Marching in Her Own Parade
I passed my final! I am awesome! I handled part of the scenario in a way nobody out of my whole class has so far, but in a good way! WORSHIP ME.
The scene we had to interpret was very different than what I had been expecting; an appointment with a doctor. Instead it was a woman who spoke no English who was told her husband was in an accident and she needed to go to the ER from work. Turns out the husband got hit by a truck while crossing against a red light and died. However, his organs are still viable and the woman must decide whether or not to sign a consent form for organ donation which the doctor would really like to happen. However the woman is understandably very shocked and tearful and her main concern his seeing her husband's body, contacting his family to start the funeral arrangements, and just trying to cope with the sudden news. One of the roles of the healthcare interpreter is that of the advocate, and another is the cultural broker, and boy howdy was there a lot of that going on.
I have something of a mothering personality so of course I sat down in the "waiting room" close to her, and put a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her while I was doing my thing. First a social worker came to break the news and asked me to sight-translate a consent form for the organ donation. Then she told me she needed to leave for her break and that she's diabetic so she needs food urgently (patient confidentiality). I ended up asking the woman gently if she wanted me to inform her about organ donation and listened to when she got emotional. Then the doctor came, said a couple things that could be construed as stereotyping that I politely called her on, and then we went back to the subject of organ donation. Apparently I was the only one to ask the doctor to explain what organ donation was and how it worked because that might help the woman decide whether or not to do it. That led to assuring her that nobody would notice, that she had the right to decide, and the social worker would do her best to figure out how to transport the body back to Mexico.
According to Nora, I was a "delight". She and Carmen both loved how I stood up for the woman (played by Carmen) when she wanted to see the body, how I could comfort and ground her while keeping my professional distance, and just basically making her feel like I was there for her and really listening. Also, they loved me asking for a description of organ donation and the way I handled not outright recommending it, but by encouraging the doctor to get excited about it and explaining that in a way the husband goes on living by giving life to others. Basically the only problem was my language, specifically grammar, and I agreed that I've been working on it but it's not an overnight process. I also omit and sometimes it's because I lose my rhythm while trying to think of how to interpret something, but I always do my best to get the message across. In other words, I have amazing coping skills for my linguistic shortcomings.
By the time I got back to Berkeley it was about 8:30. I had a nice chat with an Italian tourist on BART about how awesome the Bay Area is, Obama vs. Bush and the mess with Berlusconi, and our jobs. (He's an IT consultant.) I wish I had gotten his email or something, but the way these things work we'd never contact each other again anyway. Oh well.
Afterwards, when I got to my car, things happened and words without malice were said. My fear of the future has mostly gone down the drain for the time being and that makes me feel good. I don't know if I've lost my boyfriend or not and I may not know for a long time, but I at least have my friend back and right now that means more to me than anything else. (Well, besides passing my final. I think that really means more to me but more in a practical than emotional way. Although... Nah, this post is already long enough!) He knows I'll stand by him through anything, even if it isn't with the same intimacy as before, and he's showing me that he wants to continue doing the same for me, just like my other friends.
Friendship is awesome.
The scene we had to interpret was very different than what I had been expecting; an appointment with a doctor. Instead it was a woman who spoke no English who was told her husband was in an accident and she needed to go to the ER from work. Turns out the husband got hit by a truck while crossing against a red light and died. However, his organs are still viable and the woman must decide whether or not to sign a consent form for organ donation which the doctor would really like to happen. However the woman is understandably very shocked and tearful and her main concern his seeing her husband's body, contacting his family to start the funeral arrangements, and just trying to cope with the sudden news. One of the roles of the healthcare interpreter is that of the advocate, and another is the cultural broker, and boy howdy was there a lot of that going on.
I have something of a mothering personality so of course I sat down in the "waiting room" close to her, and put a hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her while I was doing my thing. First a social worker came to break the news and asked me to sight-translate a consent form for the organ donation. Then she told me she needed to leave for her break and that she's diabetic so she needs food urgently (patient confidentiality). I ended up asking the woman gently if she wanted me to inform her about organ donation and listened to when she got emotional. Then the doctor came, said a couple things that could be construed as stereotyping that I politely called her on, and then we went back to the subject of organ donation. Apparently I was the only one to ask the doctor to explain what organ donation was and how it worked because that might help the woman decide whether or not to do it. That led to assuring her that nobody would notice, that she had the right to decide, and the social worker would do her best to figure out how to transport the body back to Mexico.
According to Nora, I was a "delight". She and Carmen both loved how I stood up for the woman (played by Carmen) when she wanted to see the body, how I could comfort and ground her while keeping my professional distance, and just basically making her feel like I was there for her and really listening. Also, they loved me asking for a description of organ donation and the way I handled not outright recommending it, but by encouraging the doctor to get excited about it and explaining that in a way the husband goes on living by giving life to others. Basically the only problem was my language, specifically grammar, and I agreed that I've been working on it but it's not an overnight process. I also omit and sometimes it's because I lose my rhythm while trying to think of how to interpret something, but I always do my best to get the message across. In other words, I have amazing coping skills for my linguistic shortcomings.
By the time I got back to Berkeley it was about 8:30. I had a nice chat with an Italian tourist on BART about how awesome the Bay Area is, Obama vs. Bush and the mess with Berlusconi, and our jobs. (He's an IT consultant.) I wish I had gotten his email or something, but the way these things work we'd never contact each other again anyway. Oh well.
Afterwards, when I got to my car, things happened and words without malice were said. My fear of the future has mostly gone down the drain for the time being and that makes me feel good. I don't know if I've lost my boyfriend or not and I may not know for a long time, but I at least have my friend back and right now that means more to me than anything else. (Well, besides passing my final. I think that really means more to me but more in a practical than emotional way. Although... Nah, this post is already long enough!) He knows I'll stand by him through anything, even if it isn't with the same intimacy as before, and he's showing me that he wants to continue doing the same for me, just like my other friends.
Friendship is awesome.