WOMAN: I've been reading your personal statement, Paul.

女：保罗，我看过你的个人陈述了。

First, let's talk about your work experience in South America.

我们先来谈一谈你在南美洲的工作经历吧。

What took you there? Was it to gain more fluency in Spanish?

你当初为什么会去那儿呢？是为了练西班牙语吗？

PAUL: Well, as I'm combining Spanish with Latin American studies, my main idea was to find out more about the way people lived there.

保罗：这个，我的确是把西班牙语学习看做是拉丁美洲研究的一部分，但我去那儿的主要目的是了解当地人的生活方式。

My spoken Spanish was already pretty good in fact.

实际上我的西班牙语水平当时已经很好了。

WOMAN: So you weren't too worried about language barriers?

女：这么说来你当时是不太担心语言障碍了。

PAUL: No. In fact, I ended up teaching English there, although that wasn't my original choice of work.

保罗：不是的。实际上我最终在那边教英语，虽然这并不是我最开始想选的工作。

WOMAN: I see. How did you find out about all this?

女：了解。那你是怎么找到这个工作的呢？

PAUL: I found an agency that runs all kinds of voluntary projects in South America.

保罗：我找到一家运作各种南美洲的志愿者工作的组织。

WOMAN: What kind of work?

女：什么样的工作呢？

PAUL: Well, there were several possibilities.

保罗：有不同类型的工作。

WOMAN: You mean construction? Engineering work?

女：你是说跟建筑相关的工作吗？或者和机械相关的？

PAUL: Yes, getting involved in building projects was an option.

保罗：是的，参与建筑项目是一种选择。

Then there was tourism - taking tourists for walks around the volcanoes - which I actually chose to do, and then there was work with local farmers.

还有旅游相关的，就是带着游客逛火山，这也是我选择的工作。然后还有在当地农场的工作。

WOMAN: But you didn't continue with that project. Why not?

女：但你最终没有继续跟进这个项目。为什么呢？

PAUL: Because I never really knew whether I'd be needed or not.

保罗：因为我不知道这个工作是否需要我。

I'd thought it might be difficult physically, but I was certainly fit enough ... no, I wanted to do something that had more of a proper structure to it, I suppose.

我原以为这个工作对体能是个挑战，但我发现我完全能够胜任……我希望我能做一些更有计划性的工作。

I get de-motivated otherwise.

否则我会没有动力的。

WOMAN: What do you think you learned from your experience?

女：你觉得你从这些经历中学到了什么呢？

It must have been a great opportunity to examine community life.

这肯定是研究当地社区生活的绝佳机会。

PAUL: Yes, but it was difficult at first to be accepted by the locals.

保罗：没错，但一开始的时候自己还是很难被当地人接受。

It was a very remote village and some of them were reluctant to speak to me - although they were always interested in my clothes and how much I'd had to pay for them.

那是一个很偏僻的村子，然后村里很多人不愿意跟我说话，尽管他们一直对我的衣着以及它们的价格很感兴趣。

WOMAN: Well, that's understandable.

女：嗯，这可以理解。

PAUL: Yes, but things soon improved.

保罗：但情况很快就有所好转。

What struck me was that when people became more comfortable with me and less suspicious, we really connected with each other in a meaningful way.

人们开始不再那么疑虑，开始更愿意与我相处。我们之间建立起了有意义的联系。

WOMAN: You made good friends?

女：你有交到很好的朋友吗？

PAUL: Yes, with two of the families in particular.

保罗：是的，尤其是两个家庭。

WOMAN: Good. What about management.

女：很好。你那个项目的管理情况怎样？

Did you have a project manager?

你们当时有项目经理吗？

PAUL: Yes and he gave me lots of advice and guidance.

保罗：有的，他给了我很多建议和指导。

WOMAN: And was he good at managing too?

女：他的管理能力怎么样？

PAUL: That wasn't his strong point!

保罗：这倒不是他的强项。

I think he was often more interested in the academic side of things than filing reports.

我觉得他更愿意做学术研究，而不是弄文件报告。

He was a bit of a dreamer.

他有点理想主义。

WOMAN: And did you have a contract?

女：你当时签了合同吗？

PAUL: I had to stay for a minimum of three months.

保罗：我必须要待到至少三个月。

My parents were surprised when I asked to stay longer - six months in the end.

我后来申请了待更长时间，最后待了6个月，我父母都吃惊了。

I was so happy there.

我在那儿很开心。

WOMAN: And did anything on the administration side of things surprise you?

女：在管理方面有什么事情是出乎你意料的吗？

What was the food and lodging like?

比如饮食和住宿怎么样？

PAUL: Simple ... but there was plenty to eat and I only paid seven dollars a day for that which was amazing really.

保罗：吃的比较简单，不过量很大，而且一天只花费7美元，真的很棒。

And they gave me all the equipment I needed ... even a laptop.

他们给我提供了各种我需要的装备，甚至包括笔记本电脑。

WOMAN: You didn't expect that then?

女：这你当时没有想到吗？

PAUL: No.

保罗：没有。

WOMAN: Well, I'll look forward to hearing more.

女：好的，我想再了解一些别的。