The Travelling Translator: Week 2

In the third part of the series titled “The Travelling Translator”, we will explore the challenges that were faced during the second week of the experiment and those that have not been covered in Week 1 and Before Departure.

Time zones

Make sure that the minute you arrive at your destination, you set all your watches and clocks to the local time and be sure to check any potential project delivery time according to the local time zone. Within Europe, where the time zones do not change too much, this may not be an issue, however, in case you travel across the Atlantic or the Pacific, not changing the time can cause considerable delivery issues.

Check your email

In the second part of the series, I mentioned that I check my email every fifteen minutes, especially when I am out of the temporary office (ie the accommodation at the time).  If only I could follow my own advice! I was distracted one day, admiring the good of a local market to the extent that I forgot to check my email. This resulted in finding two emails from two different clients (a regular one and one I have never worked with before) two hours later. You may think that two hours is not such a long time, however, when I discovered them, it was passed the office hours of the clients on a Friday afternoon. Of course, you realize that I did not receive a reply or confirmation and since the weekend is in between, there is a great chance that they have already found another translator to do the translation for them.

Plugs & electricity voltage

What would be the point to carry your equipment to during your travels if you cannot use it? You may need to check that the electricity voltage is the same, so that your laptop will not malfunction or even break down. Of course, make sure you are aware that the plugs are the same or at least purchase an adaptor.  This can also be purchased at your destination, but it is still wise to carry with you in case you need to deliver upon arrival at your accommodation.

Scanning & printing

If it is up to you, try to postpone any scanning or printing your documents, if the case might be. If you are staying at a hotel, this may be easier solved as you can ask hotel staff to do it for you. If you are staying at a friend’s house (where there is no home office available!), you may need to search for a shop that customers can photocopy, scan or print material. As I have set my mind to think that I am working even though I am travelling, I continue to perform my email and marketing strategies in search for new clients. When I needed to have a form and confidentiality agreement signed, I had do search for such a shop in the area.

Next week we will explore different challenges that may arise during the third week of travelling! Stay tuned!