Iona Sarieva - All you want to know and even more...

... about me and my family in five bullets I have taught two different languages in four different universities on two different continents. My dog, Kimba (14) has crossed the ocean five times. My great grand father was a medicine man. My parents lived on two different continents and were pen pals for 9 years before getting married. My daughter Iana (6) is fluent and literate in two languages. She reads music, too!

I was born and grew up in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. My great love are languages and animals. After I graduated from high school, I was debating with myself  (and my parents) what career to pursue - in languages or in veterinary medicine. I ended up with a degree in Russian philology, certificate in teaching EFL, and a lot of pets.             Currently I live in St. Petersburg, Florida, study at USF, teach Russian, ESL, and Language Principles and Acquistion, work on a multimedia project that aims to enhance teacher preparation. I am also working on research projects on distance education and learning styles and language development of bilingual twins.            My family is the most important thing for me - my husband, Andrian is a great composer and the most supportive husband. My daughter, Iana is the math superstar in her kindergarten class, she plays the piano and is fluent and literate in English and Bulgarian.