With a variety of work and volunteer experiences in administration, teaching, research, and customer service, I have a flair for language and a desire to find the perfect expression. I speak French as a second language and am familiar with both international standard French and Canadian French, particularly as used in the Quebec context. I have lived in France and in Quebec, in addition to the United States and Ontario, so am familiar with the cultural as well as linguistic differences between France and Quebec and the US and English Canada. I have enough knowledge of British culture and literature to be comfortable with British English, although the variety of English I use in my daily life is decidedly North American.

My interest in language has accompanied me throughout my life and I take a great deal of pleasure in learning new expressions and particularities, even in languages I do not speak fluently. I have some knowledge of German, Spanish and Icelandic in addition to my English-French bilingualism. As a person of Icelandic descent, I am particularly interested in improving my Icelandic so that I can translate from Icelandic to English - although that personal project is still in progress!

I have worked as a volunteer translator for social and political movements in Quebec, working on both written translations and translation for events. With impeccable English and an eye for detail, I am often called upon for help translating CVs from French to English, proofreading services, or editing cover letters and academic texts. I can tell you which usages are professional and which are more casual; which phrases will make you sound stuck-up and which words will make it sound like you don't know what you're talking about.

Having contributed to a culinary history blog, I also have experience in food writing and would be interested in working in that domain! I am an avid traveller and have worked in a historic site, a hotel and in a small business dedicated to long-distance hiking trips, so travel and tourism is another area of particular interest for me.