In
place of one of our classes, we had the option of doing an internship
in Madrid. There is a company called EUSA (not sure what the acronym
stands for) that finds the internships for us with organizations in
sectors that we have expressed interest in. Though a larger time
commitment than classes, with a 15-hour minimum work week and a 20-page
parallel project due at the end of the semester, I opted for it due to
the opportunity to meet more Spanish people and practice my Spanish in a
work setting. Originally I was placed at a business that arranged
homestays for American university students, but with such a narrow and
U.S.-centered topic, plus only one lady in the office, I wasn't very
excited about the internship. So I started over and EUSA found me an
internship with a company called OM Premium Sports that does elite
sports marketing and publishing. Most of their work involves polo (yes,
it's still alive and well), golf, and sailing, plus occasionally tennis,
paddle tennis, and equestrian.
My
supervisor is mainly in charge of the publishing, which involves a
magazine called PoloLifestyle and a mini magazine called Sports
Challenge. I spend most of my time translating articles because the
magazine is bilingual, but I also occasionally research (and attempt to
write) updates on, say, the American Polo Season, or the Volvo Ocean
Race. The translating can get quite tedious and it's amazing how
certain texts can be so much more difficult than others, but I have
gotten to read and learn about most of what the company does and I have
been able to do it in a way that only I can help, which is a great
experience.
In
addition to the magazine translations, I have translated marketing
publications soliciting sponsors for international events, a job that I
was at first quite hesitant about - I kept asking my supervisor of
someone was going to look over my texts before they were sent out to oh,
I don't know, BMW or Michael Kors marketing execs. But then again, I'm
the best English speaker they have, so who could do it better? Having
been given such an important role in the company, I have taken it upon
myself to ask a lot of questions and reread everything a billion times,
which isn't hard, as the translating duties only go so far and I spend a
lot of time just anticipating a PowerPoint for a meeting on Monday from
the lawyers or the review of the new Mercedes Roadster from the car
writer.
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