As my time at CBLingua has come to an end, I’d like to reflect on some of the things which I’ve learnt in my short stay in the office in Malaga!
First off, I have to say that it is very different to translation at university, translation at CBLingua deals with highly legal language, making it tricky at first to get the hang of the style of translation. Furthermore, whilst carrying out an internship at CBLingua, it’s more than just translation you’ll be dealing with, you have to research deeply into the topic you are translating, you have to prepare documents to be shipped to clients, you will also have to revise translations done by other translators to make sure there are no errors, and you will be in direct contact with clients through phone calls and by email. For me, thinking about perhaps pursuing a career in Translation after I graduate, this was a very positive experience for me seeing what a job in translation would actually look like.
You learn quite a lot at CBLingua, due to the relative responsibility you have, translating much the same as the full time in house translators. You will learn how to search for complex information, how to find translations for legal terms, how to manage your time and be organised so you can complete projects on time. It also helps to build your confidence to work under pressure if you have loads of projects to do and the clock is ticking! It’s also a great insight into working life, having to get up every morning for work at around 8 and working from 9 till 6 is a bit of a change from uni where you wake up at 3pm and then watch Netflix for 5 hours straight. Okay more like 10 hours straight but don’t judge me.
Starting a new job in a foreign country with a bunch of people you don’t know clearly sounds like a daunting prospect, yet coming to CBLingua as the new guy was a very warm and welcoming experience. You tend to form very close bonds with your co-workers, and they become some of your best friends. Everyone is there to support you and help you out whilst you try to get your bearings around the office. Due to the small size of the company, you get to know most of the other translators, and work usually has a friendly atmosphere. Another great aspect of working with your co-workers is when you all chime in on how you think something should be translated. I mean you hardly ever win the discussions since you have waaaaaaay less experience than everyone else, but that just makes it even sweeter when you get your point across and you’re sat gleefully giggling to yourself because they agreed on using an accent in a place name.
Lastly, if you are coming to Spain to learn Spanish, then CBLingua is a good place to come, as you only really speak Spanish with your co-workers, and have to use Spanish regularly with clients. Although picking up the phone to a client is intimidating and slightly traumatic at first, it eventually gets better, and you can usually solve most of the problems a client may have.
I’ll be sad to leave CBLingua, but I’ve had an amazing four months and I hope to come back to Malaga at some point to see everyone again!