Although my mother is a native speaker from Rio de Janeiro, I was never taught Portuguese as a child; I always felt like I missed out until I realized that having to learn the language from scratch was an asset and afforded me opportunities I likely wouldn't have sought out otherwise. Through my studies at the University of California Los Angeles, private lessons, and time spent living in Brazil, I am now able to teach why the sky is blue, instead of just answering that it’s blue because it’s blue.

I have always taken a special and stereotypical pride in my heritage - stereotypical in that Brazilians love all things Brazilian. And so the gift of being able to teach the language gave me yet another way to participate in my culture and the sharing of my culture. I love what I do. I love what I speak. And I love speaking about it.

Muito prazer!