Translating directions....

God bless the internet. Imagine this: You are in a strange place. It seems familiar to what you know, but has subtle differences that actually matter. You buy a can of soup, etc., but cannot read the ingredients or the instructions about how to heat it up. It's like you're 5 years old and can't function if there isn't a picture to illustrate the writing.

Today, I purchased a little pre-packaged salmon and broccoli entree from the store, which is meant to be heated in the microwave. Alas, how to heat it? Am I supposed to make slits in the top? I can tell how long to heat it because numbers are numbers, etc.

One tool I have been using is Microsoft Word's translation feature. You type in the foreign words into a word document, go to the "tools" menu, go to "language" and then to "translate." When it asks you if you want to "install" the feature, say no. It then opens a window on the right hand side where you select the languages you want to translate and then presto - using the Internet's google translation feature, you have it translated for you. It is a bit rudimentary, but it'll give you the gist of what you need to know.

Here's what I typed in for today's dinner:

Zet de gesloten verpakking in de magnetron. De ingredienten stomen gaar met maximal behoud van de smaak en voedingswaarde. Het stoomventiel voorkomt overdruk. Na bereiding 1 minuut laten staan.

Here's what I got back:

The closed packing in the magnetron puts. The ingredients steam gaar with maximal conservation of the taste and feeding value. The steam valve prevents transfer. After construction to 1 minute let stand

It's a little odd, but it works!

*Note in response to Jamie's question below: Yes, it did say the number of minutes. That's what I meant when I said, "I can tell how long to heat it because numbers are numbers, etc."