On the Road: Part One

We are back in our respective countries after an exciting five weeks traveling and working on our business in South America. We spent one week in Argentina (Buenos Aires and surrounding areas), took a daytrip to gorgeous Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, and spent a month in the very modern capital of Chile, Santiago. This is our first post in this series, where we'll focus on all the wonderful things of this trip. More to come on the challenges of working from abroad in another post.

The best dinner in Argentina.

As always, it's the people who make every trip special. Judy's hubby, Keith, spent two weeks traveling with us, and we all had the chance to meet some wonderful fellow translators. Here are the highlights:


Dinner at our wonderful colleague Dolores Rojo Guiñazú's house outside of Buenos Aires

Visiting Dolores' adorable family.

We still cannot even begin to believe her level of hospitality; and here we thought that we went out of our way for friends and colleagues! Dolores' husband, Sergio, drove four hours round-trip to pick us up from our cute bed and breakfast and to drop us off afterward. They treated us to an amazing homemade Argentine BBQ (asado) which was just to-die-for. Sergio was a true master of the BBQ, and Keith was very impressed. (We might become vegetarians some other time.) We spent the evening at their gorgeous house with their four adorable children. Of course, we came bearing gifts, but Dolores had actually had bought gorgeous gifts for us, too. We couldn't believe their level of generosity and hospitality. Needless to say, the dinner was outstanding, and the company was simply wonderful. During dinner, we talked about the translation business in Argentina, the role of professional associations, and our travel plans. We are truly lucky to have colleagues like Dolores Rojo Guiñazú. Thank you!

Meeting our graphic designer, Sandra Busta

Judy, Peter, Dagy, Sandra at dinner.

Readers of this blog might remember Sandra Busta, whose services we have recommended to colleagues who need a logo or other corporate imagery services. She's Chilean-American, and she and her super-nice American husband, Peter, had already offered to help us find an apartment in Santiago (that didn't go so well, more on that in the future post). As soon as we'd landed in Santiago, we made arrangements to meet for a great dinner in the Las Condes neighborhood.  Sandra and Peter insisted on treating us -- thank you! 


Spending time with colleagues and friends at COTICH

Fun dinner with the COTICH folks.

Before heading to South America, Dagy had made contact with the local Chilean translators and interpreters association, COTICH. The outgoing president, Claudia Iglesias, played a key role in making our stay as wonderful as it was. FIrst off, she suggested that we spend a month at her house -- how kind is that? Looking back, we should have probably done that, but made the poor decision to rent an apartment on our own. In addition, Claudia volunteered to lend us an old cell phone, for which we bought pre-paid minutes. It was wonderful to have a local cell phone and saved us from spending way too much on international roaming. Claudia also organized a get-together with fellow COTICH board members and other translators, which we enjoyed at a restaurant in trendy Patio Bellavista in Santiago. We raffled off a copy of our book (we love raffles!), and had great conversations about the state of the translation industry in Chile. 


Travel advice from Judy's friend and colleague, Silvina Jover-Cirillo
An Argentine who grew up in Uruguay and former resident of Vegas, Silvina Jover-Cirillo spent a significant amount of time patiently answering many questions about her two countries. She volunteered to help us with all kinds of things, even volunteering the services of family members. Thanks so much for all your help, Silvina!


All in all: it was a fantastic trip, and we are glad we reached out to fellow translators before we headed to the southern hemisphere. We knew we had wonderful colleagues, but we had no idea just how wonderful. More reports to come; stay tuned!

Dear readers: have you met up with fellow translators and interpreters while on the road? We'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments section.

In-House Translator Position: German->English

A few days ago, we received this interesting job posting from an American Translators Association Colleague who works at Credit Suisse. He asked us to pass this along, so if you are looking for that rare in-house position in the German->English combination, read on!


Credit Suisse is looking for a new German-to-English translator for its Language Services team in New York. This is a full-time, in-house position. Candidates should apply here. The job ID is 1041495.


This is all the information we have, but it sure sounds exciting. If you apply, please do keep us posted!

Colorado Translators Association Mid-Year Conference

Gorgeous Colorado, 2009.

