I have entered the profession as interpreter and translator back in 1987, I was lucky to start working during over 5 years with a national oil company in the automated systems division designing the remote control of the oil pipeline in Iraq, supplying Europe through the Gulf. It was a fascinating experience working in consecutive during weeks with Iraqi engineers. I consolidated the note-taking and became very agile in consecutive. In 1989 I joined as free lance the EU institutions and entered the largest world of interpretation with 6 languages at first and a few years later 9. I worked full weeks and months acquiring an incredible knowledge of the EU market and Community which was growing at full speed. The world of interpreters in Brussels is unique in terms of professional skills, preparation for meetings, quality standards of colleagues. Free lance interpreters are regularly assessed and working with staff members was a challenge but also an ongoing formation. Topics vary daily from agriculture to politics, trade unions, industry, council meetings, expert committees where national quotas were agreed and voted, veterinary and health emergency meetings. Brussels was and remains  a priviledged window on European and national realities. I could read in the press the outcome of a meeting I had been working as interpreter.                           I have been traveling and living abroad for over 25 years of my life being married to a diplomat and also in my childhood (living in the US, Latin America, the Middle East) practicing my working languages in my daily life and often in Ministerial meetings involving my role as wife of a diplomat. I am familiar with protocol and heads of state visits and meetings, which allowed to work as interpreter for the Italian Presidency of the Republic, PM official visits and bilateral meetings both at home and abroad. I am personally very proud of serving my country while providing the best possible service always aiming at improving the professional level I can provide. Over the years, I continued studying languages and added Spanish as a working language (1993) and I have now completed several years of studies in portuguese gradually using it as a C language in addition to English, French (B languages), Spanish (C,B). For over 6 years now, I am working to and from my B languages (EN,FR,ES,IT><EN,FR,ES,IT) which allows for great flexibility at meetings where I do not need to use relais. Today during the pandemic crisis, this combination of languages is extremely useful since participants attend from all continents and speak in one of the 5 languages which can be covered in one same booth limiting the number of interpreters to be hired.