Actually, you wouldn’t believe that at all if you could take a peek into the Word Loft. While most of Europe is baking in a crazy hot heatwave, the UK is paddling its way through summer in torrential rain and thunderstorms. And while schools may have broken up for 6 weeks of blissful gaming and YouTube, I’m hard at work upgrading my skills.
One of the things I love about being a translator is the huge variety of topics I’m called on to translate. Sure, I have my specialist subjects, but it’s so refreshing to be able to turn my hand to pretty much whatever comes my way. It’s like eating pick and mix!
Children’s games one day, pet food the next, followed by evidence for court (love those ones, always have a frisson of excitement translating court documents even after all these years) or an e-commerce website for a brand branching out into the UK market. There really is never a dull moment.
A broad knowledge base is essential to be able to produce great texts for my clients, so I undertake regular CPD – as a self-confessed square, I loved school and still love learning now, so choosing a new course is like choosing a treat in a sweet shop.
This time round I’ve chosen to enrol on a distance learning course with Stanford University looking at women’s health and international human rights and I can’t wait to get started. Although I’m a firm feminist, I’ve never actually studied in this field before so it will be a new experience for me and I’m excited to see what’s in store.
Whether you’re roasting or rainy, kicking back or knuckling down, I hope you have a sweet summer!
