Lecturer's Profile: Ralf A. Schumacher

Who am I?

Good question... I think nobody should ever stop asking it to themselves. To summarize a few objective points:

I am Ralf A. Schumacher from Germany. I usually use my middle initial to make sure not to be confused with my namesake at Toyota; and to point out that I am the much older "A" model.

The first time I saw the light of day was in July 1967 (or "the beginning of the Summer of Love", if you happen to be or wanna be a veteran hippie). My birthplace Bad Godesberg, a picturesque medium-sized city on the lower banks of the Rhine's midstream, soon merged with neighboring Bonn, then capital of the Federal Republic of Germany (a.k.a. "West Germany").

Of course, cultural exchange has always existed among neighboring nations in all of Europe; peaceful or belligerent, spontaneous or by force, short or long, depending on times, places, and circumstances. The Rheinland area in particular has been very fruitful ground for human interactivity ever since the Rhine became an important route of transport in Roman times more than 2000 years ago.

My youth in Bad Godesberg in the 1970s and 80s provided me with good ingredients for an internationalized, intercultural life, I believe. That is, being the so-called "diplomats' quarter" of Bonn at that time, the city hosted ever-new embassy-related guests from all over the world, in addition to the ubiquitous families of "guest workers" or academics.

Due to a long years' stay in the U.S., our elementary school homeroom teacher spoke English well enough to have all kids who did not know enough German put into our class. So I was very fortunate to have the chance to start learning English sooner than usual and to practice with my friends. My most important friends back then were two brothers from the U.S., whose father was Japanese - this friendship was the key experience for my continuing interest in studying English and Japanese.

After a high-school exchange year in the U.S. and quite a detour in my ongoing education, I finally found the path of translation, which proved the right track for me. Now I have already spent more than six years here in Japan, including three years of work in international exchange in Inuyama City which also provided me with the experience of teaching various people on various levels. Being here is still a thrill, continuing to offer me new things to discover every day.

Are you eager to discover things, too? How about exploring new things in the field of languages? No matter whether you are a beginner or an advanced language learner, I will do my best to take care of your wishes and targets as well as your individual learning patterns. Looking forward to meeting you at Meigai!