Trick or treat and America’s own monsters.

Dear colleagues:

Every year the Halloween season reaches more countries, adapts to its people, and becomes part of their culture. In the United States, a country where the decorations of our homes for this event are only second to Christmas, the main activity is called “trick or treating.” Americans decorate their homes with fake spider webs, plastic monsters, and Jack-O’-Lanterns. That evening in every city and town in the United States children of all ages dressed as scary creatures, fantastic heroes, and beautiful princesses, go door to door asking the same question: “trick or treat?” The adults answering the door respond by giving away candy to the little monsters.

Much of the American Halloween comes from old English and Irish traditions. Much is one hundred percent American. Something is American (as from the United States) when it comes from somewhere else, it is accepted, it is assimilated, and then it is molded to the American taste and culture. That is exactly what happened to our very own Halloween. Let’s take the term Jack-O’-Lantern for example: It comes from East Anglia’s “foolish fire” known as “will-o’-the-wisp” or “Will-of-the-torch.” Will was replaced by Jack and it became “Jack of the lantern.” “Trick or treating” comes from the old country’s “guising.” Back in Great Britain and Ireland during All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, children and the poor would go “souling”: Singing and paying for the dead in exchange for cakes.

Since the 1950s on October 31 American kids go trick or treating from around 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm. This tradition has been exported to some countries. Kids in Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland also “trick or treat.” Kids in many parts of Mexico ask for their “calaverita.”

The Halloween tradition in the United States includes costumes of some very American creatures whose job is to scare our kids all year long. Of course, universal monsters also show their face on Halloween. Although Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the wolf man and the mummy are popular characters, we have our home-grown, and sometimes home-adopted, favorites. These are some of our monsters:

The ghoul: A folkloric monster or spirit that roams in graveyards and eats human flesh.

The boogeyman: A mythical creature with no specific aspect that was created by adults to frighten children.

Matchemonedo: An invisible bear-god that congeals the plasma of those who are unlucky enough to run into this beast in downtown Chicago where it lives.

The headless horseman of Sleepy Hollow: the ghost of a Hessian trooper whose head was shot off by a cannonball during the American War of Independence. A creation of Washington Irving, this creature rides tirelessly in search of his head.

Michael Myers: A hellish creature created by filmmaker John Carpenter. As a child, Michael killed his older sister and now every Halloween he returns home to murder more teenagers.

El cucuy: A mythical ghost-monster from Hispanic heritage that hides in closets and under beds and eats children that misbehave or refuse to go to bed when they are told to do so.

The creature from the Black Lagoon: An American amphibious humanoid that lives in a lagoon of the Amazon Jungle where time has stopped. He preys on pretty young woman who dare to swim in his pond.

La llorona: A Mexican legend of a weeping female specter trapped in between the living world and the spirit world that ceaselessly looks for the children that she drowned. She takes those kids who resemble her dead children and those who disobey their parents. La llorona is now a very well known creature and her tale is shared with all kids in the United States’ southwest.

These are some of the most popular characters who will undoubtedly show up on your driveway on Halloween asking for some candy. I now invite you to have some fun and tell us about your favorite Halloween creatures from the United States or anywhere else in the world… unless you are afraid to do so…

Dealing with certain kind of difficult interpreters on a professional level.

Dear colleagues:

This time I am going to refer to a problem that many of us have encountered during our careers: The individual who is also an interpreter and he or she is difficult to deal with at the professional level, not when we go out and socialize, but when we are doing our job. I am not talking about the lazy interpreter, the self-centered know-it-all interpreter, the bad interpreter, or even the vulgar disrespectful interpreter. My colleagues, this time I want to discuss a situation where a colleague gets an assignment, job, or promotion and has a personality change.

We all know colleagues who have made career changes or have received a promotion; that is great if that is what they wanted to accomplish and I think we would all agree that this makes us happy for that person. In fact, many of these changes have benefited the profession at large because these colleagues are now using their new position or status to improve the quality of the service and the working conditions for all of us. They recognize that one of the reasons for their hiring or promotion was the fact that they have been interpreters in the past: they have walked the walk. These changes have contributed significantly to the advance of our profession. Unfortunately, not everybody reacts the same way.

