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Translation - English Etgar Keret
Suddenly, a knock at the door
"Tell me a story," commands the bearded man sitting on my couch. A situation, I admit, thatโs not really pleasant. After all, I write stories, I donโt tell them. And even that, I donโt do on demand. The last person who asked me to tell him a story was my son. It was a year ago. I told him something about a fairy and a rodent, canโt even remember what, and two minutes later he fell asleep. But the situation here is totally different. Because my son has no beard. Or a gun. Because my son asked for the story nicely, and this man is simply trying to rob me of it. I try to explain to the bearded one that if he returns the gun to its holster, it will only work in his favor. In our favor. Itโs hard to make up a story with the muzzle of a loaded gun pointing at your head. But the man insists. In this country, he explains, if you want something you have to exact it by force. He is a new immigrant from Sweden. Sweden is very different. There, if you want something, you ask politely and usually get what you want. But in this sweltering and suffocating Levant it is not so. One week here is enough to understand how it works. Or rather, how it doesnโt work. The Palestinians asked for a State, nicely. Did they get one? Zilch, they got. They started blowing themselves up on children in busses, and voila, people began to listen to them. The settlers wanted a dialogue. Did they get it? They got nothing. They beat people up, pour some boiling oil on the Border Police, and before you know it, the authorities began to accommodate them. This country understands only force, no matter whether it's about politics, the economy, or a parking spot. We only understand force, here.
Sweden, from where the bearded one came, is a sophisticated and successful place in quite a few areas. Sweden is not only ABBA or IKEA or the Nobel Prize. Sweden is a world of it own, and everything they have achieved, they did so nicely. In Sweden, if he were to go to the home of the Ace of Base soloist, knock on the door and ask her to sing him a song, she would make him a cup of tea, pull out an acoustic guitar from under the bed and play it for him. And all that, with a smile. But here? After all, if he had no gun in hand I would throw him down the stairs. "Look," I try to argue. "No โlookโs!" mutters the bearded one and cocks the gun. "A story, or a shot in the head." I realize I have no choice. The man is perfectly serious. "Two men sit in a room," I begin, "and suddenly, a knock at the door." The bearded one sits up. For a moment it seems to me that the story caught his attention, but it didnโt. He listens to something else. Someone is actually knocking at the door. "Open," he says, "and donโt try anything. Get him out of here as quickly as possible, otherwise it will end badly." The young man at the door is a poll taker. He has a few questions. Short ones. About the humidity here in the summer and how it affects my nerves. I tell him I donโt want to participate in the survey but he pushes his way into the apartment anyway. "Who is this?" he asks me, pointing to the bearded man. "This is my nephew from Sweden," I lie. "He came here to bury his father who was killed in an avalanche. We were just going over the will. Could you please have some respect for our privacy and leave?" "Chill out," the poll taker taps me on the shoulder, "just a few questions. Give your bro a chance to earn a living. I'm paid by the head." He slouches on the couch with his binder. The Swede is sits down next to him. I'm still standing, trying to sound firm. "I am asking you to leave," I say. "This is not a good time." "Not good, eh?" The poll taker pulls a huge revolver out of his binder. "Why is it not good, because your bro is Sephardic? For Swedes, I see, you have a sea of time. But for a Moroccan, a veteran who left some of his spleen in Lebanon, buddy doesnโt even have a minute to spare." I try to explain that it is not so. That he just caught us at a sensitive moment with that Swede. But the poll taker puts the gun barrel to his lips, motioning me to shut up. "Move on." He says, "No excuses. Sit here in the chair and starts spilling." "Spill what?" I ask. The truth is, by now I'm really stressed. The Swede has a gun too, tension can rise here, East West and such, different mentalities. Or he can just explode because he wants the story for himself. Solo. "Donโt start with me," the poll taker threatens. "I have a short fuse. Well, toss us a story, quickly." โYes," the Swede connects with him in surprising harmony and aims his piece at me as well. I clear my throat and start over: "Three people are sitting in the room ..." "But no โsuddenly a knock at the door '!" warns the Swede. The poll taker does not quite understand what he means, but goes with him.
