Lost in translation
“Hello, good evening!”
“Good evening!” The voice was deep and serious but his student’s camera was off so Win couldn’t see the owner of the smooth timbre. He shrugged it off, most of the students are too shy to show their faces during lessons but Win always had to have his camera on so he flashed his most winsome smile into the black screen in front of him with the camera icon crossed out in the middle.
“Can you hear me clearly?” standard questions to check if the internet connection is stable. Internet service providers are notorious for promising stable internet connections yet provide less than satisfactory service in reality. Win cannot count the number of times that he had to cancel lessons just because there was no internet connection or the connection was very unstable. Of course, he was penalized for those instances but he cannot do anything about it since it is the rules of the platform that he is using.
“Yes, I can.” His student has a real smooth, baritone voice. Wreallybsently wished that he could see the face to whom that voice belongs.
“Great! This is our first lesson together, right?”
“Yes.”
“Would you like a short introduction first?” There was a short silence on the other end that Win had to wonder if the connection was lost. He was relieved when his student answered in a soft and unsure voice.
“Uhm, okay. ”
“Would you like to go first?”
“Uhm, sure.” The student cleared his throat first. “I’m Atichart Saengkaew but you can call me Bright for short.”
So, he is not Japanese. That is why the name in his profile sounded weird. Win thought but he maintained his best smile even if he couldn’t see the reaction of his student from the black screen in front of him. There was a pause so Win nodded his head as a signal for his student to continue talking.
“I am in the entertainment industry and I also have my own small business. I graduated from Bangkok University and I studied English because I wanted to talk to people from other countries easily.” Win smiled reassuringly while nodding his head in approval, sensing the uneasiness in his student’s voice.
“So, what are your hobbies, Bright-san?” there was a chuckle from the other line before Bright answered Win’s question.
“My hobbies are playing the guitar, playing football, and working out. And I am not Japanese so no need for the san.” Win smiled softly at the blank screen.
“Oh, I know. I just got used to using San with all of my students. So that is why your name is different from the usual Japanese names.” Win flashed his winsome smile again at the black screen to dispel any awkwardness that may be felt by his student. It is not uncommon to encounter non-Japanese students on the platform. He had taught a lot of Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese students in the past but this is his first time teaching a Thai student. Win hoped that he could pull this off nicely as he did with his other students. “Uhm, let me guess. You’re from Thailand, right?”
“I think I said that I graduated from Bangkok University earlier. That would have told you my nationality.” Win was taken aback by the sarcasm in the student’s voice but he kept his composure and kept his best smile plastered onto his face even if all he wanted to do was roll his eyes in annoyance.
“But not everybody who studies in Bangkok is from Thailand, right? They can be from other countries yet they are staying in Thailand.” Win kept his tone gentle but could not control the way his left eyebrow raised in question. There was a soft laugh at the other end of the line.
“Yes, you are right. I’m from Thailand but my Japanese colleague recommended your ESL company to me. He said that your company has smart tutors. I can see that he is right.” Win blushed slightly from the compliment from his unseen student but he quickly gathered his wits around him and cleared his throat. He must never lose his cool in front of his students.
“All of the tutors here are smart, Bright-san. Well, do you have your copy of the lesson already?” Win glanced subtly at the clock, The introduction part was taking too long, Win thought. We may not be able to finish the lesson before lesson time ends. Win clicked on the list of lesson materials and opened the requested material based on the student’s profile.
“But you haven’t told me your name yet, Sensei.” Bright pointed out and Win almost choked on his saliva because of the honorific term that his student used.
“No need to call me Sensei, Bright-san. My name is Chancharoen but you can just call me Win.”
“How old are you, Win? If I may ask?”
“I’m 23 years old and I work in a Market Research company but because of the pandemic, we don’t get a lot of clients so I also do freelance work nowadays. My hobbies are listening to music, watching Netflix, and working out.” Win tried to speak as fast and as clearly as he could because he had been eyeing the time at the lower side of the monitor. If they do not start the lesson immediately, they won’t be able to finish it. But his student seems to be oblivious to the time constraints as Bright replied in a leisurely manner.
“So, I am older than you, Sensei Win. I am already 25 years old.”
“No need to call me Sensei, Bright-san.”
“I will stop calling you Sensei if you stop calling me Bright-san too.”
“But I need to be polite to you. It’s required for us to always be polite to our students.”
“Then just call me P’Bright. That is how we address our seniors in Thailand.”
“Okay, P’Bright.” Win rolled the name around his tongue, familiarizing himself with the pronunciation. Then he flashed another sweet smile at the black screen in front of him as he adjusted his headset. “Well then, P’Bright. Are you ready for the lesson?”
