[weegee]

I was taught a little Spanish when I went to primary school in Houston. Then when I moved to Louisiana, they taught French in the schools. When I moved to Ohio I had to choose a foreign language in high school (french, spanish, or german), I took spanish and continued when I finished up high school back in Houston.

When I went to college, I selected a language I wanted to study (and did not even need to for engineering degree). I studied Japanese and did well in the course but couldn't fit it in my schedule with all of the "requirements" for my degree (I had to take socio-humanities courses but was not permitted to take courses that would actually teach a skill; thus I could take Art History but not a drawing or painting course; I could take a national history course, but not a foreign language course towards my requirements).

[aruanan]

When I went to college, I selected a language I wanted to study (and did not even need to for engineering degree). I studied Japanese and did well in the course but couldn't fit it in my schedule with all of the "requirements" for my degree (I had to take socio-humanities courses but was not permitted to take courses that would actually teach a skill; thus I could take Art History but not a drawing or painting course; I could take a national history course, but not a foreign language course towards my requirements).

Isn't that ridiculous? I just stayed in school long enough to take all the Spanish I wanted. I ended up with more credits than a Spanish major and got to spend two summers and an interterm in the Dominican Republic and another interterm in Mexico. I also spent two fall semesters with Hispanos Unidos of Park Slope through NYC's Urban Corps and a spring semester in Brooklyn doing my student teaching in a bilingual classroom.