[caption id="attachment_1024" align="alignleft" width="238" caption="Bulging disc. Click on image to enlarge."][/caption] Our mental and physical wellness can affect our performance as interpreters. It is likely that the following affect our output: diet, exercise, family issues, finances, overall health, etc. All of these can significantly impact the...
One year ago this month, when the NAJIT Blog was just getting started, I ended my post with these words: Whether you call it love, passion or simply enjoying your career, I think we can all agree that having a true calling and affinity for this...
I am interpreting consecutively. I am well-rested, fully focused, alert and engaged. Almost effortlessly, I allow the equivalent words,phrases and structures to flow through my brain and out my mouth. An interpreting instructor of mine once called this being “in the groove.” It doesn’t happen every...
I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead[1]. So said Blaise Pascal, French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Christian philosopher in a letter to a friend in December 1656.[2] The quote, often misattributed to Mark Twain and Abraham...
Sometimes my first answer is NO if I know I am not qualified to perform a task. However, if the authorities persist due to the nature of an incident, that incident is likely to be documented. It comes down to personal ethics; more precisely, it...
[caption id="attachment_839" align="alignleft" width="214" caption="Roseann Dueñas González"][/caption] Dr. Roseann Dueñas Gonzalez is a 21st Century luminary in the field of language access in the U.S. She was the founder and long-standing Director of the University of Arizona National Center for Interpretation, Testing, Research and Policy. I...
This is a cautionary tale about what can happen when you don’t have two interpreters for a trial. It’s also rather amusing in a macabre way, and I enjoy telling the story to people who ask me about the most unusual case I have ever...
Warning!! The flexibility, variety, mobility and enjoyment that come with being an interpreter or a translator (or both!) can be addictive, turning us into smiling, giddy workaholics! Do you sometimes feel like your life is holding you back from achieving all you can in your career?...
My mother died a few weeks before Thanksgiving. She was a remarkable woman who gave each of her children a great love of learning and an appreciation for art, music, language and books, books, books! There was so much I loved and admired about her,...
Our family recently embarked on an educational journey when we put our son into an online homeschooling program. In my job as an interpreter, trainer, and advocate for our profession, my days are already focused on finding the most effective educational tools and resources for...
