Friday, October 12, 2007
[Job] A Brief Job Description
Title: Interpreter
Industry: Sports, Leisure & Recreations
Alternate Titles: Translator; Coordinator; Guide; Photographer; Troubleshooter; Babysitter
The Ordinary Plot:
My clients and I meet at the airport. We shake hands. The trip
from airport to hotel is mostly filled with meaningless casual talks
to ease the nerves. Both side show certain degree of oiliness toward each
other during the first day working together. More than a few times
I misunderstand the meanings of my clients during their oral expressions
initially and cover it up later nearly seamlessly with my speedy reactions
or/and previous working experiences. The degree of strangeness between
my clients and I usually is at the peak in the morning of the second day,
then falling down sharply. We gradually open ourselves little by little
to each other. I get a nickname (in some occasions accompanied with a
silly folksong) derived from my formal nickname George in the second
afternoon from my clients. Tensions rise between my clients and local
people due to drastically different working concepts and methods. Tensions
fall moderately between my clients and local people due to quirky ways of
social interactions started from the local people with my clients.
My clients and I begin chat about various topics during meals, with the
specific focus on Taiwanese and oriental females. I show my broad
range of knowledges to my clients by answering different kinds of
questions from my clients about Taiwan and Taiwanese with limited
vocabularies and poor grammar without much hesitation. The quality of
my interpretation improves by better understanding and repeated listening
of my clients' expressions, but still leaves much to desire. My clients
start say hello to strangers/girls/bartenders/female clerks/waitress
without notice and get positive responses most of the time. My clients
and I talk more about women during meals and drinking. My clients
ask why I am still single, the question which I have wondered for a long
time as well. My clients start to introduce me to the girls/bartenders/
female clerks/waitress with the opening phrase like "This is George,
he is a very fine young man..." very often. I feel embarrassed, smile
and say sorry to the girls/bartenders/female clerks/waitress politely
in Chinese. Some of the girls/bartenders/female clerks/waitress agree
with my clients that I am a very shy person. My clients begin to notice that
I have the permissive nature within that I love self-blaming. My clients get angry
with my permissive nature and reiterate that I am a smart, humorous and
good-looking young man and should be proud of myself. My clients and I
drink more the night before my clients leave. I begin to show my true
colors to my clients with the help of alcohol. The conversation topic
shifts to the situation of sexual/racial discriminations in different
societies. My clients, all of them are white Americans, get uneasy with
this topic. The conversation shifts to another topic. My clients offer
me opportunities to work oversea and invite me to their place once I
traveled to the United States again. We drink more and take photos
together. We shake hands. We say goodbye to each other. I ride my scooter
home in chilly rain.
Industry: Sports, Leisure & Recreations
Alternate Titles: Translator; Coordinator; Guide; Photographer; Troubleshooter; Babysitter
The Ordinary Plot:
My clients and I meet at the airport. We shake hands. The trip
from airport to hotel is mostly filled with meaningless casual talks
to ease the nerves. Both side show certain degree of oiliness toward each
other during the first day working together. More than a few times
I misunderstand the meanings of my clients during their oral expressions
initially and cover it up later nearly seamlessly with my speedy reactions
or/and previous working experiences. The degree of strangeness between
my clients and I usually is at the peak in the morning of the second day,
then falling down sharply. We gradually open ourselves little by little
to each other. I get a nickname (in some occasions accompanied with a
silly folksong) derived from my formal nickname George in the second
afternoon from my clients. Tensions rise between my clients and local
people due to drastically different working concepts and methods. Tensions
fall moderately between my clients and local people due to quirky ways of
social interactions started from the local people with my clients.
My clients and I begin chat about various topics during meals, with the
specific focus on Taiwanese and oriental females. I show my broad
range of knowledges to my clients by answering different kinds of
questions from my clients about Taiwan and Taiwanese with limited
vocabularies and poor grammar without much hesitation. The quality of
my interpretation improves by better understanding and repeated listening
of my clients' expressions, but still leaves much to desire. My clients
start say hello to strangers/girls/bartenders/female clerks/waitress
without notice and get positive responses most of the time. My clients
and I talk more about women during meals and drinking. My clients
ask why I am still single, the question which I have wondered for a long
time as well. My clients start to introduce me to the girls/bartenders/
female clerks/waitress with the opening phrase like "This is George,
he is a very fine young man..." very often. I feel embarrassed, smile
and say sorry to the girls/bartenders/female clerks/waitress politely
in Chinese. Some of the girls/bartenders/female clerks/waitress agree
with my clients that I am a very shy person. My clients begin to notice that
I have the permissive nature within that I love self-blaming. My clients get angry
with my permissive nature and reiterate that I am a smart, humorous and
good-looking young man and should be proud of myself. My clients and I
drink more the night before my clients leave. I begin to show my true
colors to my clients with the help of alcohol. The conversation topic
shifts to the situation of sexual/racial discriminations in different
societies. My clients, all of them are white Americans, get uneasy with
this topic. The conversation shifts to another topic. My clients offer
me opportunities to work oversea and invite me to their place once I
traveled to the United States again. We drink more and take photos
together. We shake hands. We say goodbye to each other. I ride my scooter
home in chilly rain.
