Translator Astana

The whole week I’ve been translating negotiations at the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, where the Vice Minister Uskenbaev had meetings with Judith Luscomb, the representative of the Buzz Buziness, the film production company.

There was made an offer to make a documentary film on Kazakhstan which would show the country in all its beauty, both in winter and in summer. The documentary would touch various topics, such as history and religion, handcrafts and culture, adventures and ecotourism, local traditions and kazakh food. There was elaborated a very detailed plan of filming and Vice Minister as well as the Committee Chairperson seemed to like the idea.

At the next meeting they went into more details about tender processing and legal issues. With such a big project one should take every detail into consideration. My translation went rather smoothly since I am quite familiar with the tender processing in Kazakstan. The next day we met with the chief accountant and went through the whole project again, this time focusing on figures.

While translating presentation from English to Russian I was thinking about interpreter’s role in negotiations. Not only should he/she translate word for word thus delivering the message, it is also extremely important to use the right intonation, gestures, smiles and pauses. What the outcome of the negotiations would be if the presentation is done perfectly in English but it looks pale when translated into Russian because of an interpreter? So I came to a conclusion that an interpreter should also know the bacics of marketing and branding, as well as pchycology. It’s not only the matter of language skills, it’as also about the right personality.

With Judith we also did some shopping because she was interested in purchasing some traditional kazakh clothes. Hats were her favoutire item Well, kazakh traditional hats are something!

I also did some written translation for Judith since she needed me to translate some official letters to the Ministry. In general it was a very exciting assignment since the topic - mass media- was both familiar and interesting.

Last week I worked with the representatives of the Inkoa and BCC companies which won the tender in Kazakhstan.

The topic was rather unusual for me: I was translating the presentation on the forest nursery. I have never worked in that sphere before, so the material that I received on the eve of the presentation was very helpful. Some words were familiar, like „greenhouse“, „irrigation“, „seeds“ and others, some concepts were new to me, such as „germination“ and „micoriza“. It was rather a technical translation since we discussed the process of seeding and planting.

As an interpreter I always learn many things when I work. You never know in what field of knowledge you will work tomorrow, this is why you can’t be 100% equipped with the specific vocabulary. An interpreter must have an excellent memory so that if a word is mentioned once, this word should be buried in one’s memory forever. During presentation several people might be talking at the same time, so an interpreter should be very attentive, so he or she does not miss out anything. Some people might also be talking for too long and it’s not always a good idea to inetrrupt and start translation. So there should be a notebook and a pen. And an excellent memory again!

The atmosphere at the Ministry was very friendly, the protocol was signed and a new meeting was scheduled for February. I am sure I will learn even more about bare-root seeding, dripping system of irrigation and seed hardening!

Last Friday I was translating at the business forum where different Greek companies were presented: marble, olive oil, furs, doors and windows… one could find anything there. I translated to Mr. Alexander Dimitriadis, Managing Director of Balkan company and also I helped Mr. Vasilis Giannakis, who represented another marble manufacturing company.

I already have experience in geology related translation, so words like „quarry“, „shear strength“, „porosity“ and the like were familiar to me. But there is always something new (for example, the term „slab“): Mr. Dimitriadis was so kind that explained to me difference between several types of marble: polished or ancient, with ot without fossils, more strong or more vulnerable and so on. He also had samples of about 20 types of marble from oll over the world: from his own quarries in Greece and from other countries such as Iran, Turkey, India. I was particularly attracted by the so called Snow White marble (the most expensive, it turned out ).

There weren’t too many visitors on that day, but those who did appear were real professionals in marble industry: they knew what they needed and what they were looking for.

After the exibition we went on the short excursion in Astana, visited Baiterek and several construction sites where marble was used.

Why I really like being a translator in Kazakhstan, is because I can always meet people from various parts of the world with different background and mentality. After rendering my translation services back on Friday, I knew a little more about Greece, marble and maybe even more Kazakhstan and its advantages over other countries.

Last week I worked again as an English-Russian interpreter. There was a so-called info-tour for the tour operators from the UK and we spent the whole day on excursion in Astana.

