One month after van Zeller moved to New York City , the September 11 attacks took place . She was contacted that morning by a producer from SIC Notícias , where she had previously interned . She was directed to meet a news crew atop the CBS Building in Midtown Manhattan , where she would go live in three hours . Before going on air , she was told : " Prepare yourself . The whole of Portugal is watching you . " After receiving her degree from Columbia , van Zeller moved to London to work for a documentary producer , with hopes of covering the Iraq War . With London as her new base , she studied Arabic at Damascus University in Syria in order to better seek out stories in the Middle East . Over the next two years , her freelance documentaries from Syria appeared on PBS 's Frontline/World , the CBC , and Channel 4 ( United Kingdom ) . In 2005 , she joined Current TV as a correspondent and producer for the '' Vanguard '' documentary series . Van Zeller is fluent in Portuguese , English , Spanish , Italian and French . She also speaks some Arabic
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Mariana van Zeller