Lost in translation

I'm starting to forget English.

No, obviously not completely. But I can tell that my fluency in French is drastically improving. Firstly, I've nearly completely stopped translating conversations into English. If in a conversation, I hear a word or two I'm unfamiliar with, then of course I'll try to figure out the meaning of the word based on context. But one day, for example, on our way to lunch, a few colleagues and I were discussing the upcoming wedding of a woman I work with and she was telling us about her bridesmaid. Then, someone wanted to know the English word for it, and I completely blanked! I had to tell them to come back to me, and that I'd remember what it was called later; sure enough I remembered the word about ten minutes later, but not without quite a bit of laughter from my French colleagues, who couldn't understand how the American intern couldn't remember a simple word in English!

Secondly, there are certain French words and phrases that, now that I know what they mean and how to use them appropriately in context, just don't require translating into English. In fact, with these particular words and phrases, they seem so natural to me at this point that I can't remember a time not knowing what they mean, and I certainly couldn't tell you if or when I learned them in a classroom. It's phrases and words like "incitations", "il s'agit de...", "il faut que...", and "dérouler" that really stump me when I try to come up with an explanation for their meaning.  Words like that have started to come naturally to me, popping up in my own vocabulary when I need them, then quietly slipping out of sight again, unquestioned.

So you can imagine, my job, which frequently requires me to translate documents from French to English for the organization's website and for speeches at international colloquiums, can make me want to pull my hair out sometimes.   When I'm speaking in English and only in English, not switching back and forth rapidly between the two, English is no problem.  But right now it's as if my brain has a language on/off switch.  If I get started speaking, listening to, or reading in French, my English goes right out the window.

A few weeks ago, I was with my friends in the metro, on my way to the Musée Rodin, when a guy stopped me and asked for directions in English. I quickly replied in what I thought was English, then didn't understand when he kept staring at me, giving me a weird look...turns out I'd unintentionally replied in French. Whoops, wrong language!

On another note, this past weekend I went to the Salon du Livre, an international symposium about books! It was at the Parc des Expositions site at Porte de Versailles in Paris. It's an event that's held annually, and brings together booksellers, authors promoting their books and available to talk about them and sign them, book lovers from all over the world, and of course, students, for whom entry is free! I love perks like that.

Salon du Livre

Best hammock ever. I must have one in my future home.

Congolese literature! I wasn't kidding when I said authors come there from around the world.

And while I'm at it, FUN FACT: This building, called "Le Projet Triangle" is being constructed at the Parc des Expositions and is estimated to be completed by 2014.

Apparently, "The environmental approach of the project [...] limits its ground impact and allows the optimum utilisation of solar and wind power due to its excellent positioning." Check out more pictures & info here: http://www.dezeen.com/2008/09/29/le-projet-triangle-by-herzog-de-meuron/

From the Desk of Carin

My own desk!

Finally it’s Friday, and I’ve made it through the first whole week of my stage! My regular supervisor, a young woman (she’s only 26!) working in the International Relations department of the CAS returned from vacation on Thursday, so for the past two days we’ve gotten lunch at the cafeteria for the Minister of Education. Meals are highly subsidized there, so although the food is genuinely quite good, it’s also very reasonably priced. The cafeteria is on the 6^th floor, and there’s a beautiful view of La Tour Eiffel, l’Arc de Triomphe, La Defense, and the Grand Palais. I must say I feel very lucky!

The work itself has also gone really smoothly. I feel that I’ve accomplished a lot this week and have really made a good impression (from what I can tell, at least). In addition to summarizing that 30-page chapter of a book and creating a portfolio on an organization in order to prep both my boss and his supervisor for their meeting next week, I also did some translations. My supervisor hurried into my office this morning with an English-translation of a handout for the English-speaking participants a colloquium next week, asking me to correct the translation, STAT! I felt a little weird re-writing a whole paragraph to improve its clarity and concision and rephrasing things right and left, since it felt weird as an intern correcting my superiors, but she was happy with the result. It’s a great feeling knowing that something I worked on will be given out to experts in their field!

My new workplace

My first week of the metro in rush hour traffic -- apparently arrows are needed?

 This past weekend while I was Skyping with my friend Cosima, clouds rolled in and it started to rain. The lighting was so beautiful that I had to run over to the window and take a picture. The second picture was taken only about 15 minutes later! It may be Paris, a city known for drizzly, grey skies, but it can be really pretty sometimes too.

