Association Agreement between
the European Union and Central America
San Salvador, El Salvador
(April 14-18, 2008)

This was one of our last freelance gigs, only a few months before my wife and I joined the workforce of ILEA.

As you might imagine, this was a major event. Below is the notice of adjudication that informed my wife, Marisú, that we (El Salvador Translation) had been awarded the contract for interpretation services.

This was a very complex and demanding task. In addition to Salvadoran interpreters, we also asked a few of our Guatemalan and Honduran colleagues to help us. We had many interpreters and sound technicians to coordinate and no fewer than a dozen rooms to set up on a daily basis. Days were long and nights too short, but we pulled it off without a hiccup.

After the closing of the last day of the event, just as we were starting to tear down our portable booths and gear, in the main conference room of the hotel, the Viceminister paused the after action review she was conducting, with her team, to congratulate us for a job well done. It gave me the goosebumps, when she said: “Interpreters!…” and the busy atmosphere of the ballroom went quiet, all of a sudden, as she continued to address us. I was drenched in sweat and wearing a plain t-shirt at that moment—I did not look very business-like, I’m sorry to say.