The Destruction of the Mythical "R" and Learning Spanish

The Devil said, "I will be nice this time and actually give you a choice. Most people don't get choices. Your son can either a) develop a debilitating physical disease or b) never, ever, ever be able to pronounce his "r's" correctly..."

So, being the prudent parent's that they are, they asked for a day or two to think this over.

"The Devil's in the details..." They said.

After a few days of brainstorming and reflecting, they couldn't think of anything seriously wrong with a child having difficulty saying his "R's", so they went back to the Devil and said, "We've made our decision."

The Devil responded, "I forgot one thing."

"Oh, we knew it was too good to be true!" They said.

"If you chose the "R" option, you must name him something that begins with 'R'."

"Phew, that doesn't change our decision. We'll take 'R'"

“Bad choices for 500 Alex!” Satan yelled while spinning around.

::Fade in the Jeopardy Daily Double Sound::

"You've hit our 'Daily Double!!" Satan said and disappeared.

Not knowing what the heck that was all about, they took their little bundle of joy named him "Ryan" and went back home. Oh what a little bundle he was too! The crying and the feeding (and other embarrassing things that I'm not going to post on a public site, but you can make them up in your head).

He soon learned how to speak and as his vocabulary grew they learned that the "R" curse really wasn't that bad. Sure, he had to go to speech therapy in elementary school because he couldn't properly say "birthday," or that when people asked his name, he had to almost always correct them, "No, it's not Brian, but R-Y-A-N."

As he grew up, he never really thought about this issue, which is of course, until he took Spanish in 7th grade.

"Are you kidding me? They have a letter with 2 "R's"?!? (Insert “ahhh, the Daily Double” thought bubble) And I have to roll my tongue?!? Good thing I don't really need to learn Spanish." So, he suffered through the Spanish classes of Middle School, High School, and even one in College.

"I just need to get through this, then I can hide my cursed "R" again!"

After his last Spanish class he enjoyed 5 1/2 years of limited "R" usage, that is of course until he moved to Peru!

"The "R" is back and there's no hiding! It's everywhere, in so many words, so many pronunciations! I can't hide any longer!!! I will never learn to speak this stinking language!!!"

Then a thought came into his head, and he plotted and planned. Planned and plotted. As the economic collapse ravaged through South America, he took this opportunity to lead a non-protest, claiming that the "R" was behind the economic collapse.

He then promised that if he were democratically elected, he would abolish "R" from the Spanish language stating:

"This is a very personal issue for me, as there is an "R" in my name, but I'm willing to do what's right for the people, and the economy of this great nation."

The people were split, some liked the sound of their "rr's" rolling off there tongues, but other's were, as George W. Bush once said, "Finding it hard to put FOOD ON THEIR FAMILIES." and were willing to sacrifice their love for the "R."

Thus, in 2009 the "R" and it’s evil twin, the “RR” were abolished. The President of Peru, Yan Thomas took leadership and led this small third world economy out of crisis...and learned Spanish on the side.

Some guy I paid to remove this "R."

A High School Teacher?!?

Waking up today was probably the easiest it's been for me in several weeks, which is strange result after a 2 day bout with a fever. Yet, today was the day that I went back to San Pedro High School, where I was to meet with the Principal.

My friend Javier picked me up and shuttled me for the approxiamently 20 minute drive to the school. Along the way we came to two gates. Think something like a gated community except there's a guard that manually lifts the lever. We went through these gates without rolling down the window or flashing any type of identification, which reminded of the last time this happened and asked the question: what's the point of these gates, if we just drive through? The answer helped me to better understand Peruvian culture: "not everybody gets through without being stopped. If you're a cholo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholo), or if you're a cab, they won't let you in."

I couldn't believe it, despite all the culture here, despite all the diverse backgrounds, Peru is still a very racist culture.

Peruvian Lesson: if you have lighter skin and you look like you know what you're doing, don't stop.

We arrived at the school and after a brief wait, met with the Principal. He was very much you're quintessential Principal: a strong presence, very fatherly-like, level, measured speaker, thoughtful, and analytical.

Our conversation touched on general school topics: how old is the school (8 years I think), how big are the classes (15-22), are there any current American teachers (no), what's the grading system (AD-C), how many students go on to college (all of them!), etc. We also discussed how I could fit into the scheme of things. He positioned teaching an economics seminar modeled after a college type course that would meet once per week and have a 7-10 page paper for a final grade.

This sounded good to my considering my other committments (and my failure to get my head around the Spanish word "llevar"). I have also heard that some of the American teachers have not lasted too long at the high school, not because the academic environment isn't rigorous, because it is and they claim to be the best school in South America, but because the Americans cannot handle the teasing and pestering from the students. Apparently, Peruvian teenage boys will test you until they find your weakness, and then they will just drive you nuts. I'm wondering how many teachers are taking bets on how long I will last...

Love Part 3

A fifth misunderstanding about love is the idea that you can be in love with love. No, you cannot, any more than you can have faith in faith, or hope in hope, or see sight. Love is an act, a force, or an energy, but persons are more than that. What we love with agape can only be a person, the realest thing there is, because a person is the image of God, who is ultimate reality, and God's name is I Am, the name for a person. If anyone says they are in love with love, that love is not agape but a feeling.

