Networking meals 

Thursday, 4 October and Friday, 5 October

Dinner groups, Thursday, 4 October, 21:00 until late

Buddies of bubbly – Do you like champagne? Prosecco? Then you'll like cava! How does cava differ from champagne, prosecco and other sparkling wines? We'll discuss the different ways still wines are made into sparklers and you can get some tips on local producers to visit while we taste a selection from the area. Many foods pair well with cava. Come and share your favourite match-ups or maybe learn about some new ones. €35/person. Omnivore fare; this set menu cannot accommodate special dietary requirements. Group leader: Karin Rockstad (12 people)
Restaurant: Plaça del Vi 7. Address: Plaça del Vi, 7  

Foodie translators powwow – If you're passionate about good food and love to spend time in the kitchen, this group is for you. Bring along pictures and recipes of your favourite creations and questions about difficult cooking or baking techniques. Group leader: Jenny Zonneveld
Restaurant: Vintages. Address: Carrer de la Cort Reial, 15

Girona cuisine – Do you know your botifarra from your bacallà? Your escalivada from your escamarlans? Come and revel in the best of Girona cuisine whilst getting to know your fellow METM-ers! €40/person. Omnivore fare; this set menu cannot accommodate special dietary requirements. Group leader: Kirsty Morgan (12 people)
Restaurant: La Penyora. Address: Carrer Nou del Teatre, 3

Just say no – It's easy to say no to a random agency asking for your "best rate", but not so easy to say no to your best mate. When should we turn down work and related tasks for our own good? How do we make the decision? And how do we stick to it? Group leader: Kate Sotejeff-Wilson
Restaurant: Brots de Vi. Address: Carrer de la Cort Reial, 1

"Lang may yer lumb reek, issuh?" A light-hearted look at regional dialects – If you’ve ever put goose gogs or spice in yer cake ‘oil, or etten yer lowance wi’ a well-mashed cuppa, or even if you haven’t but you’re curious to find out, come and enjoy a taste of regional dialects. Please bring snippets of your home twang to give us all a laugh and paint a broader picture of the dialects from wherever you hail. Group leader: Mary Savage
Restaurant: Blanc. Address: Carrer Nord, 2

Raising kids bilingually: how to hang on in there, 24/7? – Who speaks what, in "both sides now"? The creative, cultural and cognitive benefits will help our wee wonders to super-surf their multilingual lives. But yes, it’s demanding of the parents, and of accomplices in the greater family, neighbours, schools. Share your dos, don’ts, should haves, could haves and plans. Group leader: Gráinne Newcombe
Restaurant: L' Argadà. Address: Avinguda de Ramón Folch, 7

Savory Apples – This table is for Mac users who want to share some useful software and IT tips that help you survive in a PC-centric translation industry. Group leader: John Di Rico
Restaurant: Curcúma. Address: Plaça Bell-lloc, 4-6

Switching off – Are you a slave to your smartphone? Find yourself constantly checking your emails and refreshing your social media channels? Or have you mastered the art of disconnecting – and if so, how?! We’ll be exchanging tips and ideas on how to switch off digitally… and mentally. Group leader: Susannah Goss
Restaurant: Context Llibreria Cafè. Carrer del Pou Rodó, 21 

Vegan and vegan-curious – Vegan-curious? Card-carrying herbivore? Whatever your experience, come join us for plant-based tasters and local craft beer at popular vegan restaurant B12, right opposite the conference venue. Get to know your colleagues, learn more about veganism, and sample the variety of Catalonian vegan cuisine in one appetizing evening! €18/person including wine; beer priced separately. Vegan fare; this set menu cannot accommodate special dietary requirements. Group leader: Rose Newell (12 people)
Restaurant: B12. Plaça de Vi, 11

Why wouldn't you want to be acknowledged for your work? – I once translated a programme for the pomp and ceremony of an honorary doctorate being awarded to the King of Spain. Unfortunately I wasn't sent the text for the embossed gold cover of the brochure and it contained an embarrassing typo... but mostly I'm very glad to be acknowledged for the work I do. We can discuss the pros and cons of having your name on a text. Group leader: Jackie Senior
Restaurant: Cafe Le Bistrot. Address: Pujada de Sant Domènec, 4
 

