Animo Abi--thoughts for Eric Abidal

El jueves pasado, le sometieron a cirugía de emergencia el defensor francés incansable de Barcelona Eric Abidal para extirpar un tumor de su hígado. Esta noticia fue un shock, como Abidal siempre se ha destacado como quizás el jugador más atlético de lo que muchos consideran el mejor equipo de fútbol de la historia.
Sus compañeros de equipo y los aficionados del club han sido un gran apoyo durante estos momentos difíciles, y la noticia de la sala de recuperación es que Abi esta: "bien, contento y muy animado."
Para mí, esta noticia fue un golpe fuerte. Aunque alguien pueda parecer completamente sano, nunca se sabe lo que yace bajo la superficie. Abidal, a 31 años de edad, y en la mejor forma de su vida, fue diagnosticada con un tumor peligroso como resultado de un examen cotidiano. De mi parte, envío pensamientos positivos a este jugador magnífico, y esperamos verlo de nuevo donde le toca: en el corazón de la defensa blaugrana.

This past Thursday, Barcelona’s tireless French defender Eric Abidal underwent emergency surgery to remove a tumor on his liver. This news came as a shock, as Abidal has always stood out as perhaps the most athletic player on what many consider to be the best football team in history.

His teammates and the supporters of the club have been very supportive through this difficult time, and news has come from the recovery room that Abi is "bien, contento y muy animado."

To me, this news served as a wake-up call. Though someone might seem healthy, we never know what lies under the surface. Abidal, at 31 years old, and in the prime shape of his life, was diagnosed with a threatening tumor as the result of a routine checkup. I send out healing thoughts for this magnificent player, and look forward to seeing him once again where he belongs: in the heart of the Barcelona defense.

Animo Abi!--Thoughts for Eric Abidal

International Day Banquet Address, March 1, 2011

Welcome to Baylor School’s International Day banquet. I’m Elijah Anderson Barrera, and I teach both Spanish and English as Second languages.



As a lifelong student myself, I have always enjoyed traveling and meeting travelers, because I think that there is something extremely valuable in the act of faith that travel demands: in intentionally scrambling our own assumptions about the world, and by extending ourselves to deeply appreciate people who have a different point of view from our own.



When I was younger, I had the good fortune to travel a bit, to see different parts of the world, learn new languages, and meet people who experienced a very different world than I had known growing up in California. I can say without a doubt that the experience of living and traveling abroad has made my life a richer one, and the reason has much to do with the people that I met along the way. As James Baldwin once said after a trip abroad, “I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.”



Tonight, as we celebrate the international at Baylor, we will get to know some of the international students who have traveled so far to study here. We may also learn something new about the local students and faculty who, after having studied foreign languages and cultures, have taken the further step of interacting in the world outside of the gates of this school, to breathe life into Baylor’s most sacred mission: to make a positive difference in the world. I am grateful to these students for traveling beyond their comfort zones tonight to share their experiences with us.



Thanks also to the staff of the dining hall who go out of their way, not just today, but every day, to sustain our bodies, and to every member of the Baylor community who came out tonight to show our appreciation for and value of Baylor’s place in this ever shrinking world. Thanks for being here.

International Day