Latest / Found in Interpretation Podcast / Ep. 48 - Jérémy Antoine Gerin, Navigating Through Red Tape

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Ep. 48 - Jérémy Antoine Gerin, Navigating Through Red Tape · Found in Interpretation Podcast

0:00
Hello, hello and welcome to another episode of Found in
0:03
Interpretation podcast. Once again, I'm one of your Co
0:06
host and then I'm here Brian. Brian, how you doing?
0:09
I'm doing great, thanks. And we're here also with Jeremy
0:13
Jahan. How are you, Jeremy?
0:14
Great. Thank you.
0:16
Thanks for having me. Alright, so Jeremy is a French
0:22
American interpreter and he will tell us about navigating through
0:26
the market and red tape. It's completely crazy.
0:30
Don't forget like, share, subscribe and now let's kick it.
0:45
OK, Welcome, Jeremy. So Jeremy, as we said earlier,
0:51
he's a French American interpreter, and he travels the
0:55
world, goes all around places. He works on both sides of the
0:59
Atlantic, if I understand it correctly.
1:01
But Jeremy, tell us a bit about yourself.
1:04
Sure. And thanks again for having me.
1:07
So, yeah, as you mentioned, I'm French American, so the dual
1:11
citizenship from a Crunch family, but I'm American through
1:16
and through from the New York metro area.
1:22
And yeah, I've been passionate about my French culture since
1:28
forever. I mean, my dad is a netbook
1:31
cuisine yet false. So master chef of France.
1:33
And from a young age we would go to, you know, the top French
1:39
restaurants. I know all the top French chefs
1:42
in in New York, in Paris. So anyway, it was still
1:46
instilled in me for a while. I didn't go to the Fest knee,
1:49
the French American School of New York, but we had French
1:52
nannies. We would go to our house in
1:54
France and and see every summer in Ottawa and that's in the
1:59
greater Geneva area in the French Alps.
2:02
And so I sort of grew up in France.
2:04
Every summer I would go and see my family.
2:09
And so, yeah, so I'm definitely bilingual and French.
2:14
So I finished high school and I studied business administration
2:20
and French at Hartwick College in upstate New York.
2:23
And then I had a career in sales and it was again mostly with
2:27
French brands and and some other stuff in banking, digital
2:33
marketing. And then I decided to pivot
2:36
because I'd understood I was a really great salesman, but I
2:43
wanted to be in business for myself.
2:44
I wanted to sell something for myself, so I went to Quebec.
2:49
So because I'm a French citizen, I paid local tuition at
2:55
Concordia University in Moleta and studied Tajik Ologia
3:00
translation studies, or tragic theology, which is a relatively
3:04
new area of study. But that was my first step into
3:10
the world of translation. So you ask how I got into
3:16
interpreting. So actually you should know that
3:20
COVID was about halfway through my mates keys and so I was
3:25
actually living in the plateau. I've needed Tupac and I caught
3:30
wind that people were getting sick all around and I said I'm
3:33
that's it, I'm not staying in the city for this.
3:36
So I went back down to Greenwich and I passed the ATA exam to be
3:40
a translator. After graduating, I acquired
3:44
OTAC, the Order of Translators of Quebec, um.
3:48
As an interpreter and a translator, or just as a.
3:50
Translator. This was translator only, but I
3:54
had taken the first steps to become an interpreter and that
3:59
was same thing about 2022 or 2022 rather, when I passed the
4:06
New York State Court interpreter exam.
4:10
And I use that because I've been fascinated by interpreting to
4:16
really have my mentor, Louis Cascara of Alpha Interpretation,
4:22
take A chance on me in conference interpreting.
4:25
The rest is history. Wow.
4:29
I'm one more who that we tried, you know, and today I'm still
4:33
an. Interpreter University.
4:35
University 20 years later. Yes.
4:39
Yeah, there's several of actually some of our guests and
4:41
Louis was on her podcast as well.
4:43
Yeah, I watched it. I washed it.
4:45
But the thing about it was that, you know, I was actually scared
4:49
at first about simultaneous interpreting.
4:53
I didn't think I could do it. I thought it was impossible.
4:55
I would see, you know, the United Nations stuff or even
4:59
like consecutive with presidents that I'm not sure I'd ever do.
