About me, in a sea shell

I am content with the simple, joyful, beautiful things in life.

 I love and can’t live without sunshine.
I was lucky to be born and grow up among the trees
and along the coast of tiny Bermuda,
 a beautiful archipelago northeast of the Caribbean.
My family’s roots there go back for generations
(10 through one grandfather and various generations through my other grandparents!).
Most of my family roots are in the Autonomous Region of the Azores,
colonized by Portugal many centuries ago.
We are people who love the salty ocean waters, fish, freshly baked bread and malasadas,
spending time surrounded by trees (my family name means ‘of the forest’),
sun and colourful, buzzing family gatherings.
(Am I scared of the “Bermuda’ Triangle”? Nope.
FYI: Its points are in three distinct places: Miami, Puerto Rico and Bermuda).???????????????????????????????

~ ~ * ~ ~
I started to play the violin in a free program offered at my primary (elementary) school
and still play in different genres in orchestras and ensembles, wherever I go.
In September 2019, I began the cello.
Music is my way of relaxing and meeting amazingly creative people,
(but I have long taken joy in dabbling in the visual arts).

~ ~ * ~ ~
My family moved to Canada with my family at age 11.
I was excited to move, but also knew I would miss my family and friends.
We moved to Canada as one of my grandmothers was born and raised here.
Upon moving, I had no idea that many diverse Indigenous peoples were still living
in the lands known internationally as Canada.
My dad promised that we would get a dog; I had always wanted a dog.

~ ~ * ~ ~
First there was my little rascal Abby, adopted secretly by my parents after she showed up
at my school (and after I begged them to adopt her).
Two years after she left us, we adopted a very energetic Toby,
from my friends who were about to move far away.
About six-weeks before the first lockdown of COVID-19,
I adopted a very loveable senior gal named Mocha from the local SPCA.

~ ~ * ~ ~
This blog will include my thoughts, work and travel experiences through photos, poetry and music.
I began writing it in late April 2013, the day after finishing
the last academic paper for my BA degree,
a glorious, carefree, day when the world was holding the doors wide open…

Whoever you are, wherever you are from and wherever you happen to find yourself now,
I hope we can exchange thoughts, opinions, ideas, tunes, quotes, etc.
I may do some posts the languages I have been so fortunate to learn (and ones I am still learning)
after being raised in a monolingual English home.
¿Vale? Está bem? Allons-y, les amis! Andiamo…
\O/  תודה רבה

I have been tutoring and teaching for 15 years and have been a certified teacher since 2016. If you are interested in my private, pair or group language services (or translation or live interpretation), please read about my services here.
Find my Teachers Pay Teachers page here for music-based language teaching and learning resources for bilingual (Spanish/French-English) classes of all ages.
Find my LinkedIn page here.

27 thoughts on “About me, in a sea shell”

  6. Bon Dia! Ciera. Eu estou aluna de Portuguese. Quero falar mais melhor.
    Vamos as duas a falar juntos. Aahhh. I know I have made a mistake or two!!

    • Bom dia, Susan! Eu também quero falar melhor o português. Eu não falo a lingua no Peru, então eu já esquezo bastante. A gente vai se escrever em português desde agora 🙂 Beijinhos!

  7. Ola Ciera! obrigada. Voce escreve muito bem o Portugues. Estou aprendendo.
    Agora eu vou beber uma copa de cha.
    ta…ate mais. beijinhos.

  8. Bon dia ! Ciera,

    Boas FEstas, Feliz Natal. Espero voce tenhem uma bom ano novo com muito saude.

    Sorry its been a while since I last wrote. I hope you continue to do well and had yourself a very Merry Christmas
    with your Host Family.

    Thinking of you and hope to see you in the near future.

    Lots of Love,

    Susan xox :O)

  9. Muito obrigada, Susan. Eu te desejo um Bom Ano Novo também.
    Eu vou pra as Bermudas o dia 3 de janeiro. A gente se vai ver muito pronto.
    Beijinhos e abraços!

  11. Ciera,

    Thank you so much for your attention to my blog. It is very nice to know that you found something of interest there, and when I arrived here to visit you, I was very glad to see that you have shared of yourself with the world so much already at your age. We need more young people to follow your example and to get involved with the places in the world that need the kinds of assistance that you have given so well. Your blog displays an enviable adventure in Peru, and what appears to be enormous joy and caring everywhere you went. You worked very hard, but you gained so much in return. You are needed everywhere, so no matter where you go, you will be making an important contribution to making the world better.

    I’m going to follow you also, and I hope you will visit again and share your thoughts as you can…..John H.

    • John,
      Thank you very much for taking the time to look at so many posts. I am not as experienced a blogger as you, but I think blogs are an excellent medium to get to connect with others and gain trust in people who would otherwise just be strangers, people we are conditioned to distrust.
      I am fortunate to have had the chance to work alongside some very inspiring and hardworking individuals in Peru. It was rewarding to witness firsthand what Peruvians themselves are doing to improve their own country. It is a fascinating quilt work of a country.
      I look forward to reading more of your posts. Best regards, Ciera.

    • It is great to finally meet you–I have been following your blog for a little while now. Long live our passions for all the wonderful things life has to offer. 🙂

    • Thank you, Luanne. I really do enjoy learning and teaching languages, as they are the keys to new cultures, places and ways of understanding life. I will keep following your amusing posts on your wonderful blog.
      Cheers!

      • I wish I had that talent with languages. Why am I handy with English but not other languages? I’ve never been able to figure that out except it might have to do with having been shamed over my accent in French when I was a kid.

        • I hear far too often your tragic story of being shamed in class for not having a ‘good enough’ accent in foreign language classes (especially French). There is a different attitude/pedagogy among newly trained language teachers, at least in North America. We do our best to embrace everything that they do bring to their learning environment, all their potential; and to spark their interest in cultures. With so many free online resources, the world of language-learning has never been so accessible!

          I have been tutoring a student in French weekly for over a year now; they are 64. They had started French courses a year prior after not having studied French since high school. They dedicate time to French daily. They passed the A2 level exam in the fall (with 93%). Choosing to sit exams (and the marks on them) do not matter; this student’s purpose to learn because they find it fun; to read authentic texts; and to spend time living in a French-speaking region upon retirement…all these DO matter.

          So, if you are good with English, then you are clearly capable of learning other languages. All languages use the same parts of the brain. The magic of learning can and does happen, regardless of age. 😉

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