I had my second Spanish session today. I am taking lessons from an older Guatemalan Gentleman who I'll call Josue. We had a wonderful time walking around outdoors through various trails. Green space is a rarity in Los Angeles and I always appreciate when I take advantage of what few parks we have. (Perhaps it is the fresh air at the higher elevations and the vistas that overlook the smog enclosed city I am most grateful for).
Josue moved to L.A. from New York City a few months ago to take care of his aging mother who has been diagnosed with cancer. He spoke about his life in NY longingly but quickly added that he was happy to have the freedom to care for his mom. The other alternative was putting her in a home which he said he did not have the heart to do. It is a moving and convicting experience to see an individual completely disrupt their life for the sake of another. Maybe disrupt is the wrong word because I don't think that is how my teacher would look at it. The family unit in Latino culture is something magical. There is such a sense of interdependence on every member. It is not a perfect system, but then neither is the Anglo American idea of independence. I say that tongue and cheek as my husband would be quick to testify that I make manyjudgmentss about the Latino concept of family. While I admire it, I also criticize it. I think it stems from my fear of one day having 20 relatives move in with us and have that be "very normal." Anyway.....
Though this was only my second meeting with Josue I feel like we can talk like old friends. He calls me hermanita yet he is old enough to be my father. Today we talked about many things including--the recent elections in El Salvador, Greek mythology, Richard Clark, his children, animals, marijuana, and how we like our plantains cooked to name a few. Josue has a love for language and loves studying the origin of words. I got a little annoyed when he kept making me look up every word I didn't understand in a dictionary instead of him just telling me. I suppose that is the better way to learn. Our lesson which was supposed to last 90 minutes went on for three hours. We really enjoyed our time and I'm looking forward to next week. Josue tells me I'll be fluent in three months. I'm not so sure of that.
He wrote down this Hindu saying for me and asked that I think about it. Here it is:
I am what my deep driving desire is,
As my desire is, so is my will,
As my will is, so is my deed,
As my deed is, so is my destiny.
Josue moved to L.A. from New York City a few months ago to take care of his aging mother who has been diagnosed with cancer. He spoke about his life in NY longingly but quickly added that he was happy to have the freedom to care for his mom. The other alternative was putting her in a home which he said he did not have the heart to do. It is a moving and convicting experience to see an individual completely disrupt their life for the sake of another. Maybe disrupt is the wrong word because I don't think that is how my teacher would look at it. The family unit in Latino culture is something magical. There is such a sense of interdependence on every member. It is not a perfect system, but then neither is the Anglo American idea of independence. I say that tongue and cheek as my husband would be quick to testify that I make manyjudgmentss about the Latino concept of family. While I admire it, I also criticize it. I think it stems from my fear of one day having 20 relatives move in with us and have that be "very normal." Anyway.....
Though this was only my second meeting with Josue I feel like we can talk like old friends. He calls me hermanita yet he is old enough to be my father. Today we talked about many things including--the recent elections in El Salvador, Greek mythology, Richard Clark, his children, animals, marijuana, and how we like our plantains cooked to name a few. Josue has a love for language and loves studying the origin of words. I got a little annoyed when he kept making me look up every word I didn't understand in a dictionary instead of him just telling me. I suppose that is the better way to learn. Our lesson which was supposed to last 90 minutes went on for three hours. We really enjoyed our time and I'm looking forward to next week. Josue tells me I'll be fluent in three months. I'm not so sure of that.
He wrote down this Hindu saying for me and asked that I think about it. Here it is:
I am what my deep driving desire is,
As my desire is, so is my will,
As my will is, so is my deed,
As my deed is, so is my destiny.
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