At 7 AM on the 24th September an airplane took off to fly to Brussels. It was a quiet morning, the air was charged with excitement and sleep deprivation, when seven 4TLT students, along with lecturer Zane France arrived at their destination, where they were welcomed by European Parliament’s vice-presidents’ assistant Guna Zaķe-Baltā.

VUAS students had the opportunity to get lost in the ‘labyrinth’ of the European Parliament, attend a lecture about the work of both the European Parliament and its members, as well as get a glimpse into the history of the establishment. The students could learn about how actively (or not) Latvia participates in voting, how much ‘pocket money’ do members get, what is the monthly schedule and how often do the meetings happen in Brussels and Strasbourg. After the lecture the excursion continued, and the students saw a part of the enormous building of the Parliament (one can wonder, do the new hires get a compass and a map?), the famous conference room, gifts of the countries of the European Union (including artworks gifted by Latvia), and even the cabinet of Roberts Zīle (where the guests were greeted by sandwiches, apples, and chocolate :)).

The cherry on top was the opportunity to meet with the European Parliament’s interpreters Dace Rubene and Ilze Lauva, and the Head of the Latvian unit of Directorate-General of the European Commission Uldis Sproģis and talk about how many languages interpreters usually know, how does interpreting differ in the European Commission and European Parliament, what is retour, and what should one do if the speaker’s tempo is too fast, as well as if voice matters in interpreting.

At the end, the students had the opportunity to try interpreting in the Conference Interpretation Booths (with the microphone, hopefully, turned off!) and interpret the conference about the safety of minors on the internet. It was a wonderful experience that allowed the students to learn about the professionalism of the interpreters and working in the Parliament, as well as internship opportunities and how difficult it is to become an interpreter in the European Parliament. In the evening and on the next day, the students were given free rein to taste Belgian chocolate, see the Peeing boy statue and ponder on whether to come back and work in the Parliament.

Impressions of the participants:

“Although I have never thought that conference interpreting is easy, this tour highlighted how difficult and challenging it actually is and what enormous wealth of background knowledge interpreters need to have.”

“I really enjoyed the trip! At first, I wasn't too sure whether to participate, but I’m happy that I mustered up my courage and decided to go. I can definitely say that visiting the European Parliament is a wonderful opportunity, and that it was very interesting to learn about the work and experiences of the interpreters.”

“I will definitely remember the visit to the European Parliament for an eternity, but the meeting with the interpreters that work there is what left the most significant impression. For a while I thought that they’re some kind of superheroes – which they definitely are – but after the meeting I realised that they are people just like us. Thanks to them, work in the European Parliament has turned from something intangible into a real possibility you can achieve by investing a lot of hard work.”