From 20th to 22nd of this month, 30 candidates who passed the primary election participated in the interview of Air France aviation translators. This is another recruitment after Air France first recruited air translators in February. 1997. In the previous time, six Beijing girls became the lucky ones among more than 50 applicants. The number of applicants has increased significantly this time, and the proportion of men is also higher than last time. The difference is that the age of the applicant has been relaxed, from 26 to 30, and the applicant is required to have certain work experience.
Interviewers are two representatives of Air France and Zhou, the company's public relations manager in China. Interviews are all conducted in French for 40 minutes each, mainly to examine the language level, coping ability and comprehensive quality of the candidates. Although Ms. Zhou reminded candidates to pay attention to their clothes when she informed them to attend the interview, perhaps it was because of the cold weather in Beijing that few girls took the exam in formal clothes, and many of them were casual clothes.
"At first, the French didn't understand that China girls wore pants to take the exam. I explained to them that it is impossible to go out in Beijing in winter. Actually, clothing is not the most important thing. We value a person's talent and potential more, "Zhou said.
For most applicants, being able to travel back and forth between Beijing and Paris is the main attraction for them to apply. Of course, a generous salary is also an important condition.
Mary Christina is a French examiner. She has come to take the entrance examination. She worked on the plane for 15 years, from flight attendant to flight attendant, and now she is responsible for the recruitment, training and management of flight attendants. She said: "In Air France, flight attendants are a lifelong career. As long as physical conditions permit, you can continue to do it until you retire. Our requirements for flight attendants are good communication, enthusiasm, autonomy and team spirit. "
interviewee
30 minutes before the exam, Jiang came to the test center. She was the first candidate to attend the interview. She left home an hour early for fear of traffic jam. This is an exam that she has been waiting for for two years. To this end, she flew back from France a week ago.
Two years ago, Air France recruited an air translator for the first time. Jiang was out of town. When she learned the news, the recruitment was over. Although she didn't want to submit her resume, she finally missed the opportunity. Jiang Gang went to France to study for three months when he learned about the conscription. She sent back her resume from France, and wrote: "I am full of confidence in myself. I hope you can consider my qualifications and give me an interview. " I will go back to China for an interview. "
Jiang said that flying in the sky has always been her dream. "I think I am especially suitable for this line, really," Jiang repeated to the examiner many times. "I like it very much and I am confident at the same time."
Jiang worked in a French company for two years after graduating from university. She said that her foreign boss is very nice, but he has a bad temper. However, she has a knack for getting along with her boss. At least, in this interview, when she answered "When you once served others", she had something to say: "Every morning, before the boss arrives, I will prepare a cup of coffee for him, and the boss is always happy to see coffee".
Because of his working experience in a foreign company, Jiang pays great attention to dressing up. She was the only girl wearing a skirt in the exam that morning. Shoulder-length hair, just the right light clothes and decent clothes, including sitting posture during conversation, all strive for her score. But Jiang doesn't seem satisfied with his performance. "I wasn't nervous at first, but when I started speaking, I was still a little nervous in front of several examiners, especially French examiners, and I didn't know how to answer many questions."
Is it a pity to give up school and come back from France to take the exam? Jiang shook his head: "I went to France to study for two reasons. One is that I like literature, and the other is that I want to visit France and learn more French. " . Although France is romantic and beautiful, Jiang, who left home for the first time, is still homesick. The first three months are the hardest. When I first went, I couldn't understand the French spoken by others, let alone the professional courses taught by the teacher in class. So I feel homesick and always call home. The telephone and transportation charges in France are particularly expensive, with a three-minute telephone charge of 50 francs, "not enough for my mother to cry on the phone." Jiang said that China is a particularly attractive country, and her classmates are very kind to her, but she doesn't want to stay in France because her parents, friends and boyfriends are all in Beijing.
When she came to take the exam, Jiang was carrying a big bag and looked heavy. She said there was a dictionary in it, which she used to write her paper. Although Jiang studied French literature, he thought that literature could only be regarded as a hobby, not a career. In today's fierce employment competition, a job that you like and have a good income is very important. This is also the reason why aerial translation attracts Jiang.
In a few days, Jiang will return to France. She wants to know whether she passed the exam before she leaves. If she passes, she will go through the formalities of dropping out of school, otherwise, she will continue her studies.
Ma, who graduated from Peking University, was the first person to attend the interview, and the examiner in China was very impressed with him. 12, he stood in front of the examiner on time. Obviously, his French level is good and he can answer the examiner's questions well. He is a more relaxed one in front of the examiner.
After graduating from college, Ma Jia joined a government agency and worked for more than two years. He thinks he should try another job. After all, he is still young. The biggest gain from previous work experience is to learn how to interact with people. He obviously prepared for the exam and faced it calmly. Ma doesn't want his present company to know his application unless he is sure to pass the exam.
A truly romantic trip
In the photo, Liu Peng, who just put on her uniform and got on the plane for the first time, looks like a little girl. Today, she has been flying on this route for two years. .
Every Tuesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at noon, there will be flights taking off from Beijing and arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport in France after ten hours' air flight. In two years, aerial translators shuttled between Beijing and Paris.
Counting the preparation time for the round trip, the working hours of each flight are 14 and 5 hours, during which there is only 1.5 hours of rest time, which is arranged by the flight attendants. Every aerial translator has a work schedule. In addition, they also provide other services for passengers, such as assisting guests to fill in immigration documents, explaining menu items, introducing and assisting passengers to buy duty-free goods, and helping them communicate with cabin attendants. In addition, it is necessary to explain flight information, safety measures, provide travel advice and air broadcast in Mandarin.
