As an interpreter, there are many ways you can do community outreach and help more people get vaccinated. There are resources in other languages that speak to different information about the pandemic and vaccines, such as WHOs website, Boston Medical Center, Washington State Health Department, or even Orange County’s NC Health Department. Helping others to understand the vaccine and then help them get it is a very important service to the community and one that you can help with.

For an interpreter, first, the most obvious thing to do is set up an appointment to get your vaccine if you haven’t already. To do so, you will be able to be allowed into more places, and you will overall be more comfortable being outside. Though many businesses and areas are beginning to open up again, some places will only let you be present if you are fully vaccinated. By being fully vaccinated, you will be able to be anywhere you need to be. The other advantage is that you will have the experience of being vaccinated so that you feel more comfortable in conveying messages to the patient you are interpreting for. Your confidence might even be able to ease some of their anxiety.

After, you are vaccinated, you can help interpret at clinics, pharmacies, hospitals, or at vaccination areas that are set up outside of hospitals. The places that most likely will need the majority of help are the areas that are set up outside of hospitals. Depending on the population of the area that you are in, there might be a different concentration of non-native English speakers. For example, in California, there is a significant amount of Hispanic people, so there is a great demand for Spanish interpreters. If you are interested in helping as a volunteer interpreter, you can try looking on the internet for places that need interpreters. You could also join a medical hotline that hospitals use when they need an interpreter.

However, you should be careful of scams that might take advantage of you. You can find out if something is legitimate or not by searching it online or by looking at the various resources on the FCC, FTC, or US National Cyber Awareness System. If you do happen to come across a scam, you can report it to the FTC so that they can investigate it and hopefully shut it down so that no one else is affected by it.

Five or six months ago, the phrase “social distancing” was barely known, and was just starting to be introduced. Every time a news anchor mentioned it, they had to explain its meaning, maybe even show a little diagram to illustrate the concept. Now, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you hear anyone and everyone talking about “social distancing” several times a day. The same is true for other COVID-19 related terminology, including phrases like “flatten the curve.”

People are endlessly creative, even during pandemics. This is seen in the fact that people across the world are coming up with new words to express new concepts that have emerged due to coronavirus. One of the most popular examples of this in English is the word “covidiot” (“covid” + “idiot”) which describes people who willingly don’t follow the guidelines around COVID-19 to protect themselves and others. This is a fun list that gives some more examples of new and repurposed words in many different languages.

The COVID-19 guidelines that we are following might also change how we actually speak. We are wearing masks when we go outside and staying at least six feet away from people we encounter. Both of these practices protect our health, but also make it much more difficult to talk and hear each other. Sometimes we end up almost yelling just to have a brief conversation. For some of us, the difficulties of having an in-person communication make us weigh our words more carefully and focus on communicating as efficiently as possible- we don’t want to spend energy yelling about things that don’t matter!

As always, it is important to consider people who communicate differently than us, and do what we can to help them. One group of people facing particularly difficult communication challenges now is the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. Many of them rely on lip reading and seeing facial expressions to understand others, and with masks, this is now impossible. People have designed and started creating masks with clear plastic windows in them to allow for lip reading; there are several places now to purchase such masks online, or you can make your own by following a guide like this.

As professionals in the language industry, we at Monterey Language Services are fascinated by how this pandemic is changing our language and communication styles. We like to stay on top of these changes so that we can continue communicating as effectively as possible!

The US government just passed a coronavirus stimulus package, which includes protections for small businesses. One of these protections is the Paycheck Protection Program for Small Businesses. According to the latest news from the Treasury Secretary, the program will become available on Friday 4/3/20. This program will essentially provide loans to small business so that they can continue to cover payroll, health benefits, rent, and other costs. The following list provides more details; please click here for even more information.

