As a University of Vermont graduate I received a Fullbright Teaching Assistantship and came to Melk, Austria in 1990. During my assistantship I taught high schoolers for eight months. Later I taught several adult education classes, but I did not discover my passion for teaching until I started teaching English in preschool and kindergarten, from which I expanded to teaching grades 1-4. I am the mother of three kids, now largely grown, whose toys and games were often borrowed for my classes.