April 17, 2008

Translating Services - Part II

So, I come inside from our morning outdoor play and see 10, yes, TEN! missed calls on my cell phone. I start panicking wondering who died or what kind of accident Domi has had at school. I look at the history and see that the ten missed calls are from only two people.

Mari and Mandy's husband.

First call-

Mari (in a stressed out voice)
"Señora Andrea, soy Mari. Hablo para preguntale si Doña Mandy quere que limpio la casa... me toca limpiar ahora, pero no me dejo la llave, no se que pasa...ay, por favor llama me...no me dejo la llave... habla a Dona Mandy para preguntale si es ahora or que, puedes hablar me, no se que pasa con la llave... ay, por favor llama me Senora Andrea."

Translation:
Señora Andrea. It's Mari. I'm calling to ask you if Miss Mandy wants me to clean her house. Today is my day, but she did not leave me the key...I don't know what happened...ay, please call me...she didn't leave the key... can you call Miss Mandy to ask her if today is the day or what....please call me...I don't know what happened with the key, ay, please call me Señora Andrea.

Mandy's husband (in a stressed out voice)
"Hi Andrea, this is Paul. I forgot to leave my key under the mat for Maria to come clean the house today. I came back to the house and left the key. I'm wondering if you could contact her to see if she can come back. Please call me."

So, I call Mari to let her know the hubby forgot to leave the key and if she can go back. Says she has already picked up her daughter from the babysitter, but she can go tomorrow if they want. I tell her to go ahead and do that.

I call Mandy's husband back to let him know that Mari is already back home but she will come tomorrow. Paul reminds me that they will be getting their carpet cleaned tomorrow. I ask what time. He does not know. I tell him to have Mandy call me when she gets off work.

I call Mari back and tell her they are getting their carpets cleaned tomorrow so it probably won't work if she's there, unless they are cleaning carpets in the afternoon, then she can go first thing in the morning, but to wait until she hears back from me for the go-ahead.

10 minutes pass...

Mari calls again.
Tells me that her husband is now back home and that he will be going with her help clean Mandy's house right now so it's done before the carpets are cleaned tomorrow. I tell her I will call Mandy's husband to let him know.

The End.

P.S. I'm going to start charging not only for my referral services, but also for my translating services. I was the token bilingual teacher at my school and was constantly pulled out of class to translate for someone in the office, or to make a phone call for the nurse.

When I worked in a docs office (infertility specialist, I might add), I was pulled in to translate for the doctor to the Spanish-speaking only couple. I'll never forget when I got stumped on the word, ovaries. I just ended up saying something to the effect of "cuando los huevos salen de aqui" (as I pointed to my groin area).

Hehe...

P.S. Love ya Mandy (even though I know you don't read my blog)

2 comments:

iMother2.0 said...

I feel ya Mamcita! I'm quite frequently the token Spanish speaker.
The worst was when my mom (is pretty fluent), sister (doesn't speak Spanish at all...unless you count taco & guacamole)and I took a 7 day sight seeing bus trip into Mexico. It was PACKED with Winter tourists that didn't speak a lick.

My mom and I spent the next 7 days helping them order, bargain at the shops and answering random questions. Ugh.

One other thing I'd like to add is that how dedicated Mandy's housekeeper is. That's usually the case, but to even get her husband to help out! Wow! If Mari gets sick of Mandy or needs another day....give her my number. Seriously :)

Andrea said...

LMAO!

If she has any days open back up, I'm first one the waitlist, but you'll be second, Mamacita! Just about every person on her current workload have been my referrals.

Mandy's a pretty good tipper, so I'm sure Mari won't get sick of that, but you'll be the first to know when she has an opening.
Hehe.