• Amount: 2.5x the average monthly payroll from 2019
• Interest Rate: may not exceed 4%
• Eligible Uses of Loan:
  • payroll costs
  • costs related to group health care benefits during periods of paid sick, medical or family leave, and insurance premiums
  • employee salaries, commissions, or similar compensations
  • mortgage interest payments (but not any prepayment of or payment of principal on a mortgage obligation)
  • rent
  • utilities
  • interest on any other debt obligations that were incurred before the Covered Period.
• Forgiveness: Borrower may be eligible for forgiveness and cancellation of indebtedness for up to the full principal amount. Forgiveness amount is based on:
  • total costs incurred and payments made during the Forgiveness Period for (1) payroll, (2) mortgage interest, (3) rent and (4) utilities
  • forgiveness period – the 8-week period beginning on the date a Paycheck Protection Loan is funded
• Qualifications:
  • your business must have fewer than 500 employees
  • less than $7.5 million revenue on average each year for the past three years
  • your net income must be under $5 million (after taxes and not counting carry-over losses)

A small note on loan forgiveness: it essentially means that if you meet certain criteria, you do not have to pay back the loan. This is often seen in student loans, but in an emergency situation like the COVID-19 pandemic, it will certainly be an option for many people.

The federal government has also postponed the date that federal taxes are due; Tax Day is now July 15. This is an effort to support businesses and people alike. At a time when people are having trouble making money, it helps to not have to use their limited supply of money on taxes. Most states have postponed their state filing deadlines as well. However, not every state is following the same schedule for all forms of taxes. Please make sure to research your own state’s regulations!

What is the Corona/ Covid-19 Virus Really Teaching us?

I’m a strong believer that there is a spiritual purpose behind everything that happens, whether that is what we perceive as being good or being bad.

As I meditate upon this, I want to share with you what I feel the Corona/ Covid-19 virus is really doing to us:

1) It is reminding us that we are all equal, regardless of our culture, religion, occupation, financial situation or how famous we are. This disease treats us all equally, perhaps we should to. If you don’t believe me, just ask Tom Hanks.

2) It is reminding us that we are all connected and something that affects one person has an effect on another. It is reminding us that the false borders that we have put up have little value as this virus does not need a passport. It is reminding us, by oppressing us for a short time, of those in this world whose whole life is spent in oppression.

3) It is reminding us of how precious our health is and how we have moved to neglect it through eating nutrient poor manufactured food and drinking water that is contaminated with chemicals upon chemicals. If we don’t look after our health, we will, of course, get sick.

4) It is reminding us of the shortness of life and of what is most important for us to do, which is to help each other, especially those who are old or sick. Our purpose is not to buy toilet roll.

5) It is reminding us of how materialistic our society has become and how, when in times of difficulty, we remember that it’s the essentials that we need (food, water, medicine)
as opposed to the luxuries that we sometimes unnecessarily give value to.

6) It is reminding us of how important our family and home life is and how much we have neglected this. It is forcing us back into our houses so we can rebuild them into our home and
to strengthen our family unit.

7) It is reminding us that our true work is not our job, that is what we do, not what we were created to do.
Our true work is to look after each other, to protect each other and to be of benefit to one another.

8) It is reminding us to keep our egos in check. It is reminding us that no matter how great we think we are or how great others think we are,
a virus can bring our world to a standstill.

9) It is reminding us that the power of freewill is in our hands. We can choose to cooperate and help each other, to share, to give, to help and to support each other or we can choose to be selfish, to hoard, to look after only our self. Indeed, it is difficulties that bring out our true colors.

10) It is reminding us that we can be patient, or we can panic. We can either understand that this type of situation has happened many times before in history and will pass, or we can panic and see it as the end of the world and, consequently, cause ourselves more harm than good.

11) It is reminding us that this can either be an end or a new beginning. This can be a time of reflection and understanding, where we learn from our mistakes, or it can be the start of a cycle which will continue until we finally learn the lesson we are meant to.

12) It is reminding us that this Earth is sick. It is reminding us that we need to look at the rate of deforestation just as urgently as we look at the speed at which toilet rolls are disappearing off of shelves. We are sick because our home is sick.

13) It is reminding us that after every difficulty, there is always ease. Life is cyclical, and this is just a phase in this great cycle. We do not need to panic; this too shall pass.

14) Whereas many see the Corona/ Covid-19 virus as a great disaster, I prefer to see it as a *great corrector*

新冠病毒給我們上了一堂什麼樣的課、又教會了我們什麼?