Our friends at the Colorado Translators Association have put together an impressive mid-year conference for this May (14 and 15). They are also offering an ATA certification and a Trados Studio 2009 training session. It's a fantastic line-up of speakers and sessions, and now you have an excuse to head to beautiful Boulder, Colorado. Unfortunately, we won't be able to make it, as it conflicts with the NAJIT conference for Judy and it's too far for Dagy, but hopefully many of you can make it. For more information, please visit the CTA's website.

Guerrilla Marketing: Food for Thought (Images)

Happy Friday from Santiago, Chile! We haven't written about marketing in a while, so we wanted to share the following slideshow with you. Our dear Tom Gruber discovered it, and while not all of these guerilla marketing techniques can be applied to the sale of services like ours, they will amaze and maybe inspire you. It's all about thinking beyond traditional marketing and about how to have the  most impact with the least amount of money spent. Enjoy!

If you have a great guerilla marketing idea, we'd love to hear it. Simply leave a comment below.

100+ Guerrilla Marketing examples

In-House Job Opportunity: Kiva

Our readers might remember a posting about Kiva, the micro-lending company, which we think is pretty great. We posted about volunteer activities a few months ago, and now Kiva just shared a paid in-house translator position. Read on for details. For any questions, please contact the Kiva HR department. The deadline to apply is May 4, 2011.

Review and Translation Coordinator

Position: Review and Translation Coordinator

Reports to: Review and Translation Manager, Program Operations

Location: San Francisco, CA – Downtown/Mission District

Job Type: Contractor, full-time

The Company

Kiva (www.kiva.org) lets everyday people on the web lend small amounts of money to the working poor worldwide. Since launching in 2005, Kiva has connected over 1 million people through lending to alleviate poverty in 57 countries, including the United States. We aim to democratize capital through the power of small actions, technology and believing in each other. Kiva, a San Francisco based non-profit with offices worldwide, has 75 people and 500+ volunteers.

The Job

The Review and Translation Coordinator helps manage the preparation of loan content for the Kiva website, supporting program staff and working with a large team of skilled volunteers to deliver translated and verified loan profiles for funding by Kiva lenders. The Review and Translation Coordinator is responsible for directly managing the volunteer Team Leaders of several teams of translators; coordinating the screening, testing, and onboarding of new volunteers; supporting established procedures for volunteer recognition and community development; and handling various other tasks to support overall program effectiveness.

Your Responsibilities

• Loan Review Team Leader management
• Monitor unreviewed loan volume and motivate teams to translate/review required volume
• Manage up to 10 Loan Review Team Leaders (corresponds to team of  250+ volunteers)
• Provide regular recognition for participation and feedback as required
• Support Team Leader responses to volunteer queries on loan policy, Kiva processes, translation techniques, terminology, and volunteer involvement
• Lead initial trainings, along with other Review & Translation Program staff
• Manage format for monthly conference calls and schedule calls
• Provide technical support for Viva and other Kiva systems to Team Leaders

• Translator & Editor recruitment, testing, and onboarding
• Develop recruitment network that can be leveraged to increase flow of volunteers for specific language needs
• Manage recruitment & screening messages in all Kiva systems
• Oversee screening process for translator applications
• Manage test evaluation process with internal & external test evaluators
• Manage onboarding process for translation volunteers, including accepted, rejected, and wait listed applicants

• Volunteer support and community engagement
• Provide technical support for Kiva’s review and translation systems to volunteers
• Develop volunteer and team leader wiki, creating and modifying content, monitoring usage, and developing leadership on wiki among volunteer teams
• Develop and monitor volunteer and team leader discussion forums
• Plan and coordinate volunteer recognition events, work parties, and trainings

Required Skills and Qualifications

• Native or near-native English speaker with fluency in Spanish and/or French
• 2+ years professional translation experience and/or a certificate or degree in translation
• 2+ years of professional experience, including project management
• Excellent people skills, with friendly and motivational communication style
• Adept with new technologies
• Creative problem-solver who is interested in innovation and enjoys a high-growth environment

Preferred

• Experience managing volunteers or remote teams
• Knowledge of more than one Kiva language (Spanish, French, Russian, Portuguese, Arabic)

To Apply

• Email cover letter and resume to jobs@viva.kiva.org by May 4, 2011.
• Please do not contact the office directly with any questions or follow-up inquiries

Meeting Mox's Creator

Alejandro and Judy in Vegas.

