Add Me to the List!

My name is Keen (or at least, that’s what I go by on the Internet), and I’m thrilled to be a part of this blog, and in such good company, too!

When people ask me where I’m from, I size them up and try to figure out if they want the short version or the long version. The short, evasive version is this: I live in the D.C. area. But the long version is: I was born in Costa Rica to a Costa Rican mother and a father who was as Midwestern as they come. After a few years in the U.S., we moved back to Costa Rica for good when I was eight and I stayed there until I came back to the U.S. for college when I was eighteen. My whole family stayed there, but except for a few months here and there and a two-year stint in the Peace Corps, I’ve lived in the U.S. ever since.

I have twin boys who are three, and I’m making a tremendous effort to raise them to be bilingual, just as my parents did with me. (And at least for now, I’m happy to report, they speak way more Spanish than English!) One of them is quite the little intellectual, he is obsessed with books and can read Spanish fluently. The other was diagnosed with autism last fall and is speech delayed. You can read about it on my personal blog, Keen, if you like.

As for me, I work full time as a translator and interpreter, and I love my job with a passion. I interpret in court and in jail, in hospitals, at conferences and community meetings. I translate letters, autopsy reports, birth certificates, tax returns and court decisions. The variety keeps me on my toes, and I learn something about language--Spanish and English--every day. I feel at home among the people I work with, who have backgrounds just as convoluted as mine, and I also feel lucky to live where I do, in a city with a large Latino population, where I can easily satisfy my cravings for pupusas and salteñas, a diverse city that I hope will make it easier for my boys to remain connected to their heritage.

So for now, un saludo, y hasta la próxima.

Keen