Kent gave the girls an assignment for the third day of the Suzuki Festival, "initiate a conversation with at least one other student." Magdalena quickly responded, "Yesterday I tried that with my stand partner in orchestra, but she only speaks Portuguese, she's from Brazil!" Teresa suggested that Magdalena could start learning Portuguese, but she insisted that her stand partner needs to learn Spanish, since that's what the rest of the continent speaks (except for a few tiny countries on the north coast). Meanwhile, Luisa has been able to talk with her stand partner, since she's from this city and seems as outgoing as Luisa.
This is the way it is here at this international festival. Obviously the official language is Spanish. But there are 25 students who came from Brazil, along with teachers and parents. Magdalena's first private teacher was from Brazil, but speaks Spanish and English. Her second private teacher, who was born in Japan and studied under Suzuki, is a Brazilian resident who speaks Japanese, English and a bit of Spanish. Luisa's private teacher is part of the Colombian contingent, and teaches only in Spanish. It's certainly true here that music transcends cultures and languages!
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