👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

How do you pack up a life in Colombia with two small kids and move to Spain? Rob and Lis pick up where the last episode left off: a deal “signed in blood”, a visa approved by silence, house keys that vanish on moving day, and a shortcut through one of Bogotá’s toughest neighbourhoods that nearly leaves them stranded.

Do you know what these mean?
 dejar en ascuas · el punto álgido · menos mal · trancón

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/last-days-colombia

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Why would you leave a big house in Colombia's Coffee Region, with help, family and friends close by, for the north of Spain? Back after a long break, Rob and Lis get honest about what tipped the balance: safety, life in a gated-community bubble, and parks you have to pay to use. Plus the scouting trip that crossed Valencia and a small English town off the list, how the Camino de Santiago led them to Asturias, and why the supermarkets matter more to Rob than you'd think.

Do you know what these mean?
cambiar el chip · pellizcarse · por las nubes · dar un paso en falso

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/colombia-to-spain

Check out our new Obsessives programme, for intermediate Spanish learners: 
https://www.spanishobsessed.com/become-an-obsessive/

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Do you become a different person when you speak another language? Lis remembers the "actress mode" she needed at the office in England. Rob has his first real argument in Spanish, over a ten-year guarantee that didn't last ten days. And they reveal the tiny word Spanish speakers use to dodge the blame.

Do you know what these mean?
¡Qué oso! · nos tumbaron · sin querer queriendo · si Dios quiere

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/personality-change

Bonus: Can you spot Rob's pronunciation mistake? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Mention Álvaro Uribe to any Colombian and watch their face change. Rob tested this at a family get-together. He and Lis unpack why the former president still divides the country: the man many credit with opening Colombia up, the questions about what it cost, and the recent court case Rob still finds hard to believe.

Do you know what these mean?
un tema caliente · por molestar · dejar una ventana abierta · los fines justifican los medios

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/uribe

Bonus: Rob calls Uribe "muy divisa". Why does Lis stop him? The answer's in the notes.

Head to spanishobsessed.com to claim your free Fluency Phrasebook! 

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

A Guardian article claims we're living through an epidemic of loneliness, especially among men in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Rob and Lis work out the "maths" of adult friendship, why the school gates have become their new social life, and how quickly Rob now decides whether someone could be a friend.

Do you know what these mean?
somos de lavar y planchar · hacer un plan · me raya un poco · caerle bien a alguien

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/loneliness

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Why did Spanish Obsessed go quiet for over a year? Rob and Lis explain, then take on a bigger question: how much money does it take to be happy? Lis looks back on student days when 10,000 pesitos a day covered lunch, photocopies and a beer. Rob asks whether happiness stops rising after a certain salary, and Lis remembers the dilemma she faced in England whenever her family came to visit.

Do you know what these mean?
arrancamos · si hay para dos, hay para tres · juicioso · ¿Me hago entender?

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/money-happiness

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Por mí está bien or para mí está bien? One tiny word changes what you're saying. Rob and Johanna continue their por and para mini-series with time and opinions: deadlines, times of day, a Bogotá bakery with a very clever name, and the one sentence that uses both words at once.

Do you know what these mean?
un palo de agua · bochorno · pa' ya · estar agripado

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/por-y-para-2

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob reckons he has por and para 95% sorted, but can't explain why. So he asks star teacher Johanna, and her first piece of advice is: close the dictionary. Instead, they show how por and para work with goals and directions, using the bus trick that finally made it click for Rob.

Quick test: what's the difference between estoy aquí para grabar el podcast and estoy aquí por el podcast?

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/por-y-para-1

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Should you bother learning slang? Rob asks Colombian teacher Johanna. Rob remembers the restaurant in Ecuador where one word threw him completely, Johanna shares the student whose "todo bien, mamita" left her speechless, and a "gracias, mi amor" goes badly wrong in a Spanish shop. And Rob's number one tip for slang might surprise you.

Do you know what these mean?
botar · no entendí ni papa · buscarle cinco patas al gato · me costó un ojo de la cara

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/slang

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Rob walks his daughter to the park one day and finds the gate padlocked. Neighbours fill him and Lis in on a six-hour owners' meeting that never even reached its first item, and how their side of the complex was branded criminals. Then they get into how Colombians measure each other: the estratos (do they really go up to seven?), a Bogotá barrio senators drive straight through, and why London felt different to Lis.

