Wahoo!

Ok so like was asked if I would be willing to interpret this women's thing all day long last week. So of course I said yes, it was going to be an opportunity to work with other interpreters, in a different setting. When I arrive at the place, it was packed. Apparently there were some famous people coming in to perform and to speak at this thing. Pretty nifty cool. I got to meet some of these people just because I share the stage with them. I even got my picture taken with two of the performers. You'll have to ask to see it when I come back to campus. So bonus, totally awesome experience. Downfall, now I am super exhausted and need to send my stuff in to Julie-journals and logs. Phooey! LOL, but still pretty awesome!

Man! What a day...

So today was supposed to be a regular wednesday. Or so I thought. One agency had an interpreter out sick, called DCS and they said they could use me. So off I went, in the morning to interpret a college class. Then returned to DCS and went with our CDI to interpret a CPS interview. OMG! That was emotionally draining, so I was really glad that I was not the only interpreter there and my team is so good at remaining neutral and calm. Then went back to the office. Another agency had called and needed an interpreter to go out to the hospital. Well it was 4 and all the staff interpreters leave at 4:30 so nobody was willing to go. I was already committed to a job at 6:15, so I told the coordinator that I could go for a bit and at least interpret for an hour before I would have to leave. She is thrilled and sends me on my way. I get to the hospital and is a deaf couple, one is yelling at the nurse, the other is trying to explain the situation and neither is able to communicate what they need to the nurse. So I immediately just begin interpreting, I don't even introduce myself. It was a very quick job, they only needed me for a half an hour. They didn't have medical insurance and wanted to released from the hospital because they couldn't afford to pay the bill. Then they apologized to the nurse and explained that they were just frustrated due to the inability to communicate with her. And I'm off again to my next job. Interpreting a class, and the student was falling asleep. I kept watching my team to see what he was doing when the student fell asleep. He just kept interpreting like normal. It was hard, but I was able to do that. Then I ran out to the grocery store, bought food to make dinner tomorrow. Went home for about 20 minutes then I was off again, to interpret a monthly meeting. This is one of those meetings where people talked over each other, some were teasing each other in the background. One deaf person and I let him and the manager control the conversation. They did, to make it easier on me, but after speaking with my mentor, she said that was the right thing to do. It gives the power to the deaf client instead of me taking it away. Woohoo! I did it right. Now I have just made it home, and I am ready to fall asleep. But I guess this is all in a day's work for an interpreter. My introduction to what my life will be like when I start working. It was really fun, even if it was taxing in some places.

Latest update on Amber and her baby Aiden-

Ok this is just copy and pasted from the bulletin that Janelle (Amber's mom) posted to let everyone know how Amber and Aiden are doing. So some of this information might not pertain to you but instead of going through and picking out the parts that I was going to paste, I decided to be lazy.

Amber was released from EGH today... she has a walker and wheelchair.. it felt like it took FOREVER for them to release her!!!But after a very long drive to South Bend Memorial...Mommy got to hold her babyLemme tell ya... I've been around for a lotta years... and seen a lotta things... and never in my life have I seen anything as.... there are no words... emotional...... touching..... unbelievable..... yeah, none of those words come close....Everyone cried... some of us lost it completely and had to hide in the bathroom with their face buried in their hands sobbing.... even Amber's tough old dad, James... and tough lil brother Nick... were emotional.Nick has been so helpful through this entire ordeal... supportive and helping in any way he can...Baby's daddy, Chris, has been by Amber's side nearly the entire time... He helps her as best as he can and is really there for Amber!Ron and Alyssa have been supportive with keeping me together for the past several days... I dunno what I would have done without them....April, Amber's and my friend... wow... I owe April so much... because of her quick action and taking Amber to the ER... I don't even want to type or say what the doctors say would have happened to both Amber and Aiden... April is amazing anyhow... ok so she's twenty something and acts older than I do most times... but she's been an amazing friend and of all the people around during this.... this.... thing.... she was my rock. She helped me keep it all together when everything was breaking apart around me.James and Crystal, that's Amber's dad and step-mom... they've been amazing through all of this... any animosity was put behind and we focused on Ally and Aiden... the way it should be... they have just been so much help and support for Ally.. I'm very thankful they were there during all of this.. and I know there is no place they'd rather have been either.So I've gotten an lot of texts and such regarding visiting Amber and Aiden...First off, the baby shower is obviously off for a few weeks...But like tonight... we're letting mommy and daddy spend alone time with Aiden.. There can only be two people in with him at a time anyhow... so honestly, Ally does not want visitors at Memorial...Please don't take that wrong... she appreciates your love and support... but she only hours ago... got to see her baby for the first time ever... she needs this time to bond and concentrate on only that... Aiden still has a lil battle ahead of him.. he's winning... but he and mommy need their rest and alone time....Thank you so much for being so understanding... like i said... i know she appreciates those who want to come see her and show their support... but even grandmas and grandpas know when it's best to step back and let their baby girl become a mommy.Thank you for your prayers and love... it's been overwhelming... people from work and friends and church and... people we don't know... wow... just keep praying for Aiden to continue to gain strength.. that's the best gift you can give Amber right now.

