Meet Our Foreign Language Teachers

Most of them are only here for a few hours a day. However, these amazing language teachers here at Northwest Academy have just as much to offer in their everyday lives as they do in the realm of teaching. From working in a fashion magazine to walking through a riot in Mexico to making goat cheese, these guys have done it all. Here’s a little bit about them…

 

Linda Morris

Introductory French, Year 1

 

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

5 years

 

Place of birth:

I grew up on the prairies of Saskatchewan, in Canada.

 

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

The integration of the arts with a core academic program at Northwest Academy is unique to me. The organization of the language classes (all levels running at the same time) is also unique in my experience.

 

Favorite hobbies:

My grandchildren! I also like making online scrapbooks, playing MahJong, knitting, sewing, gardening and traveling.

 

Favorite movies:

A memorable movie was the Swedish production of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo based on the book by Stieg Larsson. It was dark and violent – two traits I usually reject – but the female character was very strong and compelling. I have also been to Sweden, so I understood the various locations.

 

Favorite books:

I prefer series in French or English. I read all the Harry Potter books in French and loved them. I am currently reading the series by Kate Mosse set in France. I just finished Carcassonne and am now reading Sepulchure. I also prefer to read on a Kindle.

 

Favorite bands:

David (Schonfeld) told me I should say Lawrence Welk! However, his band is a bit dated even for me! I really like the local group Pink Martini. Generally, I prefer individual singers like k.d. Lang, Storm Large, Leonard Cohen and Neil Diamond. Of course… you can’t beat the music of the ’60s when we used to rock around the clock!

 

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?

I have traveled extensively and each place is interesting for different reasons. The scenery in Norway was spectacular, for instance. However, the most interesting place I have visited is India, specifically the Taj Mahal. It was a translucent white marble structure with pure, clean lines that seemed to float in a serene oasis among the chaos, the color and the vibrant life force that surrounded it. It is actually a mausoleum, built by an Emperor for his wife who died while giving birth to their 14th child. That trip was truly a once in a lifetime experience for me and I have several interesting travel stories from it.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I knew that I would be a French teacher from the day of my first French class. That is how I answered the question in my high school yearbook. Language is a code I understand.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

How to work the remote on the TV!

What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

There are scary things we do and scary things that happen to us and we have to deal with them. This is in the latter category. My wallet, passport, camera, money and all my ID were stolen on a train between Milan and Genoa, Italy one summer. This was before cell phones or I would have lost that also! First, I had to cancel cards and get a new ones. Then I had to take the train back to Milan with a lot of cash (thanks to my husband), find the American Consulate there and figure out how to get seen by someone quickly so I could take the train back the same day. I have no sense of direction, which complicated things. I did manage it, but had several near disasters en route which could have been averted if I had been able to speak more Italian! Language learning pays!

 

Jamie Michaud

Emerging French, Year 2

 

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

I have taught at Northwest Academy since September, 2010.

 

Place of Birth:

I grew up in Upstate NY, with a couple years in southern California.

 

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

I love the quirky and bright students and the class sizes being small!

 

Favorite hobbies:

I love to go to theater, music festivals, to travel a lot, to dive and to hike peaks near and far.

 

Favorite movies:

I really like independent films; the list is too long, but I don’t generally like blockbusters.

 

Favorite books:

The Unbearable Lightness of Being -Milan Kundera, The Alchemist and By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (or anything by Pablo Coelho).

 

Favorite bands:

At the moment, I really like Shakey Graves.

 

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?

Morocco and Portugal.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A fashion designer.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

How to build my own home from the ground up.

 

What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Learning to scuba dive (I was more scared before I did it).

 

Tiffany Herrmann

Challenge French, Year 3

 

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

It’s my second year teaching at Northwest Academy.

 

Place of birth:

I grew up in Montpellier, in the south of France.

 

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

I think it’s really great that students receive an education in both academics and arts. I would have loved being in a school like Northwest Academy when I was in high school! Northwest Academy is also a great place to teach. I find students really curious, motivated and respectful. And small classes is also a big plus, especially in a language class.