Some time ago I was in an interpreter social gathering with many old and new friends. As it often happens, some colleagues began to talk shop and it was not long before quite a few of them were talking about an interpreter who had recently been hired or promoted (I did not get all the details) to a position that now rendered this individual as the one with the power to hire interpreters for assignments; This person was now in charge of assigning interpreters, negotiating pay and other labor conditions, and setting protocol and procedure for those who wanted to work with that organization. Apparently, this person had been another freelancer until recently and had been a good colleague, maybe not the best interpreter, but certainly a very reliable one. The person was well-liked by the professional community, so the hiring (or promotion) was received warmly by the other interpreters. It all seemed to indicate that this was going to be an excellent choice for everybody; one of those changes that I was referring to at the beginning of this piece. Unfortunately, it did not happen that way.

Apparently, the freelance interpreters saw many changes once this person was hired and became part of the company’s staff. They all received innumerable emails with memos that were setting rules and policies for everything imaginable: How to report the status of an assignment (right in the middle of the event!) how to get paid, how to invoice, how to write a cover letter, how to dress for work, and many others. These interpreters were not happy. Remember: They were no rookies; most of them were practicing their profession way before this newly hired individual decided to become an interpreter, and they were doing a good job; there were no complaints.

When some of them questioned the newly hired “supervisor” on these changes, the person responded by saying that these changes to the system would help the company’s clerical staff as they would make it easier for them to understand what the interpreters were doing. He never even addressed the fact that this would require of more of the freelancers’ time because they were being asked to do part of the employees’ work for the same fee. Everyone knows that to a freelancer time is equal to money.

According to this policy, they now had to do extra work for the same pay. In other words, by implementing all these bureaucratic rules and policies, the first thing this person did in the new job was to give the interpreters a pay cut. This reminded me of the time when, for a brief period of time, I was part of the system and the first thing I was told was that from that moment on I was a corporate entity and all my decisions and actions should be geared to protect the employer, regardless of what happened to the interpreters. I was told that it was us against them. Needless to say, under that philosophy, I barely lasted a blink of an eye at that job.

After listening to this heartbreaking story, I told the interpreters at the social gathering to diversify even more, to try to work for that individual as little as possible, to reject the bureaucratic memos, to continue to provide a quality professional service, and to keep in mind that although time is money for the freelancer, the rule does not apply to those like this person who will make the same paycheck regardless of how they spend their time. I mentioned that even though this person may be socially friendly and nice to them, they must remember that somewhere deep inside, these individuals are always aware of their professional limitations, and consider that promotions, like the one the individual got in this case, are the zenith of their career; I reminded them that even when we don’t see their job that way, they do, and they will defend their newly acquired status with everything they have. I told them that this strategy of versatility and widening our scope of practice is exactly what I have been doing throughout my career. Eventually, we should always use these nonsensical circumstances as motivation to grow as professionals and look for newer and better professional opportunities. I now ask you to share your personal experience with individuals in similar circumstances to the ones described in this post, and to tell us what you did to either adjust and cope with the circumstances, or to get out of this situation.

State court interpreter certifications could turn meaningless.

Dear Colleagues:

A couple of weeks ago I received an email that concerns me enormously. I am sure that many of you who are based in the United States have received similar emails from state-level judicial agencies. In my case, I got an electronic communication from the Administrative Office of the Courts of one of the fifty states in the U.S. (not the federal government) this was one of those global emails that are sent out to everybody on a master list. Basically, the message was that the National Center for State Courts in the United States (NCSC), apparently in coordination with (at least) some states, is planning to offer remote telephonic interpreting across state lines, and for that purpose, the states (and I assume the NCSC as well) are compiling lists of state-level certified court interpreters who may want to be part of the interpreter pool that will be used to interpret court hearings from a different state. Although I hope the message’s meaning was different, this is what I understood. The email is written in such a way that, to the reader, this idea looks good and beneficial for everyone: the interpreters, because they will have more work (although I would guess that the fees offered by the state governments will not be anything to brag about) the states with underserved populations due to the lack of interpreters, because they will get somebody who has been certified somewhere by a state-level judiciary, and the foreign language speaker, as they will have the services of a professional interpreter instead of a family member or a paraprofessional.

