Episodio 48: Ferry Life (La vida por ferri)

Duolingo English for Spanish Speakers Podcast

En el verano de 2020, Sarah tenía 34 años y no tenía pareja.

Era una ilustradora viviendo con dos compañeros de piso en Vancouver, una ciudad de cerca de 700 000 personas en la costa oeste de Canadá.

Un lugar hermoso, con el océano, montañas y muchas islas cerca.

Pero Sarah quería mudarse.

It was the middle of the pandemic, and I was tired of living with roommates in Vancouver.

Even though it’s a beautiful city near the ocean, I wanted to be even closer to nature.

I’m an artist, and I love to draw plants and animals.

Así que Sarah se mudó a una ciudad pequeña llamada Gibsons.

Tiene una población de unas 5000 personas.

Está a solo cincuenta kilómetros de Vancouver, pero, al estar rodeada de agua y montañas, a Gibsons solo se puede llegar en ferri o en avión.

Era el lugar perfecto para que Sarah se enfocara en su arte.

Todo iba genial, excepto por su vida amorosa.

Dating was really hard.

I wanted to date someone who lived near me, but it was difficult to meet new people during the pandemic, and my town was really small.

So, I decided to try dating apps.

Sarah se unió a una aplicación de citas y empezó a navegar entre perfiles.

Había más opciones para conocer gente en Vancouver, pero ella sentía que todos los perfiles se veían igual y tenían información mínima, como: “Me gusta la cerveza y pescar”.

Era aburrido para ella, hasta que finalmente vio un perfil que llamó su atención; alguien a quien llamaremos Will.

His profile was really interesting.

He was a firefighter and a gardener.

We had a lot of interests in common, like hiking and camping.

And he even liked art, which I was excited about because I’m an artist.

We started messaging each other and we got along really well.

The only problem was he lived three ferries away.

So, it would take almost six hours to go to his town! I didn’t think a relationship could work.

Welcome, bienvenidos y bienvenidas a “Relatos en inglés”, un podcast de Duolingo.

Soy Diana Gameros.

En cada episodio podrás practicar inglés a tu propio ritmo, escuchando historias reales y fascinantes, contadas por las personas que las vivieron.

Los protagonistas hablan en un inglés sencillo y fácil de entender para quienes están aprendiendo el idioma.

En cada capítulo, yo te acompañaré, para asegurarme de que entiendas todo.

En este episodio: historias inesperadas en los ferris, esos barcos que suelen transportar personas de un punto a otro.

Sarah ama vivir en Gibsons.

En vez de manejar para ir a pasear o a la playa, ella solo tiene que caminar diez minutos fuera de su casa para ver la naturaleza, como águilas o focas, con mucha facilidad.

I live in a beautiful place close to big mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and a lot of pretty islands.

My house has big windows, so I can look out at the woods, my garden, and my chickens in my yard.

I love it!

Cuando Sarah era una niña, vivía con su mamá y hermanos en Vancouver durante la semana.

Y en los fines de semana visitaba a su papá, que vivía en Gibsons.

Así que ella había estado allí muchas veces antes.

Solo hay ocho ferris al día y el trayecto toma unos cuarenta minutos.

Pero es la única opción.

No hay carreteras desde Vancouver al área que se llama Sunshine Coast.

I’ve been taking ferries since I was a little kid when my mom lived in Vancouver and my dad lived in Gibsons.

My dad usually met me at the ferry terminal near Vancouver, and we got on the ferry together.

It has space for more than 2,000 passengers and about 350 cars.

It’s a very big ferry! When I took the ferry with my dad, we usually played Pictionary — a game where one person draws a picture and the other person says what they think it is.

Ahora, cuando Sarah viaja a Vancouver, es usualmente para visitar amigos o tener reuniones con clientes para trabajo.

En el ferri, ella usualmente lee o escucha un podcast.

Y algunas veces dibuja, ya que la vista del mar, las islas y montañas es aún más esplendorosa desde el agua.

The inspiration for my art is nature.

I like to sit outside so that I can draw flowers and trees, and also animals like owls, whales, and fish.

I want my art to help people respect nature and remember that they are connected to it.

