Bridging the Gap

Since January 26, I have been taking classes on Saturdays to become a Certified Medical Interpreter. Which has been an amazing and gratifying experiment, getting to meet and socialize with my classmates. We are all from different countries as well as having different career paths. Melida from Colombia, Allam, Deisy and I from Mexico, Ana from El Salvador, Ericka from Venezuela, and Melinda & Alberto from Guatemala, finally our professor Don Ernesto from Peru. They have become my friends as well as those who I work with when I volunteer at the hospital.

Anyway, I have learned so much that has helped me to become a better interpreter, however, this program is only to get certified as a Medical Interpreter, there are pointers that are great in any setting at all. Which has helped me when I am interpreting for my mom in the educational field. Not only do I learn more and more every time,which helps me interpreter better as a person.

My last class was two Saturdays ago, which was really sad because we were all going to go our separate ways, however, we met again last Saturday since it was our exam day. On Friday, I was so preoccupied with other homework, that I didn't even get to study. Which was really freaking me out, however, I decided that I was going to put it in the Holy Father's Hand and have it be his way. I knew that I was going to do really well in the first 20 lessons, which were basic rules and guidelines to follow. Nevertheless, I knew that I was going to have the hardest time on the Medical terminology, (I know right, me being a medical interpreter already, I should know all the medical terminology! Well that is so not true, I still have a hard time trying to interpreter some words).Anyway I still was not able to study.

Saturday I woke up early, and took a shower, however, by the time I was ready it was already 8:35 and it usually takes 20-35 minutes to get to the hospital, anyways it was our exam day, and we had decided to have a potluck celebration for having completed the 40-hour course as well as for getting to meet and know every single one of the classmates. 

The potluck celebration was really fun and very entertaining, the food was all very delicious, and I was grateful to have met Ana's husband, as well as Ericka's husband and their dog Tito. 

Then yesterday I received an email from our professor where it told us if we had passed or not. We had to receive a 70% or better. There were 50 questions and we could miss up to 15 to be able to pass. So after I was done I went back over all my answers, where I noticed that there were many questions where I kept second-guessing myself. Anyway, my final result was that I got a 96% I was really proud of myself and very accomplished because I was so worried that I had not passed.

Anyway, that now means that I can apply to work as a Medical Interpreter, because I passed the certification test, to be certified. :)

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day isn't only about love and your other half, but also its about friendships and all those people who enter your life for one reason or another. Remember to always thank those around you. I had a really quiet and uneventful Valentine's. I spent it at the University of Utah Hospital all morning interpreting and spending it with my hospital buddies. They are my family away from family since I spend most of my time there. Our supervisor bought us Einstein Bagels as a thank you for all of  our hard work and dedication. Also  one of my Valentine's gift was finding out that I could apply to be a part-time interpreter for Customer Service area of the hospital, in one month which means that I will be able to help my family with all of our financial problems that we have been having. Anyway I also got to spend it with my family which I adore and love with all my heart even though we may fight and get on each other nerves, I know that they will always be there for me in the time of need and happiness. :) Lately I have noticed that I have friends that care about me and would do anything to see me happy.


Anyway, my Valentine's Day was fun and had nothing to do with love.



Until next time, hopefully I will post the second part of my family vacation.

Lately

           


             I have been focusing on school, especially my introduction to international business, I am really enjoying this class, I am so glad that I decided to change my major, because I feel more comfortable with this major than I did with my business major. I am loving the project we have to do, where we have to produce a product and plan how we are going to advertise it and do business in a foreign country that is not the U.S. which I find like a great way put into action everything that we are learning in class.

             Since a week ago I've had a really painful toothache that just won't go away at all. And its getting in my way of focusing on schoolwork and even my volunteer job at the hospital. Anyway, I have done every home remedy known to mankind, I even got advice from my aunts. I tried vinegar with hot water, salt with hot water, numbing medicine from the store and even rubbing alcohol. They have helped for a while but then the pain comes back. During the day it is a bearable pain, because there is no pressure on that side of my mouth, however, in the night that is when it gets more painful because I put all of my pressure on that side of my mouth and so when I wake up it hurts like no other.


