Over the past 15 years I've been passionate about languages and traveling, and my writing reflects my experiences abroad. I've visited many different countries around the world, including Spain, Brazil, Italy, China, Russia, and Morocco. This has given me the opportunity to improve my fluency in a number of foreign languages. It also lets me explore different parts of the world, meet interesting people, and learn their histories. Once all is said and done, I take these experiences and use them as inspiration for my job as a high-school foreign languages teacher and the books that I write. When I travel abroad, the last thing I want to do is stay cooped up in a hotel room. Instead, I spend my time getting to know the locals, learning the area's history, and finding those hidden culinary gems. Of course, I have favorite destinations that I visit more often, but wherever I end up, I stay for at least a month. This gives me ample time to soak up as much of the surrounding culture as I can. This is partly because of my desire and dedication to further my knowledge of far-off places, whether it's through scholarly journals or-my preference-up-close and personal. There's no better way to learn about the spirit of a place than directly from the source. I love to absorb and understand a country's history, dialects, and nuances. This is my favorite way to learn a new language I write about these countries so I can share the knowledge I've gained abroad, as well as my appreciation for the diverse cultures of our world. I hope that my readers will discover the same passion for travel, adventure, and cultural mingling that enjoy so much My easy-to-understand language-learning books can ignite your interest in far-off places and unlock the language barrier between us and many exciting people and places. Come along with me, as I explore the many hidden corners of the world Best, Erica Stewart