Asking for prayers

Hi everyone, I know that this does not directly pertain to my internship but I thought that this is just one way to get more people's attention. My family in Goshen is having some troubles now and I would like to ask everyone to pray for them. Especially their daughter Amber. I know many of you have heard me talk about her. She was pregnant, supposed to be due next month with her first child, and the family's first grandbaby. Today, well yesterday since its now past midnight, she fell on the ice and broke her ankle in three places. At the emergency room they decided she needed to have surgery right away. But she was pregnant so how were they going to anesthize her. They decided on an epidural and when they gave it to her both her and baby started to crash. We almost lost both of them there. The doctors did an emergency c-section and found that the baby's placenta had pulled away and they didn't know how long the baby had been without oxygen. Amber is stable now, but when baby came out they thought he was having seizures. He has been rushed to South Bend where they are going to do brain scans on him. I am not sure what else has happened since I last spoke with my family, but I am worried and upset that I can't be there for them. Please please please pray for Amber and her baby.

Almost halfway through

Things are getting better out here definitely. We found out yesterday that if you're not on the approved list of visitors you can't get into prison. So I guess its a good thing it is not that easy to get into prison. Haha. I had to stay out and wait for my mentor to finish the assignment. Afterwards when we discussed what she did, I was very glad that I didn't get to go inside with her. I was starting to feel very defensive and upset for the deaf client and that would have been bad for me in there. Even 24 hours later, I am still feeling very defensive for the deaf client. I feel like all of their rights to communication have been taken away, and that really bothers me.

Still without my computer. The agency that I am at has told me to bring it in and see if the IT guys can fix it for me. So its here with me today. Hopefully they can, I would love to have it working again.

I am starting to look for places that my car can sit at when I am gone. I don't want to have to pay tons of money to the airport for my car to be there for almost 2 weeks. I was going to ask the family that I am staying with if my car could sit there for that time but I am getting the feeling that I need to get out of there as soon as I can. Maybe I am just misinterpreting what they are saying to me. Who knows? I will try and figure out what they mean when I feel brave enough to ask them to clarify.

So I guess that is all.

Happy Valentine's Day!

To all of you lovebirds out there-happy valentines day! I actually had a pretty good day. I got to see Lynda and Melissa today at the ICRID board meeting. It was great to see them. I really miss everyone on campus. You know you all can call, or write or you know something. But anyways, we all went out to applebees with my mentor and another interpreter. They caught me up on stuff happening back on campus, and let me tell ya, I feel sorry for you all. Ok not really that sorry because you're not out here in our shoes, you're safe on campus. But it does sound like some things are kind of sucking on campus. No worries though, we'll be back on campus in no time.

After lunch, my mentor took me to see a broadway production. You know I think I could get used to some of these interpreting perks. She got two comp tickets to see moving out, because she is interpreting it tomorrow. And she picked me to go. Wahoo! It was really good, and we even got lost downtown. Hehe.

I'm still counting down the days until I get leave this place, but you know its starting to get better. I found that I can ask my mentor to clarify what she means when she says something and also that there are people here who want to see me succeed. I know that I hated my first few weeks here and that will never change. I am also learning to keep my mouth shut about some things. However, life is getting easier for me here.

Tomorrow I will be heading off to church to watch the interpreter and fulfill one more requirement for my independent study. I also get to meet a deaf boy and his family. This is the boy that I am supposed to be babysitting in exchange for me staying here. So we'll see how that goes.

Oh and the great news, I am now a size 16 in pants! Yay! For those of you who knew me when I first came to Goshen, I was wearing a size 22. This is definitely a huge improvement. My total weight loss is 50 pounds! I am still shooting for more and I am not giving up on my goal of fitting into a size 12 for graduation. But I am succeeding! I am very proud of myself, and kickboxing is not kicking my butt anymore, I'm doing better at it and not leaving like I am gonna puke.

Now if only I could finish the socks for my little brother....

Until next time~

Running on auto pilot

So I had the opportunity to work with a different person for a couple of days. And it was a blast, she had so much information and advice and didnt' mind answering any of my questions. I really enjoyed working with her. I get to work with her a couple of more times then my mentor said no more. She won't allow it. She says she needs me and can't spare me. I don't understand her, she has another intern which she is supposed to devote her afternoons to. So doesn't that mean that she could spare me in the afternoons as well? Since it would not be fair for her to have to divide her attention to two people at the same time? Instead of calling Julie, instead of saying anything to my mentor at all I have just decided to keep going, keep on going through the motions. Eventually something will give, right?

I keep telling myself I will get to go home soon. I mean geez, 3 weeks are done and apparently it is getting better for me. I mean I am finally doing hands in the air interpreting, I did get some money coming in so I don't have to worry too much about my bills, I've lost 7 pounds since I've been here, I am starting to make friends, I found a place to do kickboxing and if I ever get bored, there seems to be something I could go and do everyday here. Gotta love the big cities!