The LocNavigator Newsletter

I first traveled overseas when I was 21 years old. I was pursuing an undergraduate degree in Japanese literature at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In 1992, I learned that there was an exchange program with Nanzan University, in Nagoya, Japan. I decided to study abroad and spent that year and many others discovering the language, customs, and culture of Japan.

It opened my eyes to the vastness of the world we live in. Ways of thinking, eating, worship, celebrating life. So different, I was in awe.

I quickly realized the challenges that come with trying to explain different cultures to my friends and family back home. I learned about translation as a means for breaking through the langauge barrier.

I lived with a host family in Nagoya. One night, my host father, a dentist, handed me a fax in Japanese. He asked me to translate it into English.

It was dense text. A single block of Japanese kanji and kana, no spaces, from top to bottom. I was intimidated, but curious to see what I could do.

Armed with a paperback bilingual dictionary, I poured over the text, character-by-character, line-by-line. I persisted and finished a semi-comprehensible translation. I was thrilled.

Now, three decades later, I work as a Senior Solutions Architect at a localization firm. I have a front row seat to how some of the largest and most influential companies use technology to connect with customers around the world.

Living in an age deluged by technology that delights but also causes anxiety is a strange experience. We are pulled in multiple directions, all at once.

The purpose of this newsletter is to share perspectives and insights about the intersection of language, culture and technology and how it impacts us all. Please join me.

Traveling the World