And no, it’s not like Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

Do you remember the days before Netflix and other online streaming services?

Well, I was mindlessly flipping channels on a rainy Saturday afternoon and discovered something. It was a channel that featured world movies in different languages. A movie called Viva Cuba was on. A 16-year-old Simran, who had never heard languages other than Indian ones being spoken, stopped flipping. She paid attention to every mellifluous syllable of the Spanish language, and the subtitles of course, and fell in love with it. Since that day, she wanted to learn to speak the way they did in Viva Cuba, and comprehend the nuances of their musical words. So, I did the obvious, I took to the internet and tried to learn independently. I made flashcards and wrote notes. I listened to the radio and watched the news in Spanish. It was a struggle until I discovered the Institute for Foreign Language and Culture (IFLAC). At this point, I had just finished 12th grade and thought their A1 course would be something fun to do over the summer. Little did I know that this would turn out to be one of the best adventures of my life.

I did my A1 weekday course with Prabha. If you have met her, you’d know that she is a teacher who breathes life into every class she teaches. A movie buff, she is also well-read and can explain grammar with metaphors and similes. On ending my A1, I knew I couldn’t stop there. I continued to A2 all the way to C1 with a fervor I cannot explain. Every teacher I had has been incredibly skilled and made the classes interactive and fun. The more I studied, the more I wanted to know. The Spanish word for pillow is almohada, butterfly ismariposa, and tree is árbol. I craved more vocabulary, more conjunctions, and more español.

One of the highlights of my journey was after completing B2, I was asked if I wanted the opportunity to apply as a teacher. I was pursuing my degree in Journalism and English back then. Not only had I not given a thought to teaching, but teaching Spanish? It filled me with excitement and I wondered how things would turn out if I gave this a try.