Elizabet Fernandes: A little intercultural training goes a long way.

In Portugal I was working for the Prosecution service as a translator (legal court documents mainly). Basically I have the same job here at Eurojust. I came to the Netherlands on special leave, so it was a pretty safe way to go abroad. The environment however is much more international. More than 27 nationalities work here, representing every EU country and there are at least two people per Delegation. Eurojust is a new European Union body established in 2002 to enhance the effectiveness of the competent authorities within Member States when they are dealing with the investigation and prosecution of serious cross-border and organised crime.

I really enjoy this international atmosphere, moreover, because I have a master’s degree in intercultural relations and I am able to use my skills. I wasn’t expecting anything special from Holland or from living abroad. I just knew it would be different and I was prepared for a change. Many people I know complain about the Dutch and about their lives here, but that’s not my favourite game; I prefer to accept the differences and I like to learn from them.

Lost in translation

English is the current working language but too often people ‘get lost in translation’ because the level and the knowledge of language amongst us varies from person to person. We also inherit each other’s linguistic mistakes and end up speaking a kind of ‘Euro-English’. I like to speak as many languages as possible so I prefer to speak Spanish, French or Italian depending on the nationality of my colleagues. Besides, with this job I can also use and develop my skills as a translator and that’s perfect.

 1 2 3 Next >