A Conversation with Ilan Stavans

Professor Camayd-Freixas performed an act of courage in going public with his opinions and concerns. Whether his actions and his essay were the best way of expressing his opinions and drawing public attention to what he and many observers considered to be injustices perpetrated upon the detained workers is open to argument.

Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,

I have an undergraduate degree in French and Spanish and am working as an English teacher in Spain while preparing for the Institute of Linguists' Diploma in Translation (French/Spanish - English).

However I am unsure how to proceed; should I start looking for an in-house position now since I am unsure of the business side of translation or is it better to wait until I pass the diploma and set up as a freelance? Also, how do I go about looking for an in-house position if this is the best way forward? I intend to stay in Spain in the long-term.

Thank you,

Preoccupied

Prior to starting pursuing my university degree, I had worked as a freelance football reporter for a local newspaper. Already an undergraduate student, I was hired in 1996 by Grupo Editorial Sinos, one of the largest communications groups in southern Brazil, and I worked in a daily newspaper for almost two years. During that period, I spent several months writing for the sports pages, which included daily coverage of Rio Grande do Sul's two biggest football clubs—Grêmio FBPA, club world champions in 1983, and SC Internacional, which were eventually crowned FIFA Club World Cup champions in 2006.

Practical tips for practicing translators.

Q:

Dear Fire Ant & Worker Bee,

Is it necessary to accept all job offers from direct clients, or can one occasionally say 'no'?

Margareta was one of the most extraordinary human beings I've ever known, on many different levels. A dedicated mother of three children, one of them handicapped, somehow she found time to pursue a career as an accomplished architect, translator, simultaneous and consecutive interpreter, volunteer in the ATA, where she was one of the founders of the Nordic and Interpreters' Divisions and the webmaster of both Divisions' Newsletters, in the local ski club, of which she was a Board member and Newsletter editor; she served as a Board member of the local Pascack Hills High School Band Parents Association, as President of SWEA (Swedish Women's Educational Association, Inc.) New Jersey Chapter, President of the Swedish School Association of New Jersey, in addition to being active in the local Parent-Teacher Organization. As if all this was not sufficient, she also worked as Office Administrator in her husband, Mikael's business.