5:04
But so I said to myself that consecutive court interpreting,
5:13
that's something I could do. Little did I know that
5:16
conference interpreting on fully able to do it as well.
5:20
And I always compare it to riding the wave.
5:23
That's what it is. Once you get into the wave and
5:26
you ride it, you either your boards may be a bit back or
5:29
maybe you're there. You know what's going to happen.
5:31
Sometimes the speaker repeats themselves just to say the joke
5:34
again. And so you're there, you're
5:35
there. You're like, OK, well I'm
5:38
already at the peak, so I'll just cool down a little bit.
5:43
It's a very good analogy to talk to to about surfing.
5:46
I like it. I might use it again.
5:48
Or everyone who's listening to the podcast, you know?
5:50
Great. I find that I'm kind of writing
5:54
that way of what every time and at the beginning of January,
5:56
because you don't interpret much during the holidays, then it
5:59
takes a little while to get back into that wave and then get back
6:02
into the swing of things for the rest of the the busy season.
6:05
How's the web right now, Brian? The wave is it's a Senani right
6:09
now. Yeah.
6:12
Well, the markets picking back up from that tariff stuff.
6:15
And. Yeah, Spring, there was a lot of
6:17
pent up need to, you know, share the thoughts and all that with
6:22
the. Yeah.
6:23
I think that, yeah, the first half of 2025 was very much like
6:28
either a standstill or a little bit of a decrease in the
6:30
business just because of the tariffs.
6:32
And there was an American election, there was a Canadian
6:35
election, there was provincial election here in Ontario.
6:38
So like nobody knew where to put their money.
6:40
But now I think everything that's kind of picking up again,
6:44
and that's good for us, good for business, good for the economy.
6:47
I think that, yeah, hopefully it stays like this till the
6:51
holidays and then we can get a little break again and then we
6:53
can ride that wave again in January.
6:56
A brand new way for 2026. Serves up.
6:59
So and Jeremy, you first contacted me along, I mean, I
7:06
don't know, maybe something like 6 months ago because you wanted
7:10
to come to your podcast. You, I mean the podcast is
7:15
actually a one year old right now in October, we sell up.
7:18
We've celebrated one year onto this podcast.
7:22
So this is for. And you've collected.
7:26
So much. Pretty early, Yeah, we gotta
7:29
look pretty early. When we did the podcast, when we
7:31
started the podcast actually, I still remember when I got your
7:35
your message and you wanted to tell us about some of the
7:40
bureaucratic nightmare or red tape that you're facing right
7:44
now in order to get into a different markets.
7:48
Can you tell us a bit more about that?
7:50
Yeah, absolutely. So just to go back though, first
7:55
in the story, so suddenly I'm a conference interpreter.
7:58
I'm doing major annual events, digital Don, they have
8:03
superstars on stage. You know, Bayer Pharmaceutical,
8:08
we've got, I mean, it's, it's crazy.
8:10
So suddenly I'm in the I'm in the thick of it and really
8:15
enjoying the career. So I really wanted to stick with
8:18
it so that I was good at it. Now, I do operate primarily in
8:28
the US and Canada and, but I did want to, to end Quebec and did
8:35
want to um, develop the business in France because after all, in
8:42
French France, Switzerland, Belgium, UK, O one of the issues
8:53
that I was having in Quebec was that I was a temporary
8:59
immigrant. I had my student visa.
9:03
I got a postgraduation work permit.
9:07
In fact, it's set to expire next year, but it's a bit
9:14
uncomfortable, if I'm being honest, in terms of, um,
9:19
lodging, you know, maybe getting a new car, stuff like that.
9:24
Like my career is going great and I could afford all those
9:27
things, but they were not for me.
9:30
They were reserved for citizens who remembered.
9:33
Just just to understand, where are you physically now?
9:36
Right now I'm in Charleston, SC. All right, and you can work
9:42
remotely. Before.
9:43
So after. Go ahead.
9:45
But but yeah, just just to just to so that's just so I
9:48
understand you can work remotely let's say for Brian or Louise
9:53
company while being in America and invoice them and they would
9:59
be there are no issues over there.
10:00
So why is your hold on? Why?
10:03
Why not? In Canada, as long as you don't
10:08
perform the services on Canadian soil, you don't need a visa.
