FUN MONDAY - THEN AND NOW

Irish coffehouse asks us about our Careers : Then and Now

THEN: As a child day dreaming of what your future would hold for you, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you ever pursue or achieve it?

NOW: If you could be trained and placed in any career beginning tomorrow, what would it be?

As a child I wanted to be married and have two children, a boy and a girl. I gave up this idea very quickly when I saw my father as an example of a good husband. He was a womanizer and I started to dislike all men.

Around 12 I wanted to become an actress and a very famous one and saw myself sitting in a big car and waving to people and earning a lot of money. I gave this idea up too because getting older I became more realistic. So I really didn't know what to do after school.

The move from Germany to Brussels and the very difficult start there because I didn't know any french, directed me into a completely other way which probably I wouldn't have chosen if I would have stayed in Germany.

I learned languages just like that without any school or classes, because I had too. Writing I learned from reading, first french then English where I had some knowledges from school. Then I worked for American companies as a secretary and climbed the steps of a carreer as a Sales Manager assistant for France, Germany and Italy. Languages allowed me to get a far bigger picture of the world and opened up my horizons. I had and still have friends from different countries since at least 30 years which was quite unusual at that time because most of the people stayed in their countries it was not like today with the students exchanges.

Thinking this over and looking back I think life had put me in a good way and if I had to start again I would probably love to do the same. I only would change some boss and sue a lot of them for sexual harrassement !