Just so you know, this post is in English. Relax, you can all breathe again :) The posh French title is there because this is about French (the language, not the people). The local platform for innovation is organising a series of lectures on intellectual property rights. Since I am sideways, tangently involved with that on rare occasions, I figured it would be nice to attend some of these lectures. Caveat: they’re in French.
Le ouch! Hmmms, then again, after 4 years in a foreign country (where I usually speak English), and day-to-day interactions with non-Dutch (again, English), my grasp of French ought to be sufficient, no? Well, shucks, why not give it a go.
So I did. Imagine my surprise when I could not only follow most of the first lecture, but was actually quite at ease. Of course, this is a subject with which I am familiar (e.g. I know some things about the Berne Convention — beyond knowing of its existence :), and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the first lecture had little news for me in store.
I was a little dismayed when the second lecture was similar. It makes sense, they are focusing on SMEs, but listening to a talk about the intellectual property rights involved in setting up your website was not the reason I was attending.
So I even learned that I can multitaks (to a limited degree) while listening to a presentation in French on a subject with which I am passingly acquainted. :) Hooray for me! :)