OPEN HOUSE: To attend or not to attend, that is the question

Sounds familiar, right? It can remind you of the famous Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare. But I’ve chosen this title for you. Yes, you! The one, behind the screen, who is hesitating whether to join the Open House or not. And don’t worry, we are not having a literature lesson today.

If you are a newbie who has recently joined ProZ Pro Bono, or not a newbie anymore, but one who’s been lurking and has never joined an Open House session, let me tell you my story.

As a freelance translator, I am used to working alone. I’ve always thought I am an introvert, enjoying the quiet and focused nature of the work, doing research for my translation projects, walking in nature, reading good books, etc. And that had never bothered me. Until I joined the ProZ Pro Bono and the first Open House session. Okay, but what does it have in common with Hamlet? Simple as it is. Hamlet is in many ways a story about the difficult dynamics between family members. But we, at Pro Bono, have absolutely opposite ‘family’ relations. ProZ Pro Bono is a global family of volunteers. We have come here to help others. You can expect to meet warm and welcoming, kind and compassionate, empathetic and understanding, non-judgmental and accepting, patient and open-minded, positive and encouraging people with different backgrounds from all over the world!

So, what is Open House?

• Open house is an informal meeting on Google Meet, held every Thursday, 15 GMT.
  

What do we typically do during an Open House?

• Chat about the Program news, challenges that our volunteers face in dealing with projects and Program development.

• Brainstorm ideas on how to resolve these challenges and help each other.

• Meet new volunteers, laugh, and have fun!

Who are you going to see at Open House?

• The first person is Andrew Morris, the mighty Director of the Program — charismatic, always smiling, asking everyone questions, friendly and very enthusiastic! Once you tell him where you are from, he will reply that he has lived there for a number of years. He has lived in more than 13 countries in the world! You can ask him any question and you’ll receive the most comprehensive answer.
  

• Active in the beginning, but now spending more of her time with 13 grandchildren, our GrandMa, Claudia Brauer, the “veteran” of the translation industry. Always smiling, giving wise advice and supporting our family.
  

• Chinthanie Dissanayake (or Chinthi), Program Admin, nice and warm lady dealing with daily tasks and helping Andrew not to get lost in zillions of emails.
  

• Ammar Naif and Yuna Aisha Guillamot, always-ready-to-help tech experts in CAT-tools and many more.
  

• Nick from London. A real gentleman, sophisticated, knowledgeable, helpful, communicative, eloquent and with an adorable accent!
  

• Paola, Anna Cook, Claudia, Aroh Levi, Yves Allain, Subrina, Silvia, Victor, Santiago and many more!

In addition to that, we have Ninjas, Crews, Program Ambassadors. Wanna learn more? 

Hesitate no more and join us at Open House! Save this link http://meet.google.com/vdj-gens-fzs.

See you there!

Anastasija