AGENCIES

[Pineau]

Since I don't speak Mandarin and my lady does not speak English I went looking for alternatives to using the agency translation service. I have found a way around the agency translator leaving out stuff and putting her own spin on things.  I hired an outside translator.  She Will do over the phone translations for 39 cents a minute. AT&T charges $3.95 a minute. So I think this is a bargain. I also think it is a good alternative for anyone who faces the language barrier and need to have a clear communications with the lady about important issues.

Have you ever visited a website called Localyte? It is a network of people from all over the world that offer services and help to travelers from other countries.  Great for the guys that have never been to China or are traveling into uncharted territory. That is how I found the woman that Will translate for us.  She is an English school teacher so I am not worried about the accuracy of the translations and she is CHEEP! Here is the website http://www.localyte.com/
Pineau

[Vince G]

Pineau, There are alternatives to AT&T charge of $3.95 a minute? If you have to use AT&T get their $10.00 a month international calling then it is 11¢ a min. They tried this over charged rate on me and sent me a $625.00 bill? Poor customer service was sorry for answering the phone that day. They billed me at the wrong rate.

There is a good less expensive company, let me check my bookmarks.... Rebtel - http://www.rebtel.com/en/Home/  It's cheaper and better, you get a local number to call and she can call you for free. BTW I get nothing for referring. 

[ttwjr32]

i have a question about going this route. pineau have you spoken with her and seen how well she understands
the english she is interpreting?  it would be a good idea to talk with her at lenth a few times to get the feel of her
understanding what is actually being said. just a thought from someone who lives here and runs into a lot of english
teachers here who do have a hard time grasping what is said and loses a lot during the conversation.

i know it sounds a little strange but it is true here in a lot of the cases with these teachers

just a thought for you to ponder

[ttwjr32]

Skypes rates for phone service is quite reasonable also  just a thought

[Pineau]

No I haven't talked with the teacher in person. We have just been exchanging emails. And we haven't used her yet either.  If anyone knows of a cheaper translation service I would like to know it.  I know one thing for sure. And I have heard it here over and over again. The sooner you can get her away from the agency translator the better.  We have been fighting a lot about EMF fees lately but that's a story for another thread.

I should also post this info in another appropriate thread.
For long distance phone service I have come across a few solutions. I chose a couple of them mainly for cost and convenience.

The one I use here for me is called localphone. I call a local number in Colorado and it magically rings her cell phone in China. It also allows you to call other numbers and use the service like a calling card. http://www.localphone.com/
The rate to call China is $0.012 per min.  Not a bad price.

The one I have in China does the same thing in reverse. She calls a local number in Beijing and it rings my cell phone here in Colorado. Cool huh! they are called send my call. http://www.sendmycall.com/en/login-1.html
 It is a bit of a hassle to set up but it is worth it. You have to send them a copy of your passport and wait 48 hours for approval from Chinese authorities.  You pay a $10 monthly charge and 1.2 cents per minute.

So from her end or mine we are just a local phone call away.

[Paul Todd]

Hi Pineau,

I too have read many bad stories about the agency translator's. My experience with them is some what different. Early on in our relationship I realised that there where 3 people involved in it. My now wife, myself and our translator. I quickly befriended our translator by adding comments in our emf's and praising her work. She soon became a firm friend and still is to this day, we even invited her to our wedding and she is a regular visitor to our house. I agree that moving on to phone calls and web cam is the way to go,but initially having a "friend" who is doing the translating for you can help a lot. Once you have established this it's easy to cut out all the fluff and nonsense and establish a real contact with your lady. Sometimes I think that peoples heads are so full of doubt and suspicion that it clouds their judgement about this. Don't misunderstand me there are undoubtedly some bad practices going on with some agencies but there are way to minimize the risks and establishing a good relationship with your translator is one of them.

I like your idea of having a translator on the phone translating live as it were. As Ted has pointed out I would verify her skills first as I know some Chinese English teachers here are not ,well lets be kind and say understandable. Best of luck to you.

[ttwjr32]

Pineau,

i forgot to say i send my best wishes to you in your journey with your lady

Ted

[Jimmy]

I have been using skype for 3 years now calls to China like 3 cents a minute.
I bought a local number for like 30 bucks a year. Now I am in China people in the US call me on it free. For them it is a local call.
And for me skype looks for my computer they don't care where it is at.
It's a great deal and I'm sure eventually it will go away. But I use it as long as I can.

[ttwjr32]

i to have used skype for a long while as it is a good value for the price of it

[RegnisTheGreat]

Skype as a Unlimited World package that cost $13.99 a month which includes China. It includes 10,000 minutes a month to both mobile and landlines in China. So seriously that's the best deal.

[ttwjr32]

thats a lot of minutes to China for the price. what a good deal i think more members should use