WE ALL ARE ORDINARY AND THAT IS GOOD
In her view on narcissism through the vulnerability lens,
Brené Brown sees “the shame-based fear of being ordinary”. She sees “the fear
of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be lovable, to belong,
or to cultivate a sense of purpose.” And then, She writes “This new definition
of narcissism offers clarity and it illuminates both the source of the problem
and possible solutions. I can see exactly how and why more people are wrestling
with how to believe they are enough”[1].
In the class about the role of the interpreter and translator,
I have met people, most of them women who are extraordinary enough. Many of
them already are practicing as interpreters, such as a job, such as a member of
a community that needs help to get public services. Others plan to get
involved in this field as a manner of living, as a source of income.
They belong to the Sudanese, Russian, Syrian, Irakí,
Vietnamese, Kurdish, Brazilian, and Hispanic communities in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Moreover, they expect to qualify themselves to provide the services of
translator in a professional way.
They have learned that ethics is a huge umbrella which is
necessary when this service is provided. That is why it has been necessary to
design a personal code of ethics to practice the role of an interpreter. Under
this umbrella, they already know the importance of issues such as: clarifying in
advance needs from the client, speak as the first person, use appropriate words, be
aware of our cultural perspective and make the message clear to the service
provider.
They have learned also the difference between helping someone,
provide a service as an interpreter, and advocate for someone. They already
understand the limits to be defended in order to be respected by other actors
in the health and justice system.
I would highlight the importance of different knowledge and
skills to keep updating in the practice of interpreter and translator in the
health and care field, according to some passages reviewed in class. First, the
knowledge of the medical context, such as the function of the body, diseases, and medical treatments. Second, the knowledge of the socio-cultural perspective
context of the patient populations such as folk illnesses and remedies. Last,
the improvement of language skills such as fluency, comprehension and
clear pronunciation.
Class: The role of the interpreter. Oct - Dec. 2019.
In fact, in class, we referred to how developed we have some of these
skills because of our origin and personal history. And I am thinking in our
homeland and in our process of migration. At least, every student in this class
has two of these skills. Now I am thinking in the cultural context and the
language. Nevertheless, this does not mean we will not want to update every day
these capacities.
I have started this short essay quoting Brené Brown, maybe,
due to the mirror that my classmates are representing in this period of my
life. Working people who have faced with services providers to get public
rights for their relatives. Or, people who have decided to resume their lives
by this path being an interpreter. People who get out to life to develop their own
lives.
People concerned in their own code of ethics in which
transparency, honesty, respect, flexibility, unbias, good memory, embracing
change, confidence, open mind and self-determination have to be present, as
some of my classmates exposed.
I have quote Brown’s lines, maybe, because every one of us in
the classroom has skills and knowledge that are ready to be put in practice in
this whole field of the interpretation. Maybe, not only in the court nor in
the health service contexts but in other fields such as the literacy one.
This, because I think that we were not aware of the role we
can play in the context of Lincoln with the knowledge of the cultural
perspective until we started this course. For example, this class has opened my
eyes in order to be useful as a go-between position for an organization and a
native Spanish speaker who does not speak the English language.
The match between Brené Brown and the class of the role of
the interpreter and translator has been a reminder of my “extraordinary
ordinariness”, of my sufficiency (from the word enough) and of my proficiency.
The message that I got from these two sources is that, in this new context, having
moved from Bogotá to Lincoln It is time to embrace all I have and put it to the
service to the people who live here. Maybe that is how my narcissism will not
have any sense anymore.
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