Ben L   

★★★★★

US expat living in Brazil teaching English all over the world

What is your favorite word in your language and why?

My favorite word in English is serendipity. I love it's meaning, which is when something good unexpectedly happens. It can be serendipity to run into a friend that you've been wanting to talk to, or to find the perfect jacket on sale in a store window when you weren't really looking. Also, using or hearing the word always reminds me of how I learned it when I was a child, which was from a children's book by Steven Cosgrove and Robin James about a sea creature named Serendipity. It's a wonderful memory that I love reliving.

What is your favorite dish from your hometown? If you no longer live there is there a good local restaurant that serves it?

My favorite dish from Seattle is pho, which is a Vietnamese beef and noodle soup. Not only is it delicious and big enough to be a whole meal, there are also pho restaurants everywhere in Seattle, and I used to love going to new pho places I hadn't been to before whenever I happened upon them. I had pho for lunch at least a couple of times a week when I lived there. It's one of the things I miss most about Seattle because no, there are no pho restaurants where I live in Brazil.

Besides the languages you teach, do you speak or study any other languages?

Since I live in Brazil and speak Portuguese daily, Portuguese is my strongest foreign language. I learned to speak it after moving here, mainly by talking to people and studying online. I had previously studied Spanish in high school and college, and I improved my Spanish skills significantly while I was backpacking around Latin America.

What are your interests outside of teaching at Strommen?

Music is my passion. I love playing the piano and singing. I also lead a small singing group, for which I arrange the music we sing. I teach music as well, both piano and voice lessons. I love sharing the gift of music with others. I really love cooking, too. Although I love going out to restaurants, I actually cook most of my own meals. I love to eat a variety of foods, and I try to cook something different every day.

What do you consider your hometown? Why do you love it?

I would consider Seattle to be my hometown. I didn't grow up there - I grew up about two hours south of there by car - but when I moved to Seattle to go to college I felt completely at home. I met so many great friends there, and it's such a beautiful city having been built on a series of hills with lakes and Puget Sound in between. I don't think I've every seen a more beautiful city. There are lots of galleries, clothing boutiques, and community theater, as well as a world-class orchestra and ballet company. If I were to return to live in the USA, I'm pretty sure I would choose to live in Seattle again.