that fan from africa
yes, i've always known that yong joon has lots of fans. and i also know that his fans come from all over the world. korea, singapore, malaysia, thailand, philippines, china, hong kong, taiwan, vietnam, indonesia... canada, the states, and yes, france. and just this week, i found out that he even has at least one fan in africa.i'm from the sunny island of singapore myself. and you know how we sometimes like to say how lucky the korean fans are to be breathing in the very air as yong joon. and how lucky the japanese fans are to be able to have so much of his news, merchandise, etc etc etc... but hey, at least most of us are in asia. although we may not be as near to yong joon as we want to, but there're still ways and means to get hold of his works, his products and all that. and we can even read about him in our local papers from time to time.
reading swallow's posting... all sorts of feelings came over me. really. maybe it's the holidays that's put me in a particularly sensitive [read: mushy] mood. i felt much after reading it, really, so much so that i felt compelled to write to her for permission to translate that posting into english to share with more people. haven't read her posting? here's the link: http://happiebb.blogspot.com/2005/12/trans-fans-voice-from-africa.html
let me share what i had felt.
i first felt ashamed of myself. i'm definitely guilty of having complained before about how other fans got to be close to him, how other fans had access to more of his merchandise... etc etc etc... then i felt sorry for swallow. it must have felt really lonely before she found the various bae-sites. and then... i was thinking how she must have felt when she read about fans attending fans' meeting, how we organized bunggaes, how we bought magazines and dvds with yong joon inside, etc etc etc.
then i felt something else. you guys know i've been doing translation for the past two years, ya? wow, it's been two years... i do mostly english-to-chinese, though i sometimes do chinese-to-english as well. so many times in the past two years, i've thought about giving up. it's really quite time-consuming, you know? what takes you five, ten minutes to read may take me half an hour or more to translate. i mean, i could have used that time to surf the net and read more about yong joon, or i could have used that time to work, to catch up with my family and friends, or even to sleep. god knows how little i sleep since i became a bae-fan. i do most of my translation at night, you see.
so many nights, as i was working through lines after lines of translation, i asked myself why. why do i bother?
you probably can't see the extent of how much time and energy it takes, coz like i said, i do more of english-to-chinese translation, and i post them mainly on www.loveyongjoon.com, the chinese site i'm active on. so you don't see my work on quilt or KOB.
on the chinese website, www.loveyongjoon.com, we have a team of volunteer translators there. with the help of three other volunteers, i head the team of translators there. each and every day, i would visit the major sites, compile the news articles that need to be translated, and when i come across some fans' postings that are very interesting, i would include those to be translated as well. then i would monitor to see if the volunteers have picked up the translation assignments, and will probably do a few of the translation myself. the work's still not done, you know... i will have to ensure that the articles get translated and posted, then vet for accuracy and edit them if necessary. and mind you, i do this almost everyday for quite a long time already.
and when i come across good chinese postings, i will also try to translate them into english so that more people can share. haha, sometimes i feel like we're like the bridge between fans of different countries, you know. and i sure as hell hope that most of you enjoy reading about what's happening with the bae-fans from elsewhere.
look, i'm not fishing for compliments here. really, i'm not. i'm just telling you what it involves. if anything, i admire joanne [from quilt] for her perseverance. whatever i do cannot measure up to what she's done. just imagine how it would be like without joanne's timely translation... it's almost unthinkable, right?
it's the same with the chinese fans. if we don't translate joanne's work into chinese, they would be just as lost. and because i benefit from joanne's effort, i want to stretch her work further, so... i persist.
but so many times, when i drag my tired body back home from work, after reading the postings on quilt and KOB, the only thing i really want to do is to go straight to bed. really. the last thing i want to do is translation. but i know that some of the news are rather 'important' or that it contains the newest and latest information about yong joon. surely the chinese fans would want to know... so i just try to stay awake that bit longer and finish up.
but sometimes, the selfish and tired part of me would be yelling: for what and for whom i do this?
now i know the answer. it's for the family.
it's for people like swallow and many others who rely on the family's effort to spread the news and share the love.
once again, i say this: i'm not begging for praises or pats on the back. i'm just blogging out my truest of feelings. you know, to us the volunteer translators, sometimes a mere 'i've enjoyed reading this' will go a long way to motivate us to carry on.
p.s. other than the sisters who do translation, i also want to thank the sisters for creating / posting / reposting news, pictures, VODs... and i also want to thank the sisters who always make it a point to reply. a single reply can mean alot to the person doing the posting. so if you appreciate or have enjoyed someone's posting, why not make it a point to tell the person? pass it on.
posted by bb @ 12/29/2005 02:27:00 AM
20 Comments:
I don't thank you enough to you, but every time I read your work I say thank you in my heart, and you are always in my prayers. Thank you and thank you and thank you.
Dear bb,
Swallow's piece was really something else, wasn't it? Set a million emotions firing for me as well.
I want to say this again - your perseverance and selfless efforts, day in and day out, mean the WORLD to us! Literally! And I don't think that there is one Bae family member who doesn't feel that way. For everything you've done, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Please take good care of yourself because, most of us won't be able to handle it if you, Joanne, or any of the marvelous contributors had to take a sick-leave!
