The hot seat! 4 REAL

This has to be one of the most challenging associate degree progams there is. About the time you think you have conquered one aspect or part of your fear something else comes along to knock you down. I feel like a bowling pin & April keeps getting strikes! LOL! The baseball assignment took a lot out of us, we all struggled w it & gave it a lot of effort & time. Then to have fusion cooking in the same week, turkey is my favorite & I may never eat it again. To add insult to injury we get to voice for the first time. You would think that we would know this piece inside & out, but you get in front of that video camera & your brain goes on overload & he could be signing in Korean for all I know. Then to just bring it all full circle Miss Ruby volunteers us all to interpret for real. The look on all of our faces, I have never seen a room turn pale. It isn't just our skill level, it is knowing that we represent Ruby & April as students. There is also the fact that Ruby gets perverse pleasure out of watching us sweat. I know she wants us to get better & there is only one way to do it, you have to DO IT. We have been confronted w & made our way through a lot this week.
We all have our personal struggles as well, illness in our families, send out positive thoughts. Trying to be a good friend, but feeling like you are getting a little taken advantage of & having chaos in your home. For me, I get to go home & pack up my posessions & leave my keys on the coffee table of what I thought was my home. I will drive away from the only life that I have ever known & security. I am trying to look @ it as a new beginning, not an ending. I have had the whole world open up to me. Just time to get some closure on a 14 year chapter of my life.
Happy Freakin' Fusion Cookin' Turkey Day!

Wow, woke up & realized we are almost @ the end of the semester. Damn, where did the time go? Time flies when you are struggling & working your butt off. I had a break through w the the pieces we are working on. Katie & I signed to each other it seemed to make all the difference to me. I did not feel the anxiety, Katie had a look of encouragment on her face. I hope my grade on this piece reflects the decreased anxiety & that I get to see some progress. The most difficult part of this program is the battles w yourself. It is getting past doing something wrong vs doing something, you can always fix it later there are no second takes in this interpreting world. How many people work in a world where you get it right the first time or.....we were joking that we would be calling clients back 3 days later & saying, OH I SEE NOW, I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS! That can't happen. April said something that really struck me this week. Learning sign language & interpreting are two different things....I had never really thought about it, it seemed like the next logical step in the sequence of events. It is not.
We had an intense day yesterday, it does not bother me to recieve constructive criticism, if I am given the tools to improve I will give it my best. I have to admit it is weird to "hear" it this year. Last year you just felt it Ruby has a look that could melt the north pole.
Life is wild & wooly, but my outlook is better. I found someone who can tutor me and teach me to speak some Thai. Asian languages are a challenge, but so was sign language. We will see what happens but everything that I have learned here I will be able to apply as I move on and take this crazy step in life. I would not trade this experience for anything.
K

Real World 101

Some of us will be graduating this May, some of us will be finishing other degrees, for all of us there will be change. I am contemplating a major life transition & it really has me in a tailspin. I thought I would be in Baltimore working @ an intepreting job & living in the city. NOPE!
I am looking forward to finishing up my BOR, I like the variety of classes that it affords me. I will get a certification this summer that will allow me to teach English abroad. Hopefully, I will be able to use my sign skills there as well. I am at the research phase. I have a loose time frame set up & a direction, I am not calling it a plan yet.
For me life is about experiences, not money, people not material things. I am single & young enough that I feel I would regret not taking an opportunity to live in another culture. I love Deaf culture but do not want to be immersed in it exlusively, why not many cultures, meet many Deaf people?!
I think that ALL of the things that I have learned from Ruby & April I would be able to apply if I decide to move to Thailand. One thing I have learned is that after a year w Ruby & April you have no FEAR! You could stand me in front of a class naked & I would be able to sign something, it might be wrong, but I would TRY! The most important lesson I have learned throughout this whole experience, IF you can do nothing else try, think, put fourth some effort....I have no fear being in front of people now.
I feel like I really struggle w interpreting, it isn't something that comes natural to me. But, I will try because I feel that you learn more from this than interpreting a message. There are a lot of life lessons here. Things that you will need down the road, no matter what you do. This has been a positive, if challenging experience that I wouldn't trade for diamonds. K