On What We Need (Chocolate being one)

 

In our Spanish conversation group last week, the theme was:

You plan to run for the office of president or prime minister of your country.  What are the four pillars of your political platform? All four proposals should be humorous or bordering on being ridiculous.

It’s a mixed group with people from Canada, U.S., U.K. (the English speakers) and Spain and Mexico (the Spanish speakers). The format is one-on-one (or two-on-one depending on who shows up) for the first two breakouts where you speak about the topic in Spanish, then two more breakouts, but in English. The English speakers learn from native Spanish speakers and vice-versa, but it is invariably the Spanish speakers who master a foreign language better and can ad-lib without sputtering.

Now, don’t get the impression that I’m in any way proficient in this language (given the themes). I prepare a few simple sentences in advance (using google translate and easy words I can pronounce), and I struggle but everyone in the group is very patient and laid-back, and the intention is a fun learning space. We laugh a lot; laughter is the same in any language.

In last week’s topic, one person proposed a National Chocolate week when all work would be shut down; there would be street parties and all manner of festivals dedicated to chocolate.  “Dark chocolate?” I asked, hopefully. “All kinds of chocolate,” he said. But still, a week devoted to the appreciation and consumption of chocolate, especially during a grey winter period such as the one we had in January, would be splendid. If there cannot be sunshine, there should be chocolate. I would vote for this person.

My four pillars, and I’m translating the simple Spanish sentences to English for your benefit, because I doubt I have many/any Spanish blog followers:

·       Only women can serve in government, and they must be over 55 years old and speak at least two languages.

·       Everyone in the country will receive a travel allowance each year. They must use this to spend a month in a country where they do not know the language. Upon their return, there will be a test to determine how well they’ve spent their time and their handout i.e. what understanding they’ve returned with.

·       Everyone must read two books each month. They must then talk about these books at a local town hall meeting.

·       Each year those who make more than one hundred thousand dollars (I chose this threshold because it’s much easier to say one hundred thousand in Spanish, although we all know this amount is not by any means ‘rich’), must exchange houses for one month with those who make less. These ‘rich’ folks must go to the same grocery stores as the people whose house they are inhabiting, spending the same amount of money for groceries. (Maybe I was thinking of Gaelen Weston here?).

The conversation of course was not meant to spark political debate, but to encourage listening and speaking in a non-native language. When I reflected later on the four pillars I proposed, I thought maybe what I was trying to say (however unintentionally), was that what our society needed was:

1. Empathy - more women in government making better choices and decisions 2. Understanding - being exposed to new cultures and perspectives to broaden your outlook 3. Knowledge and growth – reading not only brings learning and pleasure but exposes you to the stories of others, increasing your awareness and compassion. 4. Fairness, equity, justice – change will only happen if you walk a mile in another’s shoes.

Too simple and nonsensical one would argue, although given the madness happening in the world, there is nothing nonsensical about wanting a more considerate environment. And also, who’s to say a week’s celebration of chocolate across the country wouldn’t create a more uplifting and joyful mood? Or maybe that’s what Easter is about?