If God is not a Trinity, God is not love. For love requires three things: a lover, a beloved, and a relationship between them.

A sixth misunderstanding about love is the idea that "God is love" is unrelated to dogmatic theology, especially to the doctrine of the Trinity. Everyone can agree that "God is love", it seems, but the Trinity is a tangled dogma for an esoteric elite, isn't it? No. If God is not a Trinity, God is not love. For love requires three things: a lover, a beloved, and a relationship between them. If God were only one person, he could be a lover, but not love itself. The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father, and the Spirit is the love proceeding from both, from all eternity. If that were not so, then God would need us, would be incomplete without us, without someone to love. Then his creating us would not be wholly unselfish, but selfish, from his own need.

Love is a flower, and hope is its stem. Salvation is the whole plant. God's grace, God's own life, comes into us by faith, like water through a tree's roots. It rises in us by hope, like sap through the trunk. And it flowers from our branches, fruit for our neighbor's use.

Faith is like an anchor. That's why it must be conservative, even a stick-in-the-mud, like an anchor. Faith must be faithful. Hope is like a compass or a navigator. It gives us direction, and it takes its bearings from the stars. That's why it must be progressive and forward-looking. Love is like the sail, spread to the wind. It is the actual energy of our journey. That's why it must be liberal, open to the Spirit's wind, generous.

Agape is totally defenseless against an objection like Freud's: "But not all men are worthy of love." No, they are not. Love goes beyond worth, beyond justice, beyond reason. Reasons are always given from above downward, and there is nothing above love, for God is love. When he was about six, my son asked me, "Daddy, why do you love me?" I began to give the wrong answers, the answers I thought he was looking for: "You're a great kid. You're good and smart and strong." Then, seeing his disappointment, I decided to be honest: "Aw, I just love you because you're mine." I got a smile of relief and a hug: "Thanks, Daddy." A student once asked me in class, "Why does God love us so much?" I replied that that was the greatest of all mysteries, and she should come back to me in a year to see whether I had solved it. One year later to the day, there she was. She was serious. She really wanted an answer. I had to explain that this one thing, at least, just could not be explained.

Archbishop Chaput on Cavuto

http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playerId=videolandingpage&streamingFormat=FLASH&referralObject=3644867&referralPlaylistId=searchchaput

The Amazing Llevar

Something I learned today: when you don't know the Spanish verb you want to use, try using llevar...I keep hearing this word and thought, "I thought it meant to carry...So I did a little search, Google translate has 42 usages for the word! Just ridiculous!

carry
take
convey
run
take over
take along
bear out
carry off
wash
blow
wear
have on
have
carry on
model
bear
keep
lead
bring
drive
deliver
whip
whisk
whirl
lug
tug
tote
trundle
sport
heave
hump
hunch
cart
ferryboat
truck
transport
enter up
live
live through
live up
spend
encroach on
bring round
bring around
see

Sorry I haven't written in a couple days, I've been super busy, and also pretty sick the last 3 days. I think the combination of heat/sun stroke from the beach on Sunday and a 90 minute workout at the gym probably led to the ongoing fever that I've been fighting for the last couple of days.

A shot from the hip: my dad said, "Let me get this straight. So, you realized you were white, went to the beach, got burnt, also realized you weren't buff, went to the gym, over-did-it, and now you're sick?"

Pretty much.

In case you were wondering, the hair on your legs, despite how hairy they may be, do not protect you from the sun's rays...just thought you should know...

I have a few more pictures to post when I feel better.

Also, I'm meeting with the principal from the largest high school in South Ameica to talk about teaching a Political Economics class starting in a few weeks. Hopefully it goes well! I'll keep you updated!

More on Love

A fourth misunderstanding about love is the confusion between "God is love" and "love is God." The worship of love instead of the worship of God involves two deadly mistakes. First it uses the word God only as another word for love. God is thought of as a force or energy rather than as a person. Second, it divinizes the love we already know instead of showing us a love we don't know. To understand this point, consider that "A is B" does not mean the same as "A equals B." If A = B, then B = A, but if A is B, that does not mean that B is A. "That house is wood" does not mean "wood is that house." "An angel is spirit" does not mean the same as "spirit is an angel." When we say "A is B", we begin with a subject, A, that we assume our hearer already knows, and then we add a new predicate to it. "Mother is sick" means "You know mother well, let me tell you something you don't know about her: she's sick." So "God is love" means "Let me tell you something new about the God you know: he is essential love, made of love, through and through." But "Love is God" means "Let me tell you something about the love you already know, your own human love: that is God. That is the ultimate reality. That is as far as anything can ever go. Seek no further for God." In other words, "God is love" is the profoundest thing we have ever heard. But "love is God" is deadly nonsense.

You cannot be in love with love.

A fifth misunderstanding about love is the idea that you can be in love with love. No, you cannot, any more than you can have faith in faith, or hope in hope, or see sight. Love is an act, a force, or an energy, but persons are more than that. What we love with agape can only be a person, the realest thing there is, because a person is the image of God, who is ultimate reality, and God's name is I Am, the name for a person. If anyone says they are in love with love, that love is not agape but a feeling.