我堅信發生的每一件事後面都有一個精神層面的目的，無論我們認為是好還是壞。

當我沉思時，我想與大家分享我的心得，新冠病毒究竟對我們做了些什麼。

1) 病毒提醒我們，人都是平等的，無論我們的文化、宗教、職業、經濟狀況，或是一個人有多麼出名。在病毒眼中我們都是平等的，也許我們也應該平等對待他人。如果你不相信我的話，那就去問湯姆•漢克斯。

2) 病毒提醒我們，我們的命運都是聯在一起的，影響一個人的事情同時也會影響另一個人。病毒也提醒我們，我們建立的虛假國境線毫無價值，因為病毒並不需要護照。病毒還提醒我們，雖然我們暫時受到壓迫，世界上還有人一生都受到壓迫。

3) 病毒提醒我們，健康多麼珍貴。而我們卻忽視健康，吃垃圾食品，喝被各種化學品污染的水，如果我們不照顧自己，我們當然就會生病。

4) 病毒提醒我們，生命苦短，什麼是我們應該做的最重要的事情，特別是那些已經生病的老年人。人生在世的目的不是買一卷卷的廁紙。

5) 病毒提醒我們，我們的社會已經變得物質至上，當我們遇到困難時，我們才想起我們的基本需求是食物、飲水和藥品，而不是並沒有什麼價值的奢侈品。

6) 病毒提醒我們，家庭是何等重要，但我們卻忽視了這一點。病毒強迫我們回到我們的房子裡，所以我們可以把房子建成家庭，並建立牢固的家庭紐帶。

7) 病毒提醒我們，我們真正的工作並不是我們打的那份工，我們固然需要打工，然而上帝創造我們的目的並不是讓我們打工。我們真正的工作是互相照顧、互相保護、互助互利。

8) 病毒提醒我們，我們不能妄自尊大。病毒還提醒我們，無論你覺得自己多偉大，也無論別人覺得你多麼偉大，一個小小的病毒就能讓整個世界停擺。

9) 病毒提醒我們，自由掌握在我們自己手中。我們可以選擇合作互助、分享、付出、互相支持，或者我們也可以選擇自私、囤積和自顧自。只有在困難的時候才能看出一個人的真面目。

10) 病毒提醒我們，我們既可以耐心，也可以恐慌。我們既可以理解這種情況在歷史上已經發生過多次，但最後都過去了，我們也可以恐慌，以為世界末日到了，結果傷害了我們自己。

11) 病毒提醒我們，疫情既是結束也是開始。我們現在可以反省和理解，從錯誤裡吸取教訓。疫情也可以是一個輪迴的開始，而且還會繼續下去，直至我們吸取教訓為止。

12) 病毒提醒我們，我們的地球病了。病毒還提醒我們，我們必須看到森林消失的速度，也必須看到一卷卷廁紙從貨架上消失的速度。我們都病了，因為我們的家庭病了。

13) 病毒提醒我們，困難總會過去，然後就容易了。生活是週期性的，現在只是週期裡的一個階段。我們不必恐慌，疫情一定會過去。

14) 許多人認為新冠病毒的疫情是一場災難，但我覺得這是一次“偉大的糾錯”。

It was quite interesting and enlightening to hear students’ stories. They come from all over the world and have incredibly diverse backgrounds, both personally and professionally. Many students have come to MIIS to begin their careers in the language industry, and show clear excitement for their current course of study and potential career paths. Other students already have years of experience in translation or interpretation, and have come to MIIS to hone their skills in a certain specialty or even to change their career trajectory entirely, for example by moving from a linguist to a project manager. Whatever the case may be, we were happy to connect with these talented people.

Students at MIIS, whether they are studying Conference Interpretation, Translation and Interpretation, or Translation and Localization Management all share a passion for languages and a keen desire to put what they are learning at school to work. We are glad to see that so many of these young professionals share our goal of bridging the world’s languages and cultures.

We are always looking for talented freelance translators and interpreters. We are also looking for Office and Project Assistants. During the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, Monterey Language Services is poised for action – we have years of experience working remotely. For us, every challenge, downturn, or recession is an opportunity to reflect on what we can do to improve and move up to the next level. While most people and companies are focusing on the tasks at hand or cost cutting, we are thinking about what our contributions to the future would be and if we will be ready when our clients need us. Now is indeed a good time to think about all of this, and try to figure out how we can make better contributions to the environment we are in and to the people who we care about. We don’t lose faith in a crisis, and we believe those who survive the crisis will stand out when the crisis is over. To us, our career is a long journey. What’s most important is that we are ready to help when our help is needed, and staying connected to help each other out in a time like now.