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 Something happened yesterday. Well, 2 something, a great and a not so great. Guess which one kept me awake? Which made me clench my jaws so tight I pulled a muscle in my neck and could not open my mouth to speak or eat until now (that might have been a bonus, though)? You guessed right. But why is it that even when I receive wonderful news - which included signing with a new client to whom I was warmly recommended by another one and a subsequent new interesting long term assignment - I could not focus on it? Instead, I reread a dissatisfied client's email, about a #translation reviewed internally and sent back to me as being "full of mistakes". No matter that the "mistakes" were 1 typo and 7 preferential changes in style and tone (which could have been prevented if they had provided me with proper instructions). No matter that I addressed their issue immediately. No matter that such a situation only happened to me once before. No matter. I still spent my evening doubting myself, awakening the old demon-friend Mr #ImpostorSyndrom and his cohort of self-pity, tiredness and heartbreak heading the convoy. And I keep wondering: why is it that finding the #RightBalance between what we know is our #selfworth and the sad marginal incident is so damn hard? Have you experienced this as well?
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 Photo by Mark Mühlberger on Unsplash My white sneakers need cleaning.
I'm quite fond of them, I use them a lot, I want to keep them as white as possible without damaging them. But how? I thought of looking it up on Youtube. There are How-to videos for everything these days. You don't need to be a specialist anymore. Type it, see it, do it. I'm a great believer of doing stuff myself, I can paint the walls of my house, make my garden flourish, bake bread, check the oil of my car, bandage a wound, and even connect small electrical cables with a domino if needed. What I don't know, I Google. Then I thought "and if it fails? My favourite sneakers will be ruined." So I did the only thing one does when something is really important: I asked an expert. I called my mum. You see, some of the useful skills in my life are a direct result of years of doing things alongside my dad or my mum. The one I cherish above all is the will to try. I'm by no means fearless, no, as I am often afraid before trying something new, but I do it anyway. And I do it again, I do it enough to perfect it. I work on it. They taught me that. To do my best. To be proud of what I do. So, while thinking of the best way to clean my white sneakers, and after calling my mum, I thought of all the other instances when calling an expert who perfected their craft with love, time, and talent is the best way to ensure that something important is well done. Oh, and by the way, my mum said that using a soft brush and tepid water with some dishwashing soap, and let it dry under the sunshine.ry under the sunshine. I think I might just do that, let the sun do it's magic, on me and my sneakers.  Do you remember a "eureka!" moment in your life where you realized you could understand without thinking too much what people around you were saying in another language? A language you did not speak fluently? A language you had been learning recently? Or trying to learn with great difficulty? I do. I was living in India, around 2000, and one day while in my kitchen doing the dishes, the news on tv in the other room, an English speaking channel, I realised I understood what they said. All of it. I thought that there had been some change of channels, I jumped in the other room, checked and well... yes! I could understand everything they were saying. I felt a sense of jubilation. I even made a little giggly sound. I had been trying to learn English for years without much success, I could not really understand beyond a few short sentences, certainly not live news and much less express myself with ease. But being fully immersed and listening to, reading and speaking the language every day, putting my self-conscious tendency aside, that was the key. At 30 years old and being in a diplomatic position where I was expected to give speeches in English, it was about time. What about you? #English #ForeignLanguages #LanguageTeacher #LinguisticAdventures #LearnANewLanguage I’m often asked if I really work with 5 languages, if I reeeeeeaaly can speak them. I thought to address this in a short video. I mention my profile on it, it’s actually my professional page on Proz, my LinkedIn profile and my own website, all containing the relevant information. Enjoy :-)  #French #LearnFrench #Français #ApprendreLeFrançais
#ParlerFrançais #ConversationInFrench #CoursDeFrançais |
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