Do you know what these mean?
nos echaron el chisme · arribista · toca chicanear · es una bobada

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/clasismo

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

A friend of Rob and Lis moved to Colombia, started learning Spanish, then gave up, convinced he was too old. So what really sits behind "it's my age"? Rob and Lis dig into it, and explain why the tortoise and the hare fits older learners so well. But first, Rob gets something off his chest about baby names, and Lis shares the rule that worked for them last time.

Do you know what these mean?
qué pecado · se desahogó · me quitaste las palabras de la boca · no pararle tantas bolas

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/too-old

Bonus: after his baby-name rant, Rob says "estaba rayando, como ustedes dicen". What should he have said? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Ten learners, one week in Bogotá, and one rule: Spanish only, all day. Rob and Lis look back on what surprised them, from the coffee tasting Rob loved and almost nobody else did to why Rob, of all people, ended up saying no to a restaurant. And a haggling challenge at a busy market left the stallholders baffled. Rob now thinks they got that one slightly wrong.

Do you know what these mean?
me quedé con la boca abierta · cambiar el chip · la ñapa · de pronto

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/immersion-week

Bonus: Rob admits he lives too much in "mi propio mente". What's wrong with the way he says it? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Should you even want a native Spanish accent? Lis once took accent-reduction classes, and now thinks she worried too much. Rob admits the small thrill of being asked if he's from Bogotá. Then they explain what it means when someone says you talk like a "gomelo", what their Colombian friends who almost pass as English have in common, and why Arnold Schwarzenegger comes up at all.

Do you know what these mean?
gomelo · ñerito · descrestar · chicanero

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/native-accent

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Before they get into protests, Rob and Lis share some big family news. Then Lis tells how two protesters threw pumpkin soup at the Mona Lisa, but does that kind of protest still work? She looks back on a protest she joined at the British Museum, which Rob, who was there, says got almost no attention. And a camp in a Bogotá park tests how long public sympathy can last.

Do you know what these mean?
arrojar · manifestantes · generar atención · no creo que funcione

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/protests

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

When Rob came across a jar of positive affirmations, read out before family meals in Bogotá, he decided it needed souring up, so he slipped in a few notes of his own. Guess who pulled out one of his. Rob and Lis look at what studies say about visualising success, why it seems to backfire for students before exams, and the comparison that makes Lis call time on the conversation.

Do you know what these mean?
amargar esto un poco · metiste tu mano negra · lo voy a aplastar · escéptico

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/manifestation

Bonus: Rob says he's "un poco crítica" of manifestation. What's wrong with that? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Rob opens this one by asking Lis to look out of the window and describe what she sees. After two years in Bogotá, they have swapped the city for Colombia's coffee country. Lis explains the "antennae" that switched on every time they left the flat. In a mountain village, a Geisha coffee comes with its grower, who talks for about twenty minutes. And they admit what country life can't give them.

Do you know what these mean?
no des papaya · pilas · pueblear · zona play

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/coffee-country

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob and Lis stayed up late finishing the BBC's Traitors, a show Lis first wrote off as another reality show and a waste of time. Lis asks whether gut instinct can spot a liar, and Rob explains why the maths favours the traitors. He'd love to be one himself, but Lis has a blunt reason he wouldn't get far. And they picture what a Colombian version might look like.

Do you know what these mean?
trasnoché · me ha enganchado · ha tenido mucha acogida · el chisme jugoso

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/traitors

Bonus: Rob reaches for the Spanish word for "naivety" and Lis quietly fixes it. What did he say? It's in the transcript.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Lis has a list of three people she'd call toxic, and the third one Rob remembers all too well: the agent who came to take back their Bogotá office on handover day, and whose face changed the moment she saw the place. Then Rob tries to argue we've been judging people wrong, using an imaginary disastrous day at a cashpoint and a famous psychology experiment. Does Lis buy it?

Do you know what these mean?
me cayó tan mal · cansona · el trasfondo · pobre desdichado

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/toxic-people

Bonus: describing a nightmare day, Rob says you'd go to get money out of "la cajera". Why does Lis step in?

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Is there a media naranja out there for everyone? Lis believed it once, especially as a teenager. Now she and Rob puzzle over data suggesting arranged marriages can be more successful than love matches. Rob tells the story of a psychologist who met a woman on a flight and convinced her to try falling in love with him on purpose. Plus the rule they made after their daughter arrived.