Does it sound good to you? Well, if I understood the email as a communication asking permission to include interpreters’ names on a master list to indiscriminately interpret by phone, regardless of the state, it did not sound even half decent to me. Let me explain:

It is true that state-level certified interpreters are better equipped than paraprofessionals, and therefore the service provided should be of better quality. It is true that all state-level certified interpreters have attended a basic orientation and they have passed a court certification test (now administered by the NCSC or CLAC) and in many cases they have also taken an ethics and professional responsibility test. This obviously puts them ahead of those unscrupulous people that are roaming through the hallways of many courthouses in the United States. Unfortunately, and this is the real and very big problem: these interpreters, who have been certified by one of the fifty states, would now interpret cases from other states where both substantive and adjective law are different. That is the problem. The interpreter will interpret legal proceedings based on legislation that he does not know. Unlike U.S. federally certified court interpreters who work nationwide because they interpret the same federal legislation all across the country, these state-level individuals will have to deal with fifty, sometimes very different, legal systems.

Just like the age to get married and gun control laws vary from state to state, the catalog of crimes and civil law contracts are different. Think of one single situation: battery and assault; or is it assault and menacing? Well, the answer is: it depends on the state, and the differences are radical. Penalties and procedures also change depending on the state. This is why attorneys can only practice in those jurisdictions where they have passed the Bar Exam. It is a very delicate matter.

If this is indeed what the NCSC and the states want to do (and I hope I am wrong) then I am extremely concerned as an interpreter, because this will be another attempt to de-professionalize our jobs and make them look more like the legal secretary who can work anywhere, and less like the attorneys who can only practice in the state (or states) where they are members of the state bar. Sure, I understand that state-level agencies will praise the “benefits” of this solution, which in reality will solve their own problem (not the interpreters’ or the foreign language speakers’): Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. This is a state-level priority because states that do not comply will lose federal money.

I am also worried as an attorney for several reasons: First, states will allow interpreting services across state lines using telecommunications. This could be an interstate commerce issue where the federal government has to participate (at least); but the second reason is the one that motivated me to write this post: interpreters who do not know the legal system of a particular state will practice in that jurisdiction. They may physically be in the state where they are certified, but their services will affect a court system, and litigants in another state where they have never demonstrated their capacity to practice. I believe attorneys who represent foreign speakers need to be aware of this potential “solution” so that from the beginning they know that perhaps the case could later be appealed for ineffective assistance of the interpreter. Attorneys need to know that when they are advising their client on an assault charge in their home state, they may be using the services of an interpreter from a state where assault really means battery. Lawyers will need to assess the potential procedural complications in case they sue the interpreter. Jurisdiction will have to be determined, and these lawsuits could end up in federal court.

If this “program” has also been planned for civil cases, then the problem is worse. Remember, there are at least three different civil legal systems in the United States, the one followed by those states who have a system based on the Anglo-Saxon tradition, those whose system comes in part from the days where these territories were part of the Spanish Crown (just think divorce and community property division) and then Louisiana and the Napoleonic written system. As an attorney, or a foreign language speaker, I would not want to have an interpreter from another state, much less one from a state where the system is different.

I sure hope that this “solution” (if conceived as I understood it) is discarded and the states look for better options such as a higher fee for those interpreting in state courts. There are very good and capable interpreters everywhere in the United States, it is just that they will not work for the fees currently offered. A more attractive fee would also encourage others who would like to join the profession but are reluctant because of the lack of money to even make a decent living.

By the way, these problems apply to those languages where there is no certification and the interpreters are registered or qualified to work in court by a particular state.

I really wish I am mistaken and this is not happening in the United States, but if it is, I will continue to watch the developments of this program, and if needed, I will speak up in legal forums to bring awareness of the potential risks generated by using state-level certified interpreters in places where they have never been certified. I now ask you to share your thoughts, and concerns, about this potential change that would end up rendering a state-level court interpreter certification useless.

Going to the ATA Conference in Chicago? You may want to read this.

Dear Colleagues:

The ATA Annual Conference is just around the corner, and this year it will be in beautiful Chicago. As many of you know, I live in Chicago and consider it a wonderful place to live and work. Obviously, I was very happy to learn that so many of my interpreter and translator friends and colleagues would be visiting Chicago this year. Finally, I thought, many of you would get to see the city that I brag so much about. It just does not get any better than this: The mother of all conferences and the beautiful town!

