On a warm Brussels evening, four intrepid souls\u2014an Aussie, a Belgian, a Turk, and a Russo-Belgian\u2014gathered for CBTI\u2019s inaugural FR-EN translators comedy night. The turnout may have been modest, but the conversation and laughter flowed freely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Held at The Black Sheep, the evening began with pre-show chatter between Francis Auquier (the coordinator of the CBTI English-French Network and also head of LinguaJuris \u2013 CBTI\u2019s Sworn Translators & Interpreters Commission), Scott James (a freshly minted CBTI member), Serge (musician, translator-by-osmosis, of Russian heritage), and me\u2014Ba\u015fak, translator, interpreter, and recalcitrant organizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The comedy was… varied. A young Spaniard kicked off with jokes about his moustache and identity crisis. I smiled politely. Next came a more experienced Indian comedian with jabs about colonialism and the UK. Less moustache, more meat. Serge found him too tame. I laughed anyway, thanks to a \u20ac17 burger, \u20ac10 G&T, and Francis and Scott\u2019s infectious laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The space was perfect\u2014good acoustics, friendly service, decent lighting. And once the show ended, we took the party outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s when the real value of the evening kicked in: networking. We swapped notes on the sworn translation path, Smart ASBL, where to get that pesky 40-hour legal training, and how CBTI can deepen ties with Belgian universities. I also shared my (hopefully) upcoming conference appearance in November at \u201cPutting Translators on the Map\u201d (UGent + KU Leuven).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Was it free? Nope. Surprise \u20ac22 tickets, \u20ac8 parking, and overpriced pub grub. But was it worth it? Absolutely. Laughter + colleagues + insider info = a damn good reason to come to our next event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"