Guadalajara, Mexico: Part 7 How Became Passionate About Learning Spanish

So how did I become so passionate about learning Spanish? One of my duties as interim dean of the Department of Intercultural Advancement at Gettysburg College (1991-1992) was recruiting “minority students.’ I would read all kinds of literature on the topic about schools in our consortium. I came across an article on an Afro Dominican Franklin in Marshall (F&M) alum I will call Pilar Perez who looked like any other gorgeous African American women I would see in the church I attended in metro D. C (that's where I met my wife) or on the campus of Howard University, which had some of the best and brightest women during my days in the area. I was so impressed with Pilar’s profile and captured by her beautify that I decided I would try and meet her. The article mentioned that as an undergrad she taught an aerobic class and did a special class for the men’s lacrosse team at F&M. I used my lacrosse network and quickly obtained her contact information. It required a call or two including one to her dad’s medical practice and then paging while he was on call at a hospital (yes it sounds a bit much now that I’m confessing all of this) but I finally got her on the phone. She informed me that she was seeing someone but she would be glad to meet me. She suggested that I come to her regional contest for the Miss America pageant in south central Pennsylvania that she had entered with the hopes of gaining scholarship money to pay for medical school. I said sure then recruited my Dominican professor friend and colleague (who I will call) Enrique and his wife and we went to the contest. You will have to wait until tomorrow for more.