Sarah se enamoró de su nuevo hogar.

Todo era perfecto, excepto su vida amorosa.

When you live in a small town, there aren’t many options for dating.

So I started dating online.

One time, I met someone who lived in Vancouver.

We planned a picnic in the park, and he said he was going to bring some bread and cheese.

I had a 40 minute ferry ride, and when I arrived, my date met me at the terminal with his car.

But when I met him, I just didn’t feel a connection.

Sarah quería tener la mente abierta, así que decidió seguir con la cita.

Él manejó su carro con ella hasta un parque.

Hubo muchos silencios incómodos.

It was hard to have a conversation.

I felt like we didn’t have anything in common.

Then, I got hungry.

He said he was going to bring cheese, so I asked if I could have some.

He told me that he forgot it and he only had beer.

When I’m hungry, I get angry.

I was also annoyed that he didn’t follow our plan.

I didn’t want to continue the date, but I needed him to drive me to the ferry.

Sarah se sintió aliviada cuando llegó la hora de volver a tomar el ferri.

Estaba tan desanimada que inmediatamente programó su app de citas para abarcar un territorio más amplio.

I wanted to have more options, but I didn’t want to date someone who lived too far away.

I was willing to take two ferries to meet someone, which could take an hour or two.

When you take more than one ferry, there’s always time between each ferry when you have to wait.

It’s like a layover at the airport.

And sometimes you have to wait a long time for the next ferry.

So, I was only willing to take two ferries to meet a date.

Eventualmente, ella vio un perfil que llamó su atención.

Este se veía mucho más interesante que los chicos usuales en su app de citas.

His name was Will, and he was really interesting.

He loved nature, making art, and gardening, and he was a firefighter.

He had a great smile, too.

So we started messaging, and we had so much in common.

I really wanted to meet him.

But he lived three ferries away!

A Sarah realmente le gustaba Will, pero él vivía en otra isla pequeña.

Y no había un ferri directo entre ellos, así que Sarah ¡debería tomar tres ferris para encontrarse con él!

Taking the ferry to see him was going to take about six hours! I didn’t want to do that, but I really liked Will.

I wasn’t sure what to do! And what if we had nothing to talk about? Six hours is a long time to travel for a bad date.

So, we decided to have a video chat first.

Talking through the video was so easy and fun! We immediately connected.

After that, I really wanted to meet him in person.

We made a plan to meet between our towns, so no one had to travel six hours.

En su primera cita, decidieron encontrarse en la terminal del ferri y caminar a almorzar.

La terminal estaba justo a la mitad entre sus dos casas.

Le tomó a Sarah casi una hora llegar allí, en carro y luego en ferri.

¡Pero a Will le tomó tres horas! Él tuvo que tomar dos ferris diferentes.

I was really excited.

But I also remembered that you never know what a date will be like in person.

Will and I went on a walk, and soon I got hungry.

Immediately, I told Will that I needed to eat.

So we went to a nearby restaurant and ordered burgers.

While we were there, I told him that I get angry when I’m hungry.

He thought it was really funny because that was one of the first things I told him about myself.

We laughed a lot.

Sarah y Will la pasaron muy bien en el restaurante.

Ya era tiempo de que Sarah regresara a tomar su ferri, pero ella se estaba divirtiendo tanto que decidió tomar el siguiente en otras dos horas.

Ordenaron bebidas y hablaron más.

Luego de una hora, Will debía tomar el primero de los dos ferris para volver a casa.

It was time for Will to leave, so I walked with him to the ferry terminal.

But the date didn’t stop there.

When he got on his ferry, we started to text each other.

We talked like this for hours while we both traveled home.

I was so happy that I decided to meet Will!

Durante sus siguientes citas, hicieron planes para seguirse encontrando en la mitad, durante los fines de semana.

La cita favorita de Sarah fue conocer la isla donde vivía Will.

Ya que le tomaría casi seis horas llegar allá, ella planeó quedarse todo el fin de semana.

I left my house Friday evening and rode the three ferries to get to his island.

Since it was night, I could see the lights from Vancouver! I didn’t arrive until 11:30 pm.

The next day, Will showed me the island.

