ABOUT ME:
Susan Brodar - A multi-lingual* citizen of Europe trying to impart open-mindedness through language learning and travels is the way I see myself.
Born in London and raised in a family where my grandmother spoke Hungarian to my great-grandmother, Croatian to her husband, German to her son (my father) and where my parents spoke Trieste dialect to each other but Italian to me meant I was born with a headstart which I not only appreciated but passed on to my children as the greatest gift I could give them. I grew up in London but moved to Germany aged 15 where I learnt German while finishing my British education at Munich International School. Teaching Italian at evening classes aged only seventeen to substitute my mother during an illness is how I financed my studies in Mass Communications and Journalism at the Ludwig Maximilian Universität in Munich obtaining my M.A. in 1982. Having five years of teaching already on my back led me to pursue this career parallel to interpreting at trade fairs and business meetings as well as translating anything from contracts, manuals, medical papers to my favourite art critiques and art catalogues. A year's work in an office of the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade confirmed my belief that I was not cut for a nine-to-five job day in day out but that I needed the challenge of variety in my job with all its ups and downs. |
Meanwhile, during all my studies I travelled extensively with and without my family, heading off alone in 1980 to visit a friend of my father's in Thailand and visiting the country using his home as base camp. That was the beginning of my globetrotting era joined the year after by my husband to be. We got married in 1983 and travelled around the globe on many backpacking adventures until our son was born in 1997 and our daughter the year after.
Being great sports lovers we engaged them in swimming three months after birth, subsequently skiing, cycling, ballet for her and finally inline roller skating, for which we now travel through Europe in our tiny camper van to take them to their various international competitions and championships.
Paolo (23) and Laura (21) are perfectly bilingual (English/Italian), Laura already speaks good Spanish and German while Paolo gets by in them and is experimenting with Dutch. They are both really confident independent travellers able to solve problems on the go due to their language skills and this should open many a door to their futures: for Laura, who is now able to study in English at university in The Netherlands and not least for Paolo, who is now a professional airline pilot and can apply for a job most anywhere in the world.
British ENGLISH (native)
ITALIAN (native)
GERMAN (C2)
FRENCH (C1)
SPANISH (B1)
Being great sports lovers we engaged them in swimming three months after birth, subsequently skiing, cycling, ballet for her and finally inline roller skating, for which we now travel through Europe in our tiny camper van to take them to their various international competitions and championships.
Paolo (23) and Laura (21) are perfectly bilingual (English/Italian), Laura already speaks good Spanish and German while Paolo gets by in them and is experimenting with Dutch. They are both really confident independent travellers able to solve problems on the go due to their language skills and this should open many a door to their futures: for Laura, who is now able to study in English at university in The Netherlands and not least for Paolo, who is now a professional airline pilot and can apply for a job most anywhere in the world.
British ENGLISH (native)
ITALIAN (native)
GERMAN (C2)
FRENCH (C1)
SPANISH (B1)