The aim of this article is to consider the nature of interpreting in typically remote rural South African settings where teaching is a highly respected profession. Certain problems are identified, not all of which are necessarily universal. However, problems such as code-switching, unpreparedness, familiarity with the audience, dialects, taboos, linguistic discontinuity and the interpreter’s loyalty to the audience have all been experienced by the author in the interpreting situation, and are thus discusses in detail.