 

Favorite hobbies:

I love painting and sewing, but don’t really have time anymore. I just enjoy spending time with my kids and husband. We like going for walks and meeting our friends for dinner. We try to travel every time we have a break and love to go camping. And I’m looking forward to going hiking again once my kids are old enough.

 

Favorite movies:

I like watching thrillers if I’m watching American movies. I really like Memento. And I prefer watching comedies, like Intouchables if I’m watching a French movie. I like movies from Cedric Klapisch.

 

Favorite books:

I like the authors Laurent Gounelle, Henri Gougaud or Jacques Salome.

 

Favorite bands:

These are again going to be French names… I like M, Camelia Jordana, Pauline Croze and Yann Tiersen.

 

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?

I’ve really enjoyed discovering India and Laos, but if I have to choose one place, I would probably pick Mauritania since I spent several months over there. It gave me the chance to really learn about the country. Arabic is the official language, but most Mauritanians speak French, so it was also easy to meet and get to know them.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I never had a specific idea in mind.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

I’d love to be fluent in several languages.

 

What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Hmm… I can’t think of anything scary I’ve done.

 

Amy Pellegrin

Proficient French, Year 4

 

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

I began in September.

 

Place of birth:

I grew up in Wisconsin.

           

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

The atmosphere and energy is unique. The teachers and students all seem to really want to be here and everyone seems engaged.

 

Favorite hobbies:

I enjoy reading, rock climbing, knitting, journaling… I forgot to say making goat cheese.

 

Favorite movies:

I love sports movies and “teacher” movies (actually most movies!) Some of my favorites are Dead Poet’s Society, Dangerous Minds, Rudy, The Blind Side and Invincible. I also love Will Ferrell movies!

 

Favorite books:

Shadow Divers, The Red Tent, The Boys in the Boat and Unbroken

 

Favorite bands:

I don’t have a favorite band, but I love Kid Rock, Chris Isaak, Dido and Alanis Morissette.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to work for a fashion magazine.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

I’d learn more languages, although I’m sure my family would prefer that I learn to cook! I would also love to play piano.

 

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?

Hard question… probably India.

 

What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

It was probably making the decision to travel around the world by myself for a year. It turned out to be the best experience ever.

 

Julie Ellington

Fluent French, Year 5

 

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

This is my 10th year.

 

Place of birth:

Salem mostly. Roseburg intermittently.

 

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

The tremendous students and the free and open inquiry.

 

Favorite hobbies:

Working in my gardens, exploring the world, reading, sewing, building things and hiking with my dog.

 

Favorite movies:

Anything with Whoopi Goldberg, especially Sister Act. Anything psychologically creepy. The Jerk. What About Bob? I tend to enjoy most movies except realistic horror.

 

Favorite books:

Yikes. Don’t ask me this question. It sends me into a fit of anxiety. My all-time favorite is Ulysses. My favorite as a kid was Noisy Nancy Norris. I was banned from checking it out at the school library because I did so too frequently. As a pre-teen, I was all about Sweet Valley High. Of the last 10 books I’ve read, Dog Stars and And Then We Came to the End (Peter Heller and Joshua Ferris) were my two favorites. But seriously — you can’t ask this of an English teacher.

 

Favorite bands:

I can’t say. I listen to nearly everything. Lately, Daphne and I have been laid-back-rocking out to my grandpa’s Marvin Gaye vinyl collection.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Either an air traffic controller or a teacher. I think I chose the better path.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

Carpentry.

 

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?

Either Cappadocia, Turkey or deep in the Sahara.

 

What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Of the things I’m willing to share with the wide world, probably parenthood. It’s hard core.

 

Brian Manley

Emerging Spanish, Year 2

 

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

This is my eighth year teaching at Northwest Academy.

 

Place of birth:

I was fortunate enough to be raised all over the US and beyond in places 
like Bucks County, Pennsylvania, El Paso, Texas, Lake St. Louis, 
Missouri, three different towns in Louisiana, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico and
Castle Rock, Colorado.

