Born and raised in Montevideo, Uruguay, Brenda Barcelo has lived in California for almost 20 years, during which time she has taught Spanish at the elementary, secondary, and college levels. She has worked as Spanish Coordinator at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she has been a Spanish Lecturer since 1995. She is also an artist (a wood carver) and an avid reader and traveler.As a teacher, she experiences great satisfaction seeing her students engaged in the learning process, working hard and having fun at the same time. She enjoys sharing with her students not only her native language, but also the culture and traditions of Uruguay and other Hispanic countries. Having been a… foreign language learner herself for many years, she can easily identify with her students' difficulties and frustrations and attempt to make their learning experience a positive and rewarding one.