I don't usually like interpreting; as opposed to translating on paper, I much prefer the latter. You can think and revise and perfect what you translate. With interpreting, you have to be totally attentive to the here and now and not let anything distract you. Sometimes you are so attentive, that your awareness of that atentiveness distracts you, with the result that you miss a key word or concept, and then you botch up the translation, or you have to ask the person to repeat what they said. It's quite stressful at times.
Today, I spent 8 hours at the racetrack, where a some people were going to take several cars on rigorous road tests using professional racedriving techniques. They were English speakers, from different places around the world, but the instructors were Spanish speakers. I was the Interpreter - the go-between.
Today, I spent 8 hours at the racetrack, where a some people were going to take several cars on rigorous road tests using professional racedriving techniques. They were English speakers, from different places around the world, but the instructors were Spanish speakers. I was the Interpreter - the go-between.
So we had finished two of the tests, and were on a coffee break, when a young woman on the team that had hired me for the event pulled me over and asked me in whispered excitement if I could give a message to one of the men who was there for the event.
"Could you please tell the guy in the black shirt that I would like to talk to him but I just can't speak a word of English."
Now how was I supposed to react to that?? More followed:
"But wait until my boss is not around. I don't want her to hear."
I still didn't know what to say! What I said was, "Okay, no problem."
Everyone was milling around the refreshment table, and then she came up to me again and said, "Yesterday, he tried to talk to me a couple of times, but I couldn't understand, and I just want him to know that I would like to understand. I know when you tell him, he'll say the same thing."
Ahh! Now I was starting to understand. Or was I? Had they really already reached some sort of intutitive understanding? How exciting, if I was right!
"Could you please tell the guy in the black shirt that I would like to talk to him but I just can't speak a word of English."
Now how was I supposed to react to that?? More followed:
"But wait until my boss is not around. I don't want her to hear."
I still didn't know what to say! What I said was, "Okay, no problem."
Everyone was milling around the refreshment table, and then she came up to me again and said, "Yesterday, he tried to talk to me a couple of times, but I couldn't understand, and I just want him to know that I would like to understand. I know when you tell him, he'll say the same thing."
Ahh! Now I was starting to understand. Or was I? Had they really already reached some sort of intutitive understanding? How exciting, if I was right!
A few minutes later, just as I was biting into a plum, squirting juice in seven directions, the guy in the black shirt turned towards me. Not only was he extremely good-looking - jet black hair and sea-blue eyes!!! very unusual - but he also had excellent reflexes. He grabbed a napkin and handed it to me. Naturally I made light of the whole thing by exclaiming about the delicious juiciness of the plum, and by that time the young woman had moved to join us. So I said,
"Oh Jay (not his real name), Nina (not her real name) here asked me to tell you that she would really like to talk to you but it's just that she can't speak English. She just wanted you to know that."
"Well, please tell her that I've been really wanting to speak to her too! But I don't speak any Spanish. But I'd like to invite her to dinner with our group tonight."
So I turned to Nina and told her all of that but I forgot to switch languages - whereupon there was a moment of blank silence, then sudden understanding on my part of my mistake, and then spontaneous, tension-breaking laughter, after which I told her his wishes in Spanish. She immediately responded by thanking him, and adding that maybe they could e-mail each other and translate each other's letters, which I translated to him, and he said that would be fantastic and would she give him her e-mail, so she said she would.
Then the boss came back into circulation, so we split up and went back to business at hand.
"Oh Jay (not his real name), Nina (not her real name) here asked me to tell you that she would really like to talk to you but it's just that she can't speak English. She just wanted you to know that."
"Well, please tell her that I've been really wanting to speak to her too! But I don't speak any Spanish. But I'd like to invite her to dinner with our group tonight."
So I turned to Nina and told her all of that but I forgot to switch languages - whereupon there was a moment of blank silence, then sudden understanding on my part of my mistake, and then spontaneous, tension-breaking laughter, after which I told her his wishes in Spanish. She immediately responded by thanking him, and adding that maybe they could e-mail each other and translate each other's letters, which I translated to him, and he said that would be fantastic and would she give him her e-mail, so she said she would.
Then the boss came back into circulation, so we split up and went back to business at hand.
Two hours later, during another break, Nina took me aside again.
"Oh what should I do? I want to talk to him, but how?"
I said, "Why don't you write him a note in Spanish and then I'll help you put it into English."
"Okay, I'll tell you and you write the note."
"No, better if you write it, I translate, and then you rewrite it in your handwriting in English."
So that's what we did. This is what she wrote:
'Hi! This is my e-mail address. I just want to say that I really hope that we can find a way to talk to each other. And if you write to me, I'm going to translate each of your e-mails to Spanish and then write you back. Then you will have to translate my letters from Spanish to English (you can do it in the Internet). I'm glad we are going to be in communication.'
And she gave it to him.
"Oh what should I do? I want to talk to him, but how?"
I said, "Why don't you write him a note in Spanish and then I'll help you put it into English."
"Okay, I'll tell you and you write the note."
"No, better if you write it, I translate, and then you rewrite it in your handwriting in English."
So that's what we did. This is what she wrote:
'Hi! This is my e-mail address. I just want to say that I really hope that we can find a way to talk to each other. And if you write to me, I'm going to translate each of your e-mails to Spanish and then write you back. Then you will have to translate my letters from Spanish to English (you can do it in the Internet). I'm glad we are going to be in communication.'
And she gave it to him.
When it was time for them to board their bus, Jay came up to me and said, "Could you please tell Nina that I think she is absolutely stunning?" When he saw my incredulous look - how often do you hear the word stunning used like that? - he nodded and said, "I'm serious! Tell her I am going to write to her and that I'm really hoping we can get together this evening because I do want to get to know her."
So I told her (though it was hard to find an effective translation for the word 'stunning' and all it implies, and I told her that too!) and she blushed with happiness.
"It was just one of those things. We fell in love with each other before we could even communicate! We had to get the interpreter to help us set up our first date."
Will that be the story they tell their grandkids one day?
So I told her (though it was hard to find an effective translation for the word 'stunning' and all it implies, and I told her that too!) and she blushed with happiness.
"It was just one of those things. We fell in love with each other before we could even communicate! We had to get the interpreter to help us set up our first date."
Will that be the story they tell their grandkids one day?
2 comments:
That was cute!!! and sort of weird to be right in the middle huh? haha oh well, that is a story to tell to grandkids indeed my cupid friend!
Hola Alex! Nice to see you.
In the middle - So true, so true! But playing cupid would be excellent compensation if things do work out for them. At any rate, I was only there for that one event and I don't know either of the protagonists' last names, nor do I have their e-mails so it's out of my hands. Still, something tells me that if those two really get together, sooner or later I'll get wind of it.
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