Expat Community > China

murphyr
Joined 2013
Posts: 4

Don’t need to be rich and powerful to have a personal interpreter for a day

10 years ago

You only see this in TV. Two middle aged semi bold men from two different parts of the world dressed to impress. the look on their faces express intensity. They seem to get along with each other with ease. Its because sitting behind them are two unassuming shadowy figures leaning forwards them whispering to their ears.

Simultaneous interpretation is one of those high profile professionals that is easily expected to have high salaries. Expat commoners such as myself wouldn’t dare to dream about hiring them for my own selfish purposes.

I’m in my 50s now from Sydeny and have lived in china for about 8 months now. I still can’t speak Chinese. Maybe its because of my lifestyle, the lack of talent or old age.

My foreign circle of friends often stated that you don’t need to know your Chinese to live in modern china. They are correct in an extent. I could ignore many daily problems. Want internet at home but don’t know where to start or communicate, use internet elsewhere. Broken sink? Do it yourself. Want to watch tv but broken reception? ignore it and just watch DVDs. (almost everything in china has a shorter lifespan than back home).

My point is: you can live without the language or even the knowledge of its infrastructure, but you will expect to make a lot of compromises with your lifestyle. The foreign scene is exclusively situated in or near bars. They are terrified of venturing out to into the mainstream chinese life or perhaps that isn’t why they are here. Unlike most expats that may rely on their girlfriends to assist with their daily errands. But with my looks, size and age, finding a girlfriend seems so distant. Trying also to learn a completing alienating language? Forget it.

There are so many Chinese people whose English skills that almost rival some expats, so there must be services that uses translation and interpretation as a core service. I found one is perfect and it’s in the same place is stayed (Zhuhai). They have both phone and accompanied services. So if I need help translating something on the spot, just call them and they suddenly become my personal interpreter on the phone. They also help me call the landlords and laborers to fix any irregularities in the house. China is never short of service people. My life has instantly changed. I didn’t feel like I’m trapped in a unfamiliar surrounding. Instead, I felt like Im able to explore and enjoy this land. If anyone who is coming to Zhuhai or Guangdong, It’s definitely worth check www.chinaexpatguidance.com. The website doesn’t like that much but the uniqueness of this service is that it’s perfect for new expats, and its service range is wide and varied. And with under 900 RMB. It’s a must have.
please check this place out. I think it is really worth to try at least.

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Don’t need to be rich and powerful to have a personal interpreter for a day

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