Day 37: Undercover at the Christmas Market
In a café on Kraków's Main Square one December evening, Ola (A), ten, comes back from the Christmas market outside with the cheeses her mother Monika (B), an investigative reporter looking into fake oscypek, the highlanders' smoked sheep's cheese, sent her to buy.
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 Polish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Polish, 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
-
A
Mamo, misja wykonana! Kupiłam trzy oscypki i nikt nie wie, że jestem tajną agentką.
Mum, mission accomplished! I bought three oscypek cheeses, and nobody knows I'm a secret agent.
-
B
Nie agentką, tylko reporterką śledczą na stażu. Co dokładnie mówili sprzedawcy? Słowo w słowo, bo w reportażu każdy cytat musi się zgadzać.
Not a secret agent, a trainee investigative reporter. What exactly did the sellers say? Word for word, because in a report every quote has to be accurate.
-
A
Pani w czerwonej chuście mówiła: „Ino owcze, dziołcha, prosto od bacy”. A ten obok, że jego są od krowy, ale góralskiej.
The lady in the red headscarf said, 'Only sheep's, lass, straight from the shepherd.' And the man next to her said his were from a cow, but a highland one.
-
B
Przynajmniej jeden uczciwy. Tylko że mamy grudzień, a zimą owce nie chodzą po halach, więc żaden baca oscypków nie robi.
At least one of them's honest. Only it's December, and in winter the sheep aren't up on the mountain pastures, so no shepherd is making oscypek.
-
A
Czyli pani w chuście kłamała? To trzeba ją nagrać i wrzucić na TikToka!
So the lady in the headscarf was lying? Then we have to film her and put it on TikTok!
-
B
Spokojnie, tak działają hejterzy, a nie reporterzy. Dopóki laboratorium nie potwierdzi, że w jej serze nie ma owczego mleka, nie piszę ani słowa.
Easy, that's how trolls work, not reporters. Until the lab confirms that there's no sheep's milk in her cheese, I'm not writing a word.
-
A
No dobra. To masz te sery, bo cały plecak śmierdzi mi dymem.
OK, fine. Here are the cheeses, then, because my whole backpack stinks of smoke.
-
B
Dwa? Umawiałyśmy się, o ile dobrze pamiętam, na trzy próbki, każda z innej budki i osobno zapakowana.
Two? We agreed on three samples, if I remember rightly, each from a different stall and wrapped separately.
-
A
Tego od pani w chuście zjadłam w kolejce do następnej budki. Był pyszny, więc chyba prawdziwy!
I ate the one from the headscarf lady while I was queueing at the next stall. It was delicious, so it must be real!
-
B
Zjadłaś kluczowy dowód w całej sprawie? Każdy naczelny wyrzuciłby cię za to z redakcji, nim zdążyłabyś się oblizać.
You ate the key piece of evidence in the whole case? Any editor-in-chief would throw you out of the newsroom for that before you'd even had time to lick your lips.
-
A
Spokojnie, zostawiłam kawałek dla laboratorium. Tylko trochę nadgryziony.
Relax, I saved a bit for the lab. It's only slightly nibbled.
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 38: The Liminal Parcel Locker
If this free course has helped you in your Polish journey, please consider supporting the project. It's a one-person effort, and even small contributions help keep it running and free for everyone.