The importance of a good lunch

by Richard Peters

So it’s past midday and I’ve been a good boy all morning, tapping away at my keyboard and coming up with sparkling translations so my customers’ messages can cut through the noise of a crowded marketplace. But now my brain is running dry of ideas, and my inspiration is withering on the vine: I need to eat.

I’m so lucky to work in the centre of Munich, where a world of food options is just a few minutes’ walk or cycle away from my office. If it’s been a tough morning, even choosing where to eat can pose a challenge to my work-addled head. But then that little bit of exercise to get there, combined with the breeze of fresh ideas that accompanies a lunchtime change of scenery, is a welcome side dish for the mind.

For me, though, whatever the cuisine I’ve decided to partake of on this particular day, the main course is quite simply the chance to laugh and chat with my colleagues. Of course, we talk to each other in the office as well – it’s no Trappist monastery, that’s for sure! – but it tends to come in short bursts: some chatter about a language problem, or a wry smile and a giggle at something someone’s found “down the rabbit hole” of online research. In contrast, a mealtime conversation has a chance to unfurl and expand; we can bring some past and some future into our daily dose of the here and now.

And then I return to my desk, sated, my batteries recharged. I’m ready to tackle the next tricky translation – say of an idiom that is hilarious in the source language but makes no sense at all in the target language. For instance, in English we have the phrase “He’s two sandwiches short of a picnic”, meaning someone who is ever so slightly potty. Translated word for word into German, it’s gobbledygook. Luckily, the Germans have a similar phrase: “Er hat nicht alle Tassen im Schrank”, which translates as “His cupboard is missing a few cups”. The idea is the same, but the way it’s conveyed is different enough to completely throw someone confronted by a direct translation.

Which is where I come in with my linguistic superpowers. Fresh from lunch, I’m like Popeye: spinach is everything – only with me, everything is spinach!

What’s your top tip for a lunchtime activity? I’d love to hear some ideas…