Amandine Martin: Freelance Interpreter and Translator between D.C. and Madison

Amandine graduated from French TI in 2014 and is a freelance interpreter and translator in D.C. and Madison, Wisconson. She was one of the first persons referred by Jeff. He said that she was an alumni panel member for MIIS spring break trip to D.C. and was a good person to talk to. When scheduling with Amandine for an interview in D.C., I learned that she was currently in Madison, which happened to be on our itinerary. So we decided to meet in Madison instead. Our interview happened in a bar in downtown Madison on May 19.

I was very impressed by her thoughtfulness. As she told me she was not in D.C., she kindly referred me to Miguel, who was in D.C. She was so considerate as to offer to make a reservation with the restaurant before we arrived in Madison!

Not only for me, she was also thoughtful for her clients. Not all clients have experiences working with interpreters. "Never put the client to a position of embarrassment." Once a client wanted to include consecutive interpretation in his event, she reminded him that the lecture needed to be cut in half if they wanted to finish in time. Another time, a client used a PPT in French with bad English translation and inconsistent terminology. She stepped up to offer help with the translation so as not to confuse the audience.

Her first assignment was working with high school students from French-speaking African countries, who came to the States to learn US culture and learn social entrepreneurship. She traveled with the group to different parts of the States. One seemingly funny but important lesson she learned was that while going through a door, she should go with the team leader or guide, not holding the door for other people! Of course, a culture-related activity would involve a lot of culture-specific terms and idioms. One activity was about students quoting a proverb in their home, and she was stuck for one. She had to raise her hand to request explanation so as to let the interaction go on; otherwise the conversation wouldn't go anywhere.

When asked how she got to know the alumni in D.C., she said that there was a MIIS alumni meetup once a month on a certain day. She also got to know other interpreters while they lived in the same hotel for different projects. As I aspire to become a freelance interpreter and translator in the future, that is very valuable information.

Amandine has a balanced workload from translation and interpretation with a relatively stable client base, and she was also trying something new. Her advice is that: when opportunities come up, just say Yes! Amandine has never done logistics before, but she has interpreted relevant topics, so she took that job and found it interesting. So you never know whether you would like a job or not until you try it. You may be surprised if you try the things that may not be your first choice.  She said that actually freelance translator and interpreters also have other identities, such as author and artist. Life offers so many opportunities as long as we keep exploring.

With Amandine, an angelic girl.
City Hall, Madison, WI

Kelsey外婆家

5月17日凌晨4：30，Monica也起床下楼，陪我等Kelsey和Whitney开车过来。十来分钟之后，她们到了。她俩从前一天晚上8点就开始开，开了一整夜，即便如此，路上还是有堵车，因此比预计晚到一个多小时。把行李放到车上，我横穿美国的旅途正式开始。

第一天：马里兰-匹兹堡-哥伦布市

夜色中我们离开了首都华盛顿，往马里兰Kelsey外婆家驶去。六点多到了外婆家。墙壁贴着美丽的壁纸，她的外婆正在厨房窗前的水池边忙碌。听到我们进门，赶紧出门迎接。她神采奕奕，发型整齐，穿着玫瑰红色的上衣，化着淡妆。不说年龄的话，根本看不出她已经66岁了。

过了一会外公也进来了。我们端着咖啡和茶进了客厅去聊天。说到这里，我看到中美家庭方面一个很大的不同。在我姥姥家，进门肯定先问“吃饭了没”，我姥姥特喜欢让我“再吃一些”，有时候已经吃饱了，她还是一个劲让我吃。而在Kelsey外婆家，进门先喝咖啡聊天，而不是吃饭，虽然派和水果早已经摆在厨房的台子上了。

客厅很整洁，亮着台灯，跟台灯边的插花一起创造出温馨的气氛。我们跟外婆聊天，她谈邻居女儿的工作，谈自己平时去老年活动中心，恍惚间觉得似乎像跟自己的姥姥聊天。

家里还有Kelsey四个表弟妹。大姐下午才上学。小弟起的很早，起床之后在壁炉边的沙发坐着玩iPad。Kelsey外公说，给他们每人都买了一个，要不然会打起来，现在的孩子啊。吃完早饭，我们三人送三个小朋友去校车站。校车站已经等着一位父亲，他陪儿子等车。小朋友见面之后把书包扔到地上堆在一起，就开始追逐打闹。校车到了之后，他们自动排队上车，走到车的后面就座。

送走孩子们，我们回屋跟外公外婆告别，又继续我们的旅程。

Monica Xu: News Reporter in D.C.

Monica is my undergraduate classmate at Shanghai International Studies University. She comes from Hangzhou, China and attended Hangzhou Foreign Language School, one of the most famous high schools in China. She is a colonial of George Washington University majoring in American Studies and is currently working in a news agency as a reporter. It is her third year in the States.

