con todo mi amor y respeto

an open letter to my high school Spanish teacher

Señor Brian Long with all of his IB Spanish students

Dear Señor Long,

I hope this letter finds you in the same room I remember you being: the classroom at the corner of an unassuming hallway, just steps from my locker in freshman year. I’ve been meaning to write to you for years now, but time flies, and I’m lazy - you know that. I’m friends with you on Facebook, so I see your quippy captions and silly holiday photos; it makes me miss your sarcastic remarks as I waltzed in late to your class at 7:30am. It’s been a long time since I’ve taken one of your mini-quizzes and not paid attention to your lectures, but the purpose of this letter is to thank you for the enduring and unforgettable impact you’ve had on my life.

You’d be thrilled to know that I consider myself a proficient Spanish speaker on job applications and it’s not even a lie. I can and do speak Spanish at every opportune chance, whether its with a carpentry crew at my house or at restaurants in Argentina. I’ve had the pleasure of traveling through several Spanish speaking countries and have cherished many tender conversations along the way. I’m so grateful for the gift of these conversations, as each one breathes a bit more life into my travels and stories. Sharing art, food, and culture with folks around the world wouldn’t be possible without my knowledge of Spanish. Being able to read, understand, and speak Spanish is one of my proudest achievements, and I owe a vast majority of that to you.

I have so much pride for the times people have told me that my Spanish is “muy bueno” or that my accent resembles a native speaker. I’m sure I’ve said the wrong word multiple times and butchered plenty of conjugations. I have listened intently to street-vendors and artisans explain their goods, only to walk away with phrases to throw into google translate. I have asked folks how to say “wall outlet” and “hammered silver”, and I’ve laughed for hours about “agua sín gas” versus “con gas.” I’ve tried my best to understand a young kid in Mexico City who told me about his dreams to become a singer but also dealt with a drug-ridden household. I’ve had refreshing conversations with a game-designer in Buenos Aires, and now have his game sitting on my coffee table. I cherish all these opportunities to learn about the world, solely enabled by the shared medium of a language. It’s that drive and flair to understand the language and it’s people, coupled with a remarkable foundation of knowledge that makes me the appreciate my four years with you.

Despite my lack of attention and effort back then, I walked away with a deep understanding of the Spanish language, Hispanic culture, shitty dad jokes, and much more. I loved every moment of it. I can’t thank you enough for your attitude, dedication, and passion towards your job. Selfishly, I hope you read this aloud to your favorite class after they all ace their finals or maybe it gets passed around the teacher’s lounge - I think that would be the highest honor for me, more than any extra credit or perfect test score in your class. Let’s be honest, I copied off of Sam for most of those anyways. (She says hi, by the way)

I would give you a full life update, but instead I invite you to join me for a cold beer on a hot sunny day in Austin this summer. I know you’ll be out of a job for a few months after May, so I’d love to catch up and tell you about the last decade of my life while you tell me how many grey hairs you count nowadays. Until then, let's raise our glasses to the memories shared, the lessons learned, and the laughter had - here's to hoping our paths cross again soon!

Con todo mi amor y respeto,

Rish Vasudevan

---

quote unquote

just a few more words to think about

“The older I got, the smarter my teachers became.” – Ally Carter

“Give me a fish, and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish, and I eat for a lifetime.”
– Chinese Proverb.

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela

---

This letter was written over the course of many years actually, as I travelled to many spanish speaking countries and had cherishing experiences along the way. I developed a renewed sense of respect and appreciation for Señor Long and all my high school teachers, who helped me build a foundation of knowledge and understanding of the world. I think we discard our childhood educational experiences sometimes in the light of adult education = real education, but often times its the developmental experiences we had through our teachers, mentors and parents at a young age that allow us the insight of adult age.

If not for anything else, I hope this letter reminded you of your favorite school teacher or professor - maybe even enough to write to them. And in the spirit of learning and growth, I urge you to continue having uncomfortable conversations and speaking languages that you’re not proficient in. As cliche as it sounds: the world is your classroom.