At the Crossroads of Two Cultures
I am a bicultural and bilingual professional, American by birth and Brazilian by heart. I have spent 13 years in Brazil, and 19 in the United States, at different points in my life. I have been working with languages since I started editing my mother’s non-native Portuguese articles and her students’ non-native English dissertations, and became a full-time translator/interpreter in 2000.
In my written work, I strive for the perfect balance between accuracy and flow, and I recognize that a text’s audience is one of the most important factors affecting its transformation from one language into the other. On interpreting assignments, I fully comply with the standards, protocols, and ethical considerations of organizations such as the International Medical Interpreters Association and the American Translators Association.
I attend translation and interpreting conferences on a regular basis, and have completed a Master of Arts in Translation Studies, as well as specialization courses in subtitling, interpreting, and multimedia localization, among others. I have been certified by the ATA in translation from Portuguese into English, through an exam with a 17% pass rate.
From my many roles, I prize different qualities: as a contractor, communication; as a translator, attention to detail; as an interpreter, cultural brokerage; as a human, flexibility and patience. I bring passion and care into every assignment, and I consider perfection to be a worthwhile (if perhaps impossible) goal. I appreciate the variety, randomness, and dynamic energy that my profession bestows, and I am always open to new and challenging projects. Finally, I take everything I do very, very seriously, yet with a smile and a light heart.
I am willing to travel anywhere in the world for work. I currently reside in western Massachusetts with my husband and our two Dalmatians. In my spare time I read, swim, practice yoga, explore new places close and far, cook, and try to keep the weeds away from my garden.
