A Day in the Life
You walk on over to the corner by the front doors where you typically meet Sara. You wait for a minute or so and then feel a tap on your shoulder. You turn around to see the receptionist and a young woman dressed professionally in all dark colors standing beside her. you assume this is your interpreter today as you notice her interpreter agency badge and dark attire. Interpreters always wear colors that contrast with the skin tone of their hands-- the contrast makes it easier for Deaf clients to see all the signs. Looks like Sara wasn't able to make it today and the agency sent another interpreter in her place.
"HI" the new "terp" signs, "ME INTERPRETER YOU CLIENT YOU?"
You nod and the receptionist gives us both a curt smile and goes back to her desk. You tell the interpreter that the meeting room is on the 6th floor and you walk together to the elevator.
"YOUR NAME WHAT?"
You exchange names and pleasantries-- She is pretty new as an interpreter, less than a year in, her name is Katie and she has not interpreted at a tech company before. You wish Sara were here but it's really not a big deal. You fill her in on some company jargon (important acronyms, name signs, and tech related words that will surely come up in the meeting and cause her to fall behind if they catch her off-guard). Katie explains that she looked up the company beforehand. This is a sign on a professional interpreter- she set aside time to prep beforehand and learn as much as she could about the company in an effort to be as prepared as possible to provide the best interpretation. She reviews the new signs she didn't find on her own as you exit the elevator on the sixth floor and make the short walk down the hall into the meeting room.
**PAUSE** Read Meeting Etiquette in your packet (pg. 9).
You two are the first ones there. Katie asks where you usually sit and where you would prefer she sit. She pulls up a chair to the corresponding area-- the front left side of the room with her back facing the speaker and slightly angled towards you. Katie is now placed at an angle that allows you to see both the interpreter and the speaker. Perfect.
You sit facing each other, a few feet a part, with your back towards the door. A few minutes pass and you fill the time politely chatting with Katie. you can tell that she is doing what she should as an interpreter-- taking note of your signing preferences and tendencies. She will quickly notices that you stay true to ASL grammar but occasionally sign in an English format and adjusts her signing to match your language preferences. You sign pretty similar to other Deaf people who were educated in mainstream schools-- Heavy ASL with a bit of English popping up here and there. It would have been cool to attend a Deaf school but you got good enough grades at your hearing schools and your ASL is very fluent.
Katie breaks off the conversation and warns you that someone is approaching from behind by looking just past you and pointing.
"HI" the new "terp" signs, "ME INTERPRETER YOU CLIENT YOU?"
You nod and the receptionist gives us both a curt smile and goes back to her desk. You tell the interpreter that the meeting room is on the 6th floor and you walk together to the elevator.
"YOUR NAME WHAT?"
You exchange names and pleasantries-- She is pretty new as an interpreter, less than a year in, her name is Katie and she has not interpreted at a tech company before. You wish Sara were here but it's really not a big deal. You fill her in on some company jargon (important acronyms, name signs, and tech related words that will surely come up in the meeting and cause her to fall behind if they catch her off-guard). Katie explains that she looked up the company beforehand. This is a sign on a professional interpreter- she set aside time to prep beforehand and learn as much as she could about the company in an effort to be as prepared as possible to provide the best interpretation. She reviews the new signs she didn't find on her own as you exit the elevator on the sixth floor and make the short walk down the hall into the meeting room.
**PAUSE** Read Meeting Etiquette in your packet (pg. 9).
You two are the first ones there. Katie asks where you usually sit and where you would prefer she sit. She pulls up a chair to the corresponding area-- the front left side of the room with her back facing the speaker and slightly angled towards you. Katie is now placed at an angle that allows you to see both the interpreter and the speaker. Perfect.
You sit facing each other, a few feet a part, with your back towards the door. A few minutes pass and you fill the time politely chatting with Katie. you can tell that she is doing what she should as an interpreter-- taking note of your signing preferences and tendencies. She will quickly notices that you stay true to ASL grammar but occasionally sign in an English format and adjusts her signing to match your language preferences. You sign pretty similar to other Deaf people who were educated in mainstream schools-- Heavy ASL with a bit of English popping up here and there. It would have been cool to attend a Deaf school but you got good enough grades at your hearing schools and your ASL is very fluent.
Katie breaks off the conversation and warns you that someone is approaching from behind by looking just past you and pointing.