Translator Astana

Translation at the Palace of President

admin — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:13:30 +0000

In the last couple of days I translated for His Excellency Ambassador of Philippines Jesus Yabes who came to Kazakhstan to present credentials to His Excellency State Secretary Kanat Saudabaev.

Ambassador of Philippines Jesus Yabes & State Secretary Kanat Saudabaev, Palace of President

State Secretary Kanat Saudabaev (right) & Ambassador of Philippines Jesus Yabes

On the first day, I met with the Ambassador and with Mr. Demdem, Third Secretary and Vice Consul. We went on a city tour. For me, it was a usual thing to do—to go on excursions—but it was my first time to be a tour guide myself. We drove around the new part of the city, stopped by the Ak Orda (Presidential Palace), passed by Baiterek, Han Shatyr and other sights in Astana. We also went to the Catholic Church and attended Mass.

The following day, we were invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I translated for the Chief of Protocol, who instructed Mr.Yabes, as well as three other Ambassadors, regarding how the ceremony of presenting the credentials would be conducted. Then, we met with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and discussed relations between Kazakhstan and the Philippines.

On the 22d of June, we also went to the Ministry and, from there, we drove to Ak Orda, the Presidential Palace. The ceremony started. The Ambassadors, accompanied by their wives or consuls, were invited one by one to present their credentials. Having done this, His Excellency Mr. Yabes attended a bilateral meeting with Mr. Saudabaev, where I had the pleasure of translating from English to Russian and from Russian to English. This was followed by a press-conference. Mr. Yabes delivered a speech and I translated again.

I felt honored to have the opportunity to meet with and to translate for His Excellency Ambassador Jesus Yabes, it was also very nice to meet the same people at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with whom I had the pleasure of working before during the NATO Security Forum and the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions last summer. I was also very glad to meet Mr. Demdem who is a professional first of all and a very nice person, too.

Interpreting services for Deutsche Welle

admin — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:21:20 +0000

On June, 5-11 I provided interpreting services to Kyle James, a journalist from Deutsche Welle who came to Astana to conduct an in-house training for Radio Astana. We worked closely with several journalists from that radio station, the training covered producing news blocks, as well as feature programmes.
Kyle James gave some recommendations concerning the length of a programme, the music used under the text, the programme layout, etc. He worked with each journalist individually, so the training was very successful and interesting, too. We also worked with the journalist from the Kazakh department, so I did some English-Kazakh and Kazakh-English translation. Mr. James played some programmes that he produced himself, he also talked about different ways of presenting the information, how a reporter can use natural sounds and by doing so make listeners follow the reporter. It turned out that the European or American styles are quite different from the one that people are used to here. Eventhough not everything of what was said could be applied to Kazakhstan, the journalists would like to try to produce their programmes in a new way. They were genuinely interested in the training,they raised a lot of questions and asked for some advice. Also before leaving Mr. James wrote down some guidelines which I translated from English to Russian, these guidelines can help a reporter make his/her story more dynamic and thrilling.
According to what they say, the journalists have learned many things. Me too, I’ve learned a lot in terms of radio journalism and in terms of new words, such as vox pop for example. Mr. James has left already but every now and then I put on the Radio Astana and listen to some feature programmes which have slightly changed because of the training

Translation services for China Investment Corporation

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:09:44 +0000

Last Saturday I provided translation services for Agrocenter Astana and China Investment Corporation. We met at the Beijing Palace, where the Chinese delegation stayed, and started driving away from Astana to visit the fields.

The discussion started while we were driving, CEO of CIC had a Chinese-Russian translator and I translated from Russian to English for the Head of Agrocenter Astana.

The discussion touched upon some agriculture issues and as I worked as an interpreter in agriculture sphere before, the vocabulary was familiar. Also I always prepare for translation by reading some materials on the topic and by making up my own glossary. Still there were some new words, such as fallow, GRS, multch. So my glossary never stops growing!

It took us about two hours to get to the fields, our guests from China were very surprised by the fact that one can drive for hours and hours in Kazakhstan and still see steppe and fields. Kazakhstan is a huge country, that’s for sure! When we finally reached our destination, we had a short meeting there, then we also visited a silo and a place where Chinese agriculturists lived.

This trip was very interesting for me, since I like site visits. I’ve seen tractors with ploughs where I was able to recognize plough bolts which were the subject of my translation for Unibolt company. It was good to see what I was talking about last month

Working as a translator in Moscow and other Russian cities

admin — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 16:21:55 +0000

In May I worked as English-Russian translator in Moscow and other Russian cities together with Mr.Vinther, the regional manager of Unibolt company. We already worked with Mr.Vinther in March when he attended the Agritek exhibition in Astana, so I was familiar with the subject matter, that was the reason why he asked me to fly with him to Moscow.