"Wow," he says. "No knock at the door. Tell us something else. Something surprising."
I keep quiet for a moment, take a breath. Both have their gaze on me. How come I always find myself in these situations? To Amos Oz or Grossman it never happens, not in their lifetime. Suddenly, a knock at the door is heard. Their intense gaze becomes threatening. I shrug. It's totally not me. My story has nothing to do with this knock. "Get rid of him," says the poll taker. "Get rid of him, whoever he is." I open the door just a crack. Itโs a pizza delivery guy. "You're Keret?" he asks. "Yes," I say, "But I didnโt order pizza." "It says 14 Zamenhof Street,โ he waves the paper slip in my face and pushed his way in. "So it says," I say, "But I did not order any pizza." "Family size," he insists, โhalf pineapple half anchovies. It's been prepaid. Credit. Just give me a tip, and Iโm out of here." "Are you also here for the story?" inquires the Swede. "What story?" asks the delivery guy. You can tell he's lying; heโs not really good at it. โGet it out,โ throws in the poll taker. โNu, pull out the gun already." "I donโt have a gun," confesses the delivery guy and uncovers a long butcherโs knife from under his cardboard tray, "but I'll slice him like pastrami if he doesnโt compose some fairy tale for me right now.
The three of them sit on the couch, the Swede on the right, next to the delivery guy, and the poll taker on the left. "I canโt do it like this," I tell them. "The story will simply not come out with the three of you here and with weapons and all. Go, take a short walk outside, and by the time youโre back I'll be ready with something." "The shithead will call the police," says the poll taker to the Swede. "What does he think - that we were born yesterday?" "Well, give us one and weโll go away," begs the delivery guy. โA short one. Donโt be stingy. Itโs difficult times. Unemployment, terrorist attacks, the Iranians. People are thirsty for something else. What do you think brought us, normative people, down here, to you? Despair, man, despair."
I nod and start again. "Four men sit in a room. Itโs hot. Boring. The air conditioner is down. One of them wants a story. The second and third join him ..." "This is not a story," the poll taker blows up, "itโs a report. Thatโs exactly what is happening here now. Just what we're trying to escape. Donโt dump reality on us like that, like a trash collection truck. Use your imagination, brother, invent, flow, go with it as far as possible.โ
I start over. "A man sits alone in a room. Heโs lonely. He is a writer. He wants to write a story. A lot of time has passed since he wrote his last story, and he misses it. He misses that feeling of creating something from something. Yes, something from something. Because something from nothing is when you totally invent something. It's not worth much and itโs not a big deal. But something from something is when you find something that had existed inside you all along, and you discover it in an event that has never taken place. He decides to write a story about the situation. Not on the political situation or the social situation. He decides to write a story about the human condition. The human condition as he experiences it right now. But no story comes out. Because the human condition as he experiences it at this moment is probably not worth a story. Heโs about to give up when suddenly...โ โIโve warned you already," interrupts the Swede. "No knock on the door!" "I have to," I insist, "no knock, no story." "Let him be," the delivery guy says softly. โChill out a little. He wants a knock on the door? Let him have a knock on the door. At least weโll have our story."
English to Hebrew: Bar Refaeli and the Hurley Brand General field: Marketing Detailed field: Textiles / Clothing / Fashion
Source text - English Model Bar Refaeli is joining Hurley as a face, voice and spirit of the brand. The 23-year-old Israel-born globetrotter will bring her experience, enthusiasm and charisma to initiatives and events for which she and Hurley share a passion, as well as star in the Young Contemporary campaigns.
The heart, soul, and spirit of Hurley culture is rooted in curiosity toward the world and creativity, which is reflected not only in their apparel, swimwear and accessories, but in innovative artistic endeavors, collaborations, and charitable initiatives such as Warped Tour, Walk the Walk, and Hurley Art Chest.
