Interpreter-for-a-day

I'm using the new blogger interface, supposedly cleaner and more intuitive, but somehow it just doesn't feel like blogger anymore. I feel like it's google docs with an orange themed interface.

But anyway, let's not digress.

Yesterday, I was an interpreter! For just one day.

The Winds Association of Singapore (WSA) organised a music and leadership workshop for secondary students who are in the school band. The event was held in ACJC. For the workshop, they invited professors from one of the most famous music colleges in Tokyo, or even in the whole of Japan, Kunitachi College of Music!

Anyway, I only found out about my job scope when I reached ACJC on the day itself so it came as quite a shock to me. Haha.

So we were attached to individual professors and I was attached to Associate Professor Tachigawa, who was in charge of the flute section. His flute playing is really beautiful. Although I didn't know a single thing about flutes before this, I learnt a lot about flute playing just by being there helping to translate what he was saying. You could really tell between the good players and the horrible ones. How some of them have noises when playing even though their technique is really up-there, and some of them although they have a beautiful sound, do not have enough air and thus cannot sound loud or grand enough. Well, not saying that I can play the flute. I still can't play it at all. But I certainly do know how to appreciate it more than before!

And as for the interpreting itself, it was mostly fine, but whenever there were technical terms I would go "huh? uhhh..." Oh well, I think this can't be avoided haha. But if I had known my job scope earlier, I could have gone more prepared and researched on the technical terms beforehand. But wait, how the hell would I know the technical terms, right? I can't even play the flute! Lol.

But anyway, we also got to watch the professors' mini concert, and it was really interesting. The music was nice, although I listened to it twice (there were two separate sessions, morning and afternoon, and for each sessions they played the exact same pieces) so I kind of felt like dozing off on the second time.

AND HAVE I TOLD YOU? They all look deceivingly young for their age! I thought prof Tachigawa was around 40-50 years old, maybe around my parents' age. Until when he heard one of the girls play a famous Baroque piece, and commented, "Oh, I know this song, the last time I played it was 45 years ago".

I was like DDD: WUT?!

And another Oshare Ojisan (fashionable uncle), whom I thought was around 30-40, and kind of good-looking for his age, told his interpreter that he has a daughter who's 26 years old and a 4-year-old granddaughter. WUT?!!! You've got to be kidding me.

All in all it was an invaluable experience, so despite the fact that I was unpaid and all, I really enjoyed myself there and learnt a lot. :D


On a side note, some kids these days, they can blatantly tell me "I don't understand Chinese". You're Chinese but you don't understand simple, basic Chinese and can still be so proud of it?! Shame on yourself, really! But well, I'm supposed to translate into English in the first place anyway. It's just that some terms are easier to explain in Chinese so it just slipped out of my mouth. Need to brush up on my English!