10:13
Yeah, right. So so right now I live in.
10:17
America right now. Yep.
10:20
Yeah, it's a bit superfluous. The visa I have, I'm not using
10:23
it. I'm not using it anymore.
10:27
But anyway to get back to? The States and you're working.
10:30
I'm back, yeah, I'm back in the States.
10:32
OK. But So what had happened, and
10:35
this is the central idea that I I came to you with, was that
10:42
when I decided to get my work permit and leave Canada, I spent
10:49
six months in France. Like I said, I wanted to develop
10:53
the business there. So I, I had at this point I had
11:01
New York State courts, Washington DC state courts,
11:05
Massachusetts trial courts, main trial courts, and Vermont
11:10
courts. So as well as the masters degree
11:14
in translation, that's yours in French Indian and I'm French
11:20
with I had about 20 hearings under my belt at the time.
11:25
So I wanted to apply to I wanted to become a tragic tale as El
11:30
Monte. What does that mean?
11:31
That means you're sworn translator.
11:33
I'm saying translator but and Antelope SL Monte.
11:38
So 2 applications and in France how it works.
11:43
So again, just to come back and it has more to do with
11:47
translation, but I was, uh, really, I really wanted a French
11:52
seal, a translator seal, the one I have through the ATM in the
11:57
US, the one I have through RTI in French.
11:59
That way when you need to have anything officially translated
12:03
for courts, for example, one of my clients is Crime Prosecutor
12:07
Ontario or you know, USCIS, US Customs and Immigration Service,
12:13
they need that seal. So I wanted that in France and
12:17
the interpretation designation as well of course.
12:21
And so I basically I did everything that was required,
12:26
submitted this and it was very French of course.
12:31
So what you do is you submit your application end of January
12:36
and get an answer mid-december. Pretty long time to wait for an
12:43
answer and the answer I got this is what I wanted to share Was
12:50
Luger rejection motif reason, Badger, Bosana.
12:58
No need, huh? So I'm there.
13:03
I'm fully qualified with an application that was completed,
13:09
submitted on time. I'm French, there's no question
13:12
about that. And still they decided not to
13:19
add me to their ranks to these to public directories of
13:25
expandable Prada. Cool is what it is you for like
13:28
2 weeks you become an expert court expert and then shortly
13:32
after you go before a magistrate and take an oath to you know
13:38
it's all in lead do the the. Work and and just to make things
13:42
clear, there's that you're not the first one applying, right?
13:46
There are other people who have that certification, right?
13:52
You're not the very first one to come in and say, hey, give me a
13:55
certification for something that does not exist.
13:57
You're you're just. One of the process, yeah.
14:00
It's part of the. Process, right and this and this
14:02
exists and then in fact, just to go further so and zoom out a
14:08
little bit, any French person looking for a especially abroad
14:13
looking for a sworn translation again, I'm going to be talking
14:19
about both I I'm both a translator.
14:21
Accident. Were you rejected for both?
14:22
Yeah, that's fine. Yes.
14:24
You're rejected for both enterprise and translation.
14:27
May I ask? Who does the rejection?
14:29
Is it the cord or is it an association?
14:31
It was a small group of administrators in the cool debel
14:39
Deshawn Berry, so the Chambery. They handle the pains of meaning
14:45
old Savoie and Savoie. And yeah, it has the name of the
14:50
town or the city, but in fact it is the one of like 15 major
15:00
cooled that bed. So kind of lower courts, if you
15:03
want to call it that of which. You need maybe?
15:07
Court of Appeal, he said. OK.
15:09
Yeah, of which you need three years of experience to be.
15:15
One day you could be a Supreme Court interpreter, but you need
15:21
to have three years at the level of the cool ticket duped.
15:25
So and they basically just took that from me, had me linger for
15:32
11 months waiting when they knew that there was no need for
15:37
anymore. That supply and demand is how
15:42
they manage their roster. But the real thing was this I
15:47
wanted to say French people looking for sworn translations
15:52
are going to the Alliance Frances website or the Culture
15:58
Legionnaire de France website. And there there's a link that
16:02
brings you to the cool depil all of them separately for you to
16:09
choose then by region. And I'm sure that Paris gets the
16:12
most it's kind of no doubt about that or whether you live nearby,
16:17
whichever to then have a list of the experts, which you then have
16:23
to find translators and interpreters.
