This entry was posted on Friday, March 2nd, 2007 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Lessons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Site Search:
March 2, 2007
I enter the classroom, and setup my laptop. I get a wireless signal, but it’s weak…too weak to use. Pity. I am early, and the only other one in the room is a large man, dressed very casually.
He’s chatting away with another guy on his phone, so I begin to wade through my books. The National book appears rather simple, and reads similarly to a ‘For Dummies’ book.
After reading a few pages explaining how real estate deals with selling rights and ownership of a piece of land and what’s on it (no really?) I hear a voice…
“You new?”
“Yes” I sheepishly grin at the other man.
He smiles “I am almost finished!” he bellows proudly, then explains that he’s done the course daily over the last three weeks, and recommends attending the live sessions over watching the “boring..very boring” videos. I had been planning to do so, and make small talk. He explains how he wants his license, not to get money, though money is always nice, but because he wants to help his people (Samoan) get homes. He shares that he is bilingual, and is impressed that I speak Spanish. He appears to be in his late fifties, and is quite nice, speaking of his children, and genuinely seems to have enjoyed his time at the school. He asks what I plan to do with my license, and I decide that there is no point in lying, so I say that I’m writing a book on Real Estate Investing. Big Mistake.
Soon he room begins to fill, and everyone who comes in is greeted kindly, and often by name by this man. The first few however, get a full description of me, as he exposes me as a Spanish speaking writer. I get some odd looks, and begin to focus on my book, politely saying hola to the other members of the class whom the man loudly identifies as also speaking Spanish.
For the most part everyone seems outwardly kind to one another, perhaps abnormally so. Soon the instructor comes in and asks if anyone is new. I raise my hand low, and am initially ignored, until my Samoan friend loudly identifies me as being new. At least the initial embarrassment seems to be finished…The class begins.
read comments (0)