I have worked as a sign language interpreter for more than 30 years and now specialize in legal interpreting.

My interest in culture goes way back. I've always found myself gravitating to a voice with a foreign accent to gain some perspective on my world by looking at it through other eyes.

I began learning ASL at CSUN when I was an actress in Los Angeles, after I saw a theater production with expressive Deaf actors. I quickly fell in love with the visual language and noticed what seemed like alternate ways that Deaf people approached things.

It was not until I discovered the field of Intercultural Communication in graduate school that everything clicked. I realized that a cultural perspective could explain so much about the interactions I witnessed and later interpreted for between Deaf and hearing people.

After immersing myself in the study of culture and writing about it as it applied to interpreters, I broadened my explorations to include food. I write for newspapers, magazines and websites about the intersection of food and culture.

My goal is the same: to understand myself as a cultural being in the world and help others to gain this perspective.

My blog East Bay Ethnic Eats
A website I share with Thomas K. Holcomb Deaf Culture THAT