Do you know what these mean?
media naranja · alma gemela · pasar la página · ponernos bravos

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/soulmates

Bonus: Rob says the couple tried to create "esa afección". Why does Lis jump in? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob had three months to write a piece of music for his university course. He started at 4am on the day it was due, fuelled by around three Red Bulls. Lis remembers all-nighters powered by Coca-Cola and coffee, and oral exams she paid to put off. Then they unpack three strategies from a book by Oliver Burkeman, including an English saying that makes Lis cry "¡Qué asco!"

Do you know what these mean?
me cogió la tarde · muy sobrado · comiendo la rana · me pongo brava

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/procrastination

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Lis just wants a simple digital watch, and she finds one within her budget. Then Rob sees it, and his face says it all. That moment starts a conversation about status symbols in Colombia and England: why an iPhone turns heads in Bogotá, what happened when Rob finally paid for Ray-Bans, and the car purchase that left the man who used to criticise car culture feeling rather pleased with himself.

Do you know what these mean?
dar papaya · chiviado · chicanear · lujitos

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/status-symbols

Bonus: Rob says business-class passengers get on the plane "de primera". What did he mean to say? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

What stops people turning a business dream into a real business? Rob remembers staring out of a grey London office window on his second day at work, and Lis recalls the business cards she and her friends made before they had any business. Then Rob pitches ideas for Colombia, including a café built entirely around hangovers and a luxury jungle trip for Silicon Valley CEOs. Lis wonders what the shamans would call luxury.

Do you know what these mean?
una carta bajo la manga · levantamuertos · mucha charla, poca acción · guayabo

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/business-ideas

Bonus: Rob says his uncle's business was "máquinas de pesar". What would a Spanish speaker actually call them? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Who is the Bogotá neighbour yelling "¡Vete! ¡Te odio!" at two in the morning? Rob and Lis had their theories until they found out. They also reveal the nickname a family with a baby once gave him, the London neighbour who could hear Lis's dining chairs, and the near-countryside silence in England so deep it sometimes frightened Lis.

Do you know what these mean?
en pleno centro · me sé todas las canciones · qué pereza · quien sea

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/noisy-neighbours

Bonus: Rob says he'd never "cortar la pasta" at nine at night because it would bother the neighbours. Why does Lis jump in? The answer's in the transcript.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Nate and Andrea of SpanishLand split their year between Nashville and Colombia, and they're about to make a big move. Andrea explains what puzzled her about American conversations and all those "I love you"s. Nate takes on 28 cousins and a birthday party every week. And Rob tells the story of a bus on the Colombian coast that did something no London bus ever would.

Do you know what these mean?
ciudad natal · echar raíces · le llevo siete años · sacar plata

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/culture-shock

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Before their daughter arrived, Lis had a plan: leave the baby with her mum and sister, and take Rob out partying at Parque la 93. Rob pictured lazy cappuccinos at the café round the corner and morning runs pushing a three-wheeled pram. So what happened? Rob also owns up to the whisky-and-Bob-Dylan night that left a new mum very annoyed, and Lis reveals the one expectation that got a tick.

Do you know what these mean?
me sabe mal · echando un ojo · de mal genio · te corché

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/parenting

Bonus: Rob says life with a baby changes "por total". What does Lis say instead? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Two went in, three came out. Rob and Lis bring their newborn daughter home to their Bogotá flat and a freezer full of food, and find that being prepared wasn't enough. Rob reaches for a Spanish word for how those first weeks felt, and Lis confesses to a Homer Simpson moment. Then there's the family tradition that left Lis stuck in the middle, and Rob's very simple bath-time technique.

Do you know what these mean?
entre la espada y la pared · cansona · Mentiras · toda una odisea

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/new-baby

Bonus: Rob is explaining that he didn't know how to hold a baby, and mixes up two verbs that are only one letter apart. Which word keeps slipping out by mistake? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Rob and Lis land at Bogotá's El Dorado airport with 30-kilo suitcases, no mobile data and a family pick-up running late. Outside, people shout "Uber!" and it has nothing to do with Uber. Their dream flat isn't ready, a Christmas getaway loses hours in traffic just getting out of Bogotá, and Rob's Christmas Day fever comes with a negative test that doesn't tell the whole story.

Do you know what these mean?
corrígeme si me equivoco · estratos · plata · trancón

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/bogota-arrival

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob spends two days hauling boxes up a ladder into an attic with no lights. Their last night in London comes down to one saucepan, one fork and a sofa bed, and Rob barely sleeps, convinced a flight will be cancelled. Then, ten minutes into the drive to the airport, Lis is halfway through a silent prayer when she remembers something. And Rob confesses what usually goes wrong when he books a flight.

