Brad's visit

Brad is planning to come visit me this weekend. The flights are pretty full so it doesn't look too good for a standby passenger to make it. Please pray he'll get a seat and we'll be able to share some good time together this weekend. It would be extremely encouraging to see him and I'm afraid quite disappointing if he doesn't make it. Thanks! I'll let you know what happens.

Weekend fun!

We were provided rental cars this past weekend! Freedom! :) Friday we went grocery shopping (at Target instead of Wal-mart!) and out to Chipotle for dinner. Saturday was deaf awareness day at Lagoon....an amusement park about 1/5 of the size of Carowinds. We had fun riding roller coasters and I enjoyed floating on the lazy river for about an hour.

Yesterday after church my roommate and I drove through the mountains of Emigration Canyon where Mormon pioneers made their way to Salt Lake. We topped off our drive with a visit to Park City, UT, home of the 2002 Winter Olympics. I didn't get a picture of the ski slopes, but you could distinctly still see them! We had a nice dinner at a quaint Italian restaurant, rode a trolley through the streets, and got some chocolate for the road at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory! Yum! (And yes, I did work out today to make up for all the eating!)

I posted some pictures of the weekend in my Utah album. Just scroll to the bottom to see the most recent ones.

blocks to interpreting

So I'm beginning to realize I have some things that block effective interpreting. I'm not positive about exactly what those things are, but now that I know they are there, I hope I can figure it out so it can be corrected. I struggle to understand fingerspelling or rapid signing, especially if I have to interpret simultaneously. (That means I start talking as soon as I receive a complete thought and the signer continues to sign while I'm talking.) I tend to zone out at a certain point and even though I'm still looking at the signer, I'm not comprehending their signs. I think it's partially a processing thing and that my mind is concentrating on so many different aspects that it just can't take in any more signs. So, I need to exercise my brain and train it to be able to do more. Thankfully the mentors here have suggested some good exercises to help with that. I will forever remember my last semester when Anna related it to driving a stick shift car.....you know how awkward it is at first and how there's so much to remember and concentrate on that it's really difficult to do. After a while though it becomes natural and you don't have to think about it as much.

Another issue I think that blocks effective interpreting is my own intrapersonal thoughts and feelings. Sometimes it's as simple as a concern over doing well or knowing that something I struggle with is going to show up. I do feel pressure to become certified in the next two years although my attitude with the test in September is to use it as a learning experience. If I pass, good! If I don't, then I'll know more about it next time. But there is also this part of me that thinks I should pass after all the time here in Utah and that the program developers are expecting me to. If I don't, then I'm messing up their statistics. Now that's all my thoughts. No one has said that. I am a perfectionist. I think I should be able to do certain things and then even though I don't consciously think about it, I think it still bothers me and then effects my interpreting. I'm not quite sure how to get over that since it's not conscious! So the conscious stuff, I can deal with but the unconscious stuff is going to take some thought! (hee hee!)

So all that to explain some of my struggles here and to ask you to pray that I would be able to not pressure myself and to find strategies and work them to help overcome some of my physical challenges with interpreting.

Stamina

Today was actually a much longer day than I expected. I'm just crawling into bed at 1:22 am after finishing my work for tomorrow (and getting an extension on one thing). I have to get up in 5 1/2 hours for a 14 hour day! Please pray for strength, alertness, and stamina. It's late and I'm exhausted but learning good skills that will continue to improving my interpreting even after I'm home.

Week 5

Wow! I can't believe it's week 5! I'm finally beginning to feel like some things are becoming more natural! :) I've had some really good interpreting experiences last night and today. It's been very busy still....class, homework and internship yesterday for a grand total of  ~10 hours. Then today was a 12 hour day of internship, homework, mentor meetings.

I am gaining so much insight from my mentors! I have a new interpreting mentor for this two week module. Her name is Marilyn Mitchell. She was on a task force relating to the NIC (National Interpreter Certification test)! My teacher for this module, Debbie Peterson, was also on that task force. So I'm definitely getting exposure to people who are extremely knowledgeable. It's amazing to me that they are here as resources for me and I get to spend time with them one-on-one!

Please pray that I will be able to keep up with this pace without getting worn out or sick....I'm quite tired at the moment but it is almost midnight. :P

Yay for the weekend! :)

Thursday was an extremely busy day with lots of internship hours and homework. Friday wasn't much slower....we had class, went grocery shopping, I had my mentor meeting, and then to a deaf event where we played kickball. I sat out the first game because I was so rushed I had to eat on the way to the game. After the food settled, I played the second game on the condition that someone run for me! :) The week (and the heat -- 103 yesterday) had just zapped my energy. It was fun. My runners and I scored 3 of the 12 points and we won! :) The kids (yes, 20 somethings but still kids to me) were great to play with and very understanding of my limits. Sometimes I feel as if they treat me like they would their mom. (I could be mom to most of them!) I posted some more pictures of the game, mall, mountains, etc.

By the time we got back, I got a shower and unwound, it was 1 before I hit the hay. Surprisingly, I slept until 11 this morning!! I couldn't believe it! But I have nothing scheduled over the weekend and my homework load is reasonable. I have also enjoyed the day so far....just goofing off, touching base with a few people, and a little bit of laundry and kitchen clean up. I'm going to try to get some good work done now and then maybe later after it's a little cooler I'll enjoy some time by the pool. I'm looking forward to church tomorrow too.

Monday starts a new module, so I'm not sure what to expect but I think we have classes three days a week and internship two as a general rule. Off to be productive now!

More Rested

So it's been two days but I'm feeling much better. Yesterday was a little bit better and today even more so. I had six hours of internship yesterday and a mentor meeting with one of my two deaf mentors. In reviewing my work, she did have improvements for me to implement but she also had good things to say and overall she felt like it was effective. So that helped a lot. Plus I got to video chat with my family at the beach! It helps to able to see them and hear them!

Then today I met with Cindy Farnham, Master Mentor. She has been interpreting for 20+ years, took special mentor training and opened her own mentoring business. She also helps interpreters prepare for testing, specifically the EIPA. Normally she charges by the hour the same fee she would to freelance but I get her an hour a week all to myself for nothing! :) She has already been a huge encouragement, helping me to see that my skills are where they should be one year out of a program and encouraging me to not put pressure on myself. She will help me figure out WHY I have the ineffective patterns in my work that I do. That's really the only way I can correct them, so I'm excited about that. Our first task is to work on my ASL to English. I've realized that I understand most of what is being signed but for some reason when I'm actually interpreting it, I miss lots of detail. I'm feeling pretty confident that I'll do well on the NIC in September after all of this! But even if I don't pass it now, I still have some time and it will be helpful to take it.

I also got to get out today! All I had was my one hour meeting with Cindy. So I used my bus/light rail pass and found my way downtown to the mall. I enjoyed sushi for lunch, did some shopping, and had frozen yogurt later in the afternoon. It's really HOT here! It's an outdoor mall, so I definitely needed a cool down!

Well, I'm off to a deaf event -- a movie tonight. I think in ASL. So that will be interesting. Thanks for following and for your prayers! I really need them!