Even though Judy had the chance to briefly meet the creator of the most hilarious translation cartoons we've ever seen, Alejandro Moreno-Ramos, in New York in 2009, she was delighted to hear that they'd have the chance to spend more time together. During a last-minute trip to the U.S. West Coast with his charming wife Hélène, Alejandro decided to stop in Vegas (they live in France).

The awesome mug.

Judy loves nothing more than having fellow linguists in Vegas and at her house, so she invited them to dinner. Even though they were really tired because of a long trip to the Grand Canyon, they showed up with several presents in tow (so not necessary, but thank you!). Judy is over the moon with her Mox cartoon mug (see picture). They went out to Red Rock, the nearby state park, for an evening drive and then had a lovely dinner at home.

If you are not familiar with Alejandro's cartoons, which feature Mox, Mina and a parade of other delightful characters, you are in for a treat. Alejandro is extraordinarily creative and talented. You might remember that he contributed all the cartoons to our book, which have, not surprisingly, been very popular.  He might have some exciting Mox-related news, but we'll let him tell that story.

What about you? Have you hosted fellow linguists at your house? Isn't it wonderful to have these worldwide connections?

What's Your Favorite Project Length?

We've talked about this interesting issue with colleagues, and now we'd love to know what your favorite project length is, in either word count, page count, line count, or general duration. Usually, we really like  5,000 to 7,000 word projects, even though the very large 100,000 + word translations have also been challenging and exciting. The upside with the extensive projects is that the research we do "lasts" for a long time, while with shorter projects, new research is necessary each time. However, the quicker projects seem to drain us less mentally, and it's nice to get them off our desks, issue the invoice, and get paid. We also like the diversity of working on several smaller projects at the same time. We've found that working exclusively on one big project for several months makes us long for variation. 

At the moment, we are working from Santiago, Chile, where we will be the entire month of April. We have eight projects in the queue, and they are all relatively short (between 500 and 4,000 words), with the exception of a 60-page monster, on which we've been working for weeks. All are due this week or the beginning of next week, and we are making good progress. This feels like a good work load to us (and yes, we are trying to fit in a trip to see the Andes up close and personal).

What about you? Do you rejoice when your client assigns a 50,000 word translation or does that make you cringe? How long, ideally, would you work on a translation before moving on to the next one? We'd love to hear from you in the comments section. Now, back to our multiple projects!

Working Remotely

Ah, the joys of working for yourself: one can actually work from anywhere in the world as a translator. What seemed like a distant dream a few years ago when only one of us was a full-time entrepreneur (Judy was still working in-house) is now a reality: a month together, immersed in a Spanish-speaking country, working, spending quality time, and seeing some sights.  It's going to be wonderful to speak Spanish again all day -- and it's important to keep the language of our childhood alive. We've never been to South America, but that will change as of this Sunday: Judy and her hubby are flying to Buenos Aires to meet Dagy. We will actually take a well-deserved week off and explore the Argentine capital, of which we've heard great things. Our parents spent a month in Argentina last year and were fascinated by this vast and diverse country. We were delighted to accept an invitation to a colleague's house, Dolores Rojo Guiñazu, who lives outside of the capital. We haven't even met her yet, but she's a reader of this blog and a fan of our book, so she's actually picking us up and inviting us to her house for a traditional Argentine barbecue (asado). How wonderful is that? We truly have amazing colleagues all over the world, and we are grateful. 

Then it's on to Santiago de Chile, where we've rented an apartment and will run our companies (we have a company incorporated in Austria and one in Nevada) remotely. The landlord assures us that the wifi will work the minute we step into the apartment -- and he has a contractual obligation to make sure it happens. After all, it's a business trip. The reason we chose Chile is because Dagy is doing some reaseach for her dissertation -- yes, she's writing a dissertation on the side. She's focusing on the feminist discourse in Isabel Allende's work. We are both huge fans of her work, and even though Ms. Allende lives in Marin County, north of San Francisco, Dagy wants to meet with some leading feminists and thinkers in Ms. Allende's homeland. 

So, dear colleagues in Chile: if you'd like to meet up in April in Santiago, we'd love to organize a coffee get-together. Just let us know. We will be in Chile until April 30.

What about you? Have you worked remotely? And how did it work out? Was traveling and working not a good combo for you? We'd love to hear about how you take advantage of the lifestyle that being self-employed allows. 

