(The self-indulgent post)
Before you start reading, please note that this is a completely self-indulgent post about the creators of Translasaurus, so if you have no interest in us or why we founded the company, stop reading now.
Hey, we’re Luci and Nelson. We have more professional pictures, but this is a more accurate representation of us, a few drinks down and inexplicably holding flip flops (there was a reason this time though – we were at a Brazilian wedding, and guests often get given flip flops towards the end of the party so anyone wearing heels can change into comfier footwear)*.
*We know this because Luci’s half Brazilian.
We like:
Being outdoors – at the beach, in our pool, gardening or playing with our dogs.
Travelling – anything that involves seeing new places, though mostly staying in hostels and eating street food.
Barbecues – though we don’t eat meat, so it has to be seafood, veg or Linda McCartney sausages.
Eating out – and trying new foods from different places (though again, not meat – our new favourite is Pirá – a Ceviche restaurant in Loulé).
We always try:
To be more environmentally friendly – we have a vegetable patch and lots of fruit trees, so the dream is to be more and more self-sufficient.
To be culturally aware – we spend a lot of time talking about cultural differences and looking into why we think the way we do.
To exercise more – the motivation comes in waves but at the moment Luci’s into CrossFit and Nelson’s been working out on the bars in Loulé park.
Now you know a bit more about us,
Let us tell you why we opened a translation agency.
We met in Braga in early 2018 when we both worked for Stannah stairlifts (Nelson installing stairlifts and Luci working as a copywriter). 7 months later we had made the decision to move down to the Algarve, Nelson’s birthplace (and where he lived until he was 16). As a British/Brazilian person who had grown up in the UK, Luci spoke Portuguese very well at that point (having also done a Master’s in Translation and lived in Portugal for 3 years).
However, there was so much Luci still felt the need to ask Nelson – what’s this, why are they doing that? And so many times an explanation had been provided in English, but it didn’t actually make Luci understand it better.
So they started wondering – if someone who spoke the language and had read the books and tried to immerse herself in the culture couldn’t understand the traditional dishes on a menu, even if they were in English, or a celebration, or event, how would people who have no connection to the Portuguese culture and language make heads or tails of it?
And so the idea began cementing itself, that with their combined knowledge – Nelson’s of the Algarve, and Luci’s of British culture and the English language – that we might be just the right people to break down this communication barrier.
Then the dream grew. If we could do this in English, what about the other tourists (or even people living here) who speak other languages? How much are they missing out on that they could be experiencing? And if we worked closely enough with them, could we say everything that needed to be said in just the right way? In a way that would make everyone understand it?
So here we are, doing just that. Telling everyone we possibly can about the ins and outs of our favourite place, in the words of the local businesses. Sharing their messages in a way that is understood by the people who will gain the most from them.
Want to find out about some of the first things that stumped Luci when she arrived in the Algarve? Click here.
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