Unfortunately, as the dates of the conference were announced, I realized that once again ATA had scheduled the event for November. I never missed an ATA conference as long as they were held in October, but November is not a good month for me; it is a time of many important professional commitments. I tried two years ago in San Diego (the last time I presented in ATA) where I attended the conference for one day and then flew back to the east coast for work-related reasons. Last year I could not make it to San Antonio because of the November dates either. So here we are now, with the biggest conference in our field taking place in my hometown, and with me away from the city for the duration of the event. After this reality sank in, I decided to find a way to make sure that those of you who will be attending the conference could get the best out of our town; in other words: I needed to figure out a way to welcome you to Chicago without being physically there. This is what I came up with. For the next paragraphs I am going to take you through Chicago, I am going to provide you valuable and useful information, and I am going to recommend several places and activities the same way I wanted to do it in person when I first realized that ATA was coming to town. Here it is: from me, to you.

GETTING TO THE SHERATON TOWERS FROM THE AIRPORT.

From O’Hare:

O’Hare is located about 45 minutes away from the hotel.

Arriving on a domestic flight

By Taxi: Go outside the terminal on the same level where you will claim your luggage. There are booths where you can get a taxi (lines may be pretty long depending on the time of the day) A ride to the hotel should be around $55.00 – $60.00 All taxis take credit cards in Chicago.

By Shuttle: Go to the GO Airport Express desk on the same level where you claim your luggage and buy a ticket (round-trip suggested as fare is lower than a one-way ticket) Round trip fare: $54.00 per person. You can pay cash or by credit card, and you can even buy the tickets online from home. The ride to the hotel could take about 90 minutes as these shuttles stop at many hotels. There is no Super Shuttle in Chicago.

By Subway: After you get your luggage, follow the signs to the Blue Line subway terminal inside the airport. Take the blue line to Forest Park and get off at Washington Station (17 stops, about 50 minutes) walk to State Street and either take a taxi (5 minutes to hotel for about $8.00 to $10.00) or take City Bust #29 to Navy Pier and get off at Columbus (about 7-10 minutes) Then walk one block south to the hotel. Subway: $3.50 per person one-way. City bus: $3.25 per person one-way. Subway, L Train, and city buses do not take cash. You will need to purchase a ticket from the machines at the station, or a CTA card for your entire stay at any Walgreens Drug Store. The Blue Line station at O’Hare has machines that take credit cards.

Arriving on an international flight

You will arrive at Terminal 5.

By Taxi: After immigration and customs, Walk outside the terminal and get a taxi from the booth. A ride to the hotel should be around $60.00 – $65.00 All taxis take credit cards in Chicago.

By Shuttle: After immigration and customs, Walk outside the terminal and go to the GO Airport Express booth. You may have to wait for a shuttle for several minutes. If there is no clerk at the booth, dial the phone number on the sign and they will send a shuttle to pick you up. When the booth is unmanned, you can buy the ticked directly from the driver (round-trip suggested as fare is lower than a one-way ticket) Round trip fare: $54.00 per person. You can pay cash or by credit card, and you can even buy the tickets online from home. If you do not want to wait for the shuttle to arrive to Terminal 5, after clearing immigration and customs, you can take the airport train to Terminal 3 (it is free) go to the lower level, and get your tickets at the GO Airport Shuttle desk. (The ride to the hotel could take about 90 minutes as these shuttles stop at many hotels. There is no Super Shuttle in Chicago.

By Subway: After immigration and customs, take the airport train to Terminal 3 (it is free) go to the lower level, and follow the signs to the Blue Line subway terminal inside the airport. Take the blue line to Forest Park and get off at Washington Station (17 stops, about 50 minutes) walk to State Street and either take a taxi (5 minutes to hotel for about $8.00 to $10.00) or take City Bust #29 to Navy Pier and get off at Columbus (about 7-10 minutes) Then walk one block south to the hotel. Subway: $3.50 per person one-way. City bus: $3.25 per person one-way. Subway, L Train, and city buses do not take cash. You will need to purchase a ticket from the machines at the station, or a CTA card for your entire stay at any Walgreens Drug Store. The Blue Line station at O’Hare has machines that take credit cards.

From Midway:

Midway airport is located about 30 minutes away from the hotel.

Ground transportation process is the same for international and domestic flights

By Taxi: Go outside the terminal on the same level where you will claim your luggage. There are booths where you can get a taxi (lines may be pretty long depending on the time of the day) A ride to the hotel should be around $35.00 – $40.00 All taxis take credit cards in Chicago.

By Shuttle: Go to the GO Airport Express desk on the same level where you claim your luggage and buy a ticket (round-trip suggested as fare is lower than a one-way ticket) Round trip fare: $46.00 per person. You can pay cash or by credit card, and you can even buy the tickets online from home. The ride to the hotel could take about 45 minutes as these shuttles stop at many hotels. There is no Super Shuttle in Chicago.