Do You Nap?

We'll be the first to admit it: we love naps. A lot. It runs in the family: our dad is able to nap literally anywhere, including on a sled in the Alps and in the car while someone else is driving. Our mom has been napping since we were infants -- much-needed naps when you have premature twins -- and she wakes up after her 15-minute power naps completely refreshed and ready to go. For many years, while working in-house, napping wasn't an option for Judy, even though she repeatedly suggested a nap room (her request was denied). Since we both started working on our business full-time, we are back to mid-afternoon naps a few times a week. We love them, and we think it makes us more productive. There's actually some solid research to show that there's some truth to that -- according to NASA, a 26-minute nap can boost performance by 34 per cent. Our naps tend to be a bit longer, but we do wake up ready to go. Many times, we just need a quick mental break from work. Alternatively, we go for a walk, but we find that napping works better to get us refreshed and relaxed. We've even heard about fellow court interpreters who head to their cars during breaks to take a quick nap. 

What about our colleagues? Do you nap? Do you feel that napping makes you more productive? We'd love to hear from you. Just leave a comment below.

Passing the State Court Interpreter Exam in Nevada and Beyond

Judy, who is a master-level Spanish court interpreter in Nevada, recently wrote the article below for those considering taking the notoriously difficult exam in Nevada or any other state that is part of the Consortium for Language Access in the Courts. The article first appeared in the spring 2011 edition of e-NITA, the newsletter of the Nevada Interpreters and Translators Association. Read on for myths and truths about the exam!

You may have heard the rumors, myths, and half-truths, such as: “It’s impossible to pass the oral exam for becoming a Supreme Court certified court interpreter in the state of Nevada,” or “No one ever passes the exam on the first try. It’s too hard, and the graders are biased.”

Judy on her way to court. 

Well, I have some good news for you: those things are untrue. I’d like to give you an overview of the process, what to expect, and some basic tips on how to prepare for the oral exam.

First of all: The exams, expertly administered by the Supreme Court of Nevada are fair, well-developed, and not impossible to pass. I did indeed pass the exams at the master level, which means that I scored above 80% in every section of the written and oral exams, so I am living proof that it is possible. Passing this exam is never accidental, and the graders are unbiased: they don’t know who you are, as you are identified only by a number.

A quick overview: There is a fairly straightforward English-language written exam (multiple choice) that immediately follows the orientation workshop. No specific preparation is required for the written portion, but fluency in English is a necessity to comprehend and answer the questions, which are similar (but much easier) than the verbal portion of the SAT (college admissions exam) test. For those who pass the written exam with a score of 80% or above, there is an oral exam, held in the fall, which is recorded and sent off for grading. The oral exam contains sections on simultaneous interpretation, consecutive interpretation, and sight translation (in both language directions). You must score higher than 70% on each section of the oral exam in order to proceed to the next step, which includes a background check, proof of court observation hours, and an application for certification. For an exact breakdown of the process, please visit the Supreme Court of Nevada’s website.

What is true is that the pass rate for first-time test takers is 5%. However, I will go out on a limb here and say that the rate is this low not because the exam is that difficult, but because:

• There is no barrier to entry. As opposed to other state-administered exams, there is no requirement to attend the two-day workshops and take the written exam the following day. The lack of prerequisites attracts many people who are not professional linguists, which helps explain the low pass rate.

• Many applicants simply don’t prepare enough. As with any exam, you need to put in some hard work to master some specific test-taking skills, especially for the oral exam (traditionally offered in September). There are no shortcuts or magic pills: If you are not willing to put at least forty hours into practicing your interpreting skills, then I don’t think you have a realistic chance of passing the exam. Of course, the number of hours you need to practice will strongly depend on your individual skills, previous experience, and ability to learn and improve.

• Many applicants don’t purchase the proper training materials. While it’s understandable that many test-takers would prefer not to spend a lot of money on the preparation phase, there’s really no way around buying the test-prep materials. My favorites are the ACEBO materials, published by court interpretation guru and Monterey Institute professor Holly Mikkelson. You can purchase the Spanish-language materials at ACEBO. 

