Just like you, I don’t see the point in buying large quantities of Steem just to give myself loads of upvotes. Incidentally, in the early years I never really understood how to buy or sell Steem. It’s not that easy here, and now it’s almost impossible. The government is doing everything it can to stop people from investing in crypto, even though we’ll all soon be forced to use the digital euro (and then our savings and wages will be gone without a trace).
I’m glad to hear that there are still curators who’ve discovered you. I think this is the main reason why no upvotes are being given. If you’re not visible and a Steem curator never looks beyond the few people he knows – and never reads anything – then the upvotes will never reach a wider audience.
To be honest, I don’t believe the average curator reads or is even willing to translate text.

I wish you all the best, and yes, it really is a lovely way to keep up with a language…