...ça m'ouvre le monde et me laisse avoir des conversations sidérantes et inattendues.

Bonjour! Bom Dia! Hi! If you've come to this page, you probably are curious about my background. I was born in Quantico, Virginia, of a native Brazilian mother and an Italian father. Since that time, I have lived in various places around the world and I now make my home in Northern Virginia.

I have studied French language and literature all of my life. I am most proud of my formation in Nineteenth Century French literature, because it brought me in touch with the teacher who inspired me to teach - John Andrew Frey. He will always live on in my heart as my mentor and forever-friend. Through Frey, I met Baudelaire, Rimbaud and, hélas, Victor Hugo!!! I have read almost every novel of the Rougon-Macquart of Zola and I cannot remember how many times I've read all the novels of Flaubert. I have always loved French literature, but 19th century is my definite favorite.

As a doctoral student, I decided to join my heritage to my love of things French, by writing a dissertation on French and Brazilian romanticism. My dissertation is about the Eurocentric depiction of the Indian in Atala, a novel by Chateaubriand and Iracema, a novel by the Brazilian novelist, José de Alencar. It is a comparative literature study that kept me busy for a few years.

Recently, I have returned to the learner mode as I try to improve my use of technology in my teaching. I am a firm believer that technology-enhanced learning opens up a wide variety of learning experiences for students that would not be available to them otherwise. I see technology as the bridge that will make language study possible for all students, regardless of learning styles. My current research area focuses on the sound integration of instructional technology in the foreign language classroom. Students in my courses can count on real-world communication in the target language, thanks, in large measure to modern technology. My work frequently takes me to foreign language conferences across the country.

Away from school, I love to be outdoors. I used to be a marathon runner and a Boot Camp woman, up at sunrise every weekday to start the day with exercise. It is a dream of mine to do 26.2 miles again. An avid sports fan, I love basketball, futebol and American football, all kinds of sports. I have very eclectic tastes in art and music, from Debussy and Bizet to Wyclef Jean and Youssou N'Dour. I adore the poetry of M.C. Solaar. I love orchids.

I love to travel with my family. Paris could easily be my second home, but I also have a real love for Salvador, Bahia. Speaking of Brazil, I am a telenovela fanatic. I subscribe to a service that brings the prime time novela to my home each week, one week after it airs in Brazil.

Ask me to describe myself and I will say I am an optimistic, generally enthusiastic individual. I throw myself 200% into everything I believe is worth doing. I am a serious person, but I don't take anything too seriously. In fact, I really like a good joke - but, enough about me...