Our tour in Astana started with the visit of ALZHIR (russian acronym that stands for the Akmolinsk camp for the wives of treators of motherland) that was established in what is now settlement Malinovka back in 1937. Our tour guide Elena told us the story of the establishment of this camp, about the women that were sent there and about their harsh lives in the camp. As a translator I sometimes face some difficulties when translating the realities of Kazakhstan (or in this case these of Soviet Union). But even in cases when I can’t use word for word translation, I turn to the descriptive translation. Our guest from the UK were astonished since they had no idea such thing as the camp for wives of treators existed in Soviet Union. We visited the museum in Malinovka that showed how women survived in that camp. I am sure that this excursion touched everyone’s heart beacause I could easily see the shock in our visitors eyes. Every time I go to this museum I am reminded of the black period in history of our country that became the second motherland for million people sent to the exile. Almost every family knows what „Stalin’s repressions“ mean and not only from the textbooks…

After such an emotional start of our excursion we came back to Astana, had lunch with our guests and continued our tour on the left bank. After visiting Baiterek we drove to the Palace of Independance. We stopped by the newly opened monument „Kazakh Eli“ which means „Kazakh people“ and then went inside the Palace, where we were shown the model of Astana and where we watched a short 4D movie about Kazakhstan and its heart-Astana.

We also went on excursion in the Palace of Peace and Accord that is situated right in front of the Palace of Independance. We visited the hall where the Congress of leaders of world and traditional religions is always held.

Our excursion was extremely intensive, we visited almost all the sightseeings of Astana and our guests seemed to be very impressed.

Several days ago I did Russian-English translation of an excursion in Astana. It was organized for the Arab journalists and the representatives of the Etihad Airways company who came to Astana in order to promote a new destination Abu Dhabi – Astana that was launched recently.

Ambassador of UAE in Astana & me

On the excursion we worked together with the tour guide Elena, it was not our first excursion together, so I knew what to expect in terms of translation. We started our excursion on the right bank of Astana, the place that the city emerged from. We passed by the main sightseeings of the Old city and then came to the left bank, where we visited Baiterek and the Islamic cultural center.

Eventhough I am a translator, my work is not limited to translation only. I usually talk about Kazakhstan, its culture, history and traditions. Our guests from UAE took keen interest in all these and asked me a lot of questions. It is always very exciting for me to share my knowledge with someone who is eager to listen.

They also wanted to see the life of common people of Kazakhstan, so we went to a small village near the airport, where we found the houses that were built in the 1930’s, very simple traditional houses. There is always a striking contrast between what one can see in the capital and somewhere nearby. Our guests seemed to like that village with a very traditional way of life.

When the excursion was over, I was invited to the reception dedicated to the promotion of the new destination Abu Dhabi-Astana as well. I’ve met a lot of new people at the reception and learned more about the Arab culture. I will remember this day as the one that I spent with very nice people, sociable and open-minded and I am looking forward to meeting them again one day.

As a French-Russian translator in Astana I worked for one week with two French journalists Jean Marc Gresta and  Julien Monteaux,  who represented the company Science frontieres. They came to Astana  in order to make a film about Kazakhstan.

So we met in  Astana International Airport where I came to pik them up and then I helped them to find their hotel.

The main part of the work started next morning, when we met in order to get some things settled, such as to get the accreditation, to make several appointments and to confirm the date and the time of the interview. Once this has been done, we were off to the city to film some sightseeings of Astana. We worked  both on the right and left banks of Ishim river, made pictures of Presidential palace, Baiterek, Parliament, old city square, etc. We visited some museums, one of which is the first President museum.

Next day we left for Borovoe, since Jean Marc and Julien wanted to film “la nature savage”- wild nature that is.   I did the organizational part: I found a driver and  instructed him about what places we should visit. So we spent a whole day climbing on the hills and stones, filming lakes with waves and struggling with icy wind.  There was more work to do in Astana.

The biggest thing of their stay in Astana was the interview with Mr.Talgat Musabaev, the kazakhstani cosmonaut. Mr.Musabaev shared with us his experience, told us about the plans for development in the spacial industry and also sent his warmest regards to the French  cosmonauts he once worked with.  He used a lot of space related terminology and this was a challenge to me since I had to get it all correctly. In general the interview had a very positive energy and translation in such atmosphere was a pleasure for me.

We also attended some other events, such as World Touristic Organization, that took place in Astana in the beginning of October, met with different people and filmed more of Astana. I also got to translate the questions to our  President prepared by Jean Marc.