By Subway: After you get your luggage, follow the signs to the Orange Line L train terminal connected to the airport. Take the orange line on the only possible direction and get off at State/Lake Station (13 stops, about 40 minutes) This is an elevated train. You must go down to the street level to State Street and either take a taxi (5 minutes to hotel for about $8.00 to $10.00) or go to the bus stop in front of the Chicago Theatre (about 20 yards) and take City Bust #29 to Navy Pier and get off at Columbus (about 7-10 minutes) Then walk one block south to the hotel. Subway: $3.50 per person one-way. City bus: $3.25 per person one-way. Subway, L Train, and city buses do not take cash. You will need to purchase a ticket from the machines at the station, or a CTA card for your entire stay at any Walgreens Drug Store. The Orange Line station connected to Midway Airport has machines that take credit cards.

Alternate Hotels.

Those who do not wish to stay at the Sheraton Towers can stay at the Embassy Suites one block away (511 N. Columbus Drive) Some single room go for as low as $189.00 and breakfast/happy hour are included. There are many other rooms across the river from the Sheraton (Hyatt, Swissotel, Raddisson, etc., but their prices are equal or higher than those at the Sheraton).

WHERE TO EAT.

It is very difficult to come up with a “best restaurants” list in Chicago because there are so many great options. For this reason, I will share with you some of my favorites, and some of the best options near the Sheraton. Because the idea is for you to experience the local taste, I will leave out all chain restaurants. You can try those back home.

Tony’s best:

I believe there is no better restaurant in the Chicago area (and perhaps anywhere in the world) than 3-Michelin Star Alinea (1725 N. Halsted St. Open Wed-Sun) 18 course tasting menu for 2: $450.00 Reservations a must.

Frontera Grill. PBS’ Rick Bayless’ world famous restaurant (445 N. Clark St.) This place offers the best authentic Mexican food elevated to a higher artistic level. Rick is that famous chef you have watched for years on PBS’ “Mexico, One Plate at a Time”. Dinner for 2: $80.00 Reservations a must.

The Purple Pig. Great “tapas” style restaurant (not Spanish food) with a great wine selection (500 N. Michigan Avenue) Dinner for 2 depends on your appetite. Small dishes are the way to go. Reservations suggested.

Girl & the Goat. Great for sharing small plates. Many options for vegetarians (809 W. Randolph St.) Very popular with the locals. Dinner for 2: $60.00 Reservations suggested.

Tango Sur. A real parrillada argentina (3763 N. Southport Avenue). All meats with all the cuts from Argentina! Great chimichurri, empanadas, and yes, dulce de leche! Restaurant lets you bring your own wine. Dinner for 2: $60.00 Reservations encouraged.

Giordano’s. You have to try the real Chicago-style pizza. There are over 40 locations throughout Chicago, but the closest one to your hotel is within walking distance (730 N. Rush St.) Another option for real Chicago-style pizza is Pizzeria Uno (29 E. Ohio St) I know this is now a chain restaurant, but this is the place where it all started. Dinner for 2: $50.00

Portillo’s. If you are going to try the pizza, then you must try a Chicago-style hot dog. Portillo’s (100 W. Ontario St.) is the place to have the real thing. In case you do not know it, a Chicago dog is served on a poppy seed bun and it is topped with chopped white onions, sweet pickle relish, tomato slices, a dill pickle, sport peppers, celery salt, and mustard. If you value your life don’t ask for ketchup. Dinner for 2: $45.00

Parthenon. One of Chicago’s largest immigrant groups is our Greek community. There is very good Greek food in town, and there are plenty of places to eat. You can go to Greek town and enjoy a delicious meal just about anywhere; with this in mind, I decided to include in this post one of my favorites: Parthenon (314 S. Halsted St.) because of the food, the service and the looks. Dinner for 2: $80.00

GREAT RESTAURANTS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE FROM THE SHERATON.