It was a very hectic trip, our schedule was extremely tight: we had 11 flights within 10 days. Mr. Vinther flew from Danemark and I flew from Astana, we met in Moscow and had several meetings there. We visited a couple of companies involved in agriculture sector and we took our first steps in establishing a business partnership. Then we flew to another Russian city called Samara, where we had a similar meeting. After that we also flew to Rostov-on-Don and Volgograd. Unfortunately there are no direct flights between these cities, so every time we had to come back to Moscow. And there was no time for sightseeing!

Since Unibolt, the company that Mr. Vinther presented, is a manufacture of bolts, our meetings were quite technical, so it was handy to know different types of the bolts, such as wheel bolts, clevis pins, etc. At the same time our meetings touched upon some financial issues, because we met with Directors or Sales Managers as well.

I must say that Russia is very different from Kazakhstan, eventhough these countries have a lot in common. Moscow itself is a crazy city, ecpecially in terms of security. Each time we had to fly to/from Moscow we had to pass security control which would have been fine if we hadn’t have to take our shoes off all the time Also they asked us several times about visa, migration card, registration and all these issues.

When our trip to Russia was over, we flew to Astana only to spend here less than 24 hours. Our next destination was Karaganda, it was the first time that I worked as a translator in Karaganda. We had several meeting in the city, then flew to Almaty and worked for a couple of days there.

This was quite a trip, but the good thing is Mr. Vinther is coming back to Kazakhstan in July which means the trip was rather successful!

Figures speaking:

10 days
11 flights
7 cities
2 countries
18 meetings
9 airports
25 hours on the planes
0 crashes

Translation in Almaty for Assa Abloy Company

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:26:15 +0000

From 11^th to 15^th May I worked as English-Russian translator in Almaty with Marwan Yaghi, Business Development Manager of Assa Abloy Company.

Translation in Almaty for Assa Abloy Company

First together with Mr. Yaghi we had searched for companies interested in dealing with Assa Abloy, then we contacted these companies and arranged meetings both in Almaty and Astana, then I flew from Astana to Almaty in order to provide interpreting services at the meetings and Mr.Yaghi flew from Dubai to Almaty.

Prior to the meetings Mr. Yaghi gave me some information about the company, so I learned that it is a Swedish company that has about 60 brands and which is operating in more than 50 countries. This company specializes in door solutions, so I have dealt with words like door closers, rim locks, exit panic device, etc.

Our meetings were held in the specialized shops, so I actually saw all the locks that we were talking about. We then went to a market and gathered some very useful information from shop assistants. Next day we had a meeting with a construction company where we discussed several forms of potential partnership.

Our trip to Almaty seemed to be quite successful and hopefully there will be some more in the coming next months. This was the first time I worked in Almaty as a translator and I really liked the city which is rather different from Astana in terms of climate, people and nature.

As for the door locks, they are not just locks to me anymore - now these are rim locks and pad locks Being a translator really changes one’s life!

Another excursion translation in Astana

admin — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 19:43:40 +0000

Last Sunday I was translating the city tour in Astana, as usually I worked with the tour guide Elena and I was glad to open a new season of excursions 2010.

We started from the hotel Grand Park Esil, where our guest from UEA was located, we showed him all the sightseeing of Astana on the right bank: Old square, Respublic avenue, the Catholic Church, Synagogue, the Memorial to Afghan soldiers, etc.

Our first stop was at the Russian Orthodox Church, which seem to be very interesting to our guest, since he has never been to a Russian church before. In addition, we could witness the wedding ceremony at the church. We explained to our guest, why people put candles in this or that place, why the church is decorated like it is, etc. We took pictures and moved on.

Next stop was the Islamic culture center, which was built in 2005 and was sponsored by the Emir of Qatar. The Islamic culture center consists of a mosque Nur-Astana, madrasah and a library.

After that we went to Baiterek from which we could see a nice view of the city: Palace of Peace and Accord, Khan Shatyry, House of Ministries, the Residence of the President, both old and new parts of the city.

Our final stop was at the Presidential center of culture, where we visited ethnographical and hystorical halls of the museum. It was very interesting to see a real yurta (an authentic habitat of nomads) with all its decoration, traditional kazakh clothes and traditional jewelry. We were very pleased that our guest asked questions and that he took a keen interest in the traditions and mentality of our country. In my opinion, this is the best result of an excursion!

