Editing English

Today I did a bit of editing in English, my primary purpose for being here in Qingdao. I am coming to realized that editing is very difficult and must be approached with much care. Not only does the English have to sound good and flow, but it also has to line up with the original meaning in Chinese. Often this means cutting out phrases or rewording them because we just don't say it in English. I am very perticular and I pay a lot of attention to formatting. One of the documents required alteration of a date and time. It was like torture to have to decide if the time was before or after the date and where and how many commas to use. Mind blowing to have to think of these things, but it's very crucial work. I really pay a lot of respect to the people who do these jobs.

I will be off work for a bit toward the end of this week and will be taking a trip to Beijing. In the event that I cannot get to a computer, I may not be able to post for a bit. Do not worry. I'll be fine.