Shadow... Got something to ask you!

Stefanof

Hi my Lady of Narciss ^___^

Okay, I'll go straight to the point: I've got a favor to ask you. I'm sure you remember we talked about the house my mother is renting to tourists in Madagascar? Well, we're making a website about it, and so that as much people as possible will be able to browse and understand it, we want to have an English version of it too. French is just not enough!

So... I've roughly translated the French website into an English one, but as I'm sure you're aware too my English is still far from being flawless. Especially for that kind of text, I'm afraid.

Thus... I just wanted to ask you if you could re-read my translation and remove all errors! If you've got the time it would be really great, I'd be a little embarassed about posting a text choke full of language mistakes on the website you know Roooh

And please, do not hesitate to modify the sentence structure or vocabulary to make it sound more natural to English-speaking people, it's what we want! ^__^

So well, I'll stop talking now (yes I can do that lol

) and just post the text. If you can take a look at it please, it would really be nice of you sourire

TSANGA BANGA – A MALAGASY HOUSE FOR RENT – HOTEL

Authenticity, exotism, the taste of adventure : you can find it all on Nosy Komba island, a place as remote as it is appealing to nature fans. Do you love to lead the simple life, do you aspire to a quiet, serene place? Nosy Komba is this place.

On the west coast of Nosy Komba, opposite Nosy Tanikely, is a 75 m² house with a breathtaking view of the main coast of Madagascar to the south, and of the island of Nosy Be to the north. Right on the seafront, comfortably sheltered within a private property, is a typical malagasy house, built out of local materials (such as a roof made out of ravanala leaves), entirely furnished and adorned. The house is composed of two spacious bedrooms (one with a double bed, the other with two single beds), a bathroom and a kitchen. A little veranda at the entrance door, and a large one above the sea, facing the sunset.

Landlords’ house is nearby, and they shall be happy to welcome and help you.

Weekly Rental

550 € a week, which includes boat transfer (Nosy Be – Nosy Komba – Nosy Be) and a household servant taking care of cleaning the house, cooking meals and doing laundry.
Not included : meals, drinks, taxi (airport – harbor – airport).

Hotel : Price per Day, for Four People

- Bed and Breakfast : 100 €
- Half board : 130 €
- Lodging and meals : 160 €
Not included : drinks and alcohol, taxi (airport – harbor) and boat transfer (Nosy Be – Nosy Komba).

Pirogue excursions

Tour the island, visit the lemur park in Ampangorina (Nosy Komba), visit the Lokobe preserve (Nosy Be), visit Nosy Tanikely.

On demand : relaxing massages and hair braiding.

Booking Information

Phone number : 00261.320.203.868
Fax number : 00261.208.661.569
E-mail : tsangabanga@gmail.com

_________________
Et toi, que vas-tu faire pour sauver la planète ?

ShadowMage

Sure, I'll go through it. I'm flattered that you would trust me with something like this ^_^.

Just to warn you, though, if I fix it up, I will definitely be gearing toward Americans, so if you'd rather have a more British flare to it, you may want to go somewhere else. I'll do my best, though!

Stefanof

American will be great, thank you very much!! ^____^

_________________
Et toi, que vas-tu faire pour sauver la planète ?

ShadowMage

Ok, I've gone through it quickly, and I have a couple of questions for you. So here we go!

1 - Is it a hotel, too? Or just a bed and breakfast?
2 - What do you define as a week? 5 or 7 days?
3 - This is minor, but I think I've always seen the Euro symbol in front of the amount. But you're the true Europeans, so you tell me.
4 - Under the "Price per Day" section, is a boat transfer from Nosy Komba to Nosy Be included?
5 - About the Pirogue Excursions, are they guided tours offered by the hotel, or are they just suggested activities? Also, do you have a price for them?
6 - What are the prices for the massages and hair braiding? Also, is there anything special about the hair braiding?

I think that's it for now. I'll go through it again soon. Is there any certain time that you need this done by?

Stefanof

Citation:

1 - Is it a hotel, too? Or just a bed and breakfast?

It's also a hotel. When you rent if for the week, meals are NOT included (you have to buy supplies for yourself, BUT the household servant WILL do the cooking for you). When you rent it on a day by day basis, you have the choice between bed & breakfast, half-board (that means bed + breakfast + lunch OR diner) or the full service (bed + all three meals).

Citation:

2 - What do you define as a week? 5 or 7 days?

Seven, I believe.

Citation:

3 - This is minor, but I think I've always seen the Euro symbol in front of the amount. But you're the true Europeans, so you tell me.

Good point. In fact, we're a bit awkward on that because the € is supposed to come in front of the amount, but the F of the Franc came behind... so people pretty much mix it up lol

Citation:

4 - Under the "Price per Day" section, is a boat transfer from Nosy Komba to Nosy Be included?

Nope ^^

Citation:

5 - About the Pirogue Excursions, are they guided tours offered by the hotel, or are they just suggested activities? Also, do you have a price for them?

