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Hello one and all! I am proud to announce that I have officially co-authored a series of three books.

We drew on the idea that people frequently working with different foreign languages (whether talking to ESL speakers at home or when traveling abroad) need some kind of universal guide.

Since I work with a lot of people who don’t necessary speak English (or at least not terribly well), I have frequently found myself needing a quick translator. While I’ve spent time studying Spanish, Arabic, etc., I’m not fluent in every language that’s out there.  And no one else is either.  So these books are meant to carry you through those times.  The times when you are headed to France (where you can know the language), but you have to buy batteries in Germany on the way.  Or where you meet up with that nice Vietnamese mother at the office and you want to ask her for her phone number.  Or where you know some basic elements of the language, but it isn’t enough to spend an entire summer living there on.

Since you don’t have the words available, these books allow you to use the power of the picture! If you need the train station, just go to the picture and point to the train. Or, if your son is allergic to pork, but they are offering you Hotdogs, go to that section of th,e book.  Perhaps you need a car seat for your baby in that rental car?–go to the picture.

So as to keep the book manageable, we ended up splitting it into 3 sections.  Volume 1: Go, See, Do covers the things you need to get you where you want to go: Travel Documentation, Means of Transportation, Hotel words, Restaurant words, Bathroom words, etc.  Volume 2: Needs Must covers the things you will have to have for critical information: Emergency terms (hospital, police station, blood), General Commonalities (colors, weather, numbers), Medical Information, People (baby, student, etc.).  Volume 3: Finishing Touches offers the things that you need to make your trip perfect: Recreation, Shopping (grocery, jewelry, clothing, office store), etc.

You can find out more on the book’s Facebook page here. Please pass it on! We’d really appreciate the encouragement!

Tags: Language, pictures, Travel, travel guide, travelling, universal translator