Ben's Spanish

Have you ever been in the Red Iguana and seen some young caucasian fellow address the waiter in Spanish, and then order in Spanish, and then share a moment of small talk in Spanish?

What’s your reaction?

I’ll share with you mine, in the order they occur...

(#1) “Boy, I wish I could do that.”

(#2) “He probably spent his mission in a place like Mexico.” (Which is shorthand sour-grapes for, “He was forced to learn Spanish, otherwise he couldn’t even say ‘adios.‘“)

(#3) “Let’s see if he tries that when his mission is ancient history.”

(#4) And finally, “Boy, I wish I could do that.”

Some-while back I was walking with Ben in the Midvale Cinco de Mayo parade. Of course, Ben was running from one side of the street to the other, shaking hands and kissing babies. I was doing my best trying to keep up with a camera.

Eventually we ran into a recalcitrant bystander. He was an Hispanic man, probably in his fifties, with a sour expression. His arms were crossed, his posture uninviting. None-the-less, Ben approached him with his hand extended. No “Hello,” no greeting of any kind, the man simply said, (and oddly in English,) “Do you speak Spanish?”

Immediately Ben broke into Spanish; fluent and colloquial Spanish. The man’s solid demeanor melted. His grimace turned into a smile.

My reaction? (Refer above, numbers one through four.)

Then I realized, “Hey, Ben only looks like an elder just returned from Mexico. He’s got a wife, three kids, a resume that’s got to put him in his thirties.”

Then off Ben ran to the next baby, and I followed after, the moment passed, and I forgot about it.

Last weekend I was reading a Tribune bio piece on Ben. It was ticking through all the know facts: Viewmont High, works in a music store, plays guitar, meets Julie etc. etc. Then it mentioned the mission in Brazil.

BRAZIL?

Don’t they speak Portuguese in Brazil? The Portuguese that’s about as much like Spanish, as it is like French?

The answer is, “Yes.”

Okay, so how did Ben’s Spanish come about?

This morning I asked him just that question.

The answer is that he elected to learn it on his own, well after his mission, well after college, and when he must have been in his mid to late twenties.

He said, “I just wanted to learn Spanish for the sake of it.”

How do you do that? Well, Ben enrolled in an immersion program. He moved to Costa Rica, lived on a farm, and took Spanish classes during the day.

And based on the changing expression of that man in Midvale, he’s done a pretty good job keeping up with it.

So, if you’re inclined to assume that Ben’s Spanish is the fortunate byproduct of his religious background, or that it comes from any other source than a pure enthusiasm for Hispanic culture and Latino people.... well, guess again.