Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

Si el río suena, es porque agua lleva

Babel Fish translation:
Donde hay humo hay fuego

Today was the weirdest! This job definitely goes in my top 10.

First of all I was working on a Saturday and that was very unusual. I had to go to applicant attorney’s office for the signing of couple of C&R’s*. The reason for doing them on a Saturday was because these people are now working and cannot come in during the week. And since I’m such a push-over... well, I agreed to do this on a Saturday.

The first lady was taking forever to decide. I interpreted and we reviewed all the documents with her, answered all her questions and she could not decide if she wanted to sign or not. She stepped outside called someone on her cell… then brought her sister in to have everything explained to her… then brought her mother in, explained it all to her also… FOREVER!!! Finally, well over an hour into this, she decided to sign and so we got it done.

The next guy was a piece of cake. I interpreted his documents, everything was explained and his attitude was “Yeah, whatever… where do I sign?” Just then I hear some shouting out in the hallway. “Is anybody in here??!!?? You must leave the building immediately!!” It was the Fire Department. Apparently there was a fire in the building on the first floor. We were up on the third floor and completely unaware.

We ran down the stairwell and when we opened the door leading out to the lobby there was smoke everywhere, but we made it safely out of the building.

A motor in the elevator, or something or other, had a short circuit. The details were very sketchy. The lady that had been taking forever to sign, together with her family, went to try to use the elevator. Since it was taking a such long time they decided to take the stairs instead. When they got to the lobby and saw all the smoke, they tried to call us upstairs to warn us, but the attorney’s people don’t answer the phone on Saturdays. It wasn't safe to go back upstairs, so the "forever lady" went ahead and called the fire department.

Next thing we know, we’re being evacuated.

Thank God, everything turned out ok in the end. Everyone was safe and the fire was put out in time. No major damage, except for the elevator itself.

Plus, I did get that last C&R signed just before we ran out of the building… cool under fire!

Spanglish Word of the Week

Sanblás (verb) “Sir, what other companies did you work for besides this one?” asked the defense attorney. I interpreted: “I worked for the San Blas Company”. The deponent looked at me, shook his head and said “NO, NO, sanblás, sanblás!!”

“Interpreter’s correction…” I sighed “I worked for a sandblasting company”.

Boy, you think I’d learn by now.

*C&R: Compromise and Release. Final settlement documents in a worker's comp case.

Body Language

Expresión corporal

Babel Fish translation:
Lengua de cuerpo

Here are a couple of excerpts from transcripts of depositions I worked on recently.

Q: Sir, did you suffer any other injuries while working for this company?
A: Yes, I cut my finger.
Q: Which finger was that?
A: This one right here.
Q: For the record, the applicant is holding up his right middle finger.
Did you require medical attention for that?
A: Yes, they took me to the doctor and they gave me stitches. Here’s the scar.
Q: When did that happen?
A: About 6 or 7 years ago.
Q: Any other injures besides those?
A: No, that’s all.
Q: Ok sir, you can go ahead and put your finger down now.

(Note: we were all trying not to laugh because of how he was holding up his finger, right up in the defense attorney’s face so that he could see the scar.)



The lady in this case claimed she injured her right arm and therefore could no longer work. She’s being questioned by the defense attorney.

Q: Is there anything that you used to be able to do but that can no longer do because of your injury?
A: Yes, I can’t do this.
Q: You mean put your right arm straight up over your head like you’re doing right now?
A: Yes, I can’t do this.
Q: Again, for the record, you’re talking about raising your right arm straight up clearly above shoulder level like you’re showing us right now. Counsel, would you agree with that description?

(Note: At this point the applicant’s attorney bites down on his pen so hard, I thought for sure he was going to split it in half or break his teeth or something.)

There was another occasion when a lady claimed to have injured her foot and ankle at work. She said to her attorney “It’s still swollen… see… take a look!” as she raises her foot up onto the table to show him. Her attorney was stunned… she was wearing stiletto heels!!
He says to her (and I quote) “What the hell are you wearing??!! I thought you said your foot was hurting you!”
Her answer… “I always wear these when I go out.” (???!!!??).

Amazing... isn't it?

Spanglish Word of the Week

"Chipin" This came from a form that someone filled out at an attorney's office. In the space for "Job Position", the guy wrote "chipin". I can only assume he meant shipping.

Better Late Than Never

Más vale tarde que nunca

Babel Fish translation:
Mejore tarde que nunca

Interpreters and court reporters cannot be late for a deposition. Everyone else can, but court reporters and interpreters… NEVER!

Even though we routinely wait from 30 minutes to 2 hours for attorneys and applicants to show up and it is rare for a deposition to actually start on time.

For example, last Friday morning, a prep interpreter was 15 minutes late for his assignment. The applicant’s attorney basically tore him a new one and told him that if it ever happened again he would stop using that agency.

