The recent [June 2013] weather-related tragedies in Oklahoma have been of particular interest to our family, given that my youngest brother has lived in Tornado Alley for nearly two decades. The world has borne witness to the incredible stories of strength in the face of...
The Couch is a learning place, not only for its contributors but also for our readers who engage in the ensuing discussions. What do you do when you witness abuse on the job? The incident happened a few years ago but it still haunts me. No, I am...
I was at the annual conference of the Texas Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (TAJIT) in Austin this past weekend, and was spellbound by every presenter, strongly motivated to learn new things from all of them and was even challenged to think out of...
This is a new aspect of what we do in court interpreting. When Facebook and Instagram and even text messaging were new around here, not many of the folks I interpreted for on a daily basis were fans. In fact, it wasn't until recently that...
It’s one of those things that comes up all the time in social media discussions and listserves, even during courses and conferences. You have discussed it so much you know exactly how you are going to react, even if it has never happened to you....
Our colleague is curious to see how our The Couch readers would handle some prickly situations he found himself into. What would you do, speak up or not? Read the post and see if you can lend a hand. Could it be a cultural thing? Who was...
I remember it well. I had just begun my interpreting career, and I was placed with a more experienced interpreter to provide services for a competency hearing. I had been interpreting simultaneously for a while, and now it was my partner’s turn. She switched to...
First experiences, when they are positive, leave a taste and a longing for more. Bethany shares one such experience with us in her unique writing style, like building a puzzle, one piece at a time. Originally published in February 2013, this article remains timeless for...
Planning is fun. Then, life happens I had planned on writing about my experience in the Southern District of Texas, McAllen Division, interpreting for the “tsunami” of misdemeanor illegal entry cases, maybe comparing it to my experience in the District of Puerto Rico interpreting for the...
It was not 9:30 AM yet. A woman approaches the information booth and identifies herself as the interpreter for the 10 AM. She sits down, makes herself comfortable. After all, she had over half an hour to kill. At 9:45, a man walks in. He makes...