I have started my duties as an international tutor now, and I feel now, more than ever before, that this is something I would do for a living. A true calling if you will. Offering help to people who are a little bit lost after such a quick change in setting and lifestyle is something I enjoy immensely. I somehow knew that I would like it as well, even though I'm usually quite bad at dealing with social situations.
However, I am still conflicted about what to do. I could pursue my original goal of becoming a full-fledged translator, go for proficiency in interpreting, or go for this new goal of international communication studies. They all appeal to me equally, though now the path of translator seems less and less appealing outside of voluntary work. It is a lonely job from what I've heard, and even our translation professor has advised students to not follow through as the current work conditions of translators are quite frankly abysmal, especially for students who have just gotten their degree.
Even then, the demand for translators right now is actually quite high due to professionals who have been in the business for a long time walking out of their jobs. It is a real dilemma.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Japanese and my interest/motivation.
I had my contact with Japanese culture at the tender age of 10 when a Japanese exchange student came to live with us during her time here. She showed me and the rest of my family what kind of foods are popular in Japan, how to do origami, taught a few words of Japanese and, probably most importantly considering where I am today, she introduced me to manga through Ranma½ which had just started coming out in Finland.
After that I got curious about Japan in general, watched more anime, found like-minded people and realized a while later that I could understand basic spoken Japanese all the sudden. This is when I went for my first two Japanese classes. They covered basic grammar, hiragana, katakana, just under 200 kanji and a healthy dose of culture. Fast forward a few years, I got into my second Japanese class, this time a year-long effort. I got to learn basic grammar, katakana and hiragana again, but this class went much deeper in grammar and kanji than the one I was on before. After completing just that class, I'm now well on the way to becoming a skilled Japanese speaker/writer/translator, not to forget the amazing teacher I had either.
With the soaring popularity of Japanese popular culture in today's society, now is the perfect time to know Japanese. Demand for people who know the language is extremely high due to the sheer volume of material coming from Japan that people would like to see translated. Now is a great time to know Japanese and also just to be a fan of Japanese pop culture.
After that I got curious about Japan in general, watched more anime, found like-minded people and realized a while later that I could understand basic spoken Japanese all the sudden. This is when I went for my first two Japanese classes. They covered basic grammar, hiragana, katakana, just under 200 kanji and a healthy dose of culture. Fast forward a few years, I got into my second Japanese class, this time a year-long effort. I got to learn basic grammar, katakana and hiragana again, but this class went much deeper in grammar and kanji than the one I was on before. After completing just that class, I'm now well on the way to becoming a skilled Japanese speaker/writer/translator, not to forget the amazing teacher I had either.
With the soaring popularity of Japanese popular culture in today's society, now is the perfect time to know Japanese. Demand for people who know the language is extremely high due to the sheer volume of material coming from Japan that people would like to see translated. Now is a great time to know Japanese and also just to be a fan of Japanese pop culture.
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