There are often "secret passengers" on the plane, who appear in the cabin like ordinary passengers to observe and evaluate the work of aerial photography translation. After each flight, the flight attendants must fill in the evaluation opinions. Each flight attendant is only responsible for his own passage, but the air interpreter is responsible for the work in the whole plane, constantly patrolling the plane, translating at any time and answering guests' questions. When China guests are in trouble or have any requirements on the plane, the first thing that comes to mind is the air interpreter from China.
The crew that the aerial interpreter follows is not fixed, and it is often not until the handover at the airport that he knows which crew he is working with. Therefore, they should not only communicate with the guests, but also communicate and cooperate with the crew to adapt to the working methods of different crew members to ensure the smooth completion of the flight.
"The work intensity on the plane is very strong, and the air in the cabin is dry, so the flight attendants are getting old quickly and wrinkles are prone to appear on their faces." Liu Peng seemed very old when he said this. The expression on the doll's face doesn't match her tone.
At work, the dress code of the aerial interpreter is well-defined, and the makeup requires classic (dignified and elegant), simple jewelry and nail polish. The pressure on the plane is so high that the cosmetics in the bottle can be sprayed out. Liu Peng said that once, when she was trying to make up her makeup on an airplane, she just unscrewed the bottle cap of mascara, and the liquid inside suddenly gushed out. Since then, she has tried to avoid using cosmetics on the plane.
After intense work, aerial photography translation can enjoy a leisurely time. Paris markets, open-air cafes, cosmetics and fashion all make them like it. Liu Peng said that she likes Parisian shops very much and has been to almost every place. "Cosmetics are bought there, and big-name fashions are only for viewing, which is too expensive." During my stay in Paris, the accommodation of the air interpreter will be arranged by the company, with breakfast free and lunch and dinner paid by myself. "Meals, telephone and transportation in Paris are quite expensive. Call Beijing, 1 minute is more than ten francs, and a better dinner is more than 100 francs. " Of course, their allowance is enough to cover these expenses. Liu Peng said that she can stay in Paris for three days at most, which will give her plenty of time to visit cultural centers and museums. Just a person, in a strange foreign land, she will inevitably feel lonely. Because there is only one China interpreter on each flight, there are too few opportunities for several air interpreters to meet together. Most of the time, they are shuttling between China and France alone.
Air translation can stay in Paris for more than ten days a month. Each of them has a flight schedule in his hand and flies according to it. The rest of the time is arranged by yourself, as long as you arrive at the airport two and a half hours before the plane takes off and give it to the crew.
Liu Peng signed a contract with Air France in April this year. Liu Peng said that she will have to consider whether to continue the contract after it expires.
Duan Chunhui, who graduated from Spanish Department in Peking University, was one of the earliest air translators in Air France, just like Liu Peng.
The lighting part is very Wen Ya. Shoulder-length hair is rolled up and then put on a uniform, which is an excellent China translator on the plane. "As an aerial translator, the most important thing is to be good at communicating with people," Duan Chunhui said. On the plane, the crew are all French, and the air interpreter has to do a lot of things she can't imagine besides translating according to the regulations. Sometimes, because of different habits, there will be contradictions between the crew and passengers, causing unnecessary trouble.
Let's say thank you. The habit of foreigners is to say thank you loudly, but the expressions of China people may be more subtle, such as smiling or nodding. Foreigners don't quite understand this from the beginning. A flight attendant found Duan Chunhui and told her, "China people are rude and won't say thank you." . Duan Chunhui understood what was going on and explained it to the flight attendant, nodding or smiling to express his thanks. Next time, when the stewardess saw China guests smiling at her, she was very happy to tell Duan that they were thanking me.
A lot of very detailed work needs to be solved before it happens. There are all kinds of guests on the plane, with different languages and living habits. They will be together for more than ten hours, and there will inevitably be conflicts in such a small space. Once, a guest got into trouble with a flight attendant as soon as he got on the plane. The stewardess thought that the passengers were mentally ill and nervous as hell, so she hurried to find Duan. Duan chatted with the passenger while comforting him. It turned out that this guest had a conflict with the local people in France, boarded the plane in anger and deliberately had a dispute with the crew.
"In fact, it is difficult for you to know what you want to do in advance. There are working procedures, but the situation is different every flight. Some things, before things happen, you have to foresee and deal with them. For example, if one or two Frenchmen are sandwiched between a group of China passengers, or one or two China people are sitting among a group of Frenchmen, some people will definitely feel uncomfortable. If you think of them at this time and help them change seats, the guests will be very grateful. " Duan Chunhui said that her working principle is very simple, providing thoughtful service as much as possible to ensure smooth flight.
Duan Chunhui's husband is a China reporter based in Italy. Due to professional convenience, Duan can often fly to Italy to meet her husband. Every time we meet in a foreign country, we must be filled with emotion. "I could have stayed with him, but I thought it was boring. I had better have a job myself. " Perhaps because it is convenient to meet my husband, I chose to stay as an aerial translator.
Air translators can enjoy the company's preferential fares, and they can go to some European countries at only one tenth of the fare. The sunshine in the Mediterranean, the carnival in Spain and the exotic customs have added a lot of colors to their lives.
Romance in France remains the same, and the coming and going of each month has already become a part of the life of aerial translation.