16:24
It's really out of date is the way I would put it, because
16:29
ideally it would be all regions together or all of the inter
16:35
interpreters and translators and that it just doesn't make sense
16:39
from A-Z. None of it makes sense and
16:41
they're unwilling really to understand.
16:45
And this was my theory that all they would have to do is measure
16:51
the traffic on those websites to see that tons of people, more
16:56
than there are English criminals in the Alps one year who need,
17:03
you know, English interpretation.
17:07
And the other last point on that was that agencies as well.
17:11
So I work predominantly with agencies, Brian.
17:14
Maybe it will work together. I didn't know that you had an
17:16
agency, and unless that was theoretical, that's and.
17:22
That's true. And they were shocked.
17:27
They were shocked. They were like, well, we need
17:31
sworn interpreters to handle. That's what our clients are
17:34
looking for, for their depositions, for their stuff.
17:38
So you're saying that they didn't do it?
17:40
I was like, yeah, no, that's it. Once you got the decision that
17:45
there was no need, is there an appeal board?
17:49
I appealed the decision. It was a, it was, you know,
17:55
enumerated in the rejection letter to the Supreme Court of
17:59
France, the cool.net. And I had already.
18:02
Went all the way to the Supreme Court.
18:04
Yeah. You know, like, just like the
18:06
Supreme Court here with Justice Magner.
18:10
Yeah. Or is it different?
18:12
Is it a different Supreme Court? Like is it a Supreme Court for
18:15
translators or interpreters or like are you talking about the?
18:18
The Supreme Court of France. But it didn't go like how I
18:22
would have wished. I was already dreaming of hiring
18:26
a court sketch artist to have me in the Paris court, you know,
18:33
pleading my case. No, they just check whether or
18:36
not. Huh.
18:39
No need is an actual reason, and it is no need is a reason in
18:46
France, and obviously that's ridiculous.
18:51
Could you talk in person to anyone or was just a letter?
18:54
No, just a letter. I had a portal for the colder
18:58
ESO where I could follow the progress of my case and I saw
19:05
the ruling just the other day. Actually it came in.
19:08
I should be getting a hard copy so.
19:10
You got rejected in this specific region in France, but
19:16
you wanted to work in that specific region of France
19:18
because that's where you're from, like your family and your
19:21
ancestors and all this. Is it possible to then just
19:26
apply to another region like as a foot in the door so that then
19:29
you can maybe go towards that direction once you're already in
19:33
the system? Yeah.
19:35
And that's where I'm gonna pivot to.
19:37
But the same thing might happen again just based on how they're
19:42
operating. But I hope not.
19:44
My only hope would be that Paris would be more business forward.
19:48
I think what they did is very anti business.
19:51
Yeah. And well, I mean.
19:53
It's it's the government too, but.
19:55
Yeah, when they're justified in not really caring about that,
19:58
but really you, you know, want to.
20:02
Could you also like apply like Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Marseille
20:05
and then like just see it like can you do multiple applications
20:08
or do you, can you only do 1? So it's based on your address.
20:11
And So what I can do, this is a great segue.
20:14
So aside from the courts and but it helps with the courts.
20:19
So I don't know if you guys know this, but in France you can't
20:23
just get to work. It's not you're not allowed to
20:27
work. You need to create a company, a
20:31
Mikel Altima, please. And you need to register with a
20:34
certain code, the type of service you're offering.
20:37
So in my case, translation and interpreting services, I created
20:41
a company it's called Amerigo tragic synonym criteria and I
20:47
went with criteria to have that kind of friend.
20:50
So you know, we say out up with us.
20:52
You're right here and interpretation, but and so
20:57
that's pretty funny. I think it's a play on words on
20:59
Patty go, you know the slang for a Parisian.
21:02
So I called Amerigo like in American.
21:04
I was not aware of this Lang, sorry.
21:07
Oh, no. OK, yeah, I see you're not
21:09
reacting. OK.
21:11
And I can sort of add a business address where I want.
21:19
So that would be the next step next year would be to have a
21:22
device DSU of Amerigo in Paris and then go like that.