• Many applicants don’t go to court. You will be encouraged to do the 40 hours of court observation that are required to obtain certification before taking the oral exam. I wholeheartedly agree with this, since I learned invaluable information about processes, terminology, and how the court system works during my observation hours. Everyone at the Regional Justice Center was kind and helpful, including judges, attorneys and bailiffs. I asked a lot of questions and got well thought-out answers. I attended as many different legal procedures as I could, and was able to go to small claims court, drug court, traffic court, jury selections, jury trials, arraignments, etc.

Do you feel better now? You should. Every professional linguist has the opportunity to pass this exam if they are well-prepared. However, it is true that it is challenging – as it should be. Being a court interpreter is a very serious responsibility, and I think it’s wise that the Supreme Court only certifies the best of the best. After all, would you want to be a defendant in a criminal trial with a mediocre interpreter?

Here are a few things that you should know or do before starting the process:

• Enjoy legal issues and terminology. If you don’t like legalese, then being a court interpreter is not for you. Guess what? You will be surrounded by legalese all day. I was already a very seasoned legal translator, so going into court interpreting was a natural extension for me.

• Being bilingual is the absolute minimum requirement. I know that I am preaching to the choir here, but be reminded that being completely, fully, fluently bilingual is only the minimum requirement, and being bilingual does not mean that you are an interpreter.

• Are you already a professional linguist, either an interpreter in another field, or a translator? If not, then you’ve chosen one of the Holy Grails to enter the profession, and I don’t recommend it. There are always exceptions, but setting your sights on court interpreting is usually a discouraging way to try to enter the language profession.

• Understand that interpreting is a highly specialized acquired skill. It involves many things, including excellent memory and the ability to quickly think on your feet, solve linguistic challenges in an instant, and take excellent notes, in addition to having a very deep knowledge of both languages and the law. It will take time to learn and build on these skills, and it’s a challenge.

• Court interpreting is not for the faint of heart. You might have to interpret for defendants in criminal trials who have done things you’d rather not think about. And real court is not like TV – it’s serious, but also sad, never glorious, and there’s no neat wrap-up after 30 minutes. There are real lives at stake here, and if dealing with the gravity of court cases is something you don’t think you can handle, then you might be better off interpreting in less formal situations.

• Remember that you will be running your own business if you do pass and become certified. I often get phone calls from laid-off professionals who think that becoming a court interpreter will guarantee them a full-time job. It does not: You will be a contractor to the courts, and there is no guarantee whatsoever on how many hours you will work. You will have to market yourself to obtain projects beyond the courts. If you are not prepared to maintain a website, acquire new business, attend workshops and seminars, do your own accounting and manage your time and resources, then court interpreting is not for you.

Last but not least, try the following tips to help you improve your skills for the oral exam:

• Cramming doesn’t work. Improving your interpreting skills is a long-term process. Make a commitment to dedicate a certain amount of time to it every day (or every week). I practiced simultaneous interpreting with my CDs in the car while driving. Be sure to pay more attention to the road than to what you are saying, though! If this is too distracting for you, try another approach.

• Get a digital voice recorder. I bought mine for less than $30 at Office Depot, and it truly is my new best friend. Many times, I would feel that I was doing quite poorly during an interpreting segment, but when I listened to it and graded myself, my performance was actually quite strong. The opposite was true, too – I would feel very strong, but the recorded result would be mediocre at best. You really don’t know how you did until you record yourself.

• Get honest feedback. Meet with colleagues and ask for their honest feedback. You want to surround yourself with people who have the ability to evaluate your performance and who will tell you the truth, even if it’s not what you would like to hear.

• Be patient. This was tough for me, but learning and improving your skills will test your patience. You can’t expect to remember new vocabulary immediately. Repetition and reinforcement are key.

• Make vocabulary lists. Don’t know what a side-bar conference is? Look it up, and look up the translation, too. Build vocabulary lists and study them.

• Read as much legal writing as you can – yes, even if it’s John Grisham. Actual court decisions and verdicts would be better, but try to surround yourself with legalese.

• Be humble. If you don’t pass on the first try, that neither means that you are not a good interpreter (although it could) nor that the exam is flawed (it’s not). The beauty of this exam is that you can take it again the following year, and many people pass it on the second or third try. If your scores are not even in the ballpark of passing, then it’s time to take a hard look at your skills.

With that, I’d like to wish you the best of luck on your journey towards becoming a certified court interpreter in the state of Nevada or anywhere else in the nation.