By: Katarina Rendon
Gabe Rosique, to many he is just your typical Spanish teacher, to some he is a little more interesting than you may think, but to few…he is the wanderlust legend of Bush Middle School. This man is not your ordinary citizen, oh no, but a man with a life that seems to be pulled straight from an Indiana Jones movie. Throughout time, Mr. Rosique has been known to embark on extraordinary adventures and return with the most unbelievable tales of his travels, tales so remarkable even the most mature of audiences are left in absolute bewilderment. This is a curation of a few expeditions taken by Mr. Rosique in the year of 2019.
Summer, the more favorable season of the year, especially among small children and young teenagers solely because they do not attend school for around 3 months, but this time summer involved something more unexpected. Beginning to end, Mr. Rosique took many trips all over the world, as many people have, but these trips are most notably special because when someone tells you they went to Thailand, they don’t normally say they were massaged by an elephant. Excursions in Tulum sound fun and exciting, but do you typically associate this with almost being kidnapped? There’s one person who has experienced both of these things. Who you may ask? That person is none other than Mr. Rosique.
I got the chance to interview the one and only Mr. Rosique, I asked him a variety of questions about his 2019 and how it went. To my expectations he informed me about his international stay in Thailand. There he experienced more than just relaxation. “I got massaged by an elephant,” he exclaimed. “They asked for a volunteer [and] I didn’t know what I was volunteering for,” he explained to me, “….I was face down on a mat and the guy says ‘you’re going to get a massage’, I was like wow that’s pretty cool, but no an elephant comes out….and he’s the one that gave me the massage.” He then proceeded to elaborate on how the elephant was hitting him with its trunk. “He (the elephant) could’ve crushed me, but it was pretty cool.” To that I would say what a spa day.
Further into the interview, he had a sort of epiphany moment when I had asked if he did anything else involving action and drama. “Oh, I almost got kidnapped,” he stated with realization, “They (the kidnappers) called me while I was in Mexico, Tulum.” At this point I was shocked that he said that, but he continued. “…this guy calls me and says that he needs 3000 pesos, which I felt insulted by the way I’m worth a lot more than 3000”, he pointed out while laughing. “…I hung up and they called again, now I have to pay 9000, which is better for my ego but still not enough…if I don’t pay him he’s going to kill me,” both Mr. Rosique and I paused for a moment to giggle at how absurd the situation sounded, “…I thought this had to be a prank or something, but no they sent me a picture of me at the airport AND my present location…at that moment in time, I put everything in my bag, deactivated my phone, called a cab, and at 1o’clock in the morning I flew out of Tulum …basically I was running away.” At this point he couldn’t stop laughing, even when I asked him if he would ever go back to which he replied, “No! I would never go back.” Wow, what a way to wrap up a summer vacation. It’s safe to say flying to Tulum won’t be on Mr. Rosique’ s to do list any time soon.
Overall, it was very evident that Mr. Rosique enjoyed his 2019 stating, “There were good times, there were bad times… But that’s life.” He made it clear to me that even though the year had ended, his international fun wouldn’t. For Mr. Rosique, the year of 2020 will not only be filled with more adventure, but more experiences yet to be had. Many people tend to consider the end of the year also ends their fun, but for people like Mr. Rosique… it is only the beginning.