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STORY: 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

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their cemeteries. Guatemalans call it "The Day of the Dead", but it is

also a day to appreciate life.

Mini-story for Day of the Dead

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, Tarrive 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

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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

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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-Al.! 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

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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 in 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

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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 they sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors or the graves .

Were theyb sitting around the graves of their dead ancestors or their

friends? Ancestors, right? They were sitting around the graves of their

dead ancestors. They cleaned the graves and added fresh flowers. Who

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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.

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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 in the cemetery. Some families

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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? 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?

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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. Are cemeteries always somber in Guatemala or in the

United States? In the United States cemeteries are always somber.

Where are cemeteries always somber? The United States. That's right. In

the United States cemeteries are always somber. Are they happy? No, no.

They are always somber. Cemeteries in the United States are always

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somber - very, very somber. We certainly never have festivals or parties

next to graves. Do we have parties next to graves? No, we don't. We don't

have parties next to graves. Do we ever have parties next to graves? No.

We never have parties next to graves. Do we ever have parties in

restaurants? Yes, yes. We have parties in restaurants but we never have

parties next to graves. Do we ever have parties in houses? Yes, yes. We do.

We have patties in houses but we never have parties next to graves. Do we

ever have parties next to graves? No, never. We never have parties next to

graves. Where do we never have parties? Next to graves. We never have

parties next to graves. Do we ever? No, never. We never have parties next

to graves - not ever; never. We don't laugh or play music or fly kites in

cemeteries either. Do we laugh in cemeteries usually? No, we don't. We

don't laugh in cemeteries. Where don't we laugh? In cemeteries. That's

right. I found that I preferred the Guatemalan approach. Did I find that I

preferred the American approach or did I find that I preferred the

Guatemalan approach? The Guatemalan approach. I found that I preferred

the Guatemalan approach. Did I find that I preferred the American

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approach? No, I didn't. I didn't find that I preferred the American

approach. I found that I preferred the Guatemalan approach. Which

approach did I prefer? I preferred the Guatemalan approach. Did I prefer

the American approach? No. Who preferred the Guatemalan approach? Me

- Al. I preferred the Guatemalan approach. I found that I preferred the

Guatemalan approach. I liked the way they remembered and celebrated

those who had passed away. Did they celebrate those who were alive? No,

no. They didn't celebrate those who were alive. They celebrated those who

had passed away. Did they celebrate those who had passed away or those

who had become rich? They celebrated those who had passed away. Who

celebrated those who had passed away? Guatemalans, right? Guatemalans

celebrated those who had passed away.

When did they celebrate those who had passed away? On the Day of the

Dead, November 1st. On the Day of the Dead, November 1st, they

celebrated those who had passed away. Who celebrated? The Guatemalans.

Guaternalan families celebrated. Who did they celebrate? They celebrated

those who had passed away. I liked that they acknowledged death instead
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of denying it the way Americans do. Who liked that they acknowledged

death? Me-AJ. Me-Al. I liked that they acknowledged death. 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? liked Guatemalan

cemeteries. Whose cemeteries did I like? Guatemalans right? Guatemalans'

cemeteries. I liked the Guatemalans' cemeteries - Guatemalans'

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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 leamers I

use mini stories that are much faster and more difficult, but this mini-

story is for beginners. See you next time. Bye-bye.

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