I love how that sounds

My introduction to the German language was rather coincidental, but it was a nice coincidence. My father was an artist who also taught painting classes. One of the students in his night class was Otto Christ, an older gentleman from Austria. My parents, my brother and I occasionally visited Otto and his wife Helen, and they sometimes spoke German with us. I loved how it sounded back then, and it continues to hold its grip on me today.

A bit of German childhood in America

So I chose German as my foreign language at school, and I had four years with a fantastic teacher. Mrs. Baymor didn’t just teach us the language, she introduced us to Germany and the German people, the German culture, the German way of thinking, German literature. We learned about customs and tradition and contemporary culture, and even enjoyed some German treats. We sang German Christmas songs and ate German Christmas cookies, ate Bratwurst and sang at German Day festivities, and listened to German music.

This made a lasting impression on me, and shaped my future. I knew I wanted to study German, which I did in Pennsylvania and in Marburg, Germany.

Germany, here I come

After finishing my studies and a few short stops in Marburg and Kassel, Mainz was my final destination. I worked at different companies in different industries before deciding to become a freelancer in 2000. The years passed and I gained more and more experience, basically soaking up Germany and everything around me.

The time came …

When I started thinking, feeling and dreaming in German, I knew I had finally arrived. This gave me the courage and the confidence to create something new, to go further, to do more than ‘just’ translate. In my work I increasingly felt that I am more than a translator, I am a transcreator. To simply paraphrase transcreation:

Building bridges

That’s exactly what it is. I connect people, countries and cultures. Not because I translate, but because I translate with creativity and intercultural thinking. Adapting the meaning and sensitively communicating the essence of your German content and messages, thoughts and feelings in English.

The fact that I am able to offer these services thanks to my years of continued education and experience fills me with pride and happiness. I love my work, and I want to share that with you.