 

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

Northwest Academy has such a vibrant and diverse culture and the students are the ones 
who really bring it alive. For me, it has been quite interesting and
exciting to see the identity of Northwest Academy evolve into what we have today. It’s
 a movie waiting to happen. Just look around. There’s something special 
happening here and you are fortunate to be a part of it. The students are 
given the respect and freedom to be who they are and it encourages 
exploration of as many aspects of one’s personality as possible. That is
 so important at this stage in your lives.

 

Favorite hobbies:

I love researching Ancient Civilizations. I also love collecting old 
photos from my relatives for rebuilding my family’s old photo albums. We lost them in a flood many years ago.

 

Favorite movies:

The original Star Wars Trilogy, The Indiana Jones Trilogy, Good Morning, Vietnam, Blade Runner, Alien and Platoon.

 

Favorite books:

On The Road, Heart of Darkness, Pryor Convictions, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Road.

 

Favorite bands:

The Beatles.

 

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?

New Orleans.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be a writer and an actor. When I was about 12, I wrote a 
letter to George Lucas asking what I could do to get an audition for the
 next Indiana Jones movie. I didn’t get an audition because I didn’t 
have an agent, but I did get an autographed photo of Harrison Ford in 
Temple of Doom.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

Auto repair.

 

What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Swimming back to shore after getting caught in a current off the coast of San Juan.

 

Estefania Yanci

Challenge Spanish, Year 3

 

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

This is my second year here.

 

Place of birth:

My family left the Basque Country in Spain when I was about a year old and moved us to Elko, Nevada. That’s where I attended grade school through high school.

 

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

The focus on writing and the performing arts is wonderful. As a teacher, I feel very supported by the other faculty and by the staff at this school. The small class sizes make it easier to try out new things in class and to be more adaptable and change things on the fly.

 

Favorite hobbies:

These aren’t so much hobbies as activities: hiking, watching movies, reading and swing dancing.

 

Favorite movies:

Too many, too many! But High Fidelity and Chocolat are two.

 

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?

That’s a tough one: might be a toss up between Machu Picchu in Peru and Iguazu waterfalls in Argentina, although Mexico City is in the hunt as well.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

I don’t know if it is really a skill, but I have always wanted to be able to juggle.

 

What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Walking through Oaxaca, Mexico at night alone during a riot in 2006.

 

Lindsay Perwak

Proficient Spanish, Year 4

 

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

1 year (I started in January 2014).

 

Place of birth:

Harvard, MA.

 

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

Students get exposed to so many ideas that are barely touched upon in a traditional high school curriculum. I love the fact that Northwest Academy encourages creative response and output across all disciplines.

 

Favorite hobbies:

I ski and snowboard and my husband and I go backpacking and hiking in the other three seasons as much as possible. I love the outdoors and Oregon is an amazing place to be if you get inspired by nature. I also love to travel, read, cook, practice yoga and learn languages.

 

Favorite movies:

My brother and I used to watch Stripes over and over again when we were kids. We had a taped-from-TV version back when VHS was around. I’m not sure why we were so obsessed, but it is still one of my favorite movies.

 

Favorite books:

Don Quijote is the best book I have ever read. My favorite book is usually the one I just read… I read too much to answer this question without feeling bad about leaving out great books.

 

Favorite bands:

I listen to all types of music, but I will never get sick of the classics: The Beatles and the Grateful Dead are always on my playlists. I also listen to a lot of music in Spanish and I love flamenco guitar music. Paco de Lucia was a genius.

 

Most interesting place you’ve ever been?

Portland is weird, but my most interesting travel experiences have been in Malaysia and SE Asia, Andalusia (Spain), Peru, Guatemala and Colombia, my other home.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An Olympic gymnast; I can still do some tricks.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

I want to learn to play the guitar so I can learn to play like Paco.

 

What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Left everything behind, filled my backpack and took off to Guatemala on a one-way ticket. I spent four years traveling between Guatemala and Colombia, living in some places for a long time and in other places just passing through. I explored, but also worked and volunteered a lot. Travel isn’t free! Sometimes it feels scary, especially by yourself, but it’s worth it. I highly recommend it.

