Meet Marta Spirk of Marta Spirk Coaching in Montbello

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marta Spirk.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Marta. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My obsession with the English language and American culture started at a young age. I remember when I was around 5 in Brazil, early 90’s, I’d follow my older sister and cousin around and listen to New Kids on the Block, longing to understand the words.

Soon enough, my friends in school noticed I did well in our English classes and asked me to help them study at home. And at 14 I started tutoring English and getting paid for it. At around the same time, my mom, a pastor in Brazil, connected with American ministers and invited them to come speak at our church. I was volunteered as their interpreter even before finishing high school. So, when time came to decide what to pursue in college, I had no doubts: I wanted to be an English major. To my delight, I found a course that focused on translation and went with that for my Bachelor’s degree. All the while, we had been coming to the US to attend church conferences and I’d been dreaming of staying for longer, living and even studying here.

In 2005, I met my American husband in church in Tulsa, OK and five years later, we got married; I finally got my dream to come true. We ended up in Denver and I started a Master’s in Linguistics at UC Denver.

In the meantime, we tried living in Brazil for a while, had triplets and moved back. My life has been jam packed with emotional rollercoasters, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

When we moved back, a stay-at-home mom to three babies, there was little I could do to contribute financially, but I wanted to. So I started coaching moms online to take time for themselves in order to be more present for their kids – that’s what I was doing myself by coaching them.

In this process, I connected with other Brazilians in my area and started getting requests to help them with their English as an interpreter. Soon enough, I found myself working for courts, schools, hospitals and then I had a big ‘click.’ For three years I thought my biggest transition in life had been becoming a triplet mom, but there was another transition I’d been taking lightly: I’m not from the US, even though I act like I am.

Helping my fellow Brazilians opened my eyes to the fact that as much as they were having a hard time adjusting to the new culture and language, I had been rejecting mine. I then decided to shift my coaching to help Brazilian women living in the US adapt to their new life and find their new identity as I started going through the same process but in reverse.

As I help them, I help myself. I’ve learned we can’t find purpose or pride in ourselves if we don’t embrace all of who we are, and usually the part we reject about ourselves is the very thing that makes us the US. I have been serving these women with my podcasts both in English and in Portuguese and also via my virtual school: The Empowered Woman School, where I teach weekly classes on personal development and provide resources for English learning as well.

My mission is to continue to embrace myself and also teach not only other Brazilians but also my kids to do so since they were actually born in Brazil.

Has it been a smooth road?
First of all, marrying an American and moving to another country was rough on my family. Coming from a Christian and Latin family, it is very unusual for us to go far away or even to leave our parents’ home with someone you don’t know very well (long-distance relationship). Moving back to Brazil wasn’t easy either. Not only because I’d already adjusted to American life, but also because my husband didn’t speak Portuguese and had little knowledge of our culture. To top it off, having triplets added a huge amount of stress, especially when we decided to move back. All of this sent me on a deep soul-searching process that ended up with coaching because I needed to sort through my own feelings and emotions myself.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Marta Spirk Coaching – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
I’m an interpreter and women empowerment coach for Brazilians. I help them discover their new identities as expatriates and gain confidence in themselves to speak English, embrace the culture, all the while staying true to their origins.

I’m proud that I was able to combine my knowledge of English and American culture with personal development in my coaching to serve my own people abroad. All of my passions have enabled me to contribute to the world in a way that barely feels like work.

What sets me apart is that even though I haven’t lived in the US for very long – most times less than some of my clients – I understand the culture and language on an emotional level. I have acculturated myself to the point that I can teach it while I’m not from here – meaning, I know another culture (my own) just as well.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Denver has beautiful scenery, lots to do and perfect weather.

I haven’t lived anywhere else in the US, but have visited several other states and I don’t think I’d ever live anywhere else – at least not permanently.

Coming from a humid country, first of all, the dryness does my curly, frizzy hair SO well, but I also love the snow. I’d never seen snow until moving here and I love that the hot sun melts it all away in the winter, making way for pleasant blue-skied days.

I’m from a big city, São Paulo, so being in an urban area makes me feel right at home, minus the crazy traffic. Yes, there is traffic here, but not as bad. I get a taste of the big city without so much of the nuisance.

Having access to professional sporting events, the mountains, skiing, Denver literally has everything. The only thing I truly miss is the beach – São Paulo is like an hour away from the coast – but I’ve explored some of the lakes here and that suffices!

Pricing:

• The Empowered Woman School – 2 week free trial, $27 monthly
• Private coaching sessions – $100/each
• Interpreting – $45/hour + travel

Contact Info:

• Website: www.martaspirk.com
• Phone: 720-235-2574
• Email: martaspirk@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/martaspirk
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/spirkmarta
• Other: www.instagram.com/momdoesitallpodcast / www.instagram.com/debemcomigopodcast

Image Credit:
Maira Oakar Photography

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