Even though he was late, I felt terrible for him! He did call the office to inform them that he was stuck in traffic (quite possible considering he was traveling from Inglewood to Canoga Park). And another thing, the attorney that was yelling at him had only arrived 5 minutes before the prep interpreter, so he himself was 10 minutes late! The nerve!

Note: In case you’re wondering what a prep interpreter is... It is very common for there to be two interpreters at a deposition: one for time the attorney uses to prepare his client and another for the actual deposition. The “prep interpreter”, as we call them, is hired by the applicant’s attorney, the “depo interpreter” by the defense. On Friday, I was the depo interpreter.

That same day I had another job at 1:30pm. When I arrived there at 1:25pm, the receptionist informed me that the applicant’s attorney brought his own prep interpreter (Again! Aren’t you glad you now know what that is?). This means that I will have to wait from 30 minutes to an hour for the depo to start. Since I’m pretty familiar with everyone at that particular office, I let the receptionist know that I’m going to go downstairs to the cafeteria in the meantime. She gives me the okay.

So I’m in the cafeteria and about 10 minutes later I get a call from the agency I’m working for. It’s the owner and he’s frantic wanting to know why I’m late for my assignment. I explained that I wasn’t late, but in fact arrived early since I wasn’t needed for the prep. I told him that I had checked in with the receptionist but was told that I wouldn’t be needed for a while. He answered that I should not have left and to return immediately. He seemed pretty upset, so I hurried back upstairs.

When I get there the receptionist apologizes to me about the mix-up, and says they were in fact looking for me to do the prep but that they’ve decided to go ahead and use the prep interpreter instead. So I end up waiting in the reception area for 45 minutes after all. *Sigh*… all in a day’s work, I guess.

Spanglish Word of the Week

"Firiar" (verb). Believe it or not, a lady actually used this to say "feed". "Yo firiaba a los pacientes." I remember cringing everytime she said it. I got the chills just now as I typed it!

You Learn Something New Everyday

Todos los días se aprende algo

Babel Fish Translation:

Usted aprende algo diario nuevo

This post is for the two of you that are not interpreters. You other two can sit this one out if you wish, or if you’re incredibly bored and have nothing better to do, then by all means, join us!

Maybe it’s best if I give you some background on what exactly I do in my line of work. So here we go.

According to the State of California, I am an Administrative Hearing Interpreter. I am to “interpret during state agency hearings for persons lacking sufficient English language proficiency to understand the proceedings”. This includes Social Security, EDD and Worker’s Compensation, to name a few.

I'm an independent contractor and I work for several interpreting agencies. The majority of the assignments I get have to do with Worker’s Comp, and mostly depositions at that.
And now (oh joy!) a brief overview of Worker’s Comp depositions (this will make things easier for future posts, trust me).

When a person files a Worker’s Comp case in this state, it’s very common for a deposition to be taken as part of the discovery process. It’s simply a question and answer session that the defense uses to investigate a claim. The minimum amount of participants in the type of depos that I do is 5:

The applicant (AKA the injured worker)
The applicant's attorney (attorney for the injured worker)
The defense (generally the attorney representing the employer’s insurance company)
The court reporter (officer of the court that will take down everything that is said and that will administer the oath)
The interpreter (me)

Sometimes a representative for the employer will also be present. Now that we have that out of the way, aren’t you glad you learned something new (and boring!) today?

Spanglish Word of the Week

"Paleta" (noun). No, I don't mean popsicle or that round thing with a hole that artists use for their paints. People often use this word to mean pallet (the wooden kind), as in “Descargué la paleta”. I've even had someone use the term "carrito de las paletas" to mean pallet jack. Yikes!

Here's some yummy "paleta" info.

Well Begun is Half Done

Obra empezada, medio acabada

Babel Fish translation:
El pozo comenzado se hace a medias

(Babel Fish just cracks me up!!)

In this blog I will be sharing some of the day to day experiences I've had as an interpreter, as well as my thoughts, frustrations and challenges... all seasoned with a little bit of humor. My idea is for this to be fun and learn something in the process.

But please bear with me, as this is a work in progress. Suggestions and comments are appreciated!

I've selected the name of Doña Marina, since this was the name given to "La Malinche", the infamous interpreter. I find this woman's life quite fascinating, so her story seems like a good place to start. Make sure to click on the Spanish version of this story as well, it's an excellent translation.

Now here's a woman who interpreted for Hernán Cortés during the Spanish conquest of México. Wow! Talk about a tough gig!

Spanglish Word of the Week

"Serapeador" (noun). A man said this was his job position. He was a set-up person. He'd set-up tables, chairs, etc. for events at a hotel. "Yo era serapeador." He also used it as a verb, "Yo serapeaba las mesas."