Sorry about the long absence- I've been busy, boring, and blogless for a while. I do have some good news- I accepted a new job this morning! I don't think I'll want to talk too much about the job here on the blog to avoid sharing too much info, but starting something new is always exciting!
In the past month, I've been dealing with endless process of getting my (approved!) thesis turned in. I've also written more than 2 dozen different cover letters for different jobs, met with potential employers for "informational interviews", and gone on a translating trip.
I went with Timmy Global Health on a volunteer trip into the province of Napo (jungle area) to help translate for the doctors who came along on the trip. It was an enjoyable, rewarding trip- I visited rural communities that I'd never be able to visit on my own, I learned some things about medicine, met new people and made new friends, and learned a lot about Timmy's work in Ecuador.
Translating was also more fun than I thought. I frequently felt very lucky to be able to communicate easily with everyone around us- hotel/restaurant staff, patients, local community organizers at the sites- which was a weird feeling. I'm proud of my abilities to communicate in Spanish, and I really enjoy being able to communicate with the people that I interact with. At the same time, it made me wary of traveling to a new place where I don't speak the language. How much will I miss out on? How many of the fascinating cultural differences will be lost on me? I'll feel even more like the Other in my travels- what will that be like? I haven't travelled to a non-English or Spanish speaking country in years- probably not since we traveled around Europe when I was nine (when I wasn't in a place to speak any language other than English). I would definitely like to travel outside of my language comfort zone, but there are lots of things to think about. Feeling so content about my Spanish language skills also makes me feel as if I'm making myself superior to others- there is nothing wrong with not speaking the local language, and I shouldn't feel so great about being able to do it. There were plenty of conflicting feelings about interpreting...
Despite these weird feelings, I'm going on another interpreting trip on Monday. Betty, a photographer from Heifer International, is coming to Ecuador as part of her 12 countries in 12 months blogging project (check it out here: http://heifer12x12.com) and I'll be accompanying her in her last country stop here in Ecuador as a translator. Despite conflicting ideas about my ego and role in translating, I only feel excitement about getting to travel around! We're going to visit cities and projects that are all new to me, which is always really cool. Working as a traveling interpreter definitely seems like one of the most interesting ways (on a personal, selfish level) to do translating work!
I'll try to take more photos on this trip! I took exactly zero photos on my trip through Napo with Timmy, so I'll try to do a better job with the documentation this time! (although you can always see Betty's photos on her blog!)
Lots of love and hugs being sent home....
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