Yolk. The hotel has a decent restaurant for breakfast, but if you want to venture into the streets of Streeterville (that is the name of the neighborhood where I live and of your hotel) and positively have the best breakfast in town, walk two blocks to Yolk (355 E. Ohio St.) and enjoy. Because of its popularity, there is some waiting for an available table and they do not take reservations. The wait is outdoors, so I suggest that if you are used to warmer places, bring a jacket or a coat. Breakfast for 2: $40.00

Emilio’s. If you are looking for very good Spanish tapas, there is an excellent place less than 2 blocks from the hotel: Emilio’s (215 E. Ohio St) offers a wide variety of tapas and Spanish wines. This would be a great place for after the session gatherings as well. Dinner for 2: $80.00

Niu. Your hotel is less than one block from my favorite Japanese-fusion restaurant in town. Go to Niu (332 E. Illinois St.) and have some sushi or explore the fusion menu. They also have a good selection of sake. Dinner for 2: $100.00

Volare. If Italian is your thing, then go to Volare (201 E. Grand Ave.) It is about 4 blocks from your hotel and it is the Italian restaurant in this part of town where all locals go; and we go there for the food and service. Dinner for 2: $100.00 Reservations recommended.

Bandera. If your thing is good food, a nice jazz ensemble, and a great view of the Magnificent Mile, then you must dine at Bandera (535 N. Michigan Ave. First Floor) Sometimes I like to go to their very nice bar instead of their dining room. Dinner for 2: $100.00 Reservations recommended.

Sayat Nova. I know Armenian food may not be one of the most popular selections during the conference, but I had to include it because Sayat Nova (157 E. Ohio St.) is less than 4 blocks from your hotel and the food is very good. Dare yourself and try this place that is part of our Streeterville neighborhood character. Dinner for 2: $80.00 Reservations optional.

Ditka’s & Michael Jordan’s. I include this two places because of their owners: Two of Chicago’s icons. At Coach Ditka’s place (100 E. Chestnut St.) you can enjoy some of the best bread in town and perhaps meet the guy. Warning: This is a good 20 minute very enjoyable walk, so you may want to consider a taxi ($10.00) Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse (505 N. Michigan Avenue at the Intercontinental Hotel) is a lot closer than Ditka’s, and it offers some of the best hamburgers in Chicagoland. Both places are very crowded and you will probably wait for a table. Dinner for 2: $80.00

The Food Trucks. Another interesting thing to try for lunch are the food trucks that we have in Chicago. About a block from the hotel, in front of the University of Chicago’s Chicago Booth you can find these trucks Monday-Friday during lunch hours. Lunch: $20.00 (or less) per person.

BARS BY THE HOTEL.

There are many great bars around the Sheraton, even the hotel lobby bar (Chi Bar) offers a good variety of mixed drinks, but I suggest you get out of the hotel, walk right next door by the river side, and have a drink at Lizzie McNeil’s Irish Pub (400 N. McClurg Ct.), walk one block to Lucky Strikes where you can have a drink and do some bowling at the same time (322 E. Illinois St.) or walk 3 blocks to my favorite: Timothy O’Toole’s (622 N. Fairbanks Ct.) where you can catch a game on TV, have a microbrewery beer, and enjoy some good old bar food.

NIGHTLIFE.

Chicago never sleeps and it offers some of the best after hours activities. If you are a night owl I suggest you save some time to go to a blues or jazz establishment. I recommend Blue Chicago (536 N. Clark St.) for great blues every night. For some other cities you may consider that they start late and gets very crowded. There is an admission charge that depends on the band that is playing that night. If you prefer jazz, my favorite spot is the Jazz Showcase (806 S. Plymouth Ct.) it is a traditional place where you will be greeted by the owner. The music is wonderful and the drinks are good at this historic venue. There is an admission charge and a minimum. You will enjoy them both! If you want something more relaxed and early, I suggest the lobby bar of the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel (163 E. Walton Pl.) where you can enjoy a cocktail while listening to the piano bar music. No cover, no minimum, and very friendly bartenders (drinks are a little expensive). However, if you want to go where tourists go to see Chicago’s skyline from way up there, you need to go to the Signature Room (95^th. Floor of the John Hancock Building). You can have a drink while admiring Chicago’s magnificent architecture, or if you prefer, you can have dinner way up there. For dinner: Reservations a must. Dinner for 2: $120.00

There are many places to go dancing in the area. You can look them all up on Yelp.

SIGHTSEEING.

