Through out my youth, learning various kinds of languages has always interested me. I have had the opportunity of taking Spanish and French courses which have allowed me to become a more culturally educated person. Nevertheless, it has not been easy for me to learn these two languages coming from an Asian background. I was a laughing stock because of the way I spoke and read in my middle school beginner’s Spanish class. All I did was to ignore them and pretend I did not hear them even though inside I felt sad. But as I look back today, I think how foolish was I to let some students upset me from my interest in learning Spanish. After the beginners Spanish course, I decided to continue my Spanish language studies throughout my high school years. Hence, my decision to take Spanish in high school brought forth an unforgettable experience that I am about to tell below.

As I walked through two big old rusty purple doors, I could see students rushing in to their third period class as the tardy bell rang. I searched for my advanced Spanish class anxiously walking back and forth through the unfamiliar hallway filled with many classrooms. After walking for about five minutes which felt more like 30 minutes through the hallway, I could feel my heart beating fast. Knowing I was already late to class, I did not have any option but to ask a student who happened to come out of a classroom if he knew where room 105 was. Luckily, he told me it was the classroom to the right side of me, the one with the faded square that you could barely read the number. I thanked him very much and slowly made a turn to my right and grasped the cold hard doorknob. I opened the door and felt the cold air of the classroom brush into my skin as I walked into class to find the whole class filled with students with barely any seats left. As I paced forward to the teacher, thoughts like: what do I tell her? and how should I explain? rushed through my mind. Once I was face to face with her, the words just came out naturally, without even thinking, I told her my reason for being late to class. She responded by smiling and nodding telling me that she understood and that it was ok.

I then handed her my schedule so she could sign it. I took a quick glance around the classroom and I could see a few people looking at me differently, as if I did not belong there. The whole class was made up of Hispanic students making me the only Asian in the class. “Great” I thought to myself. “This is going to be just like middle school. I am going to be the laughing stock again.” As the teacher handed back my schedule, she instructed me to sit in the only seat available, located at the far back. As I slowly, walked towards my seat, row by row I could feel everyone’s eyes focused on me.

Once I sat down, everyone turned their focus away from me and pretended to be doing something else. I happened to hear a conversation between a guy and a girl who were sitting next to each other in the middle rows whispering about me in Spanish:

- The guy said: Yo creo que la china esta en la clase equivocada.

- The girl said: Baja la voz! , que tal que ella te escuche.

- The guy said: Y a mi que me importa?

I boiled with emotion; I could not believe people could be so ruthless. At that moment I wanted to go up to him and tell him off in Spanish. But instead, I calmed down and said to myself that I was a girl who must maintain her manners, just as my parents taught me. Also it would be rude to the teacher if I stood up in the middle of the class to tell the guy off. Instead to get revenge, I decided to give the class a piece of my mind using respectful words, when it was my turn to introduce myself to the class in Spanish. I was tired of people making fun me just because I look or talk differently. In my mind, I thought that taking Spanish in high school would not be as bad as my Spanish class in middle school. On the contrary, it’s my freshman year and here I have a sophomore high school classmate who should be mature enough to know how to behave who apparently needs to be taught some manners.

When it was my turn to introduce myself, I stood up and slowly walked to the front. I began my Spanish introduction with my name, grade level, hobbies, how and why I learned Spanish. As I ended my introduction, I looked over at the guy who had whispered about me and said (speaking as if it was meant towards everyone): I am the type of person who respects everyone. If you respect me, then I will do the same in return. But if anyone has any comments or criticisms about me, I would appreciate it if the person tells it to me personally. It is rude to criticize someone just because he or she does not look like he or she could speak your language. I just hope that we can all get along. Thank You.

After I was done, I walked to my seat as people clapped and commented that I spoke Spanish well without an accent. In addition, they said that I sounded just like a Hispanic person even though I didn’t think so. In the end, the guy knew the last few words of my introduction were directed to him and since he felt embarrassed, he apologized to me after class. Thus, from that day on as I increased the level of Spanish courses, people did not criticize me anymore. I was respected by everyone just like I did in return to them. I felt relieved that I did not have to repeat my middle school experience. I guess that my weariness of being “the laughing stock” in Spanish class was the incentive to speak my mind. It has been an unforgettable experience till this day.