Best Friends - Profe Almira and Profe Perez

Riverdale Review: How did you two meet?

Profe Juan Pérez: Profe Almira was the first person I saw when I came for my campus visit and my demo lesson. It was 8 am, and I knew no one here, and I walked in through the main entrance and I was looking for a place called Mow. I stopped there and waited for someone to come pick me up. Sure enough, someone came from behind me and was speaking Spanish very quickly, and that person was Profe Almira. She took me to the nurse to get a Covid test, because this was back in the pandemic, and then on the way to the language office, we spoke about everything and anything. The moment I opened the door at the language office, I already knew I wanted to be here because there is a community, and that is what I was looking for.

Profe Milena Almira: I remember that perfectly. From the moment we met, we had an intellectual connection, and I am so happy I met him that day.

RR: What is your favorite thing about the other person?

JP: I have many favorite things about Profe Almira. She is a great listener and a great model of how to think with someone and building off what someone says. However, more on the personal level, days here can be very intense, and I always find refuge with Profe Almira. If I need to rest or decompress, I know I can always go to Profe Almira.

MA: For me, it’s the same and the opposite. Obviously, I love listening to people who are great storytellers, and that is what he is. But also, I need a person who helps me organize my thoughts without discounting my emotions, and he is always there to do that.

RR: What is a pet peeve that your friend does?

JP: Profe Almira has a ton of emails in her inbox, and some are unread or read, but they are all just there unorganized. However, I have learned from Profe Almira that you can be very efficient even if your inbox is like that.

MA: My pet peeve of his is the opposite. He is, at times, too organized, and he doesn’t loosen up. So you know, we help each other with that and try to balance each other out.

RR: Would you still like the other person if they were a worm?

MA: Obviously. We would have so much fun just dragging ourselves through the dirt.

JP: Well of course, why not? I just know for sure that we would go for the same food. And we would be so busy talking that an animal would definitely eat us both.

RR: What’s the best part of your friendship?

JP: The best part of our friendship is that it is timeless. Our friendship is not conditioned by time, if we see each other for only one minute a day or spend the whole day together, we still know we have each other. Also, I believe that we are old souls who have met each other before, and I don’t think our friendship ended then and it won’t end in this time either.

MA: For me, it’s that our friendship never exhausts. Sometimes there’s people who become best friends and they are really close for three months, and then they drift apart, but that’s not us. Our friendship gets better over time, and we are constantly helping and supporting each other. Also, we both love what we do here at Riverdale, so we get to enjoy our jobs together. Our lives, past experiences, and just everything are so interconnected, and that brings us together and is the reason behind why I never tire of our friendship.

RR: Who is most likely to cry reading a book?

JP: It’s definitely Profe Almira. But, I cry while reading books or watching movies sometimes.

MA: I cry all the time while watching movies. I am a Pisces, so I cry all the time. I’ll check the time and if it’s 2pm and I haven’t cried yet, something’s wrong.

RR: What's your favorite thing to do together?

JP: Anything. It’s just that kind of friendship. Even if we are in a meeting and have to do something annoying, as long as we are doing it together, then we’ll make it happen and have fun.

MA: We have this saying called “Diciendo y haciendo.” You don’t talk about going to do something. Once you say it out loud, you do it. And if I get to do it with him even better, because I know I’ll have fun and that we can get better at whatever we are doing together.