I came to the profession as many of you did, if you started your interpreting career ten or more years ago. I had a 15-minute phone interview with an agency owner, and I was hired on the spot and given very few instructions. I started interpreting...
Well, folks, I did it! I got my dream assignment. Perhaps surprisingly, it wasn’t for the United Nations, or for any other important governmental (or non-governmental) entity you may have heard of. What was it, you ask? Well, can you guess? What would your dream...
Several weeks ago, a friend and freelance colleague fell in the cafeteria of the courthouse where some of us work. The floor was wet and the “wet floor signs” were out of her line of vision. Once she was embarrassingly sprawled on the floor, the...
I have to be really honest. Every time I hear about a problem here or there with some client or court who does not want to pay a fair compensation to the interpreter, or someone wondering why the interpreter needs to prep for an assignment...
We are always writing about colleagues asking us about fees, and we are horrified when we learn of new colleagues being lowballed. This is an everyday issue. Many blog writers and other guests write about this subject, and we tend to despair of ever having...
My heart is racing and the more I think about it, the angrier I get. I was in court, and when the judge called my case, she misspoke and said “Attorney Reme Bashi” instead of “Interpreter Reme Bashi.” The bailiff quickly corrected the judge (an...
Are you ever surprised by how we go from the Thanksgiving holiday, a season of taking stock of what we have, being grateful for all the good things in our lives, and recognizing the joy we share with our families, to just a few weeks...
“Elephants have six toes.” “Sally sells seashells by the seashore.” “My friends are named Sam, Stan, Stu, San, Sandy, Dee, and Dan.” What do all these phrases have in common? These three phrases are typically used in the popular children’s game “Whisper down the lane.”...
In the heart of Puerto Rico, a hidden treasure, thrives a small, close community of interpreters dedicated to the art of breaking down language barriers. Over the past year, since I embarked on my journey into the world of interpretation and became certified, I’ve had...
“Your Honor, why don’t we have the interpreter read the script generated by Zoom?” This was a question that came up in one of my latest remote hearing cases. If that was not enough to surprise many of us who are court interpreters, the judge’s...