So this is how that week passed. I went to the airport again-this time to say goodbye to Jean Marc and Julien.  It’s amazing how can one get used to each other over such a short period of time. That week was really hectic but full of new people, new places and new challenges.

I did translation for OSCE Migration/Freedom of Movement Adviser who came in Astana in September. He is a representative of the Office for democratic institutions and human right in Warsaw. We worked closely with the Ministry of Justice of Republic of Kazakhstan and JSC “National Informational Technologies”.

On the first day of his stay in Astana we met at the hotel where we discussed topics that would be covered the next day. These topics mostly  touched the computarization of the data base system. Social  issues such as marriage, divorce, child adoption etc. were discussed with the head of the passport service.

Unfortunately I can’t go into more details regarding this translation because as a translator I should stick to one of the translator’s rules: “Interpreter should not reveal any information that he or she obtained during translation”. But what I  can definitely “reveal” and I guess it wasn’t  a state secret at all is that the adviser from OSCE told me that he really liked Kazakhstan and it was his 4th and certainly not last visit to Kazakhstan.

He didn’t have enough time to do any sightseeing, but on our way to the Ministry I explained a little bit the history of Astana, I showed the major sightseeings in Astana such as Baiterek, the Residence of the President, the building of Ministries, the Pyramide and so on. So on can say that a translator should be a good tour guide even if he or she is not doing the translation of an excursion

Translation at the Congress of world religions- another task for me

I worked at the Congress of World Religions that was held in Astana on the 1-2 of July as a Liaison Officer for the World Church Council General Secretary Samuel Kobia.

WCC-Chef Samuel Kobia & Snezhana Skakovskaya

It was a very interesting task since the Congress of world religions is unique in its nature. Religious leaders from more than 77 countries came to Astana in order to have an open dialogue between the religions.

Guest from Korea & me

The Congress was well organized, our guests were placed in hotels of Astana and they were daily informed by their liaison officers about their programme.  Usually we came at the hotel and accompanied our guests in the buses and led them to the Palace of Peace and Accord or to the Palace of Independance where all the meetings were held. We were accompaning them every minute and  were solving all the problems they could have: whether someone has lost his badge or hasn’t gotten his invitation to the reception, the liaison officers were called to help. We also did translation for our guests since  many  of them were foreigners and didn’t speak  Kazakh or Russian. Mostly translation was needed for the purpose  of communication between kazakhstani part and our guests or sometimes for the communication among guests themselves. Arrangement of accommodation and transportation was also our duty, as well as arranging siteseeing in Astana.

The Congress was a great experience since this was not only the meeting of different people, but also of different cultures and religions. I  am very glad that translation in Astana gives me the opportunities to meet very interesting people!

Accomodation is what one looks for when comes to Astana from abroad-that’s obvious. Some people ask translators to help in finding a right place, some people find it on their own.

In most cases a foreigner will go for a hotel, but there is still a big number of those who want to cook themselves and feel a bit more like at home, then they seek for a serviced apartment, apartment for daily rent. What I want to do here is to help those who try to find an apartment or a hotel using the internet.

Why would one chose an apartment and not a hotel room-that’s the first question. In my opinion one can feel freer in an apartment rather than in a hotel room. Usually all rooms in a hotel are standartized and really have no face. Apartments can be very different, with different number of rooms, with kitchen and balcon. Those who travel with their family find it very comfortable in an apartment taking into account the possibility of cooking and less strict conditions of the stay. There are some services that go along with the apartment: from arranging the transfer from the airport to making laundry and ironing. Hotels, on the other hand, have their own advantages. No matter what one chooses, it is easier to arrange the accomodation with the help of Apartamenty.kz, which  contains the big choice of apartments and hotels in Astana and other cities in Kazakhstan.

Translation in Astana for NATO was possible due to Security forum that took place in the end of June 2009.

NATO Security forum in Astana: french-russian Translation

The Ministry of Foreign affairs of Kazakhstan selected volunteers for this forum. It was decided that some would work at the airport coordinating arrival and departure of delegations, some would locate in hotels helping out with accomodation, some would be responsible for transportation. Initially I was among those who would work with NATO advanced group in the international office. My skills in French language were quite useful since both French and English are official languages of NATO and I could translate from French to Russian directly. As one of NATO officers told me it was very nice speaking French because many English speaking people ignore their duty to be in command of the other offcial language. I was asked by some people to show them the city and to help with bying souvenirsso I had a chance to tell our guests more about Astana, its history and places to visit.
When the forum started I was assigned as a Liaison Officer of the French delegation. It means I was fully responsible for their sray in Astana – starting from visa issues and list of delegates to drawing up their personal schedule, arranging transportation and accomodation.

