As a native English speaker with 20 years in France, living exclusively with French speakers, I consider myself bilingual, both in speaking and writing. I hold dual citizenship: French and USA. While living in Paris, I completed the expression part of the Cours de Langue et Civilization Française à la Sorbonne. While living in the Normandy area with my French family, near the D-Day beaches, I served as translator on many occasions, and occasionally as an interpreter for commemoration events. I translated a major historical work on the Commune of Troarn about events durning the D-Day landings, for the 50th anniversary in 1994.

I earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley, California, USA. I completed a film making course at Brooks Institute of Photography in 1979. I did film training film making and film editing for several offshore oil company technology supplier, including Oceaneering International and SEDCO. I was trained as a professional oil-field diver in 1973 at the Oceaneering International training school in Los Angles, CA. I worked for ten years in the offshore oil industry, in services and construiction, and I am knowledgeable about tethered, as well as SCUBA diving. I have practical experience in hyperbaric decompression, in mixed-gas diving and underwater fitting, welding and rigging. I worked out of Saudi Arabia (Bahrain, Dubai, UAE, Kaffgie) and the Singapore areas (India, Thailand, Malaya, Indonesia and Borneo).

In the Normandy area, my French partner and I ran a B&B for ten years, for which I did the publicity and website in English and French. I am well versed in the tourist market in the Normandy area, especially the D-Day beaches and affected areas.