She is a voracious reader, a diligent thinker, a curious learner and a talented cook. This time as I stay with her, she works pm shift, i.e. 1-9pm. We spent the mornings going to the IMF bookstore or cooking lunch. On May 17 we attended the Commencement of George Washington University at the National Mall and listened to Tim Cook's speech. A privilege that nowhere can be found except in D.C. She is a member of BikeShare, a bike rental system in the city, which allows you use a bike for 30 minutes for free at an annual fee of around 80 dollars. Sometimes she goes to work by bike. I also used her bike key for a day, but spent a lot of time locating the bike station thus went over time once.

I went to her office and observed her working. Right before hourly news, she practices reading her scripts, marks the words which need special attention, or check the dictionary for the correct pronunciation. When the time comes, she gulps down some water and rushes off to the studio. When she comes back, apparently more relaxed than 15 minutes ago, she checks for news updates. If there is no update, she chats with me as we enjoy the Tiramisu she made in the morning. Today as I am about to leave for the road trip, I did this interview with the Dad has Come Home, a Chinese TV show playing on her MacBook. 

Time: 11:00pm, Sunday, May 17

Place: her apartment in D.C. 

Flora: What do you think of D.C.?

Monica: Here you can learn many different things. There are free museums and free lectures from think tanks, sometimes lunch included. Though government agencies may operate at a slower speed than companies, college graduates can still learn many things here. Sometimes the embassies have Open Day and you can go visit. Sometimes there are cultural festivals, which can't be found in other places. For outdoors activities, you can go hiking and to the beach if you drive a little further. Overall I think this is a great city. 

Flora: How do you think of your job in D.C.? What accomplishment have you made? 

Monica: For a fresh graduate I think I can learn many things from my job. Many editors are very knowledgeable and diligent. I also get trained for English to Chinese translation both in quality and in speed. Also I am interested in world affairs, and my job does that exactly, so it agrees with my characters.
I also made some very good friends from work. A colleague is of similar age of mine. We had great conversations and I went to bar for the first time with her. She also offers me an opportunity to write scripts for documentaries, which is like opening another door for me. 

My accomplishment was a report on the introduction of Saturday Night Live into China sponsored by Sohu. At that time, there was a lot of news coverage on Sohu, but nothing on the American producer of the show. I was the first to interview the American producer. Through my interview, I found that contrary to many assumptions, it was the American producer that initiated the entry of the show in the Chinese market, not Sohu. It was finalized after a year of negotiation. Many Chinese internet users who know about the show also concern whether it can be transplanted in China, as it often talks about political sensitive topics, or make parodies of political figures, such as the parody of Sarah Palin. They wonder whether the same style can be kept in China. The producer also gave his answers. Besides, he pointed out that the show began in the 70s, a time when TV was somewhat strictly regulated. As the show went on, it also helped change the overall dynamic of media in the States. The producer hoped that the introduction of the show in China would do the same thing. To complete that report, I also interviewed an insider, that is Brother Sway, a Chinese talkshow host in the States. Unlike his image in front of the camera, he actually was quite serious. He also talked about the talkshow groups and criticized that their shows usually caters to popular taste rather than provides insightful views about China, which was something that I was unfamiliar of. 

Flora: Do you have other things to share?

Monica: The more I read news and connect pieces of news, the more I am confused and wondered. For example, Nigeria was captured by Boku Haram as if the whole country went to chaos with president election delayed. But today I saw that my colleague posted a Weibo feed on some activity held by the Embassy of Nigeria today, which is the "fashion godfather" in Nigeria. I began to wonder, it seemed that the country was not in as bad a shape as I thought. So what is the truth? News only covers the strange and the unusual for the public, but what is the rest of reality? That is the constant question in my mind. 

Miguel's Advice to First Year TI and CI Students

Flora: How did you spend your first summer? How many hours did you spend on practice every day?

Miguel: I had a very difficult first year. I do three language track, so I had course overload and work overload. I wasn't eating or sleeping as well as I should, and it was detrimental to my performance in the first year. I had five tests to take in August. 

So I thought I were going home to sleep for two weeks. I didn't think that I were sleeping for two months. 15 hours a day. Three weeks before coming back to take my exam, I began practicing and enacted the interpreter in me by practicing. To my surprise, I did better than I did in the first year. I passed all my exams and did well in my second year. So your brain needs some down time. Use some time for your body and brain to recuperate.  

I feel the need to share my story. Some excellent interpreters seem never need to overcome the hurdles that I had. I grew up feeling pretty secure about myself. If I set my mind, I can do it. I experienced failure for the first time in Monterey that I was giving myself 110% and not being enough. Have I been fooling myself all the time? Was I not that good? I remembered how frustrated for me being in that position and was always looking at myself and saying to myself that I was the problem, I was not of the caliber. I overlooked that people take different paths to get to the same goal. 

