Failing my Spanish 101

By Willie Jose
February 14, 2016



Toronto is a major city in North America where people of different cultures converge; it’s a common thing hearing people speak other languages aside from  English in this big  metropolis.

And when I listen to people speaking Spanish, lots of memories come to my mind, I would always feel a sense of loss.

No doubt, Spanish is one of the world’s major languages; speaking it well is an asset and a good way to help us in touring the world’s scenic destinations with ease and  confidence.

Honestly, many decades ago, I had a chance to learn this beautiful language for free but for some reason, I blew away that opportunity; I could have learned to speak it had it not been for one unfortunate incident that happened to me  sometime in 1967 —I failed my Spanish 101 in college.

Let me tell you my story.

I remember the time when our Professor in Spanish 101 at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) failed me in the course; I didn’t make the grade not because I was a poor student academically.

On that first day of school, our teacher spoke to us mainly in Spanish. Only a few of my classmates could understand her because they had a background in Spanish—they had taken it while they were in their 4^th year in high school.

 Most of us never ever used Spanish while studying in school :we didn’t know a single word in Spanish. So, in the middle of the class session, I raised my hand and simply asked her if she could speak a little English—that was my way of reminding her that we had difficulty understanding her.

Instead of acceding to my request, she angrily told me to get out of the room. At that very moment, I could not do anything but leave the room. I reaction, Juanito Manuel, a classmate of mine, questioned the action taken by our professor, saying “why are doing that to Mr. Jose, he’s right”. Manuel was also asked to leave the classroom.

That was the first and last day, we both attended that Spanish class and at the end of the semester, both of us got an “under probation” mark on our class record. As part of the university’s rule, being given that under probation status could only mean one thing: an automatic kick out from the school if we fail to pass that course again. In short, we had to retake that Spanish 101 during our summer break.

Fearing a backlash on my “ misbehavior”, early on I wanted to either drop the subject or shift to another elective course to avoid a failing mark but doing that was not even an option since the university had given us a definite number of subjects to be taken for the semester.

And being a skolar ng bayan, I knew then that a failure in any subjects would have a big negative impact on my good standing status in the school.

For the entire first semester, I just let it go—but that early on in my life, I knew that to live this life and fight for whatever is right, I would have to take risks if only to prove my point. And I was also aware of how a failing grade in that subject would affect my scholarship.

 As I look back now, I realize that incident could have greatly affected my future too; probably it could have caused me not to graduate—oh what a loss could that  be. Had I not gotten my BA degree at the PLM, I wonder where would I be now.

Do I regret this unfortunate incident in my life? No, because that experience has made me a strong person; I’ve learned to stand by my principle, to take risk in fighting for what’s right. That experience has set my heart on doing the best I could  specially that I’ve been a union organizer, an activist during the 60s and 70s and leader of various groups and organizations.

Through all these experiences, I’ve enjoyed an inner peace of mind, knowing that for as long as what I’ve been doing is not for my own interests, my conscience is clear and I don’t mind what other people might think otherwise .

But being a PLM alumnus, I knew then that come what may, I would survive.

However, frankly speaking, maybe I have some regrets too because had I known that I would find myself migrating to Canada, I could have focused more on learning Spanish and with a little knowledge of this language, who knows I might be literally going places.

In the early 80s, I got a surprise visit from a long-time friend and classmate, Juanito.  He visited me in our simple home in Makati and right off on seeing me, he suggested that we pay a visit to our former professor in Spanish who was then teaching at UP.

I knew that he had been out of the country; Juanito had been involved in the Ananda Marga activities.

So, when we saw each other, my first question I popped out to him was, how he was able to pass through the immigration check point at the airport when in fact President Marcos banned his group from entering the country. He said he had to change his tangerine outfit—the Ananda Marga attire—before coming out of the plane. 

He said that it was the right time to see our Professor to show her what we ‘ve become—me, being a journalist and he, an expert both in writing and speaking Spanish.

These days, Juanito has been conducting seminars and lectures in Caracas, Venezuela .

Oh what a twist of fate, I silently told myself and I tried to dissuade Juanito from pursuing his plan, telling him  “ after all these long years, just forget all these  sad and unfortunate episodes in our life, look at ourselves now on how we’ve become  a success in our chosen fields”.

My friends here’s my favorite Spanish line “ No tengo dinero”