EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

Latinos be like ... If only for the direct translation, ¿MANDE? is COMMAND ME or TELL ME, but that is not the real meaning. In Ecuador, Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, it is customary to respond ¿MANDE? when someone of a higher rank, or one of your parents, calls you. Any other response is considered disrespectful, and though as of recent there are people questioning this old tradition, still it will be years before it disappears. In English MANDE? would be YES?   

"Am I being COY? But, of course. Can you not tell?" COY is one of those words that have more than one meaning, and for some mysterious reason, those meanings may seem disconnected.  The most common meaning associated with this word is Flirtatious. The idea is looking reserved, shy or vulnerable, but in a way that reveals is being done on purpose. Then, the right translation is COQUETA. COY also indicates there is a reluctance to show or accept something. You can be COY about sensitive information such as your age. In this case, COY would be RESERVADO in Spanish.

"And that partner of yours in Ecuador, Noboa, is he AFFLUENT?" AFFLUENT is another way to say rich, wealthy, prosperous. When you say that someone has no problems with money, in other words, he or she is rich and prosperous, we say in Spanish that someone has a POSICION ECONMICA HOLGADA. Of course, it's a long expression and saying AFFLUENT may not be enough. TO BE AFFLUENT is a more precise term to express the same idea in English.

I had to say it: I wrote this short entry AT ONCE                                                                                 In Ecuadorian Spanish, we say DE UNA to indicate that something happened really quickly or that there was not any preliminary routine in an event, it just began. That would be Immediately or AT ONCE.  AT ONCE also means Simultaneously, but that is one meaning that DE UNA does not have. Besides, there is a slight connotation in the use of DE UNA since it is considered vulgar or uneducated, not necessarily the same thing in English.

"Hey, you know that guy Ant-man? I'm his daughter!" To BELITTLE means you are being mean to others by saying they are not important or making them feel that way. The way we say BELITTLE in Spanish is MENOSPRECIAR and just as in English is really a bad thing to do. The difference is though that in Spanish we can not "play" with the word and say that those who BELITTLE are being little, but perhaps we could say that "aquellos que MENOSPRECIAN a los demás en realidad a sí mismos se aprecian aún menos." 

"No customers again! Maybe we should relocate at that Bahía place in Ecuador." THRIFT STORES or CHARITY STORES are places where you can buy used clothes at very convenient prices. Usually, though not always, the purpose of THRIFT STORES is to raise money for charity.   THRIFT STORES are not FLEA MARKETS. The idea of a THRIFT STORE is to sell clothes only, whereas FLEA MARKETS sell all kinds of goods, including clothes, also at low prices. There is not a synonym for THRIFT STORE in Spanish. The closest in meaning is TIENDA DE ROPA USADA, though these are not necessarily meant to raise money for charitable purposes.

  MICHU MICHU? No human, that's not how you call a Gringo cat! Wait. Is that tuna? ¡Ya voy! MICHU MICHU, which is not even real Spanish, is the way people call their cats in Ecuador. It is also the way they call cats in Italy, so perhaps there is a connection. In other Spanish-speaking countries the formula is slightly different, a truth that also applies to English-speaking countries since in the United Kingdom, for instance, they say PUSS-PUSS, but in the United States, they say KITTY-KITTY-KITTY.