They came from different worlds, almost different generations, but when two groups of advanced Spanish students met recently at Milwaukee’s Riley Elementary School, their ability in a common language kept them in the same universe.

Some of the third-graders from Riley Elementary were a bit intimidated by the older Greendale High students — Santasha Velazquez wasn’t quite up to offering language training to someone twice her size. But language seemed to be a great equalizer.

Aldo Moreno, a third-grader, for example, revealed why he had no problem communicating with Austin Krueger, a Greendale senior.

“I’m speaking in English,” Aldo said.

Krueger shrugged an acknowledgment that he wasn’t the world’s best student of Spanish but added that he was ready to show Aldo some moves on the basketball court once they got into the gym.

And that was fine with Aldo, who considered sports lingo a linguistic common ground.

Elsewhere, there was the usual small talk about the weather and what classes everyone likes best and, of course, what everyone wants to be when they grow up — “neither of us knew,” Mike Worzalla said after broaching that subject with Eliel Rodriguez, his third-grade partner.

Brigette Currie ascertained that Jose Silva liked pizza — “only cheese, though,” broke in Alisa Waletzko.

But others got to the real important stuff.

Boyfriends and girlfriends.

“No,” said Grace Lizardo, she doesn’t have any boyfriends, and her new friend, Christy Hackney from Greendale, said that was OK. She didn’t have one until the fourth grade, and even then, she said, “we kept it a secret from the class.”

Cool, said Grace. But when Jose Silva, considered shy by Currie, heard that, he announced, none to shyly, that he had not one but two girlfriends.

But nobody got too worried. Both are in Mexico.

All this in the first meeting of the two groups, although they have exchanged five pen pal letters, in Spanish, of course, since September.

The bilingual experience was proposed by Maria Dietrich, originally from Spain, who last year was a long-term substitute teacher at Riley, and her daughter, Leni Dietrich, a Spanish teacher at Greendale. Luz Hernandez’ class of third-graders, nearly all of them from Spanish-speaking families, was selected as Riley representatives.

“For my class, it’s a chance to experience some Spanish language and be a role model,” Dietrich said. “It sparks some interest, I hope, in the language. It sparks some interest, I hope, in pursing a career in education.”

It has done that for Michelle Stevenson, who wants “to major in Spanish and be able to speak and write better.”

And Katie Boston said her goal is to teach in a bilingual school.

“It gets me to speak Spanish more, which is important,” Worzalla added. “And I learn with someone who really knows the culture.”

Yeah, like Jose. He’s up to his el grande shoulder pads in this culture stuff.

He’s a Packers fan.



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