Do you know what these mean?
se me fue la paloma · no llames · yo siendo yo · tal cual

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/leaving-london

Bonus: in the very first minute Rob tells listeners "si escuchan sonidos". Which verb should he have used? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Why would anyone leave London for Bogotá with a baby on the way? Rob and Lis go back to the lockdown months of watching Colombia videos and studying neighbourhood maps, the pros-and-cons list that settled it, and the promise Lis almost made Rob make. Plus how people reacted when they heard the plan, and why Rob still sometimes has to pinch himself.

Do you know what these mean?
adelantar cuaderno · nos ilusionamos · padres primerizos · de primera mano

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/colombia-move

Bonus: Rob tells listeners he wants to "compartir cuaderno" with them. Why does Lis jump straight in? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Your plane goes down in the Caribbean, you're the only survivor, and you have five minutes to save three things before it sinks. Lis's final pick isn't an object at all. Then the deeper question: one book and one album for your time on the island. Rob admits there's an honest answer and a public one, while Lis goes back to the blank cassettes she raced to fill from the radio as a teenager.

Do you know what these mean?
¡Qué astuto! · no hay afán · el casete de hacer oficio · suena muy cursi

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/desert-island

Bonus: Rob gives Lis five minutes "hasta que se hunde el avión". What should he have said? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

A woman with heavy make-up, red lipstick and a feather jacket has appeared in Rob's life three times. The last time, as he stepped off a train at Paddington, she did something he still can't explain. Lis tells how a Bogotá taxi driver followed her sister to a friend's door to describe a passenger who wasn't there. And in Santa Marta, a fortune teller reads Rob's future in cigarette ash.

Do you know what these mean?
de una · llamativa · en la plena luz del día · realismo mágico

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/unexplained

Bonus: At the fortune teller's, Rob says he took "un trago" of the cigarette. What word did he need? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

A low-quality phone video of a young woman chanting "Epa Colombia" turned her into an influencer with millions of followers, and later a businesswoman with, reportedly, around 500 employees. Then she posted another video, this time with a hammer at a Transmilenio station. Lis explains what the courts decided, and shares a theory about why the case ended up on every front page.

Do you know what these mean?
sin pelos en la lengua · gomelas · la otra cara de la moneda · prensa rosa

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/epa-colombia

Bonus: Rob describes Epa's laugh as "una risa todo fastidiosa". What's wrong with it? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

From the very first class, learners are told that usted keeps people at a distance, so why do Lis and her sisters use it with each other? Rob has been frustrated by it for days. He hears Lis's mother calling a three-year-old usted, gets told "don't do that to me!" when he tries it on Lis's sister, and finds a Colombian online whose father switches to usted for bad news or a bad mood.

Do you know what these mean?
¡Uy usted cómo es! · cambiar el chip · nadie para bolas · sumercé

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/tu-usted

Bonus: Rob calls the Covid tests "malditas pruebas" and Lis says it sounds a bit strong. Which word do Colombians use instead? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Why does the pessimist always sound like the smartest person in the room? Rob and Lis dig into an El País article on exactly that, and a tiger in the jungle that spells trouble for positive thinking. Lis puts Rob on the spot: are the English really the gloomy ones? Then she admits she felt far more optimistic before she lived in England, and reveals what topped her hope back up.

Do you know what these mean?
días de días · perros viejos · anclado · entre comillas

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/optimism

Bonus: Rob says pessimists "no creen que pueden tener resultados". What should he have said? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Rob and Lis each pick three belongings that tell a story. Lis's include a handmade bag that makes strangers stop to greet her, and a cheap folding table they carried home on a long walk. Rob explains the student shopping trip that taught him to spend more on a pot, and why he ended up sharpening knives at Lis's family's homes in Colombia. Then: if they left for Colombia tomorrow, what would they take?

Do you know what these mean?
entre comillas · gomelo · treinta y pico · me ha sacado de apuros

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/belongings

Bonus: Rob asks if the expensive part of Lis's printer was the "tinto". Why does Lis quietly swap it for another word? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

When the shops finally reopened after lockdown, Rob and Lis set out for a walk and ended up going into every shop they passed, something Rob once considered a nightmare. Lis reveals the nickname she and her fellow shop assistants had for customers who tried on a pile of clothes and bought nothing. And Rob explains why a champagne bar in a shopping centre gets under his skin.

