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by Peggy Taylor But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me start at the beginning. I’ve been a CSR since late 1982. Sometime about 1994, reporting became a “job” and was much less fulfilling than it had been in the past. I don’t know how or why this happens -- we all know that we have one of the most interesting jobs available today -- but it does. Setting my sights on realtime around 1997 helped for a while, sort of. I’m not sure exactly when I realized I was sliding into reporter burnout. Maybe it was while sitting in a deposition with four lawyers and a witness. Looking around the room, I noticed that I was the only one in the room not wearing a bow tie and suspenders. Don’t ask me why it struck me as so amusing; suffice it to say that a straight face was not my strong suit that day. Maybe it was making the long, boring drive to Beaumont for a deposition one day and having too much time to think. That particular day, I glanced over and saw Anita Paul’s ad for “an opportunity in South Africa.” I immediately picked up my cell phone and called, thinking this might be just the antidote to my reporting doldrums. At a point in my life where I needed something really different, South Africa sounded really different! Anita quickly put me in contact with Norman Kagan in Johannesburg, South Africa, who heads up Realtime Transcripts, a company which introduces and promotes court reporting there. I was amazed to find out that, at the time we came on the scene, they were using tape recorders and typists to produce their official court transcripts. Since the typists are working from only an audio tape, it’s difficult for them to determine who is speaking and what was said. As a result, the transcripts are full of inaccuracies and parentheticals which say “inaudible.” The poor advocates must try to make sense of the record as it’s given to them and use it for appeal purposes. Norman Kagan emailed me back immediately with something akin to “pack your bags and get on a plane.” I quickly made life and financial arrangements the best I could, got the ever-important work permit, and was on my way to what we fondly refer to as Jo’burg. Norman picked me up at the airport, and I hit the ground running. At the office, I met Joe Reynosa, the other reporter there, who happens to also be a Texan from San Antonio. He has worked in the Bahamas, Trinidad, and other places for the past 10 years. I couldn’t have asked for a better co-worker than Joe, an excellent realtime reporter who is comfortable working outside the States, and a Texan to boot (so to speak). My first job was in a neighboring town to Johannesburg. We were reporting a continuing case in Magistrate’s Court (equivalent to County Civil Court in the States). The case involved a dispute resulting from a bankruptcy. To my amazement, I discovered that what we consider English and what they consider English are two different things. Oh, it’s English all right, but the phrases and accents made it quite … let’s say challenging. South Africa has 11 official languages, and I soon discovered that some of those who thought they spoke good English frankly needed to get a second opinion on the matter! The British and English accents weren’t too bad, but the Afrikaans and native African languages were quite a shock to my East Texas ears. While there, we reported the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, where we wrote speeches from local and international government leaders, including Arafat and Fidel Castro, and some celebrities, including Harry Belafonte. Our transcripts were quickly edited and placed on the news channel’s website for people to read. There was one very colorful witness from Sunflower, Alabama, sharing her story of racism. Her name (I’ll never forget) is Sarah White, and her DEEP southern accent was very strong and sounded just a little out of place in Africa! We were there in Durban when America pulled out of the conference due to anti-Semitism. This was shortly before 9/11. I will always remember where I was that day. I was reporting a trial in High Court. About 4:00 in the afternoon, we were done for the day and one of the advocates walked over and said, “Have you heard what happened in America?” There was so much support for the United States after the events of September 11th. I know that before I went to South Africa, it hadn’t really occurred to me to wonder what non-Americans think of us. It was a real eye-opener to see that we’re loved by some and hated by others. Every job we did over there was reported in realtime. When we didn’t have a “paying job,” Norman would take us to High Court to do a “demo” of realtime. Usually the advocates would then hire us for the remainder of the trial. The judges loved the realtime because they didn’t have to take notes as extensively, speeding up the trials, which was part of Norman’s sales pitch; saving time and money. He charged a flat daily rate, which would never fly in America, but it worked in South Africa. The advocates would bring their laptops and hook up to our system. They’d inevitably ask, “Is this some sort of voice recognition software you use?” That question always made me laugh! They were so amazed when the testimony just “popped up” on the screen, even reading back their own questions to the witness if necessary. Even the tape recording people would ask, “When is Norman starting that court reporting school? I want to enroll!” It was amazing. Many of the locals had only seen court reporters on TV during the OJ trial and had no idea. Right before I left to come home, we did an arbitration that lasted a couple of weeks. It was so wonderful and fulfilling to have them rely on their rough ASCIIs for the next day’s testimony and to hear their complete amazement over the transcripts. One of the hardest things to get used to in South Africa was the difference in holidays. I was working on July 4th, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving, to mention a few! Much to my chagrin, the closest thing to a Thanksgiving turkey that I could find in Johannesburg was a rather large chicken, and don’t even think about cranberry sauce. Of course, they do have their own holidays. They have Woman’s Day, one of my personal favorites, when nobody works, and quite a few Jewish holidays, so I can’t really complain. From the middle of December to about the middle of January, most businesses are shut down, as if the entire country goes on holiday. This made it really easy to come home for a visit. I think one of the most important things I learned from my experience working in South Africa is that writing realtime is nothing to be afraid of. I’m only human, I do the best job I can, and a rough transcript is still 200 times better than someone taking notes by hand. I would like to see realtime used more freely here in the States. Norman’s idea of just incorporating realtime into the basic court reporting service seems like a good idea. Here in the States, I always set up for realtime and don’t mind if the lawyers look over at my laptop to see what was said. Recently, a lawyer from Amarillo read back his own question verbatim from my computer screen. It reminded me of being in South Africa! After the first few days reporting this same case, he said, “Peggy, you’re doing an excellent job.” It was music to my ears; our work is usually taken for granted. He then went on to describe his unsatisfactory experience with a voice writer. He said it was like having an echo in the room and was very distracting. (And we worry when our machines make funny noises!) You know, South Africa has perfect weather, excellent food, and great people. All in all, I’d say it was just what the doctor ordered, the perfect place for me to find a new perspective. Peggy Taylor, MPeggyTaylor@aol.com (Back to Table of Contents) |