1. What’s your story? How did you get into all these languages?

"It  was a dark and stormy night,..."  ;-)   Growing up as the only child in  an immigrant family, I had no one to play with; so I turned to books:  foreign language acquisition for children (age 10).  First French, then  German and Spanish: i was hooked!  Growing up near Detroit, Michigan,  foreign sounds enveloped me in bilingual and bi-dialectal family thru my  ethnically-Greek (but US citizens) family.

Starting  w/Spanish in Jr High, I whizzed thru, gaining near-native fluency. Then  French shortly thereafter in an intensive Summer of Québécois French in  Trois Rivières, QC.

Attending  college w/a Merit Scholarship at The University of Michigan in Ann  Arbor MI, I continued w/advanced courses in honors Spanish & French,  all the while adding German, Italian, ancient Greek, and Russian,  graduating cum laude.

Graduate  school led me toWashington, DC: I was accepted at Johns Hopkins  University, School of Advanced International Studies, w/a scholarship in  their Russian program.

I  also focused on Levantine & Quranic Arabic while taking virtually  all foreign language courses available at USDA, adding Portuguese to my  linguistic collection.

During  my grad-school year abroad in Bologna, Italy I not only mastered  Italian to near-native fluency but also continued Levantine Arabic at a  private adult foreign language academy.

With  a Fulbright scholarship to Jordan, I enrolled in intensive Arabic at  the University of Jordan in Amman.  Speaking fluent Levantine Arabic w/o  bothering about grammar w/local Palestinian children in E Jerusalem  (occupied Palestine), realized I had achieved near-native fluency in  Arabic.

After  graduation, I was trained in Amharic at the Foreign Service Institute  before serving for the US Dept of State at US Embassy Addis Ababa,  Ethiopia.  Serving thereafter at US Embassies, Missions, &  Consulates General around the world, from Paris to Rio de Janeiro,  Brasilia and Montevideo, all the way to the United Nations in NY.

In  business school on a scholarship at Thunderbird School of Global  Management in greater Phoenix, AZ, I began speaking Mandarin Chinese.

Finally "on  my own" playing the adult in real life, I continued my solo language  journey, choosing to master Mandarin Chinese in Haikou on Hainan Island,  S China and in Kaohsiung, Taiwan ROC.

Thereafter  i chose Okinawa to learn Japanese.  The race to mastery included Czech  in Prague, Slovenian in Ljubljana, Turkish in both Antalya and Istanbul,  plus both modern Hebrew & Yiddish in Tel Aviv, and finally  Flemish/Dutch in Antwerp, Flanders.

But i'm not done yet!  Even more foreign languages await me.  Stay tuned ;-)

2. Which languages do you wish you could spend more time practicing?

The  need to practice Japanese before it goes on life support remains  critical!  Plus Slovenian, such an intricately-inviting and  aesthetically-pleasing language: (a short sojourn in Slovenian led me to  using it in Croatia during Covid.)

Crucial  I learn even more simplified Chinese characters before they, too, fade  away from my erstwhile, alas no longer, not-so-young mind ;-)

3. What are some languages you’d like to learn in the future?

Having visited NORTH Korea twice, i'm inspired to learn Korean, plus Hindi in Konkani-speaking Goa.

4. So let’s be honest, which language has the most charm for you?

By far Russian w/its living literature, mellifluous sounds, and intricate grammar, esp the instrumental case!

5. What’s the greatest pleasure you get from speaking so many languages?

The ability to speak w/the vast majority of the world's people in their own language.

Quick  vignette: on the famous Rundetaarn ("Round Tower") in Denmark's capital  Copenhagen, I spoke literally every single foreign language I knew,  engaging w/everyone on said tower w/me ;-)

6. Some people say the world is really just going to have a few languages left in a 100 years; do you think this is really true?

Unfortunately, yes, to my great chagrin..

PS  Great read: "Spoken Here" by Canadian author Mark Abley: "Travels Among  Threatened Languages" leads us on a maudlin journey thru the world's  dying languages...  :-(

7. What is your message to young (and not-so-young) people out there interested in studying multiple languages?

In  order to truly MASTER a foreign language to near-native fluency, you  must experience IMMERSION in situ.  Nothing beats learning a foreign  language than LIVING it: the tastes, smells, sights & sounds 24/7 in  an immersive journey encompassing all the senses.

Learn by LIVING Abroad:  #YesOuiCan!