Lost in Translation

I've become friends with the mother of one my daughter's friends from school. We have picnic lunches together, sharing food and mothering tips and kicking inflatable balls around with our girls.

This mom is not from the U.S. She moved here about 10 years ago, and her passion for this country is breathtaking. Whenever our conversation drifts to her childhood, I'm reminded of the abundance I experienced growing up and how much I took, and still take for granted.

I'd say she is pretty acculturated to life here now, but I wonder sometimes if we are misreading each other. Recently I offered to write up some of the Russian fairy tales she tells her kids so that American kids could learn the same stories. My favorite was actually a nursery rhyme about a kid not sleeping on the edge of the bed because the wolf may come and nip you on the side of your body!

For me, I felt it would be a good challenge to craft a story with having to worry about the plot. I have no earthly idea if there is a market for such stories - probably not the wolf one these days - but I was really only thinking of helping my friend get published who has expressed an interest in writing. When I thought about potential royalties, I naturally assumed they would all be hers. I didn't communicate any of this however. I was too captivated by the stories, themselves.

After one session of me holding out my voice recorder my friend let me know that she'd found another translator, a family member with a Ph.D. in literature. I immediately felt awkward: granted I have no experience and a family member is an obvious choice, it didn't seem to be the entire truth. After all, she could have mentioned that option before we ever began. I suspect that there was a concern about how all of this would play out, how we'd work together, even a little inherent suspicion of trusting someone else. Was this a cultural difference? I hope that they do follow through with this project.