Native languages are English and Spanish. I've picked up French and Italian in high school/college.
I want to go into international law - private sector. I want to focus on transnational trade issues from the company's side, international aquisitions and mergers, international business disputes, or intellectual property issues. Something along those lines, to be more defined as I take more classes and see what I'm getting into.
I am applying for American's Dual Degree program where I would, in 4 years, get a J.D. and a Licenciatura en Derecho from Spain. You live two years in DC and two years in Spain.
This summer I plan on going to Costa Rica and getting a part time job in order to brush up on my "business spanish" skills and maybe take a grammar class since I've never been formally schooled in Spanish.
If I have any "free time" at all during the three years (or at least the summers!) in law school I want to study Portuguese. I know I won't have much time, I don't need to learn it perfectly, just to at least have a working knowledge of it. And Brazil is SUCH an emerging economy! If I can't do China or India I'll settle for Brazil.
Then when it comes time to get a job, hopefully I will be looking at employers who work with clients who do business in other languages and my ability to speak those languages, though I dont count on that to get me the job, I hope it will at least give me a little bit of an 'edge' to at least be considered.
So, that's my very preliminary plan for putting my language skills to use! I sure as hell am not going to have spent so many years studying languages without putting them to SOME use! Well, that's what I'm hoping, at least.