             On a much more happier note my grandma is finally home with her family. She arrived on Sunday morning at 6 am. It was a very exciting and exhilarating feeling because for one part I was really happy to see her and on another part I was still mad at her for everything she had done to my family, and all of her bad karma. But, now I know that she wasn't completely sane when she said all of what she said since she is suffering from Alzheimer disease.

              I have finally received my social security  card, which means that I will be able to finally work, and bring in some income to our house since we are in a very big financial crisis. Hopefully I will be able to work at the University of Utah hospital as an interpreter since that is what I really want to do right now while I am going to school and focusing on my major.  With that in mind and since we are on the topic, I have finally decided exactly what to do with my double major of International Studies and Spanish. I am going to receive my bachelors degree from the U and then hopefully I will be able to transfer to the Monterrey School of International Studies in Monterrey California to receive my Masters of Arts in Conference interpreting. Which is what they use at the UN when there are meetings. I would also like to either improve my French or even Chinese, so that I can be fluent in a few other languages beside English and Spanish.



Anyway there is my life lately, I will try to blog more often and maybe add pictures next time from our family trip to California during Christmas, and even finish the 2nd part of our family trip to California. :)

Family Vacation Part I

Finally posting about our family vacation to California over Christmas and New Years.  :)

In my last post I stated that we were not going to go to California. Well in the evening, that same day that I posted the previous post. My dad called telling us to get ready because we were leaving already. Well, we did get ready we even talked to our neighbors the Doherty's to see if they could house sit while we were gone. They gladly said yes and we thanked them and we were on our way. We left at 5:30 pm, we stopped to fill up the gas tank. Right as we passed Provo my dad called my two uncles (his brothers) to notify them that we were leaving for California and that we would see each other in a week. They had suggested that we leave on Monday the 24th instead, but we said that we would sleep over at my aunt's house in Cedar City. It was nice seeing them after so long and even meeting our cousin-in-law. We slept and then woke up at 4:00 AM (MST), we were able to say goodbye to my aunt and we were able to thank her for her hospitality. We finally left and then we passed Las Vegas in the early morning and it was still lit, then we left and arrived in California where there was a rainbow that kept following us for quite a while. Then we entered into the San Bernandino Area, where it was extremely foggy, you couldn't see the car beside you, everyone had to follow a cop car that was leading the way.

Finally we made it into Fullerton which is where my family all lives. We went from one house to another trying to find them, however, we were lost and so we finally decided to call them because we sucked at trying to surprise them. After we finally talked to my aunt we headed over to her house in Long Beach, and we visited her for a while then we met her husband, their kids, which was fun. We ate chivo, nopalitos (cactus). And we just chatted about everything and anything. Anyways have way through the day we decided to go visit our great-aunt who was visiting from Mexico and she was at my uncles house (who I had never met before until Christmas Eve) he lives in Moreno Valley in really small apartment where he has to rent to his brother-in-law. We arrived just in time to help them prepare the Christmas Eve dinner which was tamales nejos with mole verde and rojo.

Very delicious. I saw more aunts that I hadn't seen in a long time, as well as I missed seeing my cousin and my other aunt that I would always Skype with while she was still in Mexico. All because I was tired that night and went to sleep extremely early for a Christmas Eve party. Anyway, even though I didn't get to see them in person I know that this year will be different and we will see each other more often whether its us taking trips to California or them taking trips out here to Utah. (Interesting fact about Christmas Eve, was that I slept for the first time since forever, inside the car because inside the house there was no more room no matter how much reorganization they would do.) Even though we did not receive any presents I feel that our trip to California was not only a present to our family from our parents but it was our present to all of our family in California, for them to meet us and get to know us as well.

On Christmas Day, we woke up early and were talking with my uncle to see what our plans were for that day, when my uncle from Corona texted us to see if we were going to go visit them so we said yes, however, my uncle had other plans first, to eat and then to go. Which we did we ate with carnitas and cueros and buche. Which was all delicious and finally for dessert we had traditional homemade Mexican candy brought all the way from my home state of Guerrero by my great aunt. IT was really delicious and a great way for my parents to think of their olden days. Finally, it was time to leave for Corona.


To be continued to another post so that it is not to long!