Do you know what these mean?
vitrinear · de una · empieza a afanarme · estábamos re felices

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/window-shopping

Bonus: Rob says he could happily spend hours in a "biblioteca". Why does Lis stop him? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

James Bond or Mr Bean: which one does the rest of the world picture when it thinks of the English? Rob has a theory. Lis explains the mistaken image of England she sees when she's back in Colombia, and the first thing people she met brought up when she travelled to Turkey. Then she shares the question she now asks when someone jokes about where she's from, plus a quick lesson in competencias interculturales.

Do you know what these mean?
hasta la coronilla · mal genio · sesgar · no sé qué

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/stereotypes

Bonus: Rob calls Colombia one of the most "estereotipizados" countries, then stops to ask if that's even a word. Is it? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob and Lis go through a checklist of hipster habits to see how many they tick. Lis's first picture of a hipster reminds Rob of his grandmother's wardrobe. Rob admits there's one hipster spot he hunts for wherever he goes, and another he can't stand, though Lis defends it with a record player. And when Lis asks Rob to sum up his own style, his answer is hard to argue with.

Do you know what these mean?
a donde vaya · de pronto · un tocadiscos · chévere

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/hipsters

Bonus: Rob opens by complaining about the "invierno eternal". Why does Lis jump in straight away? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Stuck at home in lockdown, Rob and Lis keep spotting repairs, and the house is becoming a money pit. The neighbour with a front-row view of their collapsing fence has been dropping hints. Then they compare building in England with Bogotá, where Lis's grandmother and uncles once finished a house with no permits. So what happened to the architect's plans for the family flat once Lis's sister walked in and moved a wall?

Do you know what these mean?
me da cosa · sobre la marcha · se ha ido al carajo · esas indirectas

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/construction

Bonus: Rob calls the house "un pozo negro de plata". Why doesn't that work in Spanish, and what does Lis say instead? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

When Bogotá's airport closed in March 2020, Rob and Lis spent lockdown on opposite sides of the Atlantic. Lis describes a household that washed every banana, the nightly telenovela Rob gave up on after one episode, and why the city's streets suddenly smelled of eucalyptus. And Rob, alone in London with no more "I don't have time" excuse, makes a confession involving a very large box of chocolates.

Do you know what these mean?
me rindió el tiempo · oficio general · chocolatines · cuando cayó la cuarentena

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/lockdown

Bonus: Rob asks Lis for "una resumen". Why does she say "Momento"? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Rob spent six weeks as a bin man in Bath, running alongside the truck while his colleague just drove. Then came the day he tried a lasso-style throw with a student's cheap bin bag. Lis recalls clearing coffee cups at 6 a.m. in her first London job, and a Glastonbury bar that put her under more pressure than her job at a law firm. And Rob makes a confession he still feels guilty about.

Do you know what these mean?
corre y corre · tacaños · a volar · ¡Pobrecito!

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/worst-jobs

Bonus: Rob reaches for "momento" to describe how hard he had to throw the bags. Why does Lis stop him? The answer's in the transcript.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob's first Uber came courtesy of his brother, who was out to impress. A later ride nearly ended badly when the driver tried to go the wrong way at a roundabout, with every car coming straight at them. Lis explains how Uber in Bogotá was the reverse of London, and the two weigh up the gig economy: if an app tells you what to do, is it your boss?

Do you know what these mean?
novedoso · al revés · trancones · desdibujar

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/uber

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

That morning, Mexico City had held an earthquake drill, alarms and all. So when the ground started moving at the anthropology museum, Rob thought it was part of the rehearsal. He tells Lis what he saw next, including a statue of hundreds of tons wobbling "like ice cream", and why a smaller tremor later in Oaxaca felt worse to him.

Do you know what these mean?
un simulacro · caí en la cuenta · ha visto mejores días · calientica

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/earthquake

Bonus: Rob says he was standing in an Aztec "tomba" when the big quake struck. Why does Lis stop him? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Does following the news make you a good citizen, or is it just a serious form of entertainment? Rob admits he reads the news at every free moment, and Lis explains what that does to breakfast. She recalls working at Colombia's congress, where every paper arrived daily, and why she gave up reading them. And two votes, one in Colombia and one in Britain, catch each of them by surprise.