Come to think of it, Vitamin "B" is quite helpful in warding off illness! heehee.
p.s. I always used to think that too many replies, esp on the net, would make an author worry about a hound, or worse yet, a stalker. Guess I was wrong...
Where can I find Swallow's posting?
I would also like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :)
I know it's late for Christmas wishes but I'm still in a festive mood... :p
Hi bb,
I felt humbled when I read your translation in Quilt yesterday. I admit there are times when I feel envious of my baesisters who get the chance to see him and have access to a lot of articles and goods that feature him. But yes, we in the Phil. are still lucky because we got to see his drama on our local channel (never mind if it was dubbed in our local dialect). There's a growing community of koreans near me so anytime I'm craving for the feel of korea (smell, taste) it's just one ride away. I get to practice and learn my very limited words from them. Best of all, there are people like you, joanne, style, youngsun who cared enough to share whatever bits of info about BYJ that we can enjoy. I may not say it often enough but my heart is always full of gratitude for you and my prayers are with you always.
hee... this is what i was afraid of. i really wasn't looking for pats on the back, i was just blogging out my thoughts.
honestly, i feel there're many ways to love him. some choose to draw, some write, some read, and i'm sure many just surf his sites and read all his postings in silence.
i've chosen to translate to spread the love further. and i did it voluntarily. it's just that there're times i just feel so tired.
anyhow, i ain't the only one doing it. there're many more fans who are much more sharing and selfless than i. am just of the many fans who hope to be able to share our bae-love.
michelle,
you're welcome you're welcome you're welcome :p
mishio,
yea, saw your posting on your blog... hehe, i even made sure swallow saw your posting :p
but oh boy, her english's so good she might as well have written that piece herself! hee... i've been presumptuous to have asked her for permission to translate... :p
ah, but whatever, am just glad that her voice has been heard by many of our family here.
hi anonymous,
if you're looking for swallow's original posting in chinese, you can find it in the ESSAYS section in www.loveyongjoon.com.
the english translation is the blog entry before this one.
enjoy...
hi marissa,
yea... at least the korean culture is 'closer' to us. honestly, i think swallow is not alone in the sense that there're probably quite many bae-fans out there who live in more remote places or places with not much of an asian influence.
for instance, our dear camille from france... she's shared that sometimes she feels quite alone in her bae-love too...
Hi bb,
Thank you for your team's effort to bring us the latest news of Yong Joon. Really appreciate that. Now, I am beginning to visit loveyongjoon.com and your blog more often. Somehow, no matter how much I read, I still yearn for more !
Wishing you a most Blessed 2006 !
Hi BB, I always feel, no matter how many times I say thank you, it is not enough, but your enthusiam and selflessness is admirable. And your faithful fan here says thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your heart work, but don't forget to rest we need you there and what would the world be if there is no bridges like you. We wouldn't have know swallow and she wouldn't know us too. Hug Hug. Love ya! I am just finishing with my little blog and already feel so busy huh, "blush".
Haha! I like your new profile picture. Now you show even less of yourself. Sigh....
You've already come out of the closet, you've much better pictue than this...
*Listening to techno music in the background*
hi bb, what Swallow wrote is exactly my situation, I love her posting so much that I've translated it and posted on my blog, hope you two don't mind.
anonymous, who are you huh? jos izzit?
camille... haha, you can't resist not translating that posting too, huh? i can't speak for swallow naturally, but i don't think she'll mind... the joy is in the sharing :)
Hi bb
Being a silent reader for a while I cannot help by being guilty without giving you a pat in the back to you..for all your tremendous effort I can only feel grateful ...just can say that our YJ is lucky to have a family like you
Sara
hi hi sara...
are you sara from soompi?
anyhow, wherever you're from, thanks for dropping me a line here...
Tried to translate a couple of articles before, but totally cannot make it.. haha!! So rather than misleading everyone, I gave up! So I totally know how it felt to do translation, darn tiring, thus I truly admire your dedication.
I think you should give urself a big pat on your shoulder for being able to translate and express your feelings so well. We may not know, but Yong Joon may have recognised you already for your works!
It's a neverending piece of work, my dear BB. Take a breather if you think u need it. I'm sure everyone will understand. Don't be pressured just to meet everyone's needs. Have you noticed that you are becoming more like Yong Joon already? Hehehe!! No matter how tired he is, he strive to work hard not for himself, but for his family!!
I may not express my appreciation well, but inside, I totally respect you and your dedication. *hugz you*
Well done, BB!
hey, chili...
back from your BKK hols? hope you had fun. seems like every other person i know was away to BKK either for xmas or ny. what's the draw? hee, for me, BKK has always meant one thing: clothes that r 2 small to fit me :p
and... thanks for your ultra-kind words.
Quite ok lah, my trip, except that I didn't manage to meet up Tigger and, I lost my HP to a pickpocket.. sianz! But Tigger cheered me up with her parcel of stuffs.. hehe! Totally thrilled seeing Yong Joon on the items!
Oh, if BKK sizes are too small for it, it is ultra small for me.. hehe! Thats why I never go for clothes in BKK, I prefer accessories and barang barang.
No probz, BB. U are most welcome. And I didn't do it out of... pity, I swear. Totally from my heart!! *wink wink*
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