„Professor Stefan Baciu” by Bach Mai Pham Larsen

În partea a treia a dosarului tematic „Ștefan Baciu”, vă propunem un text semnat de Bach Mai Pham Larsen, o studentă vietnameză care a studiat limba spaniolă sub îndrumarea lui Ștefan Baciu la Universitatea din Hawaii. Textul a apărut în revista „MELE Arhipelago. Scrisoare arhipelagică de poezie”, număr aniversar, din decembrie 2018, dedicat centenarului nașterii lui Ștefan Baciu, număr îngrijit de Yoshiro Sakamoto, căruia îi mulțumim pentru acordul de a-l republica pe Literomania. (Literomania)

Bach Mai Pham Larsen

Professor Stefan Baciu

We have many teachers when we are students and young. Most we recall dimly, a face here, a name there, a grade perhaps. But occasionally, once in a very long while, there’s someone who transcends all the others, who connects us to the subject and the world beyond for his enthusiasm, his passion for life and his interest in students. That was Professor Stefan Baciu, my great Spanish teacher in the summer of 1967 at the University of Hawaii.

At the beginning of the class, Professor Baciu was curious about why this Vietnamese student wanted to take Spanish. I told him about my love of learning foreign languages and about other cultures. Through his encouraging and lively way of teaching, I enjoyed the class and learned a great deal that summer.

We had many conversations after class about our backgrounds, his experiences living in many countries, the political situation in Vietnam, Communism, etc… Through these conversations we formed a special bond. I appreciated and was moved by Professor Baciu’s kind and sincere attitude toward me because in traditional Vietnamese education, there was a big distance between teachers and students. We were taught to show respect and deference to our teachers which meant observing a clear distance. But Professor Baciu was a warm, open-minded and understanding human being who made his students feel at ease.Once he asked me to translate a very short poem by a Portuguese or Romanian poet into Vietnamese for his Mele magazine. The poem had been translated into Spanish. I told him of my trepidation in undertaking that task, but with Professor Baciu’s insistence and encouragement I did it and my Vietnamese translation was in the Mele magazine!

After the 1967 summer, I got married and moved overseas with my American husband. Many years later my family moved back to the US mainland. Professor Baciu and I did not keep in touch, but my family always took our summer vacation in Honolulu.

I remember clearly one summer afternoon, my husband and I took a walk on the path that led to the old foreign language department where I had studied Spanish, I recognized a familiar figure wearing sunglasses. That was Professor Baciu! I approached him and introduced myself as his former Vietnamese student. He was very surprised and had no trouble remembering me.

My husband knew immediately who Professor Baciu was because over the years I had spoken often of him and with such respect and admiration.

After a brief and emotional talk, we said goodbye and gave each other a warm aloha embrace. I was very sad when I learned of his passing a few years later.

On Professor Baciu’s centennial birthday, I want to express my admiration and gratitude to my beloved, most wonderful teacher. He made learning Spanish so enjoyable that I continued taking Spanish classes and became an elementary bilingual teacher in Spanish until I retired. Not only did I continue with my Spanish but my two daughters also followed in my footsteps as Spanish bilingual teachers too. All of that from a brief summer’s introduction to a new language from a teacher who cared about learning, life and students. We can never know what legacy we will leave behind as teachers, but I know Professor Baciu would be heartened to think of the three teachers who grew from his tender inspiration.

Professor Baciu and the Spanish class in the summer of 1967 will always remain a joyful memory of my student years in the beautiful land of Hawaii.