Benefit of blogging

After a series of conversations with several ITP students and novice interpreters, I had the idea to start a blog to share what I have learned during my early years as an interpreter and what I wish I knew "then."

Although I hope that the blog has not lost its originally purpose, it has evolved during the last year.  This blog has provided two unexpected benefits for me.  First, it has provided an outlet for me to process externally as well as express my perspective on the current events in the field.  Secondly, the blog is providing a record of my professional development and encouraging me to continue analysis after leaving the workshop.   Instead of sitting through a workshop and leaving all the new-found knowledge at the door, I can bring it home with me and continue my learning.  As a result, what I have learned is retained better.

In addition to preparing for the 2011 RID National Conference in Atlanta, I also spent time this past week organizing my home office.  As I sorted through papers and re-organized binders, I realized how much I have learned and how much I have forgotten from past workshops and conferences.  Reviewing the conference schedule emphasized how much more I will be able to learn.  Hopefully, by blogging from the conference every day, I can create a resource for myself for the years to come.

Ready or not...

It's hard to believe how quickly June has flown by!  In a couple of weeks, I will be heading to the RID National Conference and I can't help but feel like the conference has sneaked up on me.  I booked my hotel room last fall, registered early bird in December, and bought my plane ticket in April, requested a mini-fridge for my room last week, but I still can't believe that I will be heading down to Atlanta in a couple of weeks.

Last week, a friend of mine posted a link on Facebook for his "RID Conference" Google calendar.  Today, I spoke with another colleague, who likewise is starting to plan out her week.

Granted there are always last minute changes, but I started to go through the workshop schedule and map out my week as well.  I am not known to be a planner, but I am very excited about the conference and several of the workshops.  Choosing a workshop can be a tough decision, especially when there are multiple workshops in the same time slot that you want to attend.  While I do have a strong interest in tri-lingual interpreting (note: that use of "tri-lingual" to describe ASL/Spanish interpreting is being debated, but this is the term used to categorize the workshops), there are other workshop that are more applicable to my current work.

Case in point- on Monday afternoon, I am undecided between attending "Independent Contractor or Employees? Worker Classification Best Practices" or "Spanish 101 & the Trilingual Interpreter."  While I do interpret Spanish classes occasionally and would like to strengthen this skill (I minored in Spanish, but don't use it nearly as often as I should), as a freelance interpreter the former workshop would be valuable as well.

Similarly, I would like to attend the second business meeting on Thursday morning, however it conflicts with "Revisiting Brasel (1976): Should we switch every twenty minutes?," which was one of the first workshops that grabbed my attention when the initial workshop list was released.  As of late, I have been very interested in the dynamics of team interpreting; more specifically, I am curious about this "magic rule" of twenty minutes and how interpreters can team more effectively.  I do think it is important to take an active role in the organization by attending business meetings and voting, but unfortunately business meetings can be long, tedious, and, at times, unproductive.  At this point I am planning on attending the Wednesday morning session and playing Thursday by ear.  Depending on the pace of the proceedings, I may go into the business meeting on Thursday morning after the "Revisiting Brasel..." workshop or I may elect "Re-examining the concept of role in interpreted interactions."

My tentative schedule for the conference:

Monday, July 18, 2011

Arrive in Atlanta

11 am-12:30 pm: Workshop: The State of Trilingual Interpreting: Understanding the Work, Mobilization, and Leadership

2-3:30 pm: Professional Discussion: Independent Contractor or Employees? Worker Classification Best Practices

OR

12:30-3:30 pm: Workshop: Spanish 101 & the Trilingual Interpreter

OR 

12:30-3:30 pm: EDM Circles- A Process for Exploring the Ethical Decision Making for Interpreters

4-6 pm: Opening Ceremony

8-10 pm: Opening Reception

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

8-10 am: Workshop: Trilingual Interpreting- Best Practices

OR

8:30-10:30 am: Get in the GAP! Part 1-Townhall & Licensure Panel

10:30-1:30 pm: Hispanic/Latino Competency vs. Spanish Language Competency (undecided)

1:30-3:30 pm: Get in the GAP! Part 2- VRS Working Conditions & Educational Interpreting Standards

4-6 pm: NIC forum

8:15-10:15 pm: Region II Caucus

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

8-12 pm: Business Meeting 1

1-2:30 pm: Professional Discussion: Interpreter Licensure- A Case Study of Michigan

3-5 pm: Board of Directors Forum: Social Media & Code of Professional Conduct

OR

3-6 pm: Relational Autonomy & Decision Latitude of ASL-English Interpreters

6:30-9:30 pm: Challenges in the ESOL Classroom: Interpreting for International Students

Thursday, July 21, 2011

8-12 pm: Business Meeting 2

OR

8:30-10 am: Revisiting Brasel (1976): Should we switch every twenty minutes?

10:30-12 pm: Professional discussion: Re-examining the concept of role in interpreted interactions

2-7:30 pm: Sign Language Etymology

8-9:30 pm: Garbage In = Garbage Out: The Importance of Source Text Selection in Assessment (undecided- sounds like a great workshop, but Thursday is a long day!)

Friday, July 22, 2011

8:30-10:30 am: Board of Directors Forum: Is RID a Certifying body or professional membership organization?

1-2:30 pm: The New Face of Post-Secondary Interpreting

Return home

I am immensely looking forward to networking, catching up with friends, engaging in professional development, and receiving updates about our profession.

One more highlight?  I will receive my five-year membership pin!

Safe and happy travels!  See you in Atlanta!

Follow the conference on Twitter:  @RID_Inc.       #RID2011

Follow my adventures on Twitter:  @ajkterp