Loving Spain

I am in a twelve step program. I am learning to love the wild Spanish in me. Perhaps, the Philippines has neglected the Spanish part of herself and that is why I find myself having to finally contend with this 300 years of history. What I remember of Spain from my brief life in the Philippines is what I saw in the movies and television. The rich Filipinos spoke in Spanish. Everyone else spoke Tagalog or Pilipino.

I bump or am slapped by reality here in America when I realize that the whole of South America from Mexico down to Chile speaks Spanish. That is a mind-boggling colonizing effort. It also means that if I spoke Spanish, I could become a tourist in all these places where my cousins live. It expands my horizon. Perhaps, I could become a visiting professor at their universities. That would help me travel more.

In a more practical way, Spanish is spoken so much in California that I feel I should learn the language just to increase the breadth of people with whom I can communicate. Three years of Spanish in high school is not enough however. I can read, but I can not understand by ear or speak.

I'll work on it. I'm currently reading Pablo Neruda.