Niamh Lynch is in her second job in Madrid, working part-time as a translator. Computer says ‘shan’t’ This week’s blog is going to be a short one. After the internet saga that controlled my life for weeks, I now have a computer saga to deal with. My laptop bit the dust, leaving me entirely dependent on the goodwill of my flatmates to lend me their laptops. Only problem is that all the goodwill in the world doesn’t make typing on a French keyboard any easier, so the length of this blog is contingent on how long my patience lasts. We’ll see how that goes….
I still haven’t started my new, full-time hours in work yet. I think they will start at the beginning of June, when it is supposedly easier to draw up a new contract. The increase in work volume that swamped us two weeks ago has levelled off somewhat, and I am thinking of having a chat with my boss to make sure that my new full-time job doesn’t involve extended periods of thumb-twiddling. Last time I mentioned that I wasn’t too thrilled about the location of my work, right in the tourist centre of Madrid, but I have found that I actually like working in Sol much more than I expected to. The tourists don’t really impact at 7.45am when you might be rushing from the metro station, tripping over their sandalled feet and becoming tangled in their oversized maps. I have my break at 11.00, and, when it isn’t raining (which it has been doing quite a lot recently) I can go out on the terrace and peer down to spot the flip-flops and lemon coloured vests that identify them from among the suit-wearing, slightly more glamorous natives. A note to anyone thinking of hitting Madrid – yes, it IS warm, but you should think twice about wearing beachwear in a capital city that’s a three-hour drive from the coast. By the way, in my natural state I am as GUIRI (slang, only pejorative depending on the tone it is said with, meaning a pasty-faced foreigner, usually English-speaking) as any tourist, but if I use plenty of fake tan and wear tights when it is 25° outside, you’d never guess, so I can be smug! Joy without dishwashersIt struck me the other day how lucky I am to have a translation job that a) doesn’t have anything to do with dishwashers and b) has no hourly word output. Although I am sure that there are some translators out there who ‘fell into it’, those of us who chose it did so because we love words and language. It is hard to consider your profession an art when your work is done entirely using translation software (which definitely has its uses, but is no replacement for a human mind) and against a clock. I am beginning to think that I could be very happy in this job; an average day goes like this: 8.00 to 11.00 – summarising and translating articles from the major Spanish newspapers. They always mention our clients, but could be on any subject (last week I translated an article on foeticide in India, for example, which, although not exactly cheery, was definitely more interesting than dishwashers); 11.00 – snack time and tourist spotting; 11.15 – 14.00: translating larger pieces such as interviews with CEOs, press releases and publicity, as well as language support for colleagues (proofreading and revision). As the articles are different everyday, it is hard to predict a day’s work, which I like. That’s not to say that every article is fascinating – it’s not, but it is varied enough to ensure that I look forward to coming in every day, which is exactly what I was looking for. Let’s hope when the 8-hour days kick in that I feel the same… Read Niamh's previous blogs Share your comments about Niamh's blog |