I have no price, but I can complete that by myself later on so no matter. About the nature of the excursions though, I'm not sure. More like suggested activities I think, but it's the hotel's pirogue you can rent. With someone competent to sail it for you, of course! They're not really "guided tours" per see, but the sailor will take you where you want and then you can easily find your way around on your own. It's mainly sightseeing, enjoying the beach and the sea (there's quite a lot of exotic fishes to see in Nosy Tanikely, I don't know how to say that in English... in French we can say "réserve marine", kinda like an... aquatic zoo, but in the wild? so more random, but natural... like the safari parks in Africa, but for fish in the indian ocean?? lol

). Local villagers are extra friendly, so it's really not a problem to visit the place and see everything there is to see!

Citation:

6 - What are the prices for the massages and hair braiding? Also, is there anything special about the hair braiding?

No idea about the prices, once again. The hair braiding is done in the malagasy fashion, it's a lot of small braids. I don't know how to describe it exactly, it's a hairdo you can see from time to time even in Europe or the USA.

Citation:

Is there any certain time that you need this done by?

Well... ASAP? lol

But that's a lot to ask, I know mmm...

I don't know your schedule, we're trying to get the website online ASAP because let's face it: we need customers lol

The English translation is now the only missing piece, everything else is done. By the end of the week would be cool, but I understand you may not have the time to deal with it. It's already nice of you to do it at all ^^!

_________________
Et toi, que vas-tu faire pour sauver la planète ?

ShadowMage

Sorry it's taking so long! All of a sudden my week got busy. sad

I'm doing my best!

Stefanof

I understand ^^

_________________
Et toi, que vas-tu faire pour sauver la planète ?

ShadowMage

Ok, I'm sooo sorry. School is keeping me way busier than I'd like to be, but that's no excuse. I'm just horrible. Frown Yes

I haven't had the chance to go back through and do the extra little things that I asked you about earlier, but I thought I may as well give you what I've got.

TSANGA BANGA – A MALAGASY HOTEL/BED AND BREAKFAST

Authenticity, an exotic atmosphere, and the taste of adventure: you can find it all on Nosy Komba island - a place as remote as it is appealing. Do you love to lead the simple life? Do you aspire to a quiet, serene place? Nosy Komba is the place.

On the west coast of Nosy Komba, opposite Nosy Tanikely, is a 75 m² (807 ft2) house with a breathtaking view of the main coast of Madagascar to the south and the island of Nosy Be to the north. Right on the seafront, it is a typical Malagasy house, built out of local materials (such as a roof made out of ravanala leaves), entirely furnished and decorated. The house has two spacious bedrooms (one with a double bed, the other with two single beds), a bathroom and a kitchen. There is also a small veranda at the entrance door and a large one above the sea, facing the sunset.

Landlords’ house is nearby, and they will be happy to welcome and help you throughout your stay.

Weekly Rental

550 € per week - includes boat transfer (Nosy Be – Nosy Komba – Nosy Be) and a personal assistant to take care of cleaning the house, cooking meals and doing laundry.
Not included: meals, drinks, taxi (airport – harbor – airport).

Hotel : Price per Day, for Four People

- Bed and Breakfast : 100 €
- Half board : 130 €
- Lodging and meals : 160 €
Not included : drinks and alcohol, taxi (airport – harbor) and boat transfer (Nosy Be – Nosy Komba).

Pirogue excursions

Tour the island, visit the lemur park in Ampangorina (Nosy Komba), visit the Lokobe preserve (Nosy Be), visit Nosy Tanikely.

Other services offered: relaxing massages and hair braiding.

Booking Information

Phone: 00261.320.203.868
Fax: 00261.208.661.569
E-mail: tsangabanga@gmail.com

Hopefully that will help. If I get any extra time in the near future, I'll do what I can. If you have any questions about why I changed anything or whatever, feel free to ask me. Good luck!

Oh, one more thing... sorry... It might be useful to put if the landlords speak English or if there's somebody there who could help translate. Just an idea.

Stefanof

Sounds good to me! Thanks a lot gal ^__^ Good luck with all the schoolwork t'en fais pas

_________________
Et toi, que vas-tu faire pour sauver la planète ?

Stefanof

Hey ! English section is up and running thanks to you and our beloved Great Mistress, so thanks again to both of you. Love you girls Loving it

Small question though ! As to the fax number, my mother doesn't actually have a fax machine. Faxes arrive at a kind of shop dealing with these types of services (dunno if these things have a name ? neutre

), so you have to put the fax is for Tsanga Banga at the top.

In French, we would only put "ATT. Tsanga Banga" (for "à l'attention de Tsanga Banga"). I think "attention Tsanga Banga" also works in English, but I'm... completely not sure about it lol

Could you deny or confirm?

_________________
Et toi, que vas-tu faire pour sauver la planète ?

ShadowMage

I'm not actually sure what to do. I don't usually use a fax machine, so I don't know the protocol. Sorry. I'll try asking around. Somebody has got to know, right?

Stefanof

Well, it can be used for postal letters too. It's just a little something to say "hey, this message is for this person !" ^^

_________________
Et toi, que vas-tu faire pour sauver la planète ?