5 minutes with Lauren Tandy
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Lauren Tandy, and I have just completed an MA in Applied Translation Studies at the University of Leeds where I studied French and Italian translation into English. I’m from Birmingham, but moved to Leeds 5 years ago, and have lived here ever since!
How did you get into languages and translation?
My love of languages all started when I was on holiday in Italy with my family about 10 years ago. We were on a tour bus in Rome, with a tour guide that spoke perfect English with a perfect American accent, however once he began talking on the phone, his perfect English turned into perfect Italian and he started jabbering away whimsically. Hearing someone turn so effortlessly from one language to another gave me the language bug, and I haven’t got rid of it since. Studying Modern Foreign Languages at university was therefore a natural progression for me, and it was there that I first experienced translation and translation theory (especially feminist translation theory), so continuing on to do my MA in translation seemed like an obvious choice.
Did you go on a year abroad? If so, where did you go?
At Leeds we have a year-and-a-quarter abroad (very lucky), so I spent a term in Dijon, France, and a year in Padua, Italy. They were very different experiences, as I was studying in France and working as an English Language Assistant in a secondary school in Italy, but I loved them both. I started my BA in French and Italian knowing no Italian at all, so when I first stepped off the plane in Venice I was extremely nervous that my beginners’ Italian would leave me isolated, needless to say, a baptism by fire. After the year I had fallen in love with the country, with the people I had met, and most of all with the language.
What are you most looking forward to, working at Andiamo?
I am quite a sociable person, so I’m looking forward to getting to know the team, and to building professional relationships with my clients. The ability to interact with, and work alongside other people from across the globe was one of the main driving forces behind my wish to enter into Project Management within an LSP, and the personal touch that Andiamo! adds to their service seemed like the perfect place to begin my career. I can’t wait to get stuck in!
Where is your favourite place in the world and where would you like to travel to next?
I would say that my favourite country that I have visited so far, not including France or Italy, would be Germany. I have only been to Dortmund, Stuttgart, and Munich, but I am planning to go there again soon. I love the food, the culture, the architecture, and how liberal and accepting it is as a country. I am going to Stockholm in a few weeks’ time, it will be the first time that I have been to a Scandinavian country, and Sweden has been at the top of my wish-list for a while, so I’m very excited for that trip.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I went vegan at the start of the year, so I’ve recently got into cooking, as I can no longer buy the go-to ready meals that saw me through my time at uni (there is milk powder hiding in everything!). I’ve tried to branch out with the dishes I usually cook, i.e. pasta and pesto for every single meal, and try to cook more complicated recipes, and it’s something that I have been really enjoying. However, my real passion is travel so whenever the funds allow I try and go away, even if only for a couple of days, to see and hear something new.
