I just got back into town from a whirlwind four-day speaking
gig in Guadalajara. I don’t know what I was thinking, but everybody speaks
Spanish down there. With great humility I held my own during the conference
thanks to the translator that instantly translated my messages from English to
Spanish, and then backwards when others were speaking to me. But, during the
afternoon workshop, when an instructor asked us to turn and talk to the person
next to us, I found myself looking into the eyes of a young woman from
Venezuela who spoke only Spanish with no interpreter at either of our sides.
Like an elephant in the room, years of my attempts to become
fluent in Spanish and the repeated anxiety it caused me in all previous
situations I had been given to flex my second language’s linguistic muscles
arose. But, hearts do speak. And as I looked into Shirley’s eyes and studied
the features of her face I could not help but feel her heart reaching out in an
attempt to connect with me. The desire in me to not disappoint her had me
searching reams of Spanish curriculum tucked away in the recesses of my mind,
without anxiety, for the words and phrases that could cross this divide. In
finding even the most basic of words to begin conversation, I discovered her
passion was teaching the children of Venezuela spiritual principle so they
could go confidently through life.
By the time the process had come to a close, I couldn’t ever
remember having so much fun attempting to speak Spanish. I wasn’t too
self-conscious because that silliness was overwritten by the joy I found in
attempting to find words to convey my thoughts and feelings. I don’t know
how silly I may have sounded to Shirley but she was most gracious as her eyes
twinkled in an attempt to understand what I was saying. I may never see Shirley
again but I will always remember the heart’s desire to understand transcends
all- even a language barrier.