Me & NATO Officer

It was a very good experience for me since I could get to know more about the internal work of both Ministry of foreign affairs and NATO – now I know that one  can hardly get any rest during forum, working day doesn’t finish at 7p.m., cell phones never stop ringing but at the end there is a feeling of satisfaction of your own work

Translation for the OSCE Secretary General seems to be impossible in Astana, but this is not true. Secretary General of OSCE, M. Marc Perrin de Brichambaut came to Astana for the Congress of leaders of world and traditional religions.
The state broadcasting station „Kazakhstan“ had the privilege of interviewing the Secretary General. I was asked to translate for M. De Brichambaut.  There was  the agreement with the press center that the interview would be done in English, but since M. De Brichambaut is French, I translated from Russian to French and vice versa.
The atmosphere was very friendly. We swichted  to English for the official part of the interview. I translated from Russian to English the questions of the journalist and the responses of M. De Brichambaut. He  made remarks about the Congress that was being  held in Astana, he also shared his thoughts about the forthcoming chairmanship of Kazakhstan in OSCE.  At the end of interview the Secretary General wished all citizens of Astana a happy 11th anniversary of the city.
The interview was quite short but very intensive. After the official part I switched back to French and we talked for a while. M. De Brichambaut assured us that this was not his last trip to Kazakhstan and that he would be coming back again and again. He was willing to have an open dialogue between OSCE and Kazakhstan. Hopefully, we will be following the news related to the presidency of  Kazakhstan in OSCE.
Chairmanship in OSCE in 2010 has a great value to Kazakhstan, so does the translation for the Secretary General to me.

Couple days ago I was invited to a technical excursion  as a Russian-English translator. The organizers of the excursion let me know about it one day in advance so I had some time to prepare some specific vocabulary.  I read up about civil and industrial engineering, about some materails  and machinery used in the construction work, about kazakh and foreign companies involved in this process, etc.

Translation Services: Technical Excursion in Astana

Astana, technical Excursion

As it was a bus excursion, I had to do  consecutive translation from Russian into English using a microphone.  The bus drove us through Astana and  we got to know Old center of the city and a New (administrative) one. Astana is a great building site and lots of foreign companies invest their capital in the construction.  We went sightseeing in Astana and our guests from Korea, Japan, Portugal, Brazil, Russia, Tadjikistan and other countries could give a  glance at the Palace of Peace (Pyramide), the residence of President, the Palace of Independence, Baiterek-the symbol of Astana and other incredible places of the city.

Our first stop was at the national stadium that will have been finished by the next year.  We learned that Michel Platini  had already seen the project of the stadium and also that “Milan” was going to come to the inauguration of the  first stadium with the movable roof in Astana. This stadium will be the place of Asian games in 2011.

Next object was the abuilding cycling track that is located right next to the national stadium. These two project are being conducted simultaneously. We were told that  once the cycling track has been finished there is going to be a team of 3 cylists from the international sport organization to check if the track meets all the international requirements.

Last object we got to visit was Han Shatyry Entertainment center. That was actually the end of our excursion and I hope that our guests enjoyed their time in Astana  and will come back again.

Those who were in Kazakstan on the 22 of March may have wondered what was going on in the country. Why were there many yurts (nomadic tent house) and flags, why were people dancing and singing? It may sound strange but the 22 of March is a holiday called Nauryz, that means „the birth of spring“. This day had been celebrated long before Islam was introduced to Kazakhs and therefore it is not of religious nature. The holiday was declared irrelevant and ideologically inconsistent during the Soviet period that it rhe reason why Nauryz was not celebrated nationally from 1926 to 1988. Only in 2001 Nauryz was announced as the national holiday.

Celebrating the awakening of Nature is the core of Nauryz festival. This awakening symbolizes the triumph of good, the Spring that won over the evil forces of darkness represented by the Winter. There is a tradition to thoroughly clean you house on the eve of Nauryz, return all your debts, forgive all offences and resentments and to make peace with all with whom you were at odds. This tradition can be explained by the main theme of Nauryz- the renewal.