Do you know what these mean?
estar al tanto · al cabo del tiempo · estamos en lo cierto · cubren de todo

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/news-habit

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

In England you plan your own birthday party; in Colombia you wake up to mariachis and breakfast in bed. Lis remembers the cassette her mum got ready the night before, and the extra verse of the birthday song not everyone knows. Rob recalls "Happy Birthday" ringing out at his old office almost every afternoon at three, and paying for everyone's mojitos on his birthday in Spain because, he was told, that's "tradition". Was it?

Do you know what these mean?
cumpleañero · te consienten · vaca · te timaron

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/birthdays

Bonus: Rob says that at his old office almost every day "alguien cumplió años". Why does Lis step in? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

What would Lis change if she went back to Glastonbury? Her first answer involves Rob. Rob explains how volunteers get in without a ticket, and Lis reveals the perks that come with the job. Rob's brother has been ten times and always comes home wrecked, so why did Lis look fine? Then there are the famously grim toilets, and how her feelings about them change by the last day.

Do you know what these mean?
hecho polvo · unas por otras · hoja de vida · suéltalo

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/glastonbury-2

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Lis packed light for Glastonbury, sure she'd find a shop in the village. Then she found out where the festival really happens. Rob has never been and doesn't fancy days of camping in the rain, so he wants to hear it all: the two concerts she tried to reach through the crowds, why she felt lost among bands the English grew up with, and the one concert where she finally felt at home.

Do you know what these mean?
no hice mercado · la tarima · me enloquezco · no se queda atrás

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/glastonbury

Bonus: Rob calls Glastonbury "la festival". What does Lis change? Check the transcript.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Why is Valencia Rob's dream city? He and Lis end their Spanish trip there, cycling through a huge park built where a river used to run, then eating paella at a beachfront restaurant Rob had always assumed was just for tourists. And then comes the farewell night: a "guiri" bar at two in the morning, Lis dancing barefoot, and a flight to catch the next day.

Do you know what these mean?
embolatados · se me fue la paloma · nos prendimos · un guayabo tenaz

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/valencia

Bonus: Rob says the visit from Lis's family of nine was "un chaos". Why does Lis stop him? The answer's in the transcript.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

A 20-minute train change in Narbonne, a couple of sandwiches, and suddenly the folder holding both passports, Lis's visa and every ticket has vanished, with the train pulling in. In Barcelona, Lis can finally understand almost everything around her, but a waitress's tone strikes her as brusque. And the flat Rob booked isn't quite what he thought, as they discover once he gets his guitar out.

Do you know what these mean?
como un limón · ¡es tenaz! · perro flauta · aquí entre nos

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/barcelona

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob thought they were popping in for a quick beer the day before a close friend's wedding in Toulouse. Instead he and Lis spent hours gluing tiny stars onto ninety stones. Then, late that night, the bride's car vanished from a dark car park. The next day Rob ended up driving the bride to the ceremony himself, missing a French tradition that every other driver seemed to know about.

Do you know what these mean?
les cogió un poco la tarde · ¿cómo así? · quehaceres · lo pasamos muy rico

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/french-wedding

Bonus: Rob calls the car horn "la pita". What's the word Lis gives him instead? It's in the transcript.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

What do you do when you meet someone new: a handshake, one kiss, two? Rob and Lis compare the awkward greeting dance in England, Colombia and Spain, and Lis explains why her single Colombian kiss keeps leaving people hanging. Rob recalls a friend who misread a friendly Italian waitress. And right at the end, Lis asks Rob a question he quickly finds a reason not to answer.

Do you know what these mean?
me saca de quicio · rascándome el codo · confianzuda · un poco lanzada

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/etiquette

Bonus: Rob wants to say "shake someone's hand" and reaches for "estremecer". What does Lis suggest instead? The answer's on the episode page.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob travelled Colombia with a head full of preconceptions and came back with five surprises, from a coffee country that reaches for instant to the way he split the whole map into two kinds of zone. Lis confesses he has seen corners of her own country that she never has. And her teasing last question gets swiftly pushed to another episode.

Do you know what these mean?
juiciositos · zancudos · lugar que se respete · nos soltamos de una vez

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/colombia-surprises

Bonus: Rob tries to describe the path up to a hummingbird sanctuary in Salento and calls it a "sendal". What word was he after? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

An article claims more than half of Spaniards aged 25 to 29 still live with their parents. Rob and Lis react to a BBC video of a 29-year-old whose mum still does his washing, and Rob has a blunt word for it. Lis admits why she can't laugh too hard. Then Colombia's unwritten rule about couples moving in together leaves Rob asking what her family will make of the two of them.

