Like millions of students around the world, our Spanish classes at Instituto Cervantes Manila have moved from brick-and-mortar to virtual in our bid to stop (or at least slow down) the spread of coronavirus in the world.
For the past two weeks, a dozen or so of us have met with our professor, the amiable Benito, via the application Zoom. Unlike our classes before the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Luzon, where we usually started with news or exercises, we have initiated our three-hour online classes with the week that is. Our class is a good mix of professionals who work in different fields (two of whom work at a hospital as a doctor and an administrator) and a couple of retirees, so it is a curious way to see how each one has been impacted by and reacted to the situation.
The oral communication is followed by written exercises. The ever prepared Benito is armed with exercises, instead of handing them to us one by one, he sends them to us either in the chat group (I figured this out on our second session using Zoom! I am so slow!) or in our email (where I received my first set of exercises).
For our first Zoom class, our exercises were about coronavirus – definition of words, completing the sentences, and conjugating verbs (like a medical professional telling you what to do) and some cute images with blanks. My partner and I thought the image for the ribs was x-ray result and the sick emoji in white and the sick emoji in green were the same.
Last Saturday, one classmate spent 40 minutes to dissect Horacio Quiroga’s A La Deriva. A La Deriva a short story that centers on Paulino, a man who was bitten by a yararacusú (a viper) and his journey from the moment he was attacked until he felt his chest froze and every modicum of happiness he felt escaped his heart like a volatile gas. I like the slow build up of events, like how the poison travelled from Paulino’s foot to his heart.
A bear and I discussed this story two days ago, and he said that I would make a terrible medical person. And I agree because the things I know about vipers are the ones I learned from watching action films!
I digress.
We wrapped up the class by answering “Las Preposiciones y América”. I do not like prepositions in English and I abhor preposiciones. They tell me that I suck in two languages. So this exercise was a true pain in the behind (literally, too! We had to sit there for a long time to finish the exercise – mostly answering the questions, not filling in the blanks with prepositions). I am thankful that we finished it and my score was more than decent.
Using Zoom for a three-hour class was not so bad. It was actually refreshing for me. First, I do not normally videoconference for my work. Second, it is great to see my classmates and Benito after being apart for almost a month. It is amazing to see their faces, hear their laughter or the tinge of trepidation and woe in their voices, and listen to their stories. Third, it is grand to experience what may be the general direction of education in the future.
On Saturday, I will see them again. This time, we will discuss Julio Ramón Ribeyro’s El Banquete. It is not as tragic as Paulino’s story, but Don Fernando Pasamano might have wished he had the same fate as Paulino. As we exchange our views on and scrutinize Don Fernado’s action, I will be comfortably sitting in my bedroom, in one of my oldest shirts, wearing my orange slippers with studs.
Zoom is easy to use. I have virtually zero knowledge about new applications and the like. But I was able to download the app, install it, log in, and use it without any problem. I am still adjusting to seeing my classmates and Benito in boxes and sometimes they sound like aliens (my internet connection is not the best in the world), but Zooming is way better than nothing!
Stay safe everyone!