21:29
In terms of having that, like casting a wide net like that,
21:33
that's not something that's possible.
21:35
Like filling forms, man. Me.
21:39
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I'm trying to follow
21:43
your story and I and I'm really, it's not confusing as much as
21:46
frustrating the the, the amount of paperwork that you have to go
21:49
through. Sure, but you know, it actually,
21:54
well, when the results are there, it it's worth it.
21:58
You know, it doesn't take too much time.
22:00
Also, I love signing my name. That's why I love being a
22:02
translator so much. The, the declaration, the Dick
22:06
that has tragic tale, the translator statement.
22:08
In Quebec and in the US, it's called a letter of accuracy.
22:12
And you're there. Boom, that's my seal.
22:15
Boom, that's my signature and today's date.
22:18
You're good. Take this to the bank.
22:19
Take this to who you want. What was I gonna say?
22:23
So then, so I started to outside of the courts get agencies in
22:29
France and they're the ones telling me they were shocked
22:32
about the, you know, the, the thing with the courts, but they
22:35
knew I had experience as a court interpreter.
22:37
So I've got a couple clients in Spain, UK, Belgium, Switzerland
22:42
and. You're allowed to work in the
22:44
whole European Union. Right, but.
22:47
For that you need you need a micro business as you were
22:50
saying. Yes, yes.
22:51
And without a, just to make sure I understand.
22:54
So even without that micro business example here we have
22:57
several interpreters who don't have a registered company.
23:00
They're more like cell phone employed under their name.
23:02
They have filed our taxes under their name.
23:04
That is not possible in France. No, and the argument that they
23:10
give see this is the worst when French people they argue with
23:14
you and you really can't argue with them in this case, they
23:19
would say, you know, we just put in our Social Security number
23:25
and we get to work as a freelancer social insurance
23:28
number in in Canada, right. So there are no.
23:31
That's the same thing. Why would you be?
23:33
Well, why would you be working on your healthcare number?
23:36
That doesn't make sense. That's for healthcare.
23:39
You said social insurance or healthcare?
23:41
I don't understand. I may not have the Canadian
23:43
reference, but it's basically just a joke.
23:45
So in the US, you can work as a freelancer under your Social
23:48
Security number. No need to incorporate in
23:51
France. No.
23:52
Same thing here is that you try to explain that to them and they
23:55
would say something to the effect of, well, that's
23:57
peculiar. You're using your health, you're
23:59
using your Social Security, social healthcare number to
24:03
work. That's not.
24:04
So you can't argue with them. You OK?
24:06
Alright, you win. OK, because OK, because I don't
24:11
I don't, I once again, I don't have the reference here, but in
24:13
the United States, you there your Social Social Security
24:17
number, I guess yes, is also the same thing as your healthcare
24:21
number. Any company gets 2 numbers and
24:25
you be able to sire and a numerous children.
24:29
So that's it. So I have a Numerus Sila which
24:33
with which I can translate and interpret so.
24:38
So let me give you another I would.
24:40
Like to, I would like to, I would like to say hello.
24:42
I would like to say hello to all of my French friends here in
24:45
Quebec and I understand why they moved here.
24:48
Sorry, now I understand what they're telling me.
24:53
And your whole life filling out forms in France.
24:55
Yeah, alright, so. Sorry French listeners.
24:59
That's why they are so. Yeah, just vacation.
25:03
I'm confused, man. I'm sorry, man.
25:06
It's not that you're a bad storyteller, and it's just that
25:08
I found all of this very confusing.
25:10
That's yeah. Well, it is.
25:12
I mean, I did everything by the book with the courts.
25:14
But anyway, so I also registered my business, my French business,
25:22
which is a European service provider to offer services in
25:28
Switzerland. So being that NYC is, it's
25:32
almost a suburb of Geneva. Now, is that the reason why you
25:37
want to apply to the French courts to be able to work there,
25:41
Is that because you want to eventually move there one day?
25:44
Or is it because they have say like Zoom?
25:46
Like we do a lot of stuff on Zoom.
25:48
Do they have like a virtual platform for court
25:52
interpretation? So I actually don't.
25:55
So I I know what I like and I know what I don't like and I
25:58
have no interest in being a court interpreter in France, but
26:03
having the designation is a great way to work in the private
26:07
sector, in the legal sector as well as in conference
26:11
interpreting. I was looking for this to be a
26:14
key to open up conference interpreting.