"Hurley does everything with a lot of genuine heart," Bar said, "and I love that Hurley's beach culture lifestyle incorporates fashion and makes it look and feel sexy and effortless. Every time I travel, I pack their pieces so I have the Hurley culture with me wherever I go."
The Young Contemporary collection is created for young women to integrate Hurley into their wardrobe with her own personal style. Every dress, separate and swimsuit in the collection is interpreted through Hurley's unique tomboy sexy lens: timeless classics and unexpected fabrics in great fitting silhouettes give the wearer confidence and sex appeal.
Shot in Brazil by David Mushegain, images from Bar's first campaign for Young Contemporary spring 2009 apparel and swim collections will debut in October.
French to English: Passage from a contract General field: Law/Patents Detailed field: Law: Contract(s)
Source text - French 5.1. Dans l'รฉventualitรฉ oรน l'une des parties aux prรฉsentes ne rencontrait pas ร รฉchรฉance l'une des obligations qui lui incombe en vertu des prรฉsentes, elle perdra alors le bรฉnรฉfice du terme et toutes et chacune des prestations qui lui incombent en vertu des prรฉsentes deviendront immรฉdiatement dues et exigibles;
5.2. En consรฉquence, l'autre partie pourra exercer tout recours judiciaire lui รฉtant disponible afin de faire valoir ses droits et d'exiger l'exรฉcution de toute obligation dรฉcoulant des prรฉsentes et de rรฉclamer des dommages-intรฉrรชts rรฉsultant du dรฉfaut incluant les honoraires extrajudiciaires encourus par la partie ayant subi les dommages;
Translation - English 5.1. In the event that one of the parties to the present did not meet any of its obligations under the present, it will lose the benefit of the settlement, and each and every one of the provisions to which it is obligations under the present will become immediately due and payable;
5.2. Accordingly, the other party may exercise any judicial remedies available to it in order to realize its rights and to require the performance of any obligation arising from the present and claim damages resulting from the default, including extrajudicial fees incurred by the party having suffered the damage;
Wifh native-level proficiency inย English and Frenchย in addition to my original Hebrew and interoperability among them,ย languages in general and translation in particular were an obvious vocational choice. Years of seeking higher education in culturally and linguistically diverse environments - BA at Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel; non-degree studies at Rijksuniversiteit Leiden, the Netherlands; doctorate at Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales (EHESS), Paris, France; MBA at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France, and ordination at Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, U.S.A. - have further enhanced my multi-lingual and cross-cultural pursuit. While engaged in other professional areas, I have addedย German and Dutchย to my source languages as well as skills allowing me to navigate complex scientific, technological, ecnomic, financial, organizational, legal as well as literary, artistic and religious source materials. I have been professionally involved in fields such asย government, science policy, international scientific relations, technological analysis and forecasting, international relations, diplomacy,ย as well as academically in linguistics, history, sociology, political sciences, economics, literature, religious studies, Jewish studies art history and area studies (Russian, Eastern European, Middle Eastern, East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian). Over the years I have been recognized as anย Hebrew language expert.ย Besides translation I have taughtย Modern Hebrew,ย and am currently teachingย ย Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Aramaic.
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Keywords: history, correspondence, art, museum, catalog, photography, copywriter, fiction, nonfiction, social_studies. See more.history, correspondence, art, museum, catalog, photography, copywriter, fiction, nonfiction, social_studies, economics, politics, diplomacy, religions, interfaith, international, conference, proceedings, rapporteur, English to Hebrew, Hebrew to English, French to Hebrew, French to English, German to Hebrew, German to English, Dutch to Hebrew, Dutch to English, fast turnover, quick response, high quality, press release, book length, annual report, conference proceedings, minutes, script, screenplay, movies, cinema, film, theater, play, drama, subtitles, voice-over, . See less.
