I am a North American mix of Manitoba/California something, born in Los Angeles, raised in Winnipeg, and then back in L.A., where I attended university and worked as a newspaper journalist for several years. I have been teaching at the University of Łódź, off and on, for some 15 years, mostly focusing on practical English classes (conversation, writing), which I truly love, and some Jewish cultural studies, with an interest in all things Yiddish. My family background is rooted in Poland and elsewhere in Central/Eastern Europe, which has made my experience in Łódź particularly special and meaningful. I have a certain love for the written word (I still can’t shake that reporter’s itch, always having a notebook and pen ready), and I try to impart some of the knowledge I gained from working with some excellent editors and mentors during my newspaper days. Add a certain street sense from being a reporter, and having lived and worked here and there abroad (U.S. Peace Corps humanitarian aid work in Albania, agricultural work in Israel, teaching in China), I believe I help bring the real world into my classes, helping stimulate learning and discussion, culminating in trying to understand issues that aren’t always so easy to grasp.