Smart People Take the Bus - TEDGlobal 2012

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Unexpected use of OTP Tray - 1

A bright Saturday morning in June 2012. All is quiet in the city of Edinburgh.

All? Not quite. At Café Nero on Lothian Road, Krystian gives Ivana and me an exclusive demo of the Polish tradition of bakalie, while we wait for Anwar and Hugo to join us for breakfast. Our appointment is at 9:00. At 9:45, Anwar calls to say they are on their way. We give them 30 minutes. At 10:15, we leave them a note to say we’re off to the Sheraton to meet Kristin.

She sent an email saying that she has some extra OTP trays to share with any volunteer who is still in Edinburgh. Anwar and Hugo show up too. Kristin, outnumbered by the crazy OTP crowd, discovers some unexpected uses of the OTP Tray.

Armed with our extra trays, we go luggage-hunting through the city, power-posing every now and then.

Power posing in the city of Edinburgh

We stop at Ivana’s hostel and at Anwar’s hotel, where we bump into Le Monde columnist Flore Vasseur. Her statement “The two coolest TED crowds? Fellows and Translators! And you can quote me on that one!” earns her a tray and the title of first Honorary Member of the Order of the OTP Tray.

Flore Vasseur of the Order of the OTP Tray

We escort Ivana, Anwar and Flore to the Airline shuttle bus.

Hop on that bus, Anwar!

As Krystian, Hugo and I wander through rainy Edinburgh, we further explore the tray’s features.

Unexpected use of OTP Tray - 2

Krystian has an appointment with friends, so Hugo and I head home. In the afternoon, it’s his turn to take the Airline link to Edinburgh Airport, where he will see a couple of familiar faces.

Near Haymarket, I run into gentleman Alberto, who is helping Katarina to get her luggage on the bus. Alberto and I make a dinner appointment at 6 PM, together with Elena, who will keep me company at the Bell Tower Apartment now that all my flat mates are gone.

We have a nice sushi dinner and we shoot a couple of very quick movies, involving the concepts of fattaposta and sobremesa. At the Bell Tower Apartment, we fish the last of the Belgian Chocolates out of the box (leaving only the Norwegian ones… ) before we go to bed.

On Sunday morning, Elena and I have bakalie à l’écossaise (with porridge) for breakfast. I take a last stroll trough the city and have a coffee in Ryan’s bar. Then I go to the bus stop and take the Airline link. It's time for the TED Crash.

--User:ElsDK 19:21, 8 July 2012 (UTC)


PS: If this story sounds like a bus commercial, here’s why: I come from the country where they made this ad worth spreading, shown at TEDGlobal 2012. Translators are groupy people and they take the bus. They must be smart indeed.