 

Maria Carrillo

Fluent Spanish, Year 5

 

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

This is my first year.

 

Place of birth:

I was born in Panama, but my father is from Venezuela so I grew up in both Venezuela and Panama.

 

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

I think that the fact that students are really familiar with art makes the learning experience really rich. We incorporate art into teaching here and that’s really unique.

 

Favorite hobbies:

I do Zumba which I love because it’s Latin music mixed with exercise. I also love to listen to music in Spanish and have praying group that I do with my friends every Friday.

 

Favorite movies:

My very favorite movie is called My Life. It’s an old movie, but I also love The Painted Veil and I love Volver.

 

Favorite books:

I really like Isabel Allende who is a Chilean author. I love all of her novels. Gabriel Garcia Márquez also one of my favorite authors.

 

Favorite bands:

My favorite type of music is called Trova Cubana and its from Cuba and it’s kind of from the revolution side which is weird because I’m not pro revolution, but I love the music, the lyrics and the artists that produce it. Some of the artists are Xavier Rodriguez and Pablo Milanes.

 

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?

Probably Stonehenge in England because it’s kind of mystical.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I did commercials when I was really little and that kind of marked me in some way. Then I started advertising and so, when I was a kid I probably thought that I was going to be doing that for my career.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

I would learn to be a better teacher for sure because I’m new and didn’t go to college to become a teacher, so I definitely have a lot to learn.

 

What is the scariest thing that you have ever done?

When I was a teenager, I had to sing a song in front of about 50 people and I’m not very good at singing, but I was required because I was going to participate in a musical. It was really scary because it was in front of people I knew: classmates and also some boys I liked.

 

Willow Zheng

Functional Chinese

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

Since September 2010, 5 years. I taught one Chinese class in 2010.

 

Place of birth:

I was born in Shandong, China, I went to college in Xi’an, China. I came to the US in 1988.

 

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

First, it’s not too big. The teacher can know all of the students very well. The teacher also has enough time to work with each individual student. It is also in a very unique location. Downtown. In the cultural center. I really like that.

 

Favorite hobbies:

Painting is my job, not my hobby, but I don’t really do that, so you can put that down. I also like gardening; I don’t really have much time to do anything else. I teach four different classes.

 

Favorite movies:

There are so many, it’s hard to think. Over the years my favorite movies are American comedies. Three men and a baby, very funny. They make me laugh.

 

Favorite books:

Right now the books I am reading are related to my job, so I can’t say those are my favorite. But I really like Dan Brown. I like the Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons. These are not my favorite, but I enjoy reading those books. They are interesting and part of the culture. They make you, at the same time relaxed but also interested. I also like The Plague, by Camus. It is talking about Nazis but is using the plague, a disease. I like kind of scary things.

 

Favorite bands:

Michael Jackson. Oh, Michael Jackson has so much talent. He can sing. No one else can sing the way he can sing. His voice is just such a beautiful voice. His singing skill is just so good. I know the Beatles are good, but I relate to Michael Jackson. After the cultural revolution in China in the ’80s, China opened up to the western music, and Michael Jackson was great. All of his sounds are so unique. Americans now don’t like Michael Jackson because of how he got when he was older, but you can not say he isn’t a good artist. People like other country’s artists better than their own. Chinese people don’t care about Chinese singers. It’s a distance, you are too close.

 

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?

Interesting place? I really liked New York, Portland and Shanghai, also China’s Gobi Desert is amazing. The Gobi desert is such a contrast of the big cities I have lived in. There is just so much emptiness. You can think so much more than you can in the big city. The Gobi Desert also has so much culture. In the Gobi Desert, the roads are so straight. When you are on a bus, the drivers barely have to turn and you feel like you are on an airplane. When it gets so hot, you can see the mirages. There are people from all over the world and they all want to talk to each other. They have time to talk to each other. New York City is just so great because it’s the international city. New York and Portland are very liberal. I just like the cultural richness in all of these places.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