There is so much to see and so little time. This will be the trip that will make you decide to come back as a tourist in the near future. A good way to see some of the main attractions is to get a ticket to the hop on-hop off bus. Tickets can be purchased at the Navy Pier (close to the hotel) and probably at the Sheraton. If you decide to do this, I suggest you sit on the top floor so you can see the tall buildings, and you will definitely need a coat, a hat, and gloves because it will get cold on the top. Chicago is built for walking, so I definitely encourage you to walk the city. Walk the Magnificent Mile and see all the designer shops and boutiques, stop and see the hundreds of fragments from all important buildings in the world that decorate the walls of the Chicago Tribune Building, and take your picture with the Wrigley Building behind you; walk by the beach (yes, we have beaches in Chicago!) and see the waves breaking against the wall barrier, walk by the Navy Pier and see the sailboats (if there are any left by November) walk in the business center (the loop) and admire the architecture while exploring structures like the Sears Tower, (go to the top and walk on the acrylic surface) Union Station (where the first scene of the Untouchables movie was filmed) Picasso’s gigantic sculpture outside City Hall, Chagall’s Four Season’s mural, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. I know that the conference will keep you very busy, but a “must” for all visitors is Millennium Park (just across the river from your hotel) Spend some time in the park and take your picture with the iconic “Chicago Bean”. By the way, I know the tower is now Willis, but to us in the city it will always be Sears.

Finally, I just wanted to give you the cultural options we have in case you may want to check them out (and if you have time, you should):

Chicago Art Institute. Recently voted the Best Museum in the World (111 S. Michigan Ave.)

Adler Planetarium (1300 Lake Shore Dr.) Admission: $12.00 per person

Shedd Aquarium (1200 Lake Shore Dr.) Admission: $6.00 per person

Field Museum (1400 S. Lake Shore Dr.) Admission: $18.00

Museum of Science and Industry (5700 S. Laker Shore Dr.) Admission: $18.00

Wrigley Field. Yes, they have tours (1060 W. Addison St.) Addison station on the subway Red Line. Tour tickets: $25.00 per person.

Theater. Only New York City has more theaters than Chicago. Enjoy a musical or a play one of the evenings. For more information, visit: www.broadwayinchicago.com

Sports. Chicago has professional sports teams in all major sports: The Cubs and White Sox in Major League Baseball (MLB), the Fire in Major League Soccer (MLS), the Bulls in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Blackhawks in the National Hockey League (NHL), the Bears in the National Football League (NFL) and the Sky in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) There is no baseball season in November and the Bears will be away, but if you want to go to a very exciting professional sport and root for a Chicago team, these are the possibilities:

NBA: Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (October 31, 7:00 PM at the United Center)

NHL: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Winnipeg Jets (November 2, 8:00 PM at the United Center)

NBA: Chicago Bulls vs. Orlando Magic (November 4, 7:00 PM at the United Center)

College: Chicago Flames vs. Beloit Buccaneers (November 6, 7:00 PM at UIC Pavilion. College Hockey)

There is an exhibition rugby game between the United States Eagles and the New Zealand All Blacks on November 1, at 3:00 PM at Soldier Field Stadium

For tickets to any of these events, visit: www.findticketsfast.com

I hope you find this information useful and get to know my city a little better. I know the conference is very time-consuming, it is very interesting, and that is really why you are coming to Chicago; however, if you find that you have some free time, if you are coming to town early, or if you are staying for a few days after the conference, try to visit, see, taste, and enjoy some of the great places I have included in this piece. My experience as a conference-goer tells me that there are always situations when you need to talk to some colleagues, and you want to do it away from the rest; it is for those occasions that I have detailed the places to go in this article.

Once again, I am so sorry I will miss all of you in beautiful Chicago, but at least I now feel that I have welcomed you to my kind of town. Please feel free to share with the rest of us any other suggestions about Chicago that you may have.

Indigenous languages: An interpreting need yet to be properly addressed.

Dear colleagues:

There is no doubt that globalization has brought us together in ways we could have never imagined just a few decades ago. A smaller world means innumerable benefits for earth’s population and interpreters and translators play a key role in this new world order that needs communication and understanding among all cultures and languages.

Although we see progress and modernization on a daily basis, we can also perceive that there are certain groups that are staying behind; not because they decided to do so, not because they are not valuable to the world community, but because of the language they speak. It is a fact that most people on earth speak the same few languages. We all know that Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world, and everyone is aware of the fact that, geographically speaking, English and Spanish are by far the most widely spoken languages. The problem is that there are many languages in the world that are spoken by smaller groups of people, even though some of them are very old, and despite the fact that some of them were widely spoken and even lingua franca in the past.

I am referring to the so-called indigenous languages of the world. A reality faced by humankind in every continent: The Americas, Asia, Australia, the Pacific islands, and Africa have a serious problem. Once acknowledged that this is a universal issue, today I will talk about the Americas because that is my field.

