Interpreting and Translation as Communications Processes

“Interpreting and Translation as Communication Processes for the 21^st Century”                                                          

Communications, Languages & Culture, Inc. 

ABSTRACT 

This proposal will present “Interpreting and Translation as Communication(s) Processes for the 21^st Century” in order to associate the status of interpreting and translation to existing communication processes and establish the future of the interpreting and translation profession within the field of communication(s) using the Transactional Model of Communication (Barnlund, 1970) as a frame of reference.  Interpreting and translation are both expressions of communication processes in a different way, shape, and form.  Consequently, interpreting and translation are to be included, considered, and taught as related disciplines to the field of communication(s) for the future of the profession. The transactional communication model perceives human communication as a simultaneous, interdependent process, in which the speaker servers as the listener and the listener as a speaker, in tandem.  It is also symbiotic, that is to say, mutually beneficial to the source and the receiver, since each one exists in relation to the other.  The source of communication, as well as the receiver of the message, are continuously exchanging information in a cyclical pattern. In the same way, the interpreter and the translator, both have dual communicative functions, outputting and inputting messages, be these spoken or written.  Interpreting requires verbal interaction between an interpreter and a speaker in an oral mode—unless it is an interpretation of sight reading of a written document.  Translation invites non-verbal interaction between a translator and a reader in written form.  Given that communication(s) involve speaking, listening, reading, and writing, then interpreting and translation are means of communication(s) and should be associated as communicative processes within the same field; thus granting interpreting and translation the status deserved for the future of the profession as partners in the field of communication(s).

 

INTRODUCTION 

This proposal will present “Interpreting and Translation as Communication Processes for the 21^st Century” in order to associate the status of interpreting and translation to existing communication processes and establish the future of the interpreting and translation profession within the field of communication using the Transactional Model of Communication (Barnlund, 1970) as a frame of reference.  Interpreting and translation are both expressions of communication processes in a different way, shape, and form. Consequently, interpreting and translation are to be included, considered, and taught as related disciplines to the field of communication for the future of the profession. 

I want to propose the integration of interpreting and translation in the field of communication because these two disciplines are expressions of human communication processes.  Based upon years of experience as a communicator, who is also an interpreter and translator, I perceive the relationship that interpreting and translation have in communication(s) through speaking, listening, writing, and reading, here and now,  in our everyday world.   

I have been a community college professor teaching Medical Spanish communication(s) to healthcare professionals, as well as Conversational Spanish, English (093): Preparation for College Writing III, English 101, 102, 103, and 105, in DuPage County, Illinois, USA.  I have worked with nurses, therapists, paramedics, physicians, assistants, social workers, volunteers, and administrative personnel at local hospitals and medical training centers in the area who wanted to use Spanish for Communication(s) in a health care setting as interpreters and translators to facilitate communication in Spanish and English for the patients and visitors at their medical facility.  In addition, I have also taught college students taking English courses who enrolled in the Independent Learning Center at