Lunch groups, Friday, 5 October, 13:00 - 14:30

Clients who think they know better – Do you live and work in a non-Anglophone country for clients who speak good English and sometimes challenge your (correct) English or – worse – disimprove it without consulting you? Share horrific or humorous anecdotes and strategies for dealing with such misguidedly opinionated clients with your sympathetic colleagues. Group leader: Joy Burrough-Boenisch
Restaurant: Brots de Vi. Address: Carrer de la Cort Reial, 1

Ethics, ownership and crediting of conference content – The conference circuit for translators and editors has increased in size in recent years, and the same – or similar – talks are sometimes presented at two or more events. Does this practice reduce the variety of content available to participants or does it offer them more opportunities to attend the talks they are interested in? And how should this shared content be credited? Group leader: Alan Lounds
Restaurant: Probocador. Address: Carrer de les Hortes, 7

Fact checking, fake news and digital citizenship – We will discuss the challenges of sifting the wheat from the chaff in an era of data overload, fake news and social media. Come prepared to share your own tricks and tips! Group leader: Annie Graul
Restaurant: Curcúma. Address: Plaça Bell-lloc, 4-6

Freelancing after kids – Have you recently had kids or are seriously considering doing so and wondering how you will juggle work and family life? Will you go on maternity/paternity leave or just soldier on? Come along and share the ins and outs of freelancing after having children. Group leader: Phillippa Bennett
Restaurant: 8de7. Address: Carrer de les Hortes, 10

Hello, what are you reading? – This is how a lovely character in Ali Smith’s Autumn always greets his visitors. So, what are you reading? What do you usually read? Novels, non-fiction, genre? Come along and we’ll have a chat about books and share our best recommendations and discoveries. Group leader: Heather Hamilton
Restaurant: Cafe Le Bistrot. Address: Pujada de Sant Domènec, 4

Intuition in the translation business – Do you use intuition at work? When hitting on the right vocabulary or choosing between projects or clients, do you follow your instinct or are you more methodical? Has following your intuition ever had surprising results or let you down? Come and discuss the highs and lows of following your gut feeling. Group leader: Kit Cree
Restaurant: Artusi. Address: Plaça de les Castanyes, 6.

Kabbala in the call – The call of Girona is a reminder of the city’s importance as a centre of Catalan Judaism in the Middle Ages. Kabbala, a Jewish mystical tradition, reached Girona in the early 13th century. I hope our discussion will add something to your visit to the call district of the city. Group leader: Irwin Temkin
Restaurant: El Pou del Call. Carrer de la Força, 14

Open access (OA): the upsides and downsides – The OA landscape is characterized by confusion –some created by commercial research journal publishers focused on protecting their market, and some arising from the proliferation of OA advocacy groups and initiatives. We'll focus on providing up-to-date information to help participants understand OA concepts and terminology. Group leaders: Karen Shashok and Jason Willis-Lee
Restaurant: La Poma. Address: Carrer de la Cort Reial, 16

Red-faced at the coalface – Come and tell us over lunch about your most embarrassing translation project. Translations you'd hide from granny or never admit to with your peers. Your secret's safe with us! Group leader: Mary Consonni
Restaurant: Blanc. Address: Carrer Nord, 2

What is the legal translator’s role in mediating style? – Let’s get the discussion started in preparation for our METM18 presentation on this topic. Group leaders: Maeva Cifuentes and Richard Lackey
Restaurant: 8de7. Address: Carrer de les Hortes, 10

Working with multiple source languages – Whether you currently translate from multiple source languages or are considering adding a new language pair to your services, come and discuss the opportunities and potential pitfalls, and share strategies for keeping up to date with several different languages and cultures while managing a busy workload. Group leader: Jacqueline Lamb
Restaurant: L' Argadà. Address: Avinguda de Ramón Folch, 7