A Day in the Life
You make your way to the elevator, up to the sixth floor then into the meeting room. You wait for a few minutes and are starting to get nervous as people begin to trickle in. Where is Sara? You scan the room, walk to the door and peek your head out to glance up and down the halls. You don't see her anywhere. The clock on the wall says its less than five minutes before the meeting begins.
Well, she knows where to meet you so you decide to get the area ready. You walk to the front left corner and move a chair in the place that makes it easiest to see Sara interpreting and the speaker at the same time-- the back of the chair facing the speaker and slightly angled towards where you will sit.
**PAUSE** Read Meeting Etiquette in your packet (pg. 9).
You finish placing the chair and sit in your usual chair a few feet away and facing the interpreter chair. Three minutes until the meeting starts, shoot. You tap your foot in anticipation and crane your neck to stare at the door. You're hoping to see Sara but notice Carlos walking towards you instead. He smiles in his laid-back way and sits down next to you. You can't really communicate since there is no interpreter but its always nice to have the company of a friend.
Thirty seconds pass and you notice a young woman dressed professionally in all dark colors pacing the front and scanning the room. You assume this is your interpreter today as you notice an interpreter agency badge and her 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.
You wave her down, she looks relieved and with a smile, walks over.
"HI" the new "terp" signs, "ME INTERPRETER YOU CLIENT YOU?"
You nod and she explains, "SORRY! TEN MINUTES RECEPTIONIST ME SEARCH SEARCH CAN'T FIND. FINALLY PAH! WOMAN TELL ME MEETING WHERE"
"NO PROBLEM" you sign back, she seems stressed about almost being late to the meeting but its sounds like she was here on time. Seems like meeting Sara at the front door will have to be your norm in case a new interpreter shows up.
You quickly exchange names and pleasantries. 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). She tells you 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 looks slightly down and reviews the new signs she didn't find on her own.
Another minute passes and you fill the time politely chatting. 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 can tell that she is doing what she should as an interpreter-- taking note of your signing preferences and tendencies. She will quickly notice 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 similarly 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.
Carlos interrupts, "so no Sara today?" Katie interprets for him.
"No," you begin to answer and Katie interprets, "this is Katie--" You are cut off when Katie waves an attention-getting hand, points towards the podium and signs, "PRESENTER SPEAKING" then proceeds to interpret the meeting.
Well, she knows where to meet you so you decide to get the area ready. You walk to the front left corner and move a chair in the place that makes it easiest to see Sara interpreting and the speaker at the same time-- the back of the chair facing the speaker and slightly angled towards where you will sit.
**PAUSE** Read Meeting Etiquette in your packet (pg. 9).
You finish placing the chair and sit in your usual chair a few feet away and facing the interpreter chair. Three minutes until the meeting starts, shoot. You tap your foot in anticipation and crane your neck to stare at the door. You're hoping to see Sara but notice Carlos walking towards you instead. He smiles in his laid-back way and sits down next to you. You can't really communicate since there is no interpreter but its always nice to have the company of a friend.
Thirty seconds pass and you notice a young woman dressed professionally in all dark colors pacing the front and scanning the room. You assume this is your interpreter today as you notice an interpreter agency badge and her 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.
You wave her down, she looks relieved and with a smile, walks over.
"HI" the new "terp" signs, "ME INTERPRETER YOU CLIENT YOU?"
You nod and she explains, "SORRY! TEN MINUTES RECEPTIONIST ME SEARCH SEARCH CAN'T FIND. FINALLY PAH! WOMAN TELL ME MEETING WHERE"
"NO PROBLEM" you sign back, she seems stressed about almost being late to the meeting but its sounds like she was here on time. Seems like meeting Sara at the front door will have to be your norm in case a new interpreter shows up.
You quickly exchange names and pleasantries. 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). She tells you 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 looks slightly down and reviews the new signs she didn't find on her own.
Another minute passes and you fill the time politely chatting. 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 can tell that she is doing what she should as an interpreter-- taking note of your signing preferences and tendencies. She will quickly notice 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 similarly 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.
Carlos interrupts, "so no Sara today?" Katie interprets for him.
"No," you begin to answer and Katie interprets, "this is Katie--" You are cut off when Katie waves an attention-getting hand, points towards the podium and signs, "PRESENTER SPEAKING" then proceeds to interpret the meeting.