26:17
So I guess maybe you guys have noticed I don't have the masters
26:23
degree in conference interpreting.
26:25
No, I've noticed that in the beginning you're you're you're
26:28
master race is in trajectory. Yes.
26:31
From the University of Concordia.
26:33
Yes, all right. There is a way to spin that, but
26:36
you know, it's it's certainly not.
26:39
So that makes it tougher. Again, in the European Society
26:43
out there, all they're looking for is for you to have exactly
26:47
that degree and exactly that experience.
26:51
And, um, it's What about? Joining.
26:53
What about joining AIG France? Have you tried that?
26:57
It's on the list of things to do.
26:59
As of today, I have about 145 days of conference experience.
27:07
Days of conference experience. Five more and I can send that
27:14
off. But I think what I'd prefer to
27:16
do is I. End of October, you.
27:18
Should be there, yeah. But you said I.
27:22
Would go for AIK Switzerland and again, the Swiss, I really
27:27
appreciate what they're doing, how they're, they're basically
27:30
the Americans of Europe, They're the Americans of the
27:33
Francophonie. Switzerland and Quebec are much
27:38
more American and market driven, really forward thinking, open to
27:43
business, much more than the French, that has to be said.
27:47
I mean, it's true. You know, we're like Americans
27:50
that speak French at many level. Yeah, that's why I love Quebec
27:53
so much. It's I would always anyways my
27:57
oyster. And I again, I mean to be clear,
28:00
90% of my business is in the French Canadian market.
28:05
So it's where I studied and it's a, I'm also passionate about, I
28:12
love Quebec. I think Quebec should be a
28:13
country. So we'll see about that, but.
28:18
Where's where's Switzerland on this podcast?
28:19
We're not getting into politics. Here.
28:24
Yeah, we all yeah. We'll go there.
28:26
We all get it. But so you're in, you're living
28:29
just like we're very close to Charleston, North Carolina.
28:33
How do you do all those assignments up in New York and
28:37
Connecticut? Yeah, about once a month I get
28:41
on the road, whether it's in Boston or it's whether it's in
28:46
Quebec. Mohal, Ottawa.
28:51
Boston, NY. Washington, DC.
28:55
So travel there. You know, I'm really living the
28:58
dream in that sense. That is set to at least the
29:02
Quebec and Canadian part sort of expire at the end of next summer
29:07
since I won't be. Living the dream is living as an
29:09
interpreter. That's living the dream, yeah.
29:11
Wherever. You.
29:12
Are absolutely. Yeah, So.
29:14
So what in terms of like, say like if you want to work in
29:18
Europe, if you want to work in the US and if you wanna work in
29:20
Canada, what rates do you use like, do you use like?
29:24
Because I think in and if I'm not mistaken then in the States
29:27
is kind of like a, a bit of a free for all.
29:29
It's like a free market of of interpretation.
29:32
There's no real set rates as opposed to maybe France or
29:35
Canada. Um, no, I wouldn't say that.
29:40
I wouldn't say that. No, it can be.
29:45
It could be a, you know, a 400 an hour US is like 500 bucks.
29:52
Um, Canadian. I think what's going on is that
29:58
I specifically work in the French Canadian market.
30:02
Again, I can't be more clear about that.
30:05
And I also called my company FRQ CA as a play on France, Quebec,
30:14
Canada in in the name. So that's my LLC that's been
30:18
incorporated for for a few years.
30:21
And So what you do is base the prices off the prices in Canada
30:27
just converted into dollars. But I did so in the time I was
30:32
in France. I so here's the thing again.
30:35
So I got my start my career in sales.
30:39
I'm great on the phone, I'm personable.
30:42
I talked to the people much more in English than French, but I
30:44
know I have the church, as they say in French, I'm able to chat
30:48
with people and you know, kind of uncover information.
30:51
So I got the rates out of some people, same person she had told
30:57
me that institutional was out of the question, UN, European
31:03
Union, European Commission, stuff like that because.
31:07
You know which market you're talking about.
31:10
France. All right.
31:12
And the. Dancing.
31:13
We're bouncing all over the place now.
