The Travelling Translator: Week 3
In the fourth part of the series titled “The Travelling Translator”, we will explore the challenges that were faced during the third week of the experiment and those that have not been covered in Week 1 and Week 2.
Back-up equipment
Do you remember when I mentioned that apart from the laptop you will be carrying with you, one needs to have a back-up plan in case the system fails you? If you do not remember, please read the paragraph in the introductory article of the series here.
Well, the system did not fail me during the week, but something else happened that if I did not have my back-up notebook, I would be stack with a case difficult to resolve.
One of my clients (my only client) has started using MemoQ, a CAT tool that I still possess no license for. I had installed a MemoQ trial on my main laptop, but the 30 days had expired, and so I could not use it my main laptop. I had to install the trial version of the CAT tool in my notebook in order to complete this translation project. If I had not taken my notebook, I would not have any other possibility to solve this issue, unless I was staying with a friend and downloaded the trial version in my friend’s computer.
Scanning & printing
We have already spoken about issues that may arise from the need to scan and print documentation while being on the road (you can refresh your memory regarding this topic here. Since I was staying with friends that actual have a day job and do not work in a home office, they did not possess a scanner or a printer. The printing part was easily resolved by asking my friend to print the documents (in a language not understood by him –great from a confidentiality point of view!). Then, the scanning part was a challenge, as we did not know if there is a photocopy-scanning-printing shop in the area. I decided to download one of these iphone scanning apps. And in fact, it worked like a charm!
Bad weather conditions
This is totally out of our hands! We cannot predict when a storm will begin and what it can actually cause. Due to heavy winds and severe cold, the internet roaming access of my phone did not work as normal. Also, the fact that my accommodation was very close to the boarder of two counties, made the signal come one minute from one country and the next from the other. Thankfully, it did not cause any project loss but it would potentially do so. There is nothing we can do about these issues, apart from hoping that they will not occur!
Next week, we will observe the issues I faced during Week 4. Note-To-Self: I need to purchase a license for MemoQ. If you have seen the CAT took discounted anywhere, please do drop me a line! Oh, and stay tuned for the next article!