It’s not very often that my colleagues and I get together in one place … certainly at least once a year for Christmas drinks, but in general, we freelancers tend to go it alone. We run around town meeting clients and taking them to appointments, or we sit in our home offices in different parts of Germany clicking and clacking madly on keyboards. We’ve all gathered loads of experience and insights into life in public offices over the years, and we rarely get to share it with each other! In fact, we hardly even know each other.
I thought this needed to change.
So I invited them all to an interpreter exchange – a way for newer freelance interpreters to hear from those who have been taking clients to public offices for years. Topics: What’s going on in public offices? What’s changed in 2017? What are the up-to-date procedures and documents required? Which hurdles keep cropping up for clients and how can we help?
We also talked about the art of interpreting and the technical, cultural and ethical issues that go with it, and about the exciting new Red Tape Translation website that’s almost ready for takeoff.
While we were knee-deep examining unemployment and health insurance policies, I invited the talented photographer Delphine Kermorvant to take some professional shots of everyone in action.
Thanks to everyone who made it – it is a real pleasure working with you, talking to you and having a laugh with you. (Yes, there is plenty to laugh about when it comes to German bureaucracy!)
I really did have a warm and fuzzy moment – my colleagues are awesome! My three most cherished values for Red Tape Translation are competency, authenticity, and really good service. I know I am working alongside people who know how to get the job done, do it on time, do it really well, and deliver it with flair.
Kathleen Parker
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