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Spanish 209-004
Intensive Intermediate Spanish
Course Description   About The Instructor   Grammar Pages   Maps   Music  

About the Instructor: Shani Moser

Shani at the Equator Shani Moser joins George Mason University with a world of travel and teaching experience behind her. She began to study Spanish as a freshman in high school and continued with a double major in International Studies and Spanish at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. During her senior year of college, she worked for the Banks School District in Northern Oregon with Mexican migrant children as an instructional assistant in Migrant Education.

Following graduation, Shani spent three years teaching middle school ESL in the mountains of Gunma Prefecture, Japan with the noted Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, hosted by the Japanese Ministry of Education. This allowed her to develop a knowledge of Japanese language and culture while sharing her own.

Soon after repatriation, Shani began her graduate studies with Tulane University’s Department of Spanish and Portuguese on a teaching fellowship, and she received her Master of Arts in Latin American Literature in May 2000.

While in New Orleans, she met Jon Furukawa, and they married in May 1999. Shani accompanied her husband to Malmö, Sweden, where he completed his MS at the World Maritime University.

Shani gave birth to their first child, daughter Kana Sophia (website here ) in November 2001. Shani is thrilled to be back in the classroom doing what she loves most: teaching.

Shani’s travels include:

North America:
    32 of the 50 U.S. States, English-speaking Canada and only a very little of Mexico!
South America:
    Ecuador (including the Galápagos Islands) and Perú (including Lake Titicaca and Machu Picchu).
Europe:
    England, Norway, Sweden, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Czech Republic.
Asia:
    Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand.

With all of her travels, Shani still remains very much an Oregon girl at heart. She carries with her and teaches a strong love of the mountains, a high degree of sensitivity and regard for the environment, and a deep respect for Mother Nature.