Dear Fellow NAJIT-ers, Happy September! How the heck is it September again?! Time. It never stops. Jules, our fearless Editor-in-Chief, just sent me the nicest e-mail telling me he’d like to hear from me again. Eeek. I have been hiding all summer, you see. Thank you so much to...

You may have heard of the ATA (American Translators Association) Certification Exam. It has been around for a long time, and it is recognized as a legitimate credential; passing it demonstrates that one is a competent translator in that pair of languages. In fact, for...

The practice of interpretation allows interpreters to take a break from themselves and from their own lives.  I was smitten by this profession since the day I got to interpret for stars at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). A combination of circumstances led me...

A few days ago, I was preparing the paperwork for the Wisconsin CEU (Continuing Education Units) Compliance form, and I realized that I do attend tons of workshops, in-person presentations, and virtual webinars. I have the privilege of being a NAJIT member, and as such,...

This post is on the topic of monotasking. That’s right, you read it correctly. Monotasking. What’s that, you ask? Well, it’s the opposite of multitasking. In other words, instead of doing a ton of things at once, you do one. Thing. At. A. Time. I first...

I had my first business at the age of twenty. It was a furniture store a block away from the main plaza in downtown Celaya, Mexico. Business has been in my blood since I was born. My father was an entrepreneur and we, the sisters,...

Discoveries As I look back on what stays behind after this eventful 2021, I see the mistakes I have made and on the other hand the great choices as well. I would like to think that the latter outweigh the former, but a deep analysis is...

Background Growing up in Mexico, I spent all my Christmases with my paternal grandparents and with many of their fifteen children (my aunts and uncles) and their families. Needless to say, my sisters and I had tons of cousins and amazing holidays. Since all families seemed...

The Couch is a learning place, not only for its contributors but also for our readers who engage in the ensuing discussions. The subject of this month’s Couch is the transition to “normal.” As in-person services gradually resume (or at least are on the horizon), what do...

Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. - Ryunosuke Satoro Sometimes we may find ourselves wondering: Is that other interpreter or translator in my same language combination my colleague or my competition? Does he want to take my clients away from me? Is she...