{"id":552,"date":"2018-06-29T10:33:51","date_gmt":"2018-06-29T09:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kleinwolfpeters.com\/blog?p=552"},"modified":"2021-01-11T11:16:08","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T10:16:08","slug":"the-importance-of-a-good-lunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/?p=552&lang=en","title":{"rendered":"The importance of a good lunch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>by Richard Peters<\/em><\/p>\n<p>So it\u2019s past midday and I\u2019ve been a good boy all morning, tapping away at my keyboard and coming up with sparkling translations so my customers\u2019 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.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m so lucky to work in the centre of Munich, where a world of food options is just a few minutes\u2019 walk or cycle away from my office. If it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>For me, though, whatever the cuisine I\u2019ve 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 \u2013 it\u2019s no Trappist monastery, that\u2019s for sure! \u2013 but it tends to come in short bursts: some chatter about a language problem, or a wry smile and a giggle at something someone\u2019s found \u201cdown the rabbit hole\u201d 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.<\/p>\n<p>And then I return to my desk, sated, my batteries recharged. I\u2019m ready to tackle the next tricky translation \u2013 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 \u201cHe\u2019s two sandwiches short of a picnic\u201d, meaning someone who is ever so slightly potty. Translated word for word into German, it\u2019s gobbledygook. Luckily, the Germans have a similar phrase: <em>\u201cEr hat nicht alle Tassen im Schrank\u201d<\/em>, which translates as \u201cHis cupboard is missing a few cups\u201d. The idea is the same, but the way it\u2019s conveyed is different enough to completely throw someone confronted by a direct translation.<\/p>\n<p>Which is where I come in with my linguistic superpowers. Fresh from lunch, I\u2019m like Popeye: spinach is everything \u2013 only with me, everything is spinach!<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s your top tip for a lunchtime activity? I\u2019d love to hear some ideas\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When I\u2019ve been hard at work all morning, my body starts to protest and my mind focuses on food. But a meal is so much more than just a chance to refuel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[172,173,535,536,6],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=552"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":554,"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552\/revisions\/554"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.kleinwolfpeters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}