Hello Pam !
I don't know who you are, where you're from, how you got here or even if you're ever gonna return, but I had to say :
EXACTLY !
Most people I meet don't even understand what translation is. Some of them think I am taking English classes. Some of them think I orally translate what is said in a language to another. I've even been asked why on earth a company would want to hire me ! I spent a lot of time discussing with Alex for my translation into English, and yesterday he turned to me and said : "Man, translation is hard ! I didn't really understand what you would have to do here, but now I see there's really a lot of stuff for you to do..."
I guess you really have to actually translate to understand what it's really about...