Shifting the perspective was really helpful. Understanding that I just needed more time and I needed a different route helps me tremendously for my second year. Though everything was really fast, I had the confidence. I may fail my professional, I may fail my finals, but I will come back to do it again. 

Miguel García: Interpreter in DC

Miguel García is MIIS
2014 Graduate of Conference Interpretation with a combination of English,
French and Spanish. He grew up in New York and is a freelance conference
interpreter in D.C. area. His clients include IMF, World Bank,
Organization of American States and the State Department. 








I first saw Miguel
from the TED talk given by Professor Laura Burian and Professor Barry Olsen
at Monterey. He demonstrated consecutive interpretation from Spanish to
English. Later I got the chance to hear him sharing his experience on how
meditation helped him on the first class of Mindfulness for Interpreters taught
by Professor Julie Johnson. 








Here in D.C., I feel
privileged to have the opportunity to know him in person and listen to his
stories, thanks to the referral of Ms. Amandine Martin, an alumna, and Mr. Jeff
Wood, our career adviser, who referred me to Amandine. Here is my interview
with Miguel on working as a freelance interpreter in D.C.: 








Time: 11:40, Saturday,
May 16

Place: Pret a Manger
near Farragut North Station at Washington D.C.








Flora: What’s your general
impression of D.C.? 

Miguel: I may not be
the best person to talk about it, as I haven't spent much time in the area.
It's been less than a year since I moved here, and I had been away on
assignments from the State Department for three weeks at a time. 

It is a very transient
and young city with high turnover. People come here for job opportunities with
international organizations and government agencies. They may leave after a few
years. Many of those who stay choose to live in Maryland and Virginia for
larger space. 

The city offers a lot
of free stuff such as world-renowned museums and concerts, which creates a
welcoming atmosphere for people living in the outskirts. 








Flora: Do you find
that based in D.C. area helps with your career? 

Miguel: Absolutely.
The government may be willing to reaching out more but many organizations only
take locals, so being here locally is a huge help. The other reason is
that the interpreting world here in D.C. is really small. Everyone talks to
everyone. I heard people saying to me, "oh, I've heard about you." It
happened when I was here for a month and a half. If you are here, people will
know and remember you, and will give you some work.  








Flora: How do you see
the interpretation market? Do you feel that interpreters with lower standards
but who charge less are taking away the jobs?  

Miguel: We see two
kinds of market. One market has truly talented interpreters and clients looking
for these interpreters are willing to pay. The other have interpreters with
lower standards. You always want to be in the market with higher standards and
quality work. I think that market is much smaller and the work does get around
a lot.  

I'm still quite new
here in D.C., but I've refused work that requires lowering my standards. It's
very hard to do so in the beginning, but the more I get to work, and the more I
get to see the different levels of qualities that exist, the more I want to
make sure I'm not perceived as either on the line that I can go either side or
on the bad side. I want to be always on the right side.  

I have a much strong
stance now, but that came from a lot of conversations with people who are nice
enough to talk to me. I've struggled with it, but it's better to struggle
through it to get your footing but eventually put yourself where you want to
be, because it's really difficult to dig yourself out of it. 








Flora: Do you find
your current job allow you to pursue your ideal lifestyle?

Miguel: 150%. It is
exactly what I planned and envisioned for my life. I need to be constantly
stimulated. I need to learn something new all the time, otherwise I'm bored
with the monotony. 

Now I own my life in
general instead of being owned by my work. If I have errands to run or if I
want to have a day off, I can do it, because three working days can cover my
financial needs for the week. 

Some people feel
stressed about the instability or the unknown that you have to live with in the
freelance market. As of two days ago, I had nothing for next week. I was just
like, "Hopefully something will come along". Yesterday I got an offer
for two days next week. Maybe on Monday I will get something for the end of the
week, maybe not, but it's fine. Because up till this point, I've already
covered my financial needs for this month. Everything else goes to your
reserve. 

You also have to take
care of what your job usually dose, like taxes, insurance and retirement. But
whatever, it is part of your life. You eventually get used to the routine. You
put aside what you need to do, but I own that. 

For me, the stability
that comes with a full-time job isn't worth giving up the flexibility that I
have now. I make my own schedules, and I love it, especially the kinds of
things that I interpret for. The last assignment was about international crime
and terrorism. Before I was doing environment. Between the two I was working on
the rights of the elderly in Latin America. I did the prep meeting held here
for the big Environmental Summit in Paris at the end of the year. All of those
are exciting. 

I'm still at the stage
where some work comes to me, some I need to seek out. It's difficult to put
yourself out there and sell yourself. It is stressful, but it pays off. I
honestly don't think I could have done it not being here in D.C.  








