The years that preceded my decision to earn a master’s degree were filled with many world experiences, flavors, lessons, nuances. I had been traveling a long journey until that decisive moment. Many years back, I found myself perhaps facing the very first of those critical moments, one that started the long trail leading me here: the decision to relocate to the United States.
I had been a curious child. Still unaware of what really existed outside my community and my country but always attentive to the interesting details and differences in all those movies and music videos. I was fascinated by what I could find out there. I had been a child that relied heavily on imagination and whatever books I could put my hands on to fill in the gaps for those experiences. After finishing college in 2006 and earning my bachelor’s in English and Literature, at the ripe age of 22, I embarked on my own personal journey to a land I had never been to before, following some kind of unavoidable mission I still don’t quite have the right words to explain.
The experience of embracing a new country and a new culture can surely be considered a double-sided adventure. On one side you have the excitement of all that is new, interesting, stimulating and awe inspiring. You have a peculiar perspective that permits your soul to capture a wide range of emotions and impressions. It is exhilarating. Captivating. On the other hand, you have the inevitable price for the courage of choosing the unknown: the challenges, the setbacks, the identity dilemmas and self-confrontations, the growing pains of adaptation, the cold shock of reality.
I had been a child of persistence. Therefore, once I boarded that personal ship, I knew that adjusting the sails was the only option, never turning around, never allowing my ship to sink, no matter what storm must be weathered. I also knew that existing in the distinguishing vacuum between two cultures was not only going to be part of my identity but also my way of living. Those waters are as turbulent as they were bewildering, and my heart was set for a lifetime of mastering that navigation. I had decided to become a linguist, a bridge between what it was and what was going to be, between two languages, cultures, and worlds. I wanted to help people connect, comprehend, and relate to each other.
I decided to invest my first earnings into becoming a legal, medical and community interpreter by attending Boston University and earning a professional certificate. I was then qualified to be a contractor Portuguese/English interpreter. This new nuance on my journey started around 2009, and along the way I experienced an array of professional environments, systems, individuals, stories, lessons. From major hospitals in the city of Boston to court houses throughout the state of Massachusetts, simultaneous interpretation booths for professional conferences at Columbia University, trips accompanying government officials in NYC and Washington DC, school meetings, a long list of medical departments, factory excursions. My language interpreter trajectory was painted with the most contrasted colors, and I learned how to love every single tone and shade.
I built professional relationships, learned how to navigate and be comfortable in many landscapes, acquired appreciation for a long list of other professionals and fields.
In 2019, when we all faced the uncertainty brought by a global pandemic, my journey was affected like many others. Once again, the necessity for adaptations and adjustment of my sails proved to be vital for my future. The possibility of remote work became a reality, and I developed different skills that permitted me to still be the cultural liaison I wanted to be. I diversified language services even more and dedicated a lot of my time to translation projects as much as interpretation opportunities. While facing the changes in routine I also observed the growing role technology had in continuing my journey, I came across new interests, new experiences, and new ideas for the future. I had already flirted with the potential of localization before and overtime, that curiosity inspired me to reinvent a route that would lead me to new places, groups, challenges, and dreams. My first opportunity to test these new waters came with the professional Certificate in Localization offered by the University of Washington. An investment that solidified my decision to continue exploring localization as a new horizon in my professional career.
I had known of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey for many years and kept that idea in a special place within my heart. California had been my first taste of America, and the idea of being connected to it again was no less than a dream. When my partner and I were informed we needed to move to San Diego for his new place of work, after two fantastic years on Oahu, Hawaii, I knew the winds of transformation had a special plan in mind for me. After six months of California living, I found myself facing another major decisive moment: the possibility of finally pursuing localization at an institution I so long esteemed and thought about.
To be admitted and to be now working alongside with so many like minded individuals, on similar cultural journeys, colorful professional and personal ships, has become one of the most impactful of those moments. From here on, adjusting my sails to these vibrant winds, under these beautiful Californian skies will not only be a pleasure but a very transformative part of my journey. I cannot wait for what these waters will bring.
Away we go.