You won’t want to listen. I wanted to be a driver. I wanted to go travel. I wanted to go to the places. At that time we didn’t have a car. I wanted to travel. I also wanted to work with movies. I didn’t necessarily want to make movies, but when I went to the theater I saw the people projecting the film and they got to see it so many times, I wanted to do that. When I was a kid those were the two things I wanted to do. I wanted to travel and watch movies a lot.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

I would want to sleep. That’s what I need. If I have enough sleep I could travel. It’s not a new skill, but I like doing it. I feel much more relaxed. I am able to explore new things. I can get myself more together. Travel is not your routine schedule so you have to put in a little more effort. You can either see a good friend, and old friend or meet a new friend. It makes your life more interesting. Life is good. I appreciate every day, every minutes. Some people die or get sick and cannot do the things they want.

 

What is the scariest thing that you have ever done?

I am not the kind of person who likes to take scary adventures. But, in China, when I was in college, we went out to do paintings. Each term we went out to a different place. In Gansu province Xiahe, a lot of Tibetan people live there. It has the second largest amount of Tibetan Monasteries. In Tibetan culture, when people die, they don’t bury or cremate them, they have two options. They either water burial, or sky burial. The water burial is why Tibetan people don’t eat fish. There is a hill where they do the sky burials. I was so brave that I went up the hill on my own, because I wanted to see it myself. The grass on the hill was so thick and healthy. There were a lot of holes in the grassland. I think it was a big field rat. I saw a huge tree trunk that was used as a cutting board, and a giant axe. I saw an old ladies hair. Their clothes were all faded colors. I walked further. I saw a human leg with a foot on it, and part of the dead body had turned dark purple. The feet were so black. On the other hill, the smaller hill, there were vultures. They chop the body up so the vultures eat the body and fly the soul up to heaven. At that time I didn’t understand that. I just wanted to see dead bodies and their clothes.

 

Jin Tian

Challenge, Proficient, and Fluent Chinese, Years 3, 4, 5

 

Time teaching at Northwest Academy:

This this my second year.

 

Place of birth:

A company town affiliated to Shanghai but geographically in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province. It’s under the county where there is the hometown of the first emperor in Han Dynasty and close to where Jiangsu, Shandong, Henan and Anhui provinces meet. There is a quite mixed culture there, as it is located in the countryside, but full with technicians sent from the most modernized city and other places in the country back to 1980-1990s when Chinese didn’t have as much freedom to easily move from hometown as we have today.

 

What do you think is unique about Northwest Academy?

How art is used everywhere, especially in curriculum design of all sorts of subjects and how creative and expressive the community is. Also, how students’ versatile needs could be met. For instance, a girl I talked to during lunch last week learns Latin. That’s cool.

 

Favorite hobbies:

Chinese brush pen calligraphy, Tai Chi, swimming, basketball, hiking and photography.

 

Favorite movies:

Amadeus, Fight Club, and Coneheads (good parody of Alien). My favorite Chinese ones are King of Comedy, Let the Bullets Fly and Farewell My Concubine.

 

Favorite books:

The Alchemist. My favorite Chinese ones are: The Gay Genius, The Importance of Living and A Leaf in the Storm. Anything by Lin Yutang.

 

Favorite bands:

Linkin Park and Coldplay. Recently, I prefer Tim Minchin more than bands.

 

What is the most interesting place you’ve ever been?

Northwest Academy, where students can be learning with a Mac laptop while lying on the floor. But seriously, the parks. Redwood National Park in Northern California was so majestic that I suddenly understood why my ancestors believed there were forest gods. The woods in southern Oregon were interesting; we picked chanterelles.

 

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

As a kid, I never had clear idea, except I was sure I’d have to be a mom. Maybe I fancied being a writer, but ever since I started picking up English words from back seat of bike on the way to kindergarten I had been wanting to go visit countries with very different cultures. Especially those westerners. How do they live with such long names and such different language and cultures? Very fortunately, this dream came true.

 

If you could learn any one skill, what would you learn?

Improvisational piano.

 

What is the scariest thing you’ve ever done?

Walking alone at night in downtown Philadelphia to the youth hostel.

 

Reporting by: Charlie Goddyn, Sage McBee, Cameron Riley and Sam Crispin