Our first guest interview is with Catharine Cellier-Smart from Smart Translate who lives and works on the exotic French island (a French overseas department) of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. If you love translation and travelling, this one is for you!
Bras de Caverne |
Catharine, talk to us briefly about your life before you moved to Reunion. I was born and grew up in south-west London,
but my mother is from the north of England and my father was from Scotland. At
Wolverhampton University I did a degree in European Studies, and graduated in
1992. I’ve always enjoyed reading and travelling
(I’ve been to 57 countries, including North Korea), and since I’ve been living
on Reunion I’ve taken up scuba-diving (I’ve dived in 17 countries) and hiking –
Reunion is a small island, but has 1000 km of challenging treks.
Why Reunion of all places and how long have you been living there already?
The third year of my degree was to be spent
abroad. Normally we got to choose where we went, but another student and I were
selected to start exchanges with the University of Reunion. This was
pre-Erasmus, and the year we were in Reunion (1990-1991) was only the second
year the University had accepted foreign students. After my initial year I went
back to the UK to finish my degree and when I graduated in 1992 I decided to
come back to Reunion “for a year or two”, which ended up turning into 16 years
until my husband and I went to live in Seoul for my husband’s job! We came back
to Reunion almost 2 years ago, so it’s now getting on for 19 years altogether that
I’ve been here since 1990.
How would you describe life in Reunion in three words?
Melting-pot, nature, French
What languages do you speak and what made you become a translator?
Canne à sucre |
At school and/or university I learnt French,
Latin, German, Spanish and Portuguese, and I’ve picked up Reunion Creole and
some basic Korean. French however is, and always has been, my main foreign language,
and the only language (apart from Reunion Creole) that I translate from. When I
came back to live in Reunion in 1992 I initially made my living for two years
from teaching, translating and interpreting before moving into unrelated business
work for 15 years. However even while working full time I often did professional
translations during evenings and weekends. We lived in South Korea 2008-2011
and while I wasn’t officially allowed to work while resident there I continued
to translate, and since we came back to Reunion mid-2011 I’ve been a full-time
freelance professional translator.
I tend to start the day around 8am by listening
to the local news, and checking my e-mails, social media and world news. Next,
depending on the day I either go to the gym/pool then work, or work, go the gym/pool
then work some more. Sometimes I have lunch with a friend, but most days I eat
at home. I work until 7pm, then we have dinner and if we’re not going out in
the evening we watch a DVD in English and I work out on my elliptical. I
generally check my e-mails again late evening. I try to make sure I get at
least 1 if not 2 hours of physical activity a day as it’s far too easy to sit in
front of the computer for hours on end.
What are the advantages and
disadvantages of living in Reunion and how do they affect your life and your
translation business?
Trou de Fer waterfalls |
However there’s also a lot of unemployment
(although that doesn’t affect me directly) and like many French overseas
departments prices for everything are high – ≈ 1.4x more expensive than
mainland France. The destinations you can fly to are very limited, and flights
are expensive (especially during the school holidays), so it’s nigh on
impossible for me to attend a translation conference or training session. It’s
more difficult and expensive to get hold of non-French media (books, TV,
newspapers, magazines, etc.) than it is in mainland France. There can be a
frustrating insular mentality, a lack of cosmopolitanism, and the island is
also subject to cyclones and heavy rain for part of the year which can lead to
power supply issues.
The time difference (Reunion is GMT+4) with Europe and North America can sometimes lead to problems, but can also be an advantage, for example if a client needs a translation early in the day European or North American time.
Fournaise |
The time difference (Reunion is GMT+4) with Europe and North America can sometimes lead to problems, but can also be an advantage, for example if a client needs a translation early in the day European or North American time.
Reunion
doesn't have daylight saving, but during the northern hemisphere winter
we're three hours ahead of most of Europe. If I'm not already working
on a project this can mean a lot of time 'lost' until Europe gets to
work. And a 6pm deadline for me will mean 9pm!
Where do the majority of your clients come from? Do you work with local clients as well? Since I became a full-time translator about 45% of my customers are local direct clients (including for interpreting), and the remainder are mainly agencies from outside Reunion (there are no translation agencies in Reunion). I advertise in the local Yellow Pages, but word of mouth is very important here. Translating for Reunion clients can sometimes mean translating specific local words and concepts that aren't in any dictionary, or that exist in a dictionary but with a different meaning, for example: godon, sapotille, zatte, tamarin, argamasse, rhum arrangé ...
What is your advice to anyone wishing to earn a living as a travelling translator?
Maison rose |
Thank you, Catharine!
Catharine Cellier-Smart (@Smart_Translate) is a British-born French to English freelance translator (and occasional interpreter) based in Reunion Island, a French overseas department in the south-west Indian Ocean.
Photos: Catharine Cellier-Smart, willgoto.com
Have you got a similar story to share? Did you leave your country for an exotic paradise? Contact me at natali@worldsofwords.com if you want to feature your story here.
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