I am currently married to a Brazilian and attend a Portuguese-speaking church. I aid in many of the translation needs of the church (as the pastor does not speak English very well), including making the church's website (in Portuguese), translating belief statements when needed, preaching (in Portuguese) and occaisionally translating from Portuguese to English simultaneously when we have American visitors. My cultural experience has been valuable beyond words, and I hope to someday help others in their own intercultural experiences.

I have been interested in other cultures since childhood and began my language learning by learning my great-grandparents native tongue, which was German. In high school I was speaking it so well that I could talk to my exchange student friends' parents both when they visited and on the phone (and, when I traveled to Germany to study in college, I again used the language in my travels). While still in high school, I started an International Club to help cultural awareness and encourage students to engage and learn about other languages and cultures.

In college I minored in Spanish and taught myself Portuguese. I can honestly say I learned more, however, outside the classroom by engaging in the cultures around me and interacting with my friends (most of whom were from other countries). I learned bits of various different languages and cultures by having friends from all over the world (Korea, Japan, India, Viet Nam, China, Kenya, South Africa, Senegal, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Germany, France, Sweden, Russia, Holland, Romania, Hungary, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, etc.).

In college, I also was active in MuKappa, which was a club that was associated with the Multi-Ethnic Relations Committee and whose goal was primarily to help Third Culture Kids adjust to life in the United States and at our university. I also organized communications and the website for the Africa Central Partnership (which connected missionaries from Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi with people who wanted to be involved/support here in the United States). One summer I acted as an informal interpreter at the General Assembly for the Church of the Nazarene (basically my duties were that of the information center for people who didn't speak English, though we also helped non-English speaking people if they needed us in an area that did not have the formal translations or interacting in the city of Indianapolis).

My last semester in college I studies at the European Nazarene College in Buesingen, Germany, and traveled to Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland and around Germany. I worked at an English immersion camp for German children ages 9-15, and received classroom experience in an intercultural setting.

I then moved back to the United States to get my MAICS (Masters of Arts in Intercultural Studies) at Nazarene Theological Seminary. I worked at the HQ for the Church of the Nazarene doing Word Processing, though I also translated several documents including menus, birth certificates, a marriage certificate, and several Sunday School books. I did not finish my masters because I had a child and chose to stay home with her, but I plan to complete it when she gets a bit older.