. Which holiday was I curious about? Which holiday was I curious about? The Day of the Dead. I was curious about the Day
of the Dead.
Was I curious about the Day of the Dead or was I curious about Christmas? No. I was curious about the Day of the Dead of course. I was curious about the Day of the Dead so I went to the
cemetery to see what was happening. Where did I go? To the cemetery.
I went to the cemetery. Did I go to the cemetery or did I go to the airport? Easy. I went to the cemetery. Who went to the cemetery? Well, me – AJ. I went to the cemetery.
Where did I go? To the cemetery, right. I went to the cemetery. When did I go to the cemetery?
November 1st, the Day of the Dead. I went to the cemetery on the Day of the Dead, November 1st.

Why did I go to the cemetery? Well, to see what was happening. I went to the cemetery to see what was happening. Who went to the cemetery to see what was happening? Me – AJ – went to
the cemetery to see what was happening.
Where was the cemetery? In Guatemala. The cemetery was in Guatemala. What is the Day of the Dead? A holiday. The Day of the Dead is a holiday.
When is the Day of the Dead? November 1st. The Day of the Dead was and is November 1st, so I
went to the cemetery on the Day of the Dead to see what was happening. What I found was quite interesting. Was it boring? No, no. It wasn’t boring.
Was it interesting? Yes, yes. It was interesting. The cemetery was interesting. How did I feel about the cemetery? I felt it was interesting or I thought it was interesting.
Was it boring or was it interesting? It was interesting. Of course it was interesting. What was interesting? The cemetery. The cemetery was interesting.
When was the cemetery interesting? It was interesting on the Day of the Dead, November 1st. The
atmosphere in the cemetery was like a party. Was the atmosphere very sad? No, no. The atmosphere was not sad.
The atmosphere was like a party. The atmosphere was very happy. Was the atmosphere sad or happy? The atmosphere was happy. The atmosphere was like a party.
What was like a party? The atmosphere. The atmosphere in the cemetery was like a party. Where was the atmosphere like a party? In the cemetery – the cemetery. The atmosphere was like a party in the cemetery.
Was the atmosphere like a party at my house? No, no. Not at my house. The atmosphere was like a party at the cemetery. The atmosphere was not like a party in my house. So the atmosphere was like a party. There were people everywhere.
Families were sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors. Where were the families sitting?
Around the graves. They were sitting around the graves. Who was sitting around the graves? The
families. The families were sitting around the graves.
Were they sitting around the trees? No. They weren’t sitting around the trees. They were sitting around the graves. So where were they sitting? Around the graves. Families were sitting around
the graves of their dead ancestors.
Were they sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors? Yes, yes. They were sitting around the
graves of their dead ancestors. Were they sitting around the graves of their friends? No, not really.
They were sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors.
Who was sitting around the graves? That’s right. Families were sitting around the graves. Whose graves were they sitting around? Whose graves were they sitting around? Yes. Their dead ancestors’ – their ancestors’ – their ancestors’ graves.
They were sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors. Were they sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors or the graves of their friends? Ancestors, right? They were sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors.
They cleaned the graves and added fresh flowers. Who cleaned the graves? That’s right. The families. What did they add? They added fresh flowers.
Did they add food? No, no. They didn’t add food. Did they add money? No, no. They didn’t add money. They added fresh flowers.
What did they clean? They cleaned the graves. Whose graves did they clean? Their ancestors’.
They cleaned their ancestors’ graves. Where did they add flowers? Where? They added flowers to the graves.
That’s right. They cleaned the graves and added fresh flowers. Good. I walked through the cemetery and admired the beauty of all the colorful flowers. Where did I walk? Through the cemetery.
I walked through the cemetery. Did I walk through the park? No. I didn’t walk through the park. I walked through the cemetery. Where did I walk? Through the cemetery.
Who walked through the cemetery? I did – AJ. I walked through the cemetery. Did I walk through the cemetery or did I walk through the park? I walked through the cemetery. That’s right, and I admired the beauty of all the colorful flowers.
Did I admire the beauty of the trees? No, no. I didn’t admire the beauty of the trees. Did I admire the beauty of the children? No. I didn’t admire the beauty of the children.
What did I admire? The flowers. Yeah. I admired the beauty of all the colorful flowers. Who admired the beauty of all the colorful flowers? That’s right. AJ – me – admired the beauty of all the
colorful flowers.
Where were the flowers? On the graves in the cemetery. The flowers were on the graves in the
cemetery. Were the flowers in the park? No. They weren’t in the park.