Flora: Anything else
that you feel important? 

Miguel: Go to the
place that you would hate going to in 15 or 20 years, because you can do it
now. I can imagine that at some point of my life it will be complex with family
and children, and it's harder to be this flexible. Take advantage of the
flexibility and the energy you have now, and go for the place that will be
harder to envision in the future. Choose the optimal destination for your
language combination and do it now, because you never know what will happen in
the future. 







Miguel also has great advice for 1st year CI and TI students. For more please click here. 

DC Impression: a Tourist's Perspective

I doubt any visitor can manage to go to all the museums here unless given a month. (1 days after I drafted this post I met Abrahim, a graduate of Museum Studies at George Washington Museum from Egypt. He said he didn't finish all the museums in his two years of study, and he studies museums.) I just came back from my second day of museum tour with impression about many interesting exhibitions and interesting people.

"Oh, Count! That's the real deal!"

Yesterday I visited the National Museum of American History. It was such a fun place! I especially love "American Stories", where the exhibition vividly depicted aspects of American life, from a mechanical standing clock made in the 18th century, to the first Apple computer. It was a very good place to stay to observe cultural difference. Almost all the children passing Count von count , the Sesame Street character who is always counting, would take a picture of this precious "real thing". I also love the replica of Julia Child's kitchen. It was not just a kitchen, but a workshop, a reading room and a studio.

Multi-colored T shirts

There were also groups of students wearing the same colored T-shirt. While I was sitting on a bench, a teacher led a group of students over. The teacher sat besides me, talking about American history while her students sat on the ground entranced by her vivid narration. After that a girl gave a very satisfactory feedback: "I love how we sat on the ground and listened." Sometimes boys would rush into a quiet exhibition hall yelling and chasing at each other, and their teacher would shush them, which made me giggle. I can totally relate to that careless and loud teenage period of mine.

A boy as Lincoln

The students are from all over the country, Ohio, Alabama, etc. Parents also come with the students. I asked a mum from Ohio if the parents were drivers. She said they took a bus, starting their journey early morning the day before yesterday. I always wanted to ask whether all students can come or only those who can afford it can, but didn't get the chance to ask. I was also wondering if the schools going to DC have agreed among themselves that they would wear different colors for easier identification. I was also curious what assignment the students would get for the trip... There were so many questions that I wanted to ask, but as I inquired much, the teachers and parents became suspicious, as if I am a kidnapper or weirdo, which I totally understand and appreciate. It is definitely necessary for the sake of children. But if you have taken part of this kind of tour when you are at school, you are welcome to share your experiences!

In China students from primary schools and middle school have spring and autumn trip. It was usually quite cheap, and we didn't spend the night outside, not in my school. Parents didn't come with us as they needed to go to work, and they trust school and teachers a lot. I have forgotten where we had been to, but it wasn't the destination that was exciting, but the way going to and back from another place. We sang songs, played games and cards or chatted. I guess a long trip for students here may work the same way.

Yesterday I saw a group of women in traditional floral dress, like Hobbit women in the movie. I thought they were actresses hosting some cultural activity, so I asked what it was. The woman smiled, saying that it was the way they dress every day! Wow, that was really eye-opening! They sat in the sun, carefree and merry, I felt like going back to the 19th century Britain. Where are they from? A place in Pennsylvania. I really look forward to going to their village and living there for a while. It must be a poetic and peaceful place to stay! I didn't see many other people go talk to them. Was I the only one who didn't know about this kind of custom?

I talked to a lady from Upstate New York. She came here with her husband for a visit of her sister's family. She said that she loved DC, as a lot of things are free, and the city is vibrant with a lot of things to do. What's New York state like? In her hometown, apples, vineyards and skiing. Sounds fun too, maybe just not as many people and tourists?

In Search of Couchsurfer Hosts

Seeds Sprouted.
How much will you guys grow when we are back? 

My crazy exam week has finally passed! I'm relieved, but Kelsey has one more week to go in her program.

Last week she found us a place to stay at Columbus, Ohio. Whitney is making granola bars for the road. Today， I start looking for couchsurfing hosts in Madison and Rapid City and get prepared for my trip to DC tomorrow.

Couchsurfing is new to me. In Chinese we call couchsurfers "couch guests". I'm excited to try it! After I signed up for Couchsurfing, I found out that I was required to complete my profile by 65% before I could send requests. That is a very reasonable design though less convenient, as enough personal information is necessary to build trust between the guests and the hosts. The sacrifice of small convenience facilitates bigger convenience.

I'll stay in DC at my friend's place till the 17th and Kelsey and Whitney will pick me up early in the morning to avoid being trapped in traffic. The two girls will be driving a lot for a whole week.

I can't wait to visit DC again for the museums and the vibe there. I also look forward to interviewing local people about their impression on the capital city.