1. What language(s) do you master? How did you become bilingual?
I wouldn’t say I’m fluent in Japanese, but I do speak quite a bit of it. Growing up in Portland I always was surrounded by Japanese culture and I found a lot of encouragement in my peers, and that interest held all the way through college when I got a minor in it. I’d say it’s pretty strong still but hopefully I will be fluent one day! I also love to dabble in other languages such as Spanish and Russian, and I was taught a bit of ASL as a child. I really love studying languages it’s so hard to stick to one!
2. Tell us a little about your background in other industries before working with Verbio
Before Verbio I worked as a verbal to written transcriber briefly and spent about 2 years working for the Academic Library of Portland State University. I specifically worked in a super cool department called Digital Initiatives, in which we managed the Universities’ digital archives. A lot of my work was digitizing old collections and collecting and managing articles written by PSU affiliates (professors and researchers). It was really important because all the research we collected and maintained is free for the public to read and use in their own research!
3. What attracted you to collaborate with a language services firm?
I’ve always loved languages; it’s been a life passion for me. There are a lot of cultural and language barriers that prevent people from getting what they need or even understanding other people, and it’s a problem in the world I’ve always been interested in. I knew I wanted to end up somewhere I could use my skill set to help people.
4. Tell us something that might surprise us about you.
My dad is from South Africa! He speaks quite a few languages but his first language is Afrikaans. I don’t speak much but I know a few phrases.
5. You spent part of your life in Japan. Give us a taste of that experience. Pick a favorite dish, pastry, history, local language or culture to share.
My favorite place in Japan was definitely Okinawa. I had family there, so that changed a lot, but it was also just such a different culture than any sort of mainland Japan! It’s one of the ‘Blue’ Zones, and within these zones, people have longer average lifespans! One of the things that made it so cool was amalgamations of cultures. One of the most interesting Places is called American Village. It’s not on a base or anything, but it’s just a shopping district mimicking America… there is a Ferris wheel and clock tower and surf shops.
I spent a lot of time in Tokyo and my favorite neighborhoods were Ueno and Chiyoda. The temple inside Ueno Park is really old! Also famous for its rather large use of gold. (Buddhist temple)
Choosing food was a bit challenging! I had the opportunity to spend time in different areas of Japan, and what I learned is that each region really has its own specialty but something that was quite universal, was the way food was presented. If you have ever been to Japan, you might have seen plastic models of food in the windows of restaurants, These are called ‘sampuru’ or ‘sample’ and have been part of the Japanese economy and food culture for nearly one hundred years.
1. Prop food display at a crêpe shop in Harujuku.
2. Bento, celebrating the 1-year-old baby panda at the Ueno, Tokyo, Zoo.
3. Parfait at a specialty character café.
The Prop food display (1) was found at a cute crepe shop in Harujuku, Tokyo on Takeshita street (which is a famous street to see alternative fashion and cosplayers and a lot of young people). Having hyper-realistic plastic display food is very normal for every type of restaurant in Japan. In fact, I heard many customers complain about the lack of display food.
The cute Bento (2) was to celebrate the 1-year-old baby panda at the Ueno, Tokyo, Zoo. Bentos are traditional lunch boxes in Japan. Usually with a basis of rice, meat, and some veggies holding traditional Japanese cuisine. This one was mostly just fried rice, but the picture was super cute!
Parfait (3) is at a specialty character café. In Japan there a quite a few specialty cafes, built for a myriad of hobbies, interests, and niche loves! This Character Café is for Cinnamon, a little white dog who is a San Rio character. It was somewhere in a small mall in Osaka. There are cafes for all kinds of things, such as robot enthusiasts, plant lovers, and even things like owl, bunny, or cat cafes where you can visit real live animals.
Malls in Japan are very unlike America, at least in major cities. Most people don’t drive in Japan so usually, they are located within, or beside a train station. Big cities like Tokyo or Osaka might even have neighborhood malls. A lot of social culture in Japan is similar though, meeting up for a window-shopping expedition is all the same.
6. What would the title of your autobiography be?
“Master of All or Master of None?”
7. What’s the weirdest fact you know?
That Roald Dahl, author of children’s classics like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, was a British spy, and pilot during WW2. If that’s not a reason to write children’s stories I don’t know what is.
8. What is one type of souvenir you always try to collect when you travel?
I haven’t traveled that much but I’m definitely a magnet person! I have Magnets from all around Japan, and the US too. Although I usually give them to my parents. They have my magnets from Okinawa, The Grand Canyon, Tokyo Sky Tree, etc.
9. If money was not limited, what country would you visit next?
I’m visiting London very soon! So after that many of the Netherlands? I think I’d really like Amsterdam. I think if I ever go back to Japan I’d stop by South Korea too.
10. What’s a trip that changed you, and why?
Definitely my trip to Japan. I think there is a big difference between visiting and actually living everyday life. It’s such a different perspective, and it really made me think differently and gain a lot of new skills quickly. It was also very interesting because I had gone without much purpose, and quickly found lots of things.
Left to right: Nara Temple – These are called Torii gates, they are at the entrance of Shinto shrine’s and are also just a general symbol used in Japan. They are used to mark the transition from the everyday world to the scared; Ueno’s Temple in Ueno Tosho-gu; Ryukyu Lantern Festival In Yomitan, Okinawa
11. What advice would you give to your teenage self?
I think my teenage self spent a lot of time worrying about the future. Maybe something like “It’ll all work out”.
12. Who would you invite onto your talk show and why?
I really don’t want to meet my heroes, I don’t really think I could find enough questions for them. A lot of the people I would really have questions for, have passed on. But maybe somewhere between Dolly Parton, Jane Austen, and Catherine the Great.
13. What’s the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you?
While I was vacationing with one of my friend’s family, visiting Bend, Oregon, we had a quick stop at a local grocery store to grab a few last minute things, and as we walked out and not paying much attention to things, I walked up to a van, opened the door and to my surprise I find two small children in car seats. Needles to say, it was the wrong car! I quickly said sorry and shut the door, the parents were howling with laughter (I think I looked fairly innocent). Every time I see my friend’s family since then, they bring it up and have a few more laughs at my expense.
14. Tell us two truths and a lie.
a. I have learned over 8 languages in an academic setting
b. I read an average of two books a week
c. I help a good friend of mine run a charity campaign for St. Jude and raised 300k in a month.
*Lie: A