By the way, that small tower in the distance on the far right is the Tour Montparnasse

La Mer à Boire

‘La Mer à Boire,’ literally “the sea to drink,” is an old French saying to describe an impossible task ahead of you.  About a week ago, right after classes ended and I knew that my internship was looming just on the other side of my week-long Barcelona vacation, that’s about how I felt.  Maybe it was the Barcelona sun and palm trees melting all my worries away, but I’m proud to say that I now feel significantly less panicked when I think about the 30-page “Mémoire de Stage” that I must write over the course of the next three months. When the going gets rough I just have to remember, as Thomas (my program director) told us, “Ce n’est pas la mer à boire. [it’s not impossible!]

A café in Belleville 

I never thought I’d say this, but typing on an American keyboard is weird! I just finished day 2 of my stage [internship] at the Centre d’Analyse Strategique, a governmental think tank which provides policy guidance to the Prime Minister.  After typing all afternoon on a French-style keyboard, which has French accent keys and several letters switched around, I suddenly feel like I’m back in keyboarding class, slightly unsure of where all the keys are.

My first day, I didn’t have to be there until 11 am, but I was up early, planning out my metro route for the third or fourth time, taking my time with breakfast, anxiously checking the mirror and my clock.  I still arrived early enough that I thought it better to take a short stroll before going in. My stage is in the 7^th arrondissement, an area scattered with government buildings and important-looking places. Upon exiting the metro, the first thing I see is the Musée Rodin, with the Eiffel Tower just beyond, and I pass the Swiss Embassy on the way to work.  The building where I work, which is right across the street from a tall Cathedral, is pretty old, apparently one that was formerly a huge, fancy house way back when, and that’s evident in the layout of the rooms, and by the way that the staircases weave and curve around, and aren’t lined up – after you reach the landing on the 1^st floor, you have to walk down the hall to the back of the building to take the stairs the rest of the way up to the 4^th floor, where I now have my own desk.

My supervisor for this week is the second in command in the whole organization, and he specializes in International Relations.  The young woman who will be my supervisor throughout the internship is on vacation this week, so until she returns I’ll be reporting to him. He’s kind and sensible, but direct, which is perfect for a first-time intern, because there’s no reading-in-between-the-lines needed to understand his expectations.  After a brief meeting with my supervisor after arriving, I spent the next couple of hours getting settled in, setting up at my desk, getting my badge, and walking to the IT center located about 10 minutes away to set up my computer account on the government network. My office, which I share with one other really nice woman, has a window facing the cathedral, a computer clearly labeled with a French flag “propriété de l’Etat” [State property], and a phone.  This is the first time I’ve ever had my own office space, and I’m really proud of it.

My first assignment as an intern was to read a 40-page chapter out of a book describing a historic research institution that existed throughout the 1960s and 70s, called the CORDES, and to write-up a summary of it. The language is really technical, and it’s a subject with which I’m completely unfamiliar, but today I was able to pick up the pace slightly as I became more comfortable with the subject matter and had a better idea of the main points I was supposed to be focusing on.

Today, my second day, I felt a lot more comfortable.  All morning my supervisor was in an important meeting and hadn’t left me anything to do, so I spend a while uneasily reading the newspaper and re-reading the work I’d done yesterday, but around midday things really picked up.  At noon, there was a going-away party for a woman who I believe had worked at the organization for over thirty years and who was switching jobs (still within the government). The general director gave a short speech, during which I was surprised and delighted to hear him quote the famous French book Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry!  After that, champagne was served, as were an assortment of little sandwiches and trays of fruit with toothpicks, and mini tarts and other desserts.  It was a really great opportunity to mingle with my new colleagues, and luckily the woman who shares my office was kind enough to introduce me to a number of people with whom I chatted. Everyone seemed really friendly and welcoming, and one woman in particular chatted with me for a pretty long time, and shared a good deal of personal information. After talking with some of my fellow students doing internships, we all seem to agree on one thing: French women love to gossip!


For the rest of the day, I got to work on my next assignment, about 200 pages of photocopying, plus adding another 60 page document to my stack of readings to summarize. But the going is getting easier already. I’m grateful for how well my Professors as W&M seem to have prepared me for this and for how wonderful an opportunity this clearly is for me. So far, so good!