Language studies: I was subsequently given the opportunity by the US government for further study at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, where I first studied Hungarian and later German. The choice of languages was partly mine and partly that of the government, based on its needs at the time. The education, through its intense method of instruction and the high quality of the instructors, was excellent. These studies were later built upon by further learning in Europe.
My time in Europe: After completing the extensive language training, I spent the next almost 25 years in Germany and western Europe using those attained skills as an officially certified linguist (both translator and interpreter) for the three languages. During that time, I married a young lady from Bavaria and we raised two sons.
Return to the USA: We eventually returned to the USA, this time to the Kansas City area. Our now-grown sons both reside nearby. Our language of the home, even here in the USA, is still German. Although, in the past few years, my spoken Hungarian has deteriated somewhat through lack of opportunity to speak it, my translation capabilities have actually improved from both Hungarian and German.