When the holiday comes, Kazaks would put on festive clothes, pay visits to each other, exchange congratulations, best wishes of well-being and good luck in the coming year. Traditionally they cook and roast and make all sorts of tasty meals during the holidays, for they should symbolize well-being and abundance in the coming year. The feast is usually timed to the noon, it is preceded and followed by a prayer in honour of the fore-fathers read by the mullah. In conclusion the eldest of those present gives his blessings (bata) so that year in year out prosperity be part and parcel of the family.

During the Nauriz holiday it is customary to share generously one’s dastarkhan (table). A special dish – Nauryz koje (yogurt soup) – is prepared for the festival table. In each yurt everyone would have their own recipe. The only rule for making it was the number of ingredients: seven. The guests are served the authentic food: meat dishes such as qazy, qarta, shujiq (lamb and horse meat delicacies), etc. They say that the more you are in celebrating the Nauryz holiday, the greater success will attend you throughout the year.

People in Kazakhstan are very hospitable and they treat a guest with a great honour. Kazakh cookery is extremely various because of the fact that Kazakhstan is a multinational country and the cuisines of all nations (kazakhs, Russians, Uzbeks, Germans, Polish, Koreans and others) combined into one.

Couple days in January I did english-russian translation for an American who came to visit Astana. He had never been to Kazakhstan or any of FSU coutries before, so it was quite a big culture shock, both in a good and bad ways. He wanted to get to know kazakh culture and we started with authentic food and national meals.

I remember his astonishment when I said that horse was one of the national meals in Kazakhstan. Another shock to him was to find out that there was no menu in English and waitresses were of little help. I thought it might be useful to know more about the culture of the country that one goes to. So I would like to present a point of view of an American who was in Kazakhstan and tried many national meals. I hope it can be both educative and interesting.

SAY NEIGH TO THAT

By NADIA WHITE, state editor for the Star-Tribune, Wyoming.

Let me confess right up front: My vegetarian habits are on hold.

Take that one more step: I spent most of November eating horse meat, drinking mare’s milk and marveling at the social niceties involved in serving baked sheep’s head.

I am just back from Kazakhstan, where machismo is measured by how much meat one can eat and hospitality in how much a guest is fed. Suffice it to say, the Kazakhs are extraordinary hosts and I am eating more macho than I used to.

During a month in the Central Asian nation, numerous table-filling feasts were spread before me. A spyglass across time, they recall the days when a guest who arrived at a nomad’s yurt would have traveled very, very far, across the steppe, with little in the way of clothing or fine food.

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Kazakhstan is becoming more anf more attractive to foreigners that is the reason why translators have more and more work. From the 19^th to 27^th of January I translated from english to russian for an american who came to visit Astana. He must be bery courageous to go to Kazakhstan in the middle of the winter.

We got to know each other at the airport where I came to meet him. Good thing that I did it otherwise he wouldn’t be able to change his money as the girls at the information desk couldn’t understand his southern accent (at the beginning I had a hard time with understanding him, too, I must admit).

I took him to the hotel and showed him around so he could get his breakfast at least. Usually foreigners who come to Kazakhstan for the first time (especially those who have never been outside of Europe or the USA) have a big culture shock. Everything is way too different from what they are used to: beginning with weather and food and finishing with mentality and norms of behavour. In that very moment when one is in a foreign country where people speak the language that he or she doesn’t understand, translator becomes the best friend. Translator is not a person who just transforms a speach from one language to another. He or she is the one who helps to solve all the problem, one who can explain many things that are natural in this specific country but unknown to foreigners.

So after showing where he can get an american food (keep in mind it is close to impossible to find a decent american food in Kazakstan), I explained to Richard that he needed to get registered at the Migration Police even if he was going to stay in Kazakhstan no more then 10 days. The proceedure of getting registered is quite irritating and long-lasting but it should be done anyway and the sooner the better (during the first 5 days of the stay in the country).

Richard’s clothes were not very suitable for Kazakhstan’s winter that is why we went to a shopping centre and got him all he needed.

Another important thing that one can’t live without in a foreign country is a mobile phone with a valid SIM card so we had to get Richard one.

The first day is usually the busiest one. Everyone gets tired and wants to get some rest. Richard’s flight from Los Angelos was exausting so I left him at the hotel, gave him my mobile phone number and told him not to hesitate to contact me whenever he needs it.