Who am I as a coach? (Or... a little about my background)
I love walking.... just putting one foot in front of the other often takes me just a bit further and I suddenly find myself in a beautiful place.
I love swimming. Metaphors tend to "swim" in to my mind easily... very often they have to do with water or walking.
I love learning… I never want to stop. I find that I learn new things from every new person that I meet, and every country I visit.
I love traveling. I am not sure I will ever be fully cured of the need to know new people and places. There is probably a good reason that I have never bought a house and have called 33 different places "home" in my life.
I love walking.... just putting one foot in front of the other often takes me just a bit further and I suddenly find myself in a beautiful place.
I love swimming. Metaphors tend to "swim" in to my mind easily... very often they have to do with water or walking.
I love learning… I never want to stop. I find that I learn new things from every new person that I meet, and every country I visit.
I love traveling. I am not sure I will ever be fully cured of the need to know new people and places. There is probably a good reason that I have never bought a house and have called 33 different places "home" in my life.
When I graduated with a B.A. in psychology in 1971, I knew one thing: I was tired of “studying” and wanted to travel. I couldn’t afford the kind of travel I had in mind so I set a goal to land a job with an airline so I could fly for free. It took me six months but finally I did it! For 12 years I worked in different aspects of airline customer service and loved it! I travelled every chance I got and to wherever I had a free ticket. Apart from the chance to travel, I loved the work because it was all very new to me and I was always learning something. Most of all I loved the job because I loved talking to so many different people every day. (Trying gelato around the world wasn't bad either!)
Languages were the reason for my next move. In March, 1987 I went to Madrid to study Spanish for six months and take a break from “work” for a while before jumping into graduate study—my next goal (I wanted to be a primary school teacher). As I neared the end of my planned hiatus, I went to visit a friend in Barcelona and… To make a long story short, I didn’t leave until 2001. In those 14 years I became fluent in Spanish and Catalan, became an English teacher and teacher educator, and earned a master’s degree in teaching foreign languages. I discovered a passion for teaching and interacting with students. I still love it today!
As luck would have it, two days before I left Barcelona for Florida to begin my Ph.D. studies, I met, at the ripe old age of 48, the love of my life. He was on his way back to Italy, and I was on my way back to the USA. All I can say is thank goodness for eMail!
Languages were the reason for my next move. In March, 1987 I went to Madrid to study Spanish for six months and take a break from “work” for a while before jumping into graduate study—my next goal (I wanted to be a primary school teacher). As I neared the end of my planned hiatus, I went to visit a friend in Barcelona and… To make a long story short, I didn’t leave until 2001. In those 14 years I became fluent in Spanish and Catalan, became an English teacher and teacher educator, and earned a master’s degree in teaching foreign languages. I discovered a passion for teaching and interacting with students. I still love it today!
As luck would have it, two days before I left Barcelona for Florida to begin my Ph.D. studies, I met, at the ripe old age of 48, the love of my life. He was on his way back to Italy, and I was on my way back to the USA. All I can say is thank goodness for eMail!
I had every intention of returning to Barcelona after four years doing coursework for my Ph.D., but different life paths often appear when you least expect them to. I met the man who was to become my husband, fell in love and commenced a four year bi-continental life. In 2005, I moved to Florence, Italy (my husband’s hometown) to write my dissertation amid sunflowers and olive trees (literally!), inspired daily by Filippo Brunelleschi amazing Duomo.
Walking in Tuscany.
March 2013
Now as I write these lines my husband and I are back in Florida, Miami this time, until we decide on our next destination. Where (and if) we will “settle” is still an open question. And this is one of the reasons I decided to work full time as a coach—I love doing work that I can carry around in my purse… all I need is my phone and a computer and I can work from anywhere!
Over the years in the USA, Spain, and Italy, I have worked and learned with people who are going somewhere… physically by air, or metaphorically as they start or develop their professional self. In English, Spanish and Italian, the favorite part of my job has always been, and is, helping people pursue and achieve professional and life goals.
Travel never gets old…neither does walking or learning from people. Travel never gets old.... neither does walking new paths even in well-known places, or learning from other people and life itself.
I am excited wondering what I will learn from you!
· Man's real home is not a house, but the Road, and ... life itself is a journey to be walked on foot.” ― Bruce Chatwin, What Am I Doing Here?
· If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress. ― Barack Obama
Over the years in the USA, Spain, and Italy, I have worked and learned with people who are going somewhere… physically by air, or metaphorically as they start or develop their professional self. In English, Spanish and Italian, the favorite part of my job has always been, and is, helping people pursue and achieve professional and life goals.
Travel never gets old…neither does walking or learning from people. Travel never gets old.... neither does walking new paths even in well-known places, or learning from other people and life itself.
I am excited wondering what I will learn from you!
· Man's real home is not a house, but the Road, and ... life itself is a journey to be walked on foot.” ― Bruce Chatwin, What Am I Doing Here?
· If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress. ― Barack Obama