I don’t know if it was because I had just started this profession or it was because I was going through a colorful period of my life, but the experiences I had between 2009-2013 were much more surprising for me when compared to the recent times. Indeed, while I was still a Translation and Interpreting student at Dokuz Eylül University in 2009, I was deeply curious about what was happening in the industry. I wanted to see and learn everything and to work as much as I could. I was in love with this profession, both translation and interpretation, which I had started studying to become a simultaneous interpreter after seeing an interpreter on TV news. I said that I started in 2009 and I was unaware that I would be assigned a high-volume translation project, which was way over my head back then, by someone who realized my enthusiasm and I was going to lock myself in my house for three months to translate day and night while involving my senior flat mate, 3-5 people in her class, and a couple of dauntless people from my own class. This project not only taught me the key points of a higher-quality translation, but also provided me with experience on various topics such as how to form a translation team, how to plan and schedule things to successfully finalize a project. However, this is not the story I will share with you in this article.
I read the news about that the Intercollegiate Winter Games would be held in Erzurum at the beginning of 2011. A light bulb immediately went on in my head. I felt the same excitement I had felt while watching the news about that the same international games were to be held in Izmir in 2005. I started to look for ways to be a part of this winter games event as an interpreter; because I knew that many foreign athletes would attend, so I was sure that someone would need me there. I sent an application letter to do voluntary interpretations there. No one responded, so, I sent another letter, but the result was the same. Then, I started finding and dialing various numbers. After one month of work, I managed to get an e-mail approving my voluntary interpretation offer. I was going to get the chance to stay in Erzurum for 20 days and assume a lot of interpretation work. Thanks to this, my journey from Izmir to Erzurum started. Having been born in Antalya, there is no way for me to describe the cold weather I felt when we landed in Erzurum airport. Only those who experienced the same can understand the way I felt. I was about to experience -30°C in the next days.
I was welcomed by a staff member as soon as the plane landed. Everyone was treating me with special respect, because I had studied translation and interpreting. I was soon to find out the reason why. The staff member told me: “Leave your belongings as soon as possible, you need to interpret. There is a challenging situation.” You know that moments when you can hear your own heartbeat and your footsteps get louder; that is exactly how I felt when I heard him. I gave all my belongings, including my personal laptop, the most valuable thing I had, to someone I didn’t know and watched them get away from me. The issue was that the team from China had a serious problem, they were told to return to Istanbul. Because they somehow managed to bring 6 biathlon rifles into the country without customs approval, which makes me realize that the level of precautions taken back then was lower compared to today when we are asked to turn on our computers again and again on each x-ray checkpoint. As with all teams coming from non-English-speaking countries, the Chinese team had an interpreter. I introduced myself, the staff member welcomed me and left me alone with them. I was alone with this team in the first 30 minutes of my arrival to Erzurum. In the next 2 hours, everyone in the airport learned who I was, regardless of their duty. Because I was trying to communicate with anyone who might be of help to find a way of solving this issue without needing to send our Chinese guests back to Istanbul. After a few hours, I managed to get a customs clearance letter from Istanbul for these really dangerous-looking rifles, which were longer than half of my height.
The next day, I was assigned as the Head Attaché of the New Zealand team. They told me that it was hard to understand the New Zealand accent and they needed an interpreter. I welcomed each of the team members individually, got necessary accreditations, called our private drivers to help transferring them to wherever necessary. In the meantime, I studied the Erzurum travel guide, which I had translated to English before, in the evenings to memorize everything in it and became the travel guide of our team of athletes from New Zealand. It was a really nice coincidence to come across the travel guide, which I had translated, during Erzurum winter games.
The team from New Zealand had another major issue that needed to be resolved before the competitions started. Their uniforms were not yet delivered to Erzurum and they had no idea where those uniforms were. I spent some time to contact with the relevant authorities organizing the event to find out where their cargo was and how we could bring it to Erzurum. In the end, what had to be done was obvious and we had to go to a notary with the team coach to write some petitions and notarize them. I found a notary, prepared a bilingual petition to submit, just to get rejected by the notary. Because I was not a translator approved by that notary. They asked us to wait for a few hours in their office for their registered translator to arrive. The translator needed to translate the petition written by the coach into Turkish and get the coach to sign a document of consent. If you know me, you know how much I “like” the notary public offices. And this was one of those memories that strengthened my feelings for them. The translator was also having a hard time and asked for my help. I did my best to help him. Thanks to this incident, I started finding out how things work at notaries.
In the upcoming days, I learned that I would get to interpret the speech of our team’s coach -in front of the cameras to crown it all- during a press conference to be held with the coaches of participating countries. I was getting less nervous day by day or I was starting to learn how to control my nerves. The big day was finally there. As I did every morning, I met with the team to find out the coach went somewhere else and the press conference was to be held in another building. I got a text from the coach saying “Where are you? The meeting is about the start.” I knew that if I was to call one of the vehicles assigned to us, I was going to be late. I started running a 10-minute distance. I was out of breath, but I had to make it there in time. Right at that moment, something happened which would make me stop for a moment to understand what happened and to pull myself together. I slipped on the ice and fell down. I saw a paramedic team coming from close by and gathering around me. I asked for my glasses because apparently, they fell also down as I did. I had to get up and get going as soon as possible. While I was making my way into the hall with a limp, I received another text. “I will not talk, you don’t have to come.” I still have a mild meniscus rupture from that day, which I call an “interpretation meniscus”.
Another thing I find unforgettable about Erzurum is the time when I had to interpret for very important people to be hosted in a VIP lounge area of the ice rink building. Since I enjoyed figure skating, I would frequently find myself at that building to watch the athletes when I had time. Because of that, the staff member there knew me. I had a call from the assignment department stating that the Chairman of the Board of Directors in International University Sports Federation (FISU) George E. Killian was about to arrive to the building and they needed an interpreter. “Would you do it?” They said. Of course, I would do that, obviously! Anyways, George E. Killian was a really nice person. I am proud I had the chance to interpret for him. May he rest in peace.
After those 20 days, I felt as if I would leave from another planet while I was returning to Izmir. I got to experience many things to improve me greatly in this wonderful profession that I would never quit in the future. Besides, I even received a little remuneration for my efforts in this event, even though I had attended it voluntarily. When I came back, I had a little bit of New Zealand accent thanks to my friends from New Zealand for a while.
Author: Burcu Demirörs
Date of Publication: 02/06/2020
Target Audience: All Translators, Beginner Translators, People Who Enjoy Short Stories
Note: This short story was also published in the book named “Çevirmen Öyküleri: Bir Özbetimleme Çalışması”.
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