Weak heart

My Level 1 Spanish ended last Wednesday and was marked by our final written and oral exams. The last class meeting before that was last Monday and during that time we had the course and faculty evaluation.

During the evaluation, where naturally our professor was asked to leave the room, I found out that some of my classmates actually disliked Señor. And by dislike I mean they wanted him out. In their evaluation sheets they actually recommended to replace the teacher. All the while I was feeling exceptionally lucky that we have a really good professor. Little did I know that my classmates actually hated him.

To make things clearer I have to say that our teacher gets easily irritated or annoyed during recitations especially when you miss out on some basic words. He tends to shout and make a student feel really uncomfortable in front of the entire class. My classmates also say that the teacher is not very considerate and demands so much from his students, given that we’re just in level 1.

I have to say I don’t get intimidated at all. I believe I’ve come across teachers who are far better in humiliating students and Señor is pretty manageable. This is because he is good in what he does. I am not saying that people who know better have the right to frown on other people’s weaknesses. What I’m saying is if a person takes his craft seriously, you can’t blame him to feel upset if he gets disappointing results. And I can’t tell my classmates that this is what happens. I have to say that sometimes they do make really stupid mistakes. I myself get impatient. Plus I like his method. He teaches more than what he gives in the exams. And he never runs out of praises where praise is due. He’s appreciative as much as he’s critical.

Further as adults, I don’t think petty stuff like bad temper or one hot seat moment should get the better of us. So what if you looked stupid in class, your classmates don’t know any better. This kind of attitude is very personalistic and one of the Filipino traits I hate. It’s just a language class, no need to get emotional or vindictive.

My classmate who was most vocal about his dislike for Señor, by the way, copied my entire homework which was some sort of review for the final exams. Hmmm…I wonder why he complains so much.

People are People

Thanks to the four-day workweek and the wonders of technology, I was able to witness a royal wedding in London and a funeral in Vatican. John Paul II’s requiem Mass was held last Friday, April 8 and Prince Charles’s take two at marriage took place last Saturday, April 9.

The beauty and culmination of the papacy of John Paul II was at its best during the funeral mass. The Mass was beautiful and moving despite its being said in Italian and lasting for almost three hours. What the Pope has done in life, he has surpassed in death. What the Catholic Church has been preaching for centuries has never been clearly spoken until the final rites for the Pope, that Christ is for everyone and the fellowship of the Church is universal and need not be defined by belief or faith. St. Peter’s Square was a sight to behold. World leaders sitting side by side: the US’ GW Bush with France’s Chirac, Arab leaders, Catholics, Kofi Annan. The ceremony was witnessed not only by the one billion Catholics around the world but by other faiths as well. It was carried by Al-jazeera and was shown in Pakistan, Chile and South Korea. It was a farewell fit for a man whose greatest achievement is bringing the world together ironically, in his death when he has spent his lifetime tearing down communist walls, advocating freedom from foreign debt, promoting inter-faith dialogues and bridging the north and south divide. The flock has lost its shepherd, the man most seen in flesh more than any other person in history. The line “chosen by God” has never been truer.

Camilla Parker-Bowles is officially a legitimate member of the House of Windsor. Finally. It was nothing compared to Lady Di’s fairy tale wedding in Westminster in 1981. But its charm stems from the fact that this was a union nobody thought would be possible. It is after all, the end of an era. It closes more than 30 years of mad paparazzi chase and fascinating and oftentimes harsh speculation and rumor mills about what probably is the biggest scandal that a Queen, the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, had to face. There was no white carriage or young and charming prince, but it sure is Camilla’s fairy tale come true.