May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month! One of the continuous missions of Vendor Experience is to provide our global community a little peek behind the curtain when it comes to our valued TransPerfect freelancers, and this month, we celebrate our AAPI team members.

It’s been a pleasure to honor and get to know our linguists in and outside of the continental US that choose to work with us every day. To celebrate AAPI Heritage Month, we asked some members of the freelance team to share their advice for other freelancers, as well as cultural sights they encourage others to research or visit one day.

Linguist Name: Ngan

Ngan’s message is to come to Vietnam!
Sounds like a food lover’s dream…

“Vietnam is a friendly country, where everyone treats each other like family. Therefore, you can see smiles everywhere, even for guests. Vietnamese food is well-known in the world, with so many dishes to choose from. You can eat everything in Vietnam for a surprising price. Although all places people call home have their challenges, they are always worth the visit!”

Fun facts about Ngan:

1. While Ngan’s youthful appearance causes people to assume she is younger than she is, she is a veteran freelance expert with 9+ years of quality translation experience.  
    
2. Ngan also has many years of experience working on TransPerfect’s apparel, beauty and marketing accounts, so we are sure she has picked up many amazing cosmetic tips and tricks!

Advice from Ngan to her fellow freelance experts:

Be careful and considerate with your timing, and you will be able to maintain quality!

Linguist Name: Areum

Chosen pronouns: She/her/hers

Did you know? Areum provides some historical insight:

“Some of you may know “the Korean age.” In South Korea, when a baby is born, they are considered one year old. Come New Year's Day, they gain another year. This means a baby born in December would be considered to be two years old in just a few weeks. However, this system may be removed in the future since it has been declared as part of the presidential pledge by the president-elect.”

Fun fact about Areum:

“I am pretty much a game player. What I am recently playing is Pokémon Arceus and Diablo II.”

• Areum is all business when it comes to providing quality services to TransPerfect’s valued clients. 

Aretha Franklin once sang, “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me.” 
Areum has a similar message when it comes to her advice to other freelance experts:

“It is very important to accept other’s opinions with respect. This kind of attitude leads us to perform well within the community in the future.”

• In the linguistic community, there will always be discussions that do not necessarily lead to agreement. As long as people communicate with respect, the TransPerfect team can continue to break down barriers and build greater understanding between others.

Linguist Name: Shanwit

Shanwit’s thought on the Taiwanese language:

“Thai is one of the world's most difficult languages, and it is romantic and beautiful.”

Shanwit’s tried-and-true advice to their fellow freelance experts:

“Work hard, play harder with things you love.”

• In all things, TransPerfect believes in balance. We hope all of our freelancers continue to manage their mostly work-from-home schedules with respect to their bandwidth and wellness needs. 

Linguist Name: Lee

Lee appreciates there are many different ways to experience Korea, including:

1. K-dramas
2. Food
3. Tourism

Fun facts about Lee:

1. Lee used to work as an industrial designer.
   • TransPerfect appreciates many of our linguists have diverse and fascinating job histories.
      
2. Lee used to work from London. 
   • Another cool place to live and experience.
      
3. Lee is adding French to his repertoire.
   • Many of our linguists enjoy continuing their education as a way to test for more project opportunities or as a fun hobby.

Lee thoughtfully took the time to share that they felt safe at home in Korea during the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Life is not always as dramatic as K-dramas, thank goodness! TransPerfect is proud to be able to contribute to our employees’ financial security by remaining an open and operational connection point between our clients and our amazing freelance experts. 
 

Linguist Name: Jindaporn (Jenny)

Jenny’s thought on the Taiwanese language:

“Thai language can be considered simple or easy for learners at a beginner level. However, when you go to the higher level, it can be considered one of the most complicated languages in the world. But don't give up!”

• We love this message from Jenny. Just like language, projects or life can be tough, but having a preserving spirit is essential in making it to the next chapter.

Fun facts about Jenny:

1. "Two years ago, I realized that not only a big translation job could keep me up all night but also a newborn.”
   • TransPerfect understands there are many working parents who are part of our freelance family. We truly salute you for never compromising quality, and still managing to show up for your own personal family unit.
2. “We had a lot of celebrations (religious, traditional, and just fun) at many Thai temples in Washington, DC, area such as Songkran and Visakha Bucha day.”

Jenny’s kind advice to her fellow freelance experts: 

“You all are doing a great job. Also, never compromise the quality of the work no matter how rush the job is.”

A learning moment based on Jenny’s real-life experience: 

“In the US, people like to compliment my English accent when we first meet. Like, ‘Wow, your English is so great. Where did you learn your English?’ Though getting tired of it, I still appreciate it and consider that a compliment.”

• We are sure many of our team members have similar stories or experiences. This is actually an example of a microaggression. While obviously not ill-intentioned, we hope by bringing visibility we can decrease instances like this for our global community.