Good morning from a sunny (limited-time offer, today only!) village in the South of the Netherlands, not far from Maastricht. American by birth, I am a Dutch to English translator and have been living in the Netherlands for 23 years. After getting my MBA in International Marketing and working in the corporate world for 12 years, I ultimately returned to my great love, languages, and decided to make a go of freelancing in 2001.

Though I specialize in marketing, commercial and legal texts, I also translate a lot of fashion, culinary, tourism and travel documents on a regular basis. I don’t touch medical or technical texts with a barge pole as you say here in the UK! One of my translation dreams came true last year when I was approached to translate two crime-thriller novels for a Dutch publisher, with the prospect of more in the future. Though I have translated several business books and textbooks, secretly I hoped some day I would see my name in print in a novel. I still pinch myself daily that I was given this amazing opportunity.

Why the ITI 2015 conference? Although I very much wanted to go to the 2013 conference, ultimately a conflict with another event prevented me from doing so. The list of world-renowned, top-notch speakers, and the format of a panel at the ITI conferences really appeal to me, and are guaranteed to make this conference quite different from the ones I’ve attended in recent years, a very refreshing change indeed. I am thrilled that I am able to make it to this year’s event, and given the level of speakers and topics (not to mention the theme – so relevant!), late April just can’t get here fast enough.

Some might consider me a seasoned conference-goer, having been to around 15 events in the last 8 years, and people often ask me if I still learn anything at conferences. Amazingly enough, I actually still do, every single time.

I always either pick up a new contact (or two!), or leave with takeaways that save me time, help me translate faster and better, or open up a new world of resources I never knew existed. When you convert that into monetary terms, the ‘future value’, if you will, of these tips (and leads) easily covers the costs of attending the conference, often many times over. After one conference a couple of years ago, I was inspired to blog about it. Rereading it yesterday, I find it still rings true for me, every single word.

So, yes, I absolutely still learn from every new conference experience. I feel I am far from knowing everything there is to know about both the art of translation and the industry. I love being around other people with varying levels of experience, backgrounds and languages. Being in this charged atmosphere, full of energy and populated by like-minded souls motivates me to no end, and makes me fall in love with my job all over again. I come home recharged, my head swimming with ideas and inspiration. See you all soon!