I attended grammar school at the Licée Français Charle Lepierre at Lisbon, Portugal, so I had an early contact with a second language. During my teens I always kept reading French and English magazines and newspapers. At the technical university where I graduated as a Mechanical Engineer, I always preferred originals to translated books. My professional life started at a company importing livestock goods and instruments from various countries of Europe, the US and Australia. All translations, both commercial and technical instructions went by me. I still do this part time, being a maths teacher.