Talking the Afternoon Away, With Google Translate

We’re sitting in an airport cafe in Santiago with a long layover in front of us. Sony went to the bathroom and ran into Catalina, a journalist from Bogota Colombia who spoke not a word of English. Sony is the same about Spanish, and so it was a bit awkward. But oh, technology has a way to fix that.

Sony took out her laptop and the two began conversing in English and Spanish using Google translate. We just spent eleven days with Catalina and didn’t exchange a word, now here we are learning all about Catalina’s life in Colombia and what she thought about the trip. So many people get all high and mighty about how useless technology is, and how they couldn’t possibly have time for Facebook, or to blog, and yet here we are.

We are absolutely connected and can talk easily simply by typing our messages into a box and voila, she can read it quickly. It’s just like a blind person using a machine to converse, except here we are able to gesticulate and add laughter to our sharing. Beautiful!