I began studying Spanish in my first year of high school and loved it from the beginning.  For me, conjugating verbs was like playing a game, which no one else seemed ot enjoy.  I took four years and then went on to major in Spanish at Mundelein College in Chicago.  I spent one semester at the University of Madrid in my senior year.  I lived with a family from Cuba.  before returning home, I traveled throughout Spain.  I have the advantage that my sister’s husband is from Spain and his family lives there, and they have always welcomed me.  After graduating from college, I taught high school Spanish in several schools, taking time off when my boys were born.  I took school groups twice to Mexico and have gone back to Spain several times.  I have always felt that going to the country is truly the only way to learn about the culture and history of it and its people.  I also enjoyed taking my children there.  I received my Bilingual and ESL certificates and taught in those fields, also.  I retired from teaching in 2010.  My husband and I first came to Sun City West in 2012, and I immediately joined Club Español.  I found that I still loved teaching Spanish, but to people who really want to learn it.  Teaching has helped me as much as I have helped my students.  It is a way for me to maintain my knowledge of the language that I learned to love so long ago.

I was born in Switzerland and brought up speaking the dialect of Berne. In first grade we learnt to speak and write “good” German and from fifth grade onward we had five French classes per week ending Highschool speaking fluently and writing almost without errors. I originally learnt Spanish when working at the U.N. in New York. After two years of studying the language with a Spanish teacher (from Spain) I passed the language proficiency exam and worked with Spanish documents in addition to English and French. Trips to Mexico, Guatemala and Peru reinforced my knowledge. In 1991, I emigrated to the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) where only Spanish was spoken and spent 18 years on the island of Isabela running a hotel. My Spanish is now a fluent Latin American Spanish with a definite Ecuadorian influence.

I am a retired language teacher.  I spent my working years teaching language to refugees and immigrants and working as a consultant for the Minnesota State Department of Education.  In that capacity, I taught language teaching methods for adults.  I began learning Spanish at age 57, spending time in Mexico living among the people, learning their language and culture and discovering their beautiful villages and cities. I’m excited to bring those experiences to others interested in the Spanish language and culture.  I began my adventure with Club Español as a student in 2010.  I’ve been having fun teaching and working with our club curriculum since 2012.  

My life has been a series of events involving foreign language and international experience.  Having immigrated from Baghdad, Iraq at age 3½, the first foreign language that I learned was English.  My ethnic background and mother tongue are Chaldean–a modern-day dialect of Aramaic, an ancient Semitic language.  I studied Latin in high school and Italian in college.  In my junior year I was invited to spend the summer leading a group of 20 in a community development project in Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico through a national outreach program known as Project Encounter.  It had never been my plan to learn Spanish but I taught myself basic Spanish by following lessons on 10 phonograph records called Listen and Repeat.  By the time I arrived in Mexico I had a working knowledge of Spanish and the ability to communicate.  Three months later I was immersed in my love for all things Spanish and Mexico.

After graduation I lived for 13 months in Italy and the Middle East where I picked up some knowledge of Arabic.  On my return to Detroit, I interviewed in Spanish with the department head of a parochial high school and was hired to teach Spanish I and II but had to obtain a teaching certificate, which I did at Wayne State University, advance placing in Spanish literature classes.  In Spanish linguistics class I wrote and presented a 10-page paper in Spanish on the influence of Arabic in the development of Spanish during the Moorish occupation of Spain and the origin of Spanish words that begin with “al”.

After retirement from my career as a lawyer, I joined the Spanish Club and began teaching in 2014.  My approach is to encourage students to listen to the language and develop the ability to understand and use it while also learning grammar.  I believe that learning a foreign language is the key to appreciating people from other countries, along with their history and culture.  Living in SCW and joining Club Español has led me to making new life-long friends not only in class but through our travels together to Spanish-speaking countries.

Education: 
1967: BA in Economics and Russian with a Secondary Education Endorsement, U of Utah
1990-1991:  Two year course in Translation, Literature, and History , Universidad Católica de Chile, 1990
1992:  MA in Spanish Language and Literature, U of British Columbia

Teaching and Administration Experience:
1981-89: High School Spanish and Mathematics Instructor, Whitehall, Montana
1992-1996:  Adult Basic Education and ESL Coordinator for Northeastern Nevada, Elko, Nevada.  I taught and administered Workplace Literacy, GED and ESL Programs.  Also taught University Spanish.

Between 1989 and now, we have lived over 10 years in Latin America where my husband has worked as a project manager for gold companies.  Countries where we have lived include Chile, Venezuela, Honduras, and Argentina.  While in Latin America, I worked as a translator for America Economía magazine, and translated environmental mining studies for consultants.  I also taught ESL to Hispanics and tutored Spanish part-time for ex-pats.

A family trip to Mexico when I was seven years old began my fascination with Spanish and ultimately led to my becoming a Spanish teacher.  During the 21 years I taught high school Spanish in Normal, Illinois, I served as a Foreign Language and ESL Director and enjoyed the traveling with my students to Spain and Mexico and hosting exchange students in our home.  In 1989, I changed my focus to spend the next 14 years as the district’s Director of Professional Development.  Upon retiring in 2003, I established my “Learning Connections” business and continue to secure contracts for statewide work in educator development.  Since purchasing a second home in SCW in 2009, my husband, Steve, and I spend six months in IL and six in AZ.  Early in 2017, I decided to retire my business when my current contract with MA expires in December.  My very next decision was to reconnect with my love for Spanish – after a 28 year hiatus!  Teaching a Spanish class and attending conversation classes will hopefully let me make new friends, share my love of the language, and improve my skills!

I earned my Master’s Degree in Spanish Language and Literature and taught all levels of high school Spanish.  I became an Educational Consultant for the Holt, Rinehart and Winston Publishing Company where I helped with the publication of three Spanish textbooks.  I traveled extensively throughout the Spanish-speaking world.  I chaperoned 12 tours of Spain with some of my students.  I also led 9 mission trips to Caborca, Mexico (Prescott’s Sister City).  After 33 years of teaching, I retired and moved with my wife, Mildred, to Prescott in 1996.  I taught a Spanish conversation class to senior citizens for 18 years.  In April 2015 Mildred and I moved ot Sun City West and now we live at Grandview Terrace.