31:15
Sorry. Sure, sure.
31:17
In France, you know, you can look to, you know, get 700 a day
31:22
and Switzerland, it can be as high as 900 per day.
31:24
That's Swiss francs. So we're already talking about
31:26
close to 1200 Canadian, I see. Alright, so um, I will try to
31:38
take a few Tylenol now to because I have a headache from
31:44
hearing the bureaucratic nightmare that you went through
31:49
in order to get certification. I admire your courage in trying
31:56
to do things differently and not to be only in one market, but to
32:01
go all the way when it comes to all the nationalities that you
32:05
have. That's pretty cool.
32:07
In terms of the state courts, my next move is to pass a here in
32:13
South Carolina, the national state court association exam as
32:21
a French court interpreter. And, um, what had happened is
32:25
that back in 2022 when I passed the New York State court exam,
32:30
that is not the national version, quite unfortunately.
32:35
So it took a lot of convincing to get Washington, DC on board
32:40
and Massachusetts, many other states like Pennsylvania,
32:43
Virginia, Florida, Hawaii, California all told me no, you
32:51
did not take the national version of the test and get a
32:55
70% or higher. And I said, well, look at the
32:59
New York State exam requirements.
33:01
You have to have gotten the 70% or higher to have acquired it.
33:07
So this stuff just repeats constantly, this sort of stuff
33:10
where they're almost not wanting you to succeed.
33:14
But anyway, so. I have this now, but but the
33:17
things that are made to say things are made to be local,
33:22
right? Because most people are not
33:23
trying to work in different jurisdictions all over the
33:26
place. They're basically focusing on
33:28
one market. Am I not wrong?
33:29
Am I not right? And that's why the system is
33:31
made-up, not in defence of the system, but I'm just so you're
33:34
right as a as an explanation, that's basically it.
33:37
And you're. That's why the reciprocity
33:39
exists though. And what I'm trying to do is
33:43
have a modern business model. I'm trying to be a virtual
33:51
conference interpreter throughout the US and it's
33:55
already working the only. Thing we had the Judy Jenner,
34:00
the others there on the podcast and she was telling us that she
34:04
can work at the federal level as an interpreter though, So she
34:08
goes all over the country. So that could be an option for
34:11
you. OK, so that brings up a good
34:14
point. And, and so the thing about it
34:17
at all and you were asking me this before while we were
34:20
prepping was, you know, why am I doing this business model?
34:25
Why is it so spread internationally?
34:27
Why do you want to work virtually?
34:29
You said that traditionally most people work in their local
34:31
market, their country. You know their language.
34:35
You need to understand that the only language really that um.
34:44
Matters is money. That No, I was trying to say
34:48
that in Canada it's French and in the US it's Spanish.
34:54
And so if you're working in any other language than Spanish in
34:59
the US, you know, you, you, you have to get a bit creative with
35:04
it. So I see this working.
35:06
I'm already seeing it working. And as they say, if you can sell
35:09
one, you can sell a million. Clearly I have such a high level
35:14
of French and English of education, understanding of
35:17
translation. A lot of the times I'm teaching
35:20
them about translation theory and by extension interpretation
35:23
theory. I mean, it's all important
35:25
stuff. People are fascinated, you know,
35:27
judges all the time. They're saying, wow, if I can't
35:30
believe how well you speak French, if only I could.
35:32
And that stuff is great and people are happy with the
35:35
service and go ahead being. French helps.
35:43
And yeah, I admire your tenacity and, and being able to try to,
35:47
to, to navigate through all of those different turtles.
35:52
And yeah, it's, it's really commendable to be able to, to,
35:55
to see and just keep us in the loop in terms of what happens if
35:59
you're experiment works or not. Because it would be nice to to
36:03
see if if maybe in the future. So it's a great way to wrap
36:08
things up. Good luck once again on all on
36:13
breaking the demo, the bureaucratic, I should say,
36:18
barriers out there and all the red tape.
36:20
If I have any forms to fill in the future, I will definitely
36:25
contact you all right now, but that's it.
36:28
OK, so. Thank you, Brian.
36:30
Thanks. Thank you.
36:33
To me and everyone, don't forget like, share, subscribe and we'll
36:37
meet each other for another episode next time.
36:40
You'll see well. Bob.