UPDATE May 2022: I am currently moving from Lisbon to Vienna again and have a surgery coming up, therefore I will only be available sporadically until July! Thank you for your understanding and wishing you all the best on your language and life quests! Looking forward to connecting with all of you again soon <3*******
Hello, dears, my name is Ariel_ and I’m known for somehow always being on the move!
I was born and raised in Austria (most of the time), but my parents both came from different countries. Thanks to this, I grew up multilingual and was kind of predestined to become a language enthusiast!
By now, I speak six and a half languages, all of which I have learned - and taught- in different ways. Therefore I know the various challenges of learning a language first hand!
Growing up with Czech, some Arabic, and German, I added English and Spanish in high school.
Later, during my studies at university, I was lucky enough to go to Brazil for a while, a country I have always been drawn to because of the awesome music! That’s where I started learning Portuguese by ear, just by being in that environment and making friends, whom I taught English or German in exchange!
Sadly I couldn’t take being so far from my loved ones but decided to settle in Portugal, to finish my studies in Philosophy.
Life still took me to Berlin and Vienna for some time after that, to begin a doctorate, but as I had also studied art and been working in that field for a while, I soon had to choose between freelance or academic work: and I took the risk of the more adventurous life on the road as an artist!
The topics I am concerned with the most in my work are mainly questions of social justice: how can we make a good life possible for all people, regardless of their origin, skin color, gender, sexual orientation, etc. and how do we lead “good” lives?
This is also connected to my love for learning and teaching languages: not only do you get smarter in vocabulary and grammar through that, but you also develop your creativity, a wealth of experience, cultural knowledge, and social skills! Everything you need for a free heart and mind.
I’m never bored: when I am not working I like to read, watch movies, “play” Capoeira, try to make music, go climbing and study and practice meditation.
If possible, accompanied by our adventurous cats and my wonderful friends! Without kind people (and animals), everything would only be half as nice and I am happy about every person with whom I can talk and exchange conversations. In this respect, Chatterbug as an additional job is a perfect match for me - many open-minded people from all over the continent, talking, learning, sharing, and laughing with each other. You only learn to speak by speaking and Chatterbug is a great way to tackle this challenging part of mastering a language in a positive and supporting framework!
In this sense, I hope to be able to support many of you on your way and hope to hear from you soon!
Warm wishes
Ariel_
ADDITIONAL NOTE:
I will also be using this thread to reach out to students to whom I promised to look for materials or answer questions I didn’t have a definitive answer too right away