It is no mystery that these languages have always existed and even co-existed with the more widely-spoken languages of the Americas. Native American tribes and nations have spoken their language in Canada and the United States while using English and French as a business tool and an academic gate to universal knowledge.

Presently, there are between 900 and 1,500 indigenous languages spoken in the Americas (depending on whose study you believe) and regardless of the real number, and without considering that many of them may be spoken by a handful of people, the reality is that there are many widely spoken Indigenous languages that are in need of interpreters and translators in order to guarantee access to modernity and legal security to many people in all countries in the Americas. There are some efforts that are bringing accessibility to these native populations, and there is legislation in the process of being enacted and implemented in many places. The United States government is making sure that State-level government agencies comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and provide interpreting services to all those who need to use public transportation, or go to court, to a public hospital, or to a public school. There is a federal court interpreter certification in Navajo as well. The Mexican Constitution was amended to guarantee the right of a Native-Mexican to have an interpreter when he is charged with committing a crime; through the protection and promotion of Mexican indigenous languages, the National Indigenous Languages Institute (INALI) empowers these communities in Mexico. INALI was created to make sure that the Mexican native population is able to participate in society like every other member, without any restrictions due to the language they speak. The current project to produce legislation and regulations for court interpreting in the new oral trial process recently adopted by Mexico, includes the Indigenous languages interpreters, who are collaborating with foreign language and Sign Language interpreters to achieve this very important goal.

Let’s be honest, the need is enormous and the resources, human and monetary, are limited. Acknowledging this reality, and agreeing on the importance of this issue, we need to look for a solution; we need many ideas, many proposals, the problem is difficult, but there is no way to avoid it. We must forge ahead towards a solution to this problem. On this post I do my share by presenting you the ideas I propose to get a solution off the ground, and at the minimum, to start a serious dialogue.

Part of the problem is the lack of enough fluent speakers of English or Spanish, and the Indigenous language. In part, this is because the language is not widely spoken, and because there are very few interpreters who speak the Indigenous language due to profitability issues. This is understandable, the interpreter needs to make a living. Another part of the problem is the lack of access for non-native speakers to learn the indigenous language and to have it as one of their language combinations. Unfortunately, from all the obstacles to overcome if we want to have enough Indigenous language interpreters, the stigma of speaking an Indigenous language is probably the biggest. Education is needed in order to bring Indigenous languages into the mainstream of interpreting, and I already addressed this issue on a separate post.

Many interpreters could say that although they would like to learn an Indigenous language, and even work as an interpreter to and from that language, how will they get work as interpreters? How will it be possible for them to make a living? It would be difficult to convince a top conference or diplomatic interpreter to drop his clients and go to work as a healthcare or court interpreter making very little money. That is not what I propose. First we need to promote what these Indigenous languages really are. We need to make them attractive for the new interpreter.

If the new interpreters and translators understand what these languages really are, and they see that the main reason why those who presently speak these languages are not using them in the mainstream business world is because of lack of opportunities for those who speak them, they will understand that these Indigenous language speakers should be at the same level of opportunity as those who speak a widely spoken language.

The idea would be that those who study languages to become interpreters or translators, be required to learn, on top of the traditional language combination of their choice, an Indigenous language that they would select from a variety of options. This way, they would enter the professional world with the same skills and language combinations they had always envisioned, and an additional language that no doubt will widen their professional horizon and fatten their wallet a bit more. My idea would be to pair them with a native speaker of the Indigenous language to work together in the booth, or as a team in court, and elsewhere. This way the empiric interpreter will benefit from the academic skills and knowledge of the formally educated interpreter, and the latter will benefit and learn traditions and cultural nuances, that just cannot be learned in the classroom, from the empiric interpreter. Of course, because the market will notice a good thing, many already established interpreters will rush to learn an Indigenous language to stay competitive; Náhuatl, Quechua, K’iché, Mixtec, Otomí, and many other versions of Rosetta Stone will sell like there is no tomorrow.

Dear friends and colleagues, I know that this proposal may seem fantastic and unrealistic to many of you, but I ask you to please, before you rush to sell me a bridge you have in Brooklyn, to kindly consider what I propose, and then perhaps offer other possible ways to address this problem; I only ask you to offer global ideas, that is, possible solutions to this problem that may work not just in the United States but all over the Americas, and maybe all over the world.