Winny Liu, Translation Track, Year 3

“Things that are hard to bear will be sweet to remember.”

This quote came to mind as I reflected on my experience in the Basic Consecutive Interpreting course. As a student in the translation track with no prior experience in interpreting before entering GPTI, taking this class required a bit of courage. I hadn’t thought about this quote in a long time. Back when I was preparing for the college entrance exam, it felt like a piece of driftwood I could cling to. Now, it has resurfaced unexpectedly, which may be a sign that, deep down, this journey of learning interpretation has been a struggle for me, but it is also rewarding.

I remember that when I applied to GPTI, I wrote in my personal statement that I would like to challenge myself. I believed that being surrounded by brilliant people would motivate me to grow. As a student, I’ve always tried to seize opportunities and make the most of the resources schools offer. Back in college, even though I was only a music minor, I still earned up to 60 credits from the department. I’ve never been afraid of being the least outstanding one in a class. As long as I have inspiring peers, I know I’ll have something to learn from them. That same belief led me to enroll in the consecutive interpreting courses.

Last year, I took the Introduction to Consecutive Interpretation. One week, we went to NTNU to hear a speech by Laura Burian. The topic was “Musicians and Interpreters in Expertise Development,” and it impressed me a lot. In the talk, Professor Burian emphasized the importance of receiving feedback and reflecting on one’s practice. She highlighted many similarities between music and interpreting, which made me excited to see whether I could apply my previous music training to this new field.

This year, I carried the same curiosity and expectation to join the Basic Consecutive Interpreting (English to Chinese) course. I liked that the course focused on delivery from the very beginning, and the note-taking techniques we learned were both interesting and practical. However, as the weeks went by, I found myself struggling to reproduce messages accurately. Compared to my peers, I was still stuck at a stage where I couldn’t manage listening comprehension and note-taking at the same time well. Indeed, there were moments of intense self-doubt throughout the four months. I worried that I might drag the class down or waste others’ time. I became less and less confident and even lost my stern voice, the kind of delivery I was once proud of.

For me, the main takeaway from this class is that it’s not enough for translators or interpreters to roughly understand the meaning of a message. We need to fully grasp the content and convey it as clearly as possible. I know this sounds basic, but I haven’t quite achieved that goal yet. Although I’ve only studied interpreting from English to Chinese so far, I know I’m still in progress. I’ll keep practicing at my own pace.

Looking back, I realized that my years of tutoring have shaped some of my interpreting habits, and it’s a double-edged sword. I’ve trained myself to produce clear, concise translations quickly and to fill silences without hesitation. This gave me quick reactions, but it also made me prone to over-interpreting. Sometimes, I found myself filling in gaps with things the speaker didn’t say, just to avoid an awkward pause. That’s a bad habit I need to break.

Now, I’m still somewhere in the bittersweet stage, part proud of myself, part cringing at some of my performances. But all in all, I’m thankful. I am thankful to Michelle and Tricia, and to all the peers who encouraged me and gave me feedback. I’ll keep exploring and won’t settle easily.

And to those who haven’t plucked up the courage to step out of your comfort zone: just do it. You will gain so much along the way, and all the hard things will be sweet someday.

(This article appears in GPTI Newsletter Issue No. 82.)