After having volunteered as a speaker for the aOS Community, I finally had the chance to present with them. Last Thursday, I was scheduled to present between 1:30PM and 2:15PM in Aix-en-Provence in the South of France.
I started early in the KLM Lounge at Schiphol airport. Although KLM offers a selection of drinks, I opted for a tea and some breakfast. Then, we boarded and traveled South.
After an uneventful flight, we landed at Marseille Provence airport (MRS). A driver was waiting there for me to bring me 20 kilometers East to CESI’s training center in Aix-en-Provence in an airconditioned mini-van. I realized I was lucky, when I saw the temperature outside was 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit), while it was a mere 14 degrees Celsius in Amsterdam (57 degrees Fahrenheit).
CESI is an organization specializing in the training of engineers, executives, technicians and master's officers. CESI sponsors the aOS community with event locations, for which they open their locations throughout France.
I checked and settled in the room, before I enjoyed lunch outside with my fellow speakers, fellow MVPs and the attendees. I must admit my timing was impeccable, since lunch was starting to get served the moment I stepped outside.
After lunch, I strolled through the beautiful environment. Aix-en-Provence’s typical Mediterranean forest countryside. On a sunny day, like last Thursday, this is lovely.
With Microsoft Garage’s Presentation Translator I translated my slides and offered near real-time French subtitles to my English presentation. It was the first time I used this tool. It worked great!
After my presentation, I headed back to Marseille Provence airport. The driver who brought me to the event also returned me to the airport, where I arrived well on time for my flight home.
As I flew past our SCCT office in Leidschendam, I smiled and waved to my colleagues.
Thank you!
Thanks to all the people attending, sitting in on my session and, of course, the people who stuck around after my session for the interesting discussions. Thanks to the aOS community for making this trip and its lunch enjoyable, and of course, the French MVP speakers who are always fun to hang out with.
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