I knew I wanted to become a teacher in 2001 when I was living in France working as an English assistant at a French high school. More importantly, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher that made learning a language a cultural experience and not a memorization chore. Since 2001, I have been teaching either in a school, home, center, community college or at a university in France, Portugal or the United States. Through all these experiences I have noticed a common thread: all students learn through risk taking and being engaged in what they are learning. It is with these principles in mind; cultural experiences, risk-taking opportunities and opportunity for engagement, that I create my lessons and conduct my classes. Moreover, I love working with students and I love my subject. I continue not only to perfect my Spanish, French and Portuguese, but to learn more languages and continue to gain perspectives into the student language learning experience.