I’ve already described my professional life on the team page, so here I’ll tell you a bit more about my personal life.
I began to study Biological Sciences at university in 1979. However, university and the student life didn’t turn out to be what I expected. Classes were too dry and the type of enquiry and search for knowledge I was hoping for was absent. University was not that different from my boring provincial high-school life!
In 1982, I travelled alone through Spain, France, and Morocco, gaining very transformative experiences that, among other things, made me realize how privileged I was compared to so many less privileged people. I also discovered that I was not made for a 9-to-5 of job and lifestyle.
I was a bit obsessed with finding out how the mind worked, convinced that social change could only take place if we change as individuals. I soon discovered that, at the time, all the interesting books on this subject were in English and I’d studied French at school. So, in 1983, I decided to go the United Kingdom to learn English and solve my existential issues :-).
I landed in London, got an au pair job, and set to the task. In my eyes, London was a Welfare State paradise: easy to find a job, amazing friendly and trusting culture, and hundreds of courses including pottery, meditation, and English for immigrants for the amazing price of 1 pound per year! I did various jobs and began intensive training in personal development, meditation, humanistic psychology, and human potential.
In 1984, I moved to a rural area. For 7 years, I was involved in a community and educational project focused on the use of innovative communication techniques, collaborative leadership, and personal development. This is where I had the opportunity to take my first steps in translation and discovered what a fascinating world it is.
At the age of 30, I returned to Spain with a family and we started our professional career as English teachers and translators in Málaga.
At the age of 40, the excessive stress caused by trying to be a superwoman and juggling work, home, and two children in a quite chaotic way triggered a physical and emotional health crisis. Discovering that my energy was not infinite was a tremendous shock and forced me to get my feet back on the ground. The way out involved learning a lot about how to take better care of myself, be more efficient and productive with my time, and to apply in earnest the anti-stress strategies I already knew.
Between 2004 and 2008, I resumed formal education and studied Traditional Chinese Medicine to give structure to what I had learned through trial and error regarding physical and mental health.
After 50, menopause arrived and with it came another set of ailments :-). This time my previous learning and expertise helped me to more quickly accept the undeniable reality that the body ages and to transform the situation into something useful for me and others.
Now I am entering my 60s, with fewer family responsibilities, wiser, more serene, and eager to share with younger generations what I have learnt in this fascinating journey of translation, teleworking, and the secret of combining work and family life without dying in the attempt :-)
