Being 55 years old as I write this, I like to believe that, thus far, I have have been privileged with a very interesting life! Originally from Long Island, my parents' divorce led us out to Billings, Montana back in the late "70s (First Cultural Awakening) when I was eleven years old.
Being visually impaired and an albino led to a somewhat isolated and introspective childhood, however all of that would change after I became a Christian at the age of 17. I finished out high school studying Spanish and really unable to get enough of Spanish and the bits and pieces of Latin culture that were intertwined with the class.
Not too long after that, I attended a two-year Bible school in Anchorage, AK (Second Cultural Awakening). After my first exposure to Spanish in high school, I studied advanced Spanish courses at Montana State University - Billings under a professor from Belize who was very meticulous about the details down to the most obscure accent mark. Some of those classes were in central Mexico: six weeks of grammar, literary, and cultural classes. (Third Cultural Awakening).
I mention him also because he brought a deep knowledge of the literal and cultural differences between different Latin American countries as well as Spain; differences in meaning, pronunciation, etc. In the years since, I have traveled to Colombia and Costa Rica, along with having lived in Mexico and I have loved discovering those things for myself.
In Mexico, I served for 6 years in various aspects of ministry with a group of Evangelical churches in the central part of the country. Over those years I lived in very remote areas while also spending time in the larger cities. Because of the nature of my work, I became quite fluent in Spanish. Often, I was the one to take visiting Americans around to the different areas… I remember many long hours of translating and interpreting in many different settings. When other Americans were not around, I was always giving private and group English classes, and so I never got away from being that sought-after bridge between the two languages!
While in Mexico, I married a wonderful lady who did not know a word of English. Our first son was born in León, and a few years later we moved to the States where she learned English and eventually became a US citizen. We have since built a house in the city where she is from and spend time there quite often. Several times our home has been useful in hosting groups visiting the country.
Currently, we reside in Fort Collins, Colorado, where I work remotely as a freelance translator. My wife and I still travel to Mexico a couple of times a year and plan to possibly return to our home there when such becomes possible in the future.
It's hard to sum up 55 years into a few paragraphs, so I will conclude by thanking you for reading this far, and, again, assuring you that I bring not only a well-refined linguistic ability, but also a wide variety of life experience in an equally wide range of cultural and interpersonal contexts to the table here today. I look forward to knowing you and helping you with your project!
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Author review: It has been an absolutely great experience working with Christopher, he was in contact with me all the time, he gave me valuable advice and his work was very professional. He is an accessible person and concerned about doing his job well. Not only do I recommend him, but I hope he will be my English translator from now on. |
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