Do you know what these mean?
volé del nido · mimado · lo que me da la gana · está mal visto

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/living-at-home

Bonus: Rob reaches for the English "gap year" to describe his year before university. What would Lis say instead? The answer's on the episode page.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

As a girl, Lis had a tiny pet chick, and one cosy night together ended in what she says is a classic Colombian childhood story. She explains why, in Colombia, you might share a bus with a pig, and how clucking hens on the roof terrace mortified her teenage sisters whenever a boyfriend phoned. Rob, meanwhile, remembers his aquarium, and the one tropical fish that refused to die.

Do you know what these mean?
se morían de la vergüenza · calientico · terminaron en la olla · qué pecado

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/pets

Bonus: Rob says his parents wouldn't let him have a pet, "ni siquiera cuando era niña". Why does Lis jump in? The answer's in the transcript.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Lis takes us to her family's farm on a steep hillside in Boyacá, Colombia, and it's not the coffee-and-pineapple picture Rob had in mind. Rob confesses what he used to believe about cows and milk, and a question about deforestation puts Lis on the defensive. Then he describes his dream farm, including a pig that would be "more like a pet". Lis immediately thinks of Christmas.

Do you know what these mean?
un cerro · empinado · ordeñar las vacas · moler el café

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/colombian-farm

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Is there such a thing as an addictive personality? Lis admits nobody can leave chocolate in the house with her, while Rob's obsessions come and go, and one game of chess he lost to Lis set something off. When Rob gets up early and finds their housemate in the kitchen with a coffee, still playing, Lis asks if he's said anything. His answer does not go down well.

Do you know what these mean?
me engancha · madrugar · ¿qué me importa a mí? · de ahí nació

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/addiction

Bonus: Rob tells Lis "cada día me intentas a sacar a bailar". What does Lis quietly fix? The answer's on the page.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Is a pasatiempo the same as an afición? Lis thinks not, and her definition sparks a friendly disagreement about whether your job can count as one. Rob owns up to a pattern: chess, card tricks, learning to code, each dropped after a month or two. And Lis remembers a creative passion she shared with her mum and sisters, and what brought it to an end.

Do you know what these mean?
por quemar tiempo · tenía una manía hacia el ajedrez · el tiempo no alcanza para nada · empiezo mucho, termino poco

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👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/hobbies

Bonus: Rob sums himself up with "hago muchas cosas malos". Why does Lis stop him? The answer's on the episode page.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

An empty fridge on a rainy day sends Rob and Lis to Shepherd's Bush market, where a vegetable Lis can't quite name shows them how much the supermarkets have been overcharging. Lis explains why, at a Colombian plaza de mercado, you can compare prices without asking a single question. And Rob admits the kind of market he can't stand, and what he'd expect to bring home from one.

Do you know what these mean?
ir a mercar · te timan · es un rollo · mercado de pulgas

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/markets

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Why would a Colombian ask to borrow "silver", and what are they saving for when they save for the "thin cows"? Rob confesses to the occasional trip to the casino, and Lis explains why those winnings shouldn't stay in your pocket for long. Then she tells the story of DMG, a Colombian scheme that really did double people's money in a few months, and why people protested to defend its founder.

Do you know what these mean?
las vacas flacas · dinero mal habido · derrochar · de algo tan bueno no dan tanto

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/easy-money

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob asks Lis to buy a lemon and she comes home with three limes. Who's right? Lis tries to surprise Rob's parents with a spiky Colombian fruit, and a kitchen debate over milk ends with a YouTube recipe and some very polite praise. Plus the fruit salad Colombians top with cheese, and the queen who didn't know how to eat a banana.

Do you know what these mean?
Qué pena · te quita la sed · en el fondo · fruta picada

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/tropical-fruit

Bonus: Rob says the Queen started eating the banana's "piel". What word does Lis give him instead? The answer's in the transcript.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Colombia is famous for its coffee, yet Lis barely drank it back home, except on exam nights, when she added an unusual extra ingredient to stay awake. Rob remembers visiting the coffee region, surrounded by plantations, and finding out what the locals drink. Then a quiz: which country drinks the most coffee, and which profession? Lis bets on lawyers, and Rob confesses how his New Year's resolution is going.

Do you know what these mean?
un tinto · la zona cafetera · cerrar negocios · es lo máximo

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/coffee

Bonus: Rob says the profession that drinks the most coffee is "cientista". Why does Lis stop him? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Lis gets up at 6am even when she doesn't have to, and Rob can't work out why. They swap sleep habits: Lis's library naps at university, the Google office where Rob spotted hammocks, and the proverb about early risers. Then things get stranger. Rob confesses what he once did as a sleepwalking child, and Lis describes a recurring dream in which she can see herself in bed but cannot move.