Were the flowers in my house? No. They weren’t in my house. Where were the flowers? The flowers were on the graves in the cemetery.
Where did I walk? I walked through the cemetery. When did I walk through the cemetery? Ah.
November 1st, the Day of the Dead. November 1st, the Day of the Dead, I walked through the cemetery.
What was the cemetery like? Like a party. It was like a party. The cemetery was like a party. Was I curious about this holiday? Yes. I was curious about this holiday.
Which holiday was I curious about? Yeah. The Day of the Dead. I was curious about the Day of the Dead so I walked through the cemetery. There was also color in the sky because many kids
were flying kites.
Where was the color? In the sky. That’s right. In the sky. Why was there color in the sky?
Because kids were flying kites – the kites. There was color in the sky because kids were flying kites.
Who were flying kites? Kids. Kids were flying kites. Was the sky colorful or was the sky gray? The sky was colorful.
What was colorful? They sky. The sky was colorful. Why was the sky colorful? Because kids were flying kites.
What were the kids flying? Kites. That’s right. The kids were flying kites. Where were they flying kites? In the cemetery. The kids were flying kites in the cemetery.
Who was flying kites in the cemetery? Kids, children. Kids were flying kites in the cemetery. Some families were having a picnic next to the graves. We in the United States don’t do this, so some families were having a picnic next to the graves. They ate, they drank, and they chatted together.
Did they eat? Yes. They ate. Who ate? Families, right? Of course. Families ate.
What did they eat? They ate Guatemalan food – food from Guatemala. The families ate
Guatemalan food. Did they eat American food? No, no. They didn’t eat American food.
They ate Guatemalan food. Where did they eat Guatemalan food? In the cemetery. They ate food in the cemetery. They ate Guatemalan food in the cemetery.
They also drank in the cemetery. Did they drink water in the cemetery? No, no. What did they drink in the cemetery? They drank beer. Who drank beer? The families. The families drank beer.
What did they eat? Guatemalan food. They ate Guatemalan food and drank beer. Did they drink beer or did they drink water? They drank beer.
Where did they drink beer? They drank beer in the cemetery. When did they drink beer? Ah.
November 1st, the Day of the Dead they drank beer. When did they eat? They ate on November 1st, the Day of the Dead.
Did they chat together? Yes. They chatted together. Who chatted together? The families, of course. The families chatted together. When did they chat together? Yes. November 1st, the Day
of the Dead. And people laughed and smiled.
In the United States, cemeteries are always somber. Are cemeteries happy in the United States?
No, no, no. Never. Cemeteries aren’t happy in the United States. Cemeteries are always somber, sad, and serious.
Are cemeteries serious in the United States? Yes. Yes, they are. In the United States, cemeteries are always somber. They are always serious. In the United States, are cemeteries somber or are cemeteries happy?
Somber. Cemeteries are always somber in the United States. Was the cemetery somber in Guatemala? No, no. It wasn’t somber in Guatemala. The cemetery wasn’t somber in Guatemala,
but in the United States cemeteries are always somber.
Did they acknowledge money or did they acknowledge death? They acknowledged death. What did they acknowledge? Death. They acknowledged death. Who acknowledged death? Guatemalans, right? Guatemalans acknowledged death.
Did they acknowledge death or did they acknowledge money? They acknowledged death instead of denying it. Who denies death? Americans. Americans deny death. Do Guatemalans deny death?
No, no. Not Guatemalans.
Guatemalans don’t deny death. Americans deny death. Do I like that Americans deny death? No, I don’t. I don’t like it. I don’t like that Americans deny death but I like that there is life as well as death in Guatemalan cemeteries. I liked that.
Did I like their cemeteries? Yes. I liked their cemeteries. What did I like? Their cemeteries – Guatemalan cemeteries. I liked Guatemalan cemeteries.
Did I like Guatemalan cemeteries or did I like Guatemalan restaurants? I liked Guatemalan cemeteries. Whose cemeteries did I like? Guatemalans’, right? Guatemalans’ cemeteries. I liked the Guatemalans’ cemeteries – Guatemalans’ cemeteries.
Whose cemeteries did I like? The Guatemalans’ cemeteries. I liked the Guatemalans’ cemeteries.
Guatemalans call it the Day of the Dead but it is also a day to appreciate life. That is all for this mini story.
This was a very slow and soft mini story, so this mini story is good for beginning-level learners. For intermediate learners, for advanced learners I use mini stories that are much faster and more difficult, but this mini story is for beginners. See you next time. Bye-bye.