My first exposure to foreign languages was during my first two years at the University of Scranton at which time I completed 4 semesters of German. Subsequently, it was required to have knowledge of at least one foreign language in order to receive my MSc degree from Marquette University.  In order to receive my PhD from the University of Alberta, It was required that I have knowledge of at least two foreign languages. In order to fulfill this requirement, I studied scientific Russian for  one trimester at the University of Alberta.

During our two years of living in a German community in Freiburg im Breisgau, where I held a universtiy post doctorate position in Nuclear Physics, both my wife and I furthered our skills in the German language.,

I  always regretted that I had not studied Spanish in high school. At that time, I opted for studying typing instead and have carried that skill to this very day. Hence, I began to study Spanish in 1989 at a local community college in Los Altos, CA. That lead to the expansive Spanish language studies described under ADVENTURES.

After retiring from Lockheed’s research laboratory, we began to travel to Europe. This inspired me to study French.  I enrolled in 2006 in a regular for credit French language class at a local community college and completed a semester.  In 2009, I continued my studies by enrolling in French language classes for adults.  When the school  offered no classes which were more  advanced, our teacher formed a private group of her former students and continued on with weekly studies until early 2014. 

Some of the students that participated in our private weekly French language classes.

Unfortunately, French is the weakest of my language skills. Although I no longer take any foreign language classes, I try to maintain my language skills by reading in all three of these languages.

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