Do you know what these mean?
trasnochaba · echar una siesta · madrugadores · sonámbula

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/sleep

Bonus: Rob tries the old proverb as "a quien madruga, Dios les ayuda". What does Lis change? The answer's on the episode page.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Rob admits he knows nothing about fashion, but that doesn't stop him having opinions. Lis explains how a Colombian shop can sell you trainers that aren't what they seem, the word for them, and the saying for when it happens to you. She confesses what her jeans had to be when she was at school. And Rob can't understand why anyone pays about five times more for Calvin Klein boxers that nobody sees.

Do you know what these mean?
chiviados · le metieron gato por liebre · marca blanca · la marquilla

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/fashion

Bonus: in his very first answer Rob says "yo no me viste". Why does Lis jump straight in? The answer's in the transcript.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Lis's weekend trip to Liverpool was cancelled, but she kept it quiet so she could surprise Rob. So why did she end up walking alone around central London at 10pm on a cold Friday night? Then there's the very specific soap she told her boss she'd already bought. Plus a saying about how fast liars get found out, and the word for a salesman who stretches the truth.

Do you know what these mean?
red de mentiras · el bendito jabón · más rápido cae un mentiroso que un cojo · embustero

Missed something? The full transcript, translations and meanings are here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/white-lies

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Lis used to leave work early in Colombia just to catch one telenovela, and Rob had always assumed that show was American until she set him straight. He also reveals the backstage trick that lets some Mexican soaps churn out episodes so fast, and Lis wants to know how he knows. Plus a Colombian expression about fingers and your mouth, and the word Lis uses for celebrities who got there by sheer luck.

Do you know what these mean?
de chiripa · meter los dedos en la boca · el libreto · de la noche a la mañana

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/telenovelas

Bonus: Rob asks Lis "¿Ves mucho a la televisión?" Can you spot the slip? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Rob and Lis only meant to have a nosy look at a Colombian party near home. They were at the door, on their way out, when friends turned up and a bottle of aguardiente appeared. Hours later the salsa had turned to mariachi, Rob can't remember whether he sang, and Lis spent the next day paying for it. Plus Rob's theory on why the English drink so much, and Colombia's "carrot law".

Do you know what these mean?
fisgonear · te prende rápido · amanecí con guayabo · una vez al año no hace daño

Can't catch every word? Read along with the full transcript, translations and meanings:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/aguardiente

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Lis says she's never had surgery, then suddenly remembers she has. She also reveals the one thing she'd change about her face, and the leg-lengthening operation a friend told her about that could make her five centimetres taller, at a cost. Rob explains what puts him off facelifts, just before his stomach interrupts the recording. And they ask why people travel from abroad to Colombia for plastic surgery.

Do you know what these mean?
las cordales · limar · los pómulos · los años corren y no corren solos

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/plastic-surgery

Bonus: With his stomach rumbling, Rob says "tengo mucho hambre". Why does Lis step in? The answer's in the notes.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/cheatsheet

Why would an Englishman spend over a decade obsessed with one language? Lis puts Rob in the hot seat. He recalls the sleepless night that sent him to Valencia instead of Russia, the restaurant where ordering water went wrong in front of his parents, and a chicken soup in a village by the Ecuadorian jungle that held a surprise. Plus: why he might be a better person in Spanish.

Do you know what these mean?
curiosear · re malo · chicanear · ¡Qué oso!

Hear it, then see it. Follow along with the transcript and translations:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/why-spanish

Bonus: Rob says he started to "inmersionar" in Valencia. What does Lis suggest instead? The answer's in the transcript.

👉 spanishobsessed.com/transcripts

Where it all began: in their very first intermediate episode, Rob and Lis introduce themselves. Lis left almost two years at Colombia's Congress behind for London, where her first six months as a tourist were great, until things got complicated. Rob looks back on months in the Amazon, admits to two left feet in his salsa lessons, and reveals the old hobby he says has served him very well.

Do you know what these mean?
¿Qué más? · chévere · dos pies izquierdos · me tienen hechizada

Claim your first free complete transcript here:

👉 spanishobsessed.com/go/meet-rob-lis

Bonus: Rob says he had "una manía hacia el ajedrez". Which little word should he have used instead? The answer's in the notes.