We went running with his dog through a forest.

Then, we went on a walk to a really cool beach.

Later, we ate some chocolate and watched the sunset.

It was great to be in a new place with a fun person.

It felt like an adventure!

A este punto, Sarah y Will habían estado saliendo por algunos meses.

La logística podía ser todo un desafío.

We have to look at the ferry schedule when we plan every date, and it’s a little annoying.

We can’t do things like have a casual Thursday dinner or go on a quick hike after work.

We often don’t see each other for a week or two, but then we spend the whole weekend together.

Will y Sarah han tomado ferris toda su vida.

Así que el tiempo que pasan en el ferri es solo más tiempo para leer, dibujar y observar la vista de las montañas, océanos e islas alrededor.

I really like spending time with Will and I am used to taking the ferry, so it’s not a problem.

Also, I love the view from the ferry.

The mountains look taller and the ocean looks bigger.

People travel from all over the world to visit here, and it makes me feel grateful that I actually live in such a beautiful place, so connected to nature.

And it’s even better now that I have someone to share that with.

Nuestra siguiente historia tiene lugar en la otra costa de Norteamérica, 5000 kilómetros al este, en una pequeña isla del estado de Maine.

Se llama North Haven.

Y Fiona Robins es una de las 350 personas que viven en la isla todo el año.

North Haven is an island in the Atlantic Ocean.

It’s about 19 kilometers from the coast of Maine.

To get here, you have to take a ferry, and there are only three ferries that go to the island every day.

The ride takes about 70 minutes, and there’s space for about 17 cars and 150 people on the ferry.

North Haven está cerca de otras islas, pero aparte de eso, es bastante apartada del continente.

It’s a small town, but we have everything we need.

We have one grocery store, a post office, a school with 60 kids, and a few restaurants that are only open during the summer when there are more visitors.

It’s a beautiful place to live.

There are a lot of farms and fields in the center of the island.

I love walking in the forest and swimming in the ocean.

Muchas personas en North Haven trabajan en construcción o en la industria de langosta, ¡o en ambas! La gente también tiene trabajos múltiples, dependiendo de la estación.

Fiona es jardinera, está a cargo de una línea de cuidado de la piel, o skincare, y es la guitarrista líder de una banda de punk rock.

I’m a gardener from April to October because that’s when plants grow here.

I work in the gardens in the mornings, and in the afternoons, I make natural skincare products.

In the winter, I do my skincare business all the time.

And when I’m not working, I play with my dog, hang out with my husband, or play music with my band!

El primer viaje de Fiona a North Haven fue en 2015.

Fue cuando se graduó de la universidad en Maine y tomó un trabajo de verano en la isla.

The first time I visited North Haven, I decided to walk around the island.

I watched the fishing boats come and go.

Everyone was so relaxed, and no one was in a hurry.

I couldn’t believe that people didn’t lock their cars or worry about the time.

It felt like a different world.

Fiona la pasó muy bien ese verano.

También empezó a salir con alguien que creció allí.

Pero al final del verano, su trabajo terminó y era hora de partir.

I really enjoyed my first summer on North Haven.

Eventually, I realized that I could have more time playing and writing music if I lived on the island, especially in the winters.

I also really liked the way of living and the community.

So, I decided to move there!

En 2018, Fiona se mudó a North Haven con su novio y pronto se dió cuenta de que la gente realmente se ayudaban entre sí.

One time, I saw somebody walking to the ferry with their cat.

The ferry was leaving in 20 minutes, but they were still many miles away.

I asked if they wanted a ride and they accepted.

They didn’t seem stressed or worried about missing the ferry.

They told me, “I knew someone was going to pick me up.” I realized that people on the island really trust each other.

También es común que la gente en North Haven le pida a un vecino que le traiga al ferri algo que se ha olvidado en casa, como el celular o la billetera.

Una vez Fiona incluso tuvo que pedirle a alguien que le trajera su carro.

I was not on the island, but I needed my car.

So I went on our town’s Facebook page and made a post.

I asked, “Can anyone drive my car onto the ferry tomorrow?” Someone said yes! The next morning, they drove my car onto the ferry.

