Bringing you great content one word at a time
My story
In 2006, I studied abroad at the University of Washington in Seattle. They waived my tuition and in exchange, I was to teach French to freshmen one hour a day. How hard can it be? I thought. Turns out, the answer was “pretty damn hard”, especially when you’re barely older than your students and with no experience to boot. Looking back, I’m sure I was a mediocre teacher, but nothing beats on-the-job training and with each new class, I got better. This one year abroad turned into an 8-year stretch. I finished graduate school, kept teaching French and as one of a handful of French native speakers, worked a variety of gigs on campus as well as for major companies based in Seattle.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find a job that could sponsor my work visa. I headed back to France and for a few years, I felt like an expat in my own country. I landed a part-time job, leaving me time to think about the next step in my career. Language and writing had always been my passion. I was not getting any younger and if my years of teaching taught me anything, it was that if I really wanted to become good at something, I had to: a) accept that I might suck at it for a while and b) start now.
So I took the leap and became a freelance translator. Over the course of a year, I learned a lot, became a top-rated seller and was exposed to my fair share of poor writing. Whenever I could, I offered suggestions to my clients to improve their copy. In response, some of them asked me to handle their copywriting. It felt good to be validated and I’m sure I’ll offer this service in the future but for now, I prefer to make time for my own writing. That’s why I’m starting a blog about language and culture. Feel free to contact me if you need something translated in French or in English. Otherwise, I hope you’ll read my blog every once in a while and find something you like!
My favorite things
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Thai food
If you had to spend the rest of your life eating only one type of cuisine, which one would you pick? For me, it’s Thai food. Thai food is hard to beat when it comes to the variety of dishes and the richness of their ingredients. My all time favorite? Pad Kee Mao, check it out!
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Soccer
I never spent too much time watching soccer but I played as an amateur in the US. Maybe 20 hours a week or so. I don’t really meditate so playing soccer is about as close as I can get to living in the moment. Now that I’m back in France, I don’t play nearly as much and I miss it.
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Reading
I’m also a big film buff but since I became a full time freelancer, I’ve made a conscious effort to read at least 2 hours a day. I tend to prefer fiction but I try to mix it up. Some of my favorite authors: George Pelecanos, Stephen King, Don Winslow, Dennis Lehane, to name a few.
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Surfing
I first surfed in El Salvador a few years ago and fell in love with it. I grew up as a city boy so I’m not very outdoorsy. However, there’s something magic about catching a nice wave. Unfortunately, there aren’t too many good surf spots near Paris so I’m thinking of relocating closer to the ocean.
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Watches
In my early 30s, I went from being a sneakerhead to being a watch enthusiast. I own about a dozen watches, I’m not sure this even qualifies as a collection. I’m kind of old-fashioned, if I leave the house without a watch on, I feel naked. My go to watch? Probably a G-shock for everyday wear.
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NBA Basketball
I briefly worked as an interpreter for French players who played for the Seattle Supersonics in the 06-07 season. Back then, I did not know the first thing about basketball but I caught the bug. I don’t have time to watch games but I like reading pretty much anything about the game and its history.