French-Russian translation: the film on Kazakhstan

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:10:40 +0000

As mentioned previously, I worked as a French-Russian interpreter for the French journalists Jean- Marc Gresta and Julien Monteaux when they were filming in Kazakhstan. We worked closely during one week, we visited sightseeings in Astana, drove to Borovoe -a resort not far from Astana, had several meetings and interview.

Now I am glad to say that the film is ready and is available on the Internet. The film covers a whole range of issues, from Astana being a new modern capital to the Assembly of the United Nations World Touristic Organization which was held in Astana in October 2009. But the main focus of the film is the spatial development of Kazakhstan. The French jouralists also filmed in Baikonur, and the launch of the spacecraft is a spectacular view.

Another aspect of the film is the French-Kazakh relations.

„The visit of the President of France in the beginning of October 2009 really marked an important stage of the strategic partnership between France and Kazakhstan.“ Stephan Janichewski, Associate Director General of CNES

I hope that thanks to that film people will learn more about Kazakhstan, its past and future.

Working as English-Russian translator for Fichtner Gmbh

admin — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:11:07 +0000

About one year ago I was first contacted by the German consulting company Fichtner. They needed „einen Dolmetscher in Astana“ so they found me and our collaboration had started.

First I did a test translation from Russian to English in order for them to evaluate my level of English. Then I started working for this company as a remote English-Russian translator. I was sent many documents, among which there were technical specifications of the hydro power plant refurbishment project. After several months of written translation I was asked to be on-site translator.

The site is located in the South of Kazakhstan, close to Uzbek border. It was a totally new experience for me: I was no longer working in front of my computer day and night, I was visiting the hydro power plant, I was translating on the field while there was drilling and sampling. I saw with my own eyes how a turbine, a generator, a swichyard look like. That helped a lot in my translation because it is always easier to translate when you know what you are talking about. I worked closely with several specialists: engineers, electricians, geolist, layout designer and I really liked it. Besides, the place was really beautiful and I could go swimming in the reservoir after I finished my work.

I have only good memories about this assignment and I would like to thank Maia Burduli for being such a great person!

Translation at the fair AGRITEK 2010

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 18:36:04 +0000

I just finished translating at the agriculture fair Agritek 2010 which was held in Astana on the 17-19 of March. I was translating Per Vinther, the representative of Unibolt company, located in Denmark.

Mr.Vinther had kindly provided me with information on bolts and other coldformed solutions which was very helpful. I have learned about nuts, screws, washers as well as different ways of placing a bolt into a wheel, etc. These couple days were very productive for us: not only did we go to the fair, but we also contacted several companies which would be interested in what we were to offer them.

Some people don’t know that Kazakhstan is the 9^th largest country in the world, so we can produce more wheat than several european countries together. That’s why the agriculture market is very big here. The problem is that foreign people expect kazakhstani companies that need agricultural mashinery for example to be on the Internet and have their home pages with contact details. But that’s not the case here. Internet has only been around for several years and usually those who are older than 50 don’t know how to use computer. I don’t what people to have a negative impression on Kazakhstan, but this is how it is. I am sure, this situation will be slowly changing but for now I can only recommend two things: first, don’t google in English, google in Russian. Second, don’t send an email in English, send it in Russian, otherwise in 99% you will not be replied.

As for Mr.Vinther, we have found together the companies he needed and hopefully we will work together again when he arranges the meetings with these companies.

Interpreting at the Ministry of Agriculture -Part 2

admin — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:00:26 +0000

It is always nice to see people that I have already translated for coming back to Kazakhstan. This was the case with the representatives of INKOA company. They needed to specify several things regarding the future contract, so that means that I was translating at the Ministry of Agriculture again.

Similar to the previous time we worked long hours but our work was rewarded-we are now one step closer to singing the contract. This time I had to deal with technical part of the contract, such as the number of greenhouses, crop rotation, wind and snow resistance. I also translated from English to Russian and vice versa both legal and financial sides of the contract. And here was the tricky part: we were talking about the taxes which are very different in Kazakhstan and in Spain. I have learned a lot about Corporate Income tax, Branch Income tax, and others.

Being an interpreter is not easy, that I can be honest about. While there were 3 people, each knowing his or her sphere, I had to be an expert in all spheres. That means I have to know at least something about everything. That is why I enjoy my work so much. I really do.

So this assignment is over for the next month or so and hopefully next time I wil write about singing the contract!