Win gently rubbed his nape and rolled his shoulders to straighten out the kinks after staying in one position for a long time. He looked at the clock and saw that it was already past 11 pm and he had just finished his last lesson for the day. He enjoyed teaching but doing it for eight hours with a few minutes of break in between lessons can be very taxing.
But I don’t really have a choice, do I? Win thought to himself. He can’t afford to slack off since there are bills and loans to pay and he can’t afford to lose any of the basic amenities that he has been enjoying so far. This is the price of his stubbornness and pride but he was mule-headed enough to choose to do everything the hard way. Sighing heavily, he took off his headset and carefully placed it back in the box, taking pains to keep the cord orderly and untangled. He could not afford to buy a new noise-canceling headset if the one he is currently using finally gets broken. He shut off the desktop computer and pushed himself away from the monitor before standing up when the door suddenly opened.
“Win.”
“Fern.”
“We need to talk.”
Bright gently closed down his laptop, still smiling. He can’t get his tutor’s smiling face off of his mind and Bright chuckled at the other man’s effort to hide his annoyance at Bright’s numerous and unrelated questions during their lesson. He finds it funny how Win fails to keep his facial expression neutral whenever Bright asks a stupid question just to rile his tutor up. Another advantage for Bright is the fact that his camera is turned off and Win cannot see him laughing silently as Win fumbled for an answer to his questions that have no relation whatsoever to their lesson.
Bright picked up the elastic bandages lying on the table in front of him and started wrapping his hand with them. Softly, he hummed a lively Thai song that his mother liked to sing to him whenever he was anxious and it did calm his tingling nerves. But Bright doubted if the warmth in the pit of his stomach was even remotely connected to his sparring session with P’Guy later that evening. Yes, he has an upcoming match that would likely give him a shot at the welterweight title in case he comes out victorious. He was an up-and-coming MMA fighter and had been training in Japan for the past couple of years since the federation that signed him up was based there.
He was not lying when he told Win that he needed to learn English to be able to communicate with foreigners. Interviews with the foreign media have always been tricky and they always need to find a Thai interpreter to translate what Bright wanted to say and there have been times when his words were mistranslated and misinterpreted so badly that his manager P’Thorn had to do some serious damage control. International fans can be unforgiving and sensitive about a lot of issues and considering the nuances of the Thai language, things can easily be lost in translation and blown out of proportion.
Although Bright is extremely skilled and talented in mixed martial arts, he believes that it wouldn’t hurt to have a wide fan base as this can open more doors for him in the entertainment industry. He is aware that a career in sports is not stable, one bad injury and your career is finished so he wanted to have lots of options before the inevitable eventually happens.
But before he can explore other options, he would have to make a name for himself in the MMA industry because this is something that he is really passionate about. He never even considered a career in sports until he got a call from a famous trainer. It turned out that he was scouted when he was still a varsity student at the University.
Being raised in a family where it’s a struggle to make ends meet, Bright grabbed the opportunity to make money on the side as he was just on a regular 8-hour job then and he wanted so much to help his mother in providing for the family. As his training intensified, he began to enjoy what he was doing and it showed in his performance. He quickly climbed the ranks in the local Muay Thai tournaments and eventually got included in undercards of big International matches.
He had a problem with his former handlers and had to leave. Fortunately, the Rising Warriors Federation was eyeing him already when he participated in international tournaments as a Muay Thai fighter. He left Thailand to reside in Japan and the RWF signed him up. Things were looking up for him as he easily adjusted to the climate and the fighting style being practiced in the RWF. He immediately made his presence felt, notching up victory after victory against heavily favored local fighters.
Then the interview fiasco happened and his career seemed to be relegated to the back burner as they waited for the initial backlash to subside. Thankfully, it was just a minor setback as Bright came out stronger and more determined from it all. And that was when he decided to take up English classes online at the recommendation of one of his Japanese co-fighters.
His English speaking skills are basic at best. He needed to be able to express himself better during interviews as skills are not enough when your career is indirectly tied to people’s entertainment. He has been taking English lessons for a month now and this was the first time that he enjoyed his lesson.
He was tempted to open his camera and show his face to see if Win could recognize him. He always kept his camera off because he did not want to risk any of his tutors knowing him since MMA is quite popular in the Philippines where most of the tutors are based. He uses his Thai name but even his screen name “Bright” did not seem to register with Win so maybe he isn’t into MMA at all. He smirked to himself as the past moments resurfaced in his memory. He made sure to book one of Win’s lesson slots at least once every two days so that Win wouldn’t notice Bright’s uncanny interest in him.
His musings were disturbed when the door to his room opened.
“Bright, Coach Guy is here.”
“Finally,” Bright muttered before standing and picking up his towel and water bottle. He cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders energetically. “Let’s do this.”
