Jean-Francois | New York, NY
When people ask for a detailed account of what he does for work, he says it's just a matter of helping them understand connection. "More and more people use the same apps on their phone, and the apps I'm translating are the same ones my friends and family use back home, so it's easy for me to explain that."
I met up with Jean-Francois (aka Jeff) and some of his friends at a cozy NYC pub for drinks and apps; and from translation to travel, there were all kinds of great discussions. Jeff has been translating for 20 years, starting working as an employee for a translation company and then went freelance 15 years ago.
One of Jeff's friends joined us briefly before heading to the airport, and Jeff had kindly offered to dogsit while his buddy was out of town. This meant Jeff got to stay at his friend's midtown pad, so when I linked up with him the following morning, I got to meet Indie. It was raining, so she wasn't exactly in the mood to go for a long walk, but Jeff insisted on squeezing in a run that morning.
Jeff is training for his first half marathon, and seeing as he hit the pavement on a miserable March day, it's safe to say that he's very dedicated to doing well.
But when it started pouring, he called it a day and we took a cab back to his neighborhood.
Jeff's usual running route.
Jeff speaks French and English, and he says he never imagined he'd be a translator. Instead, he wanted to be a sports journalist when he was a kid.
"I was always fascinated by foreign languages," Jeff says. "I remember when I was young I was frustrated because I was listening to the radio and hearing English-speaking singers and I couldn't understand what they were saying. That was one of the reasons that I was so focused on learning foreign languages and being able to communicate with people."
Jeff has pretty minimal office decor, but seeing as he has a Dwight Schrute bobblehead next to the speakers on his desk, he most certainly has a sense of humor.