When the ferry arrived, I walked on and took my car.

I’ve learned that this is just how the island works.

Aunque la gente se ayudaba mucho, no era fácil hacer amigos.

A pesar de eso, después de su primer invierno en la isla, las cosas cambiaron para Fiona.

In the summer of 2018, I got a message from a music teacher named Courtney.

She knew I could play the guitar, so she asked me to start a band with her.

Shortly after that, another woman on the island, Claire, sent me a similar message.

So the three of us started playing music together.

Soon, we had a band!

Las tres formaron Bait Bag, una banda punk con bajo, guitarra y batería.

Bait bag significa “bolsa de cebo” y es una especie de red que se llena de pescado para pescar langostas.

La pesca de langosta es una industria importante en North Haven, por lo que Fiona y sus amigos pensaron que sería divertido homenajearla con el nombre de la banda.

Our music is loud and fast.

Most of our songs are about power, anger, and doing what you want to do.

We love to be as loud as we can and have fun.

We wrote music during the summer we met, and soon, we had four songs.

A inicios de 2019, Bait Bag hizo su primer show fuera de la isla.

Ellas tomaron el ferri y luego manejaron noventa minutos hasta un bar.

We talked a lot while we were driving because we were so nervous.

We were going to play before another band that we loved, but we only had four songs.

Before the show, I jumped up and down to try to relax.

But when we went on the stage and started playing, everything was fine.

It was not my first time on stage, but playing punk music with my friends felt different from my other performances.

I could scream and make mistakes — it was part of the music.

It felt scary, but it was so much fun.

Fiona y sus compañeras de banda amaban tocar en vivo, tanto que estaban dispuestas a tomar algunos viajes en ferri solo para llevar sus shows fuera de la isla.

En una tormenta fuerte, el bote se balanceaba de un lado al otro y el agua llegaba a cubierta.

Sometimes when the weather is bad, big waves hit the boat.

I think this is so fun! But when the weather is bad, my friend Courtney hates it.

She usually grabs my arm and holds it really tight.

Then, my friend Claire and I try to help her feel better, so we watch a TV show together or play music until she falls asleep.

Bait Bag estaba comprometida con tocar sus shows, muchas veces en el continente, o the mainland, sin importar el clima.

Pero a veces la cosa se ponía tan difícil que el ferri se cancelaba.

In the winter, the ferries are canceled more often because of storms and strong winds.

Sometimes it happens before we have a show on the mainland.

Then, we have to cancel or reschedule the show.

It’s always disappointing, but it’s a part of living on an island.

We can’t control the weather.

La pandemia de COVID-19 que comenzó en 2020, detuvo la música en vivo durante más de un año.

Pero en junio de 2021, Bait Bag finalmente tocó otra vez, en la ciudad donde el ferri desembarca.

We were so ready to perform again.

We were also playing with two other bands and one of the bands lived on the island, too.

So we knew that we were going to see some of our friends there.

I was just ready to get back on the stage!

Una vez llegaron al lugar del concierto, comenzaron a conectar sus equipos.

El escenario era en una vía peatonal.

As we got ready to play, I felt a little nervous.

But then, people started to arrive.

We realized that there was going to be a big crowd! A lot of our friends and people from the island came.

After a long, cold winter, people were ready to spend time together again.

It was beautiful.

La calle estaba llena de gente bailando y cantando con ellas.

It felt amazing to be back on stage again.

Everyone was so happy to be together.

People were dancing together for the first time in more than a year.

And everyone was screaming the words of our songs, which made me feel famous! But at the end, we were so happy to get on that ferry and go back home — to our little island of North Haven.

Fiona Robins maneja una línea de cuidado de la piel natural llamada Island Apothecary, y es la vocalista y guitarrista de la banda Bait Bag en North Haven, Maine.

Sarah es una ilustradora de plantas y animales del British Columbia, en Canadá.

Este episodio fue producido por Tressa Versteeg, una periodista y productora que vive en Maine.

“Relatos en inglés” es una producción de Duolingo y Adonde Media.

Puedes seguirnos en Spotify o tu plataforma preferida.

Yo soy Diana Gameros.

Thank you for listening!