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...
When I hear fellow interpreters say they entered the profession for their calling to help others, I worry. I guess, in a sense, we do help people. We are a communication bridge, making it possible for a voice to be heard in a different language....
I pulled up to the National Guard’s State Emergency Operations Center on Monday April 20th, 2020 unsure of what to expect on my first day interpreting a COVID-19 press briefing by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. I passed through a sign-in desk and had my temperature scanned...
If I had been told a year ago that NAJIT’s Conference Committee would be organizing a remote event, I would not have believed it. The virtualization of “virtually” everything around us caught us all by surprise. It is a well-known fact that humans by our very...
“Wherever you are, be totally there.” Eckhart Tolle My father is 90 years old. He recently wrote an open letter to his family that started with the words: “With so much time in my hands, I have decided to write...
I’m sure most, if not all, of you have heard about emotional vampires or relationship vampires. Those are the people who suck your emotional energy and leave you feeling drained after they’ve been near you for any amount of time. Well, there is something else...
“One moment, the interpreter needs a repetition,” I said in English, followed by “Excuse me, could you repeat that for the interpreter?” in rapid-fire Spanish. It was about fifteen minutes into the interpretation, and the fourth time I had interrupted. I was feeling a bit...
It is sometimes difficult to separate ourselves from our professional persona, especially when trying to communicate with our clients. That fine line between being personable and too personal can become blurry. Knowing the difference Being personable simply means that you are polite, you are positive, you are...
7:30am I wake up with a quick, optimistic check to my inbox. No email. Oh well, I sigh. I wasn’t really expecting the results to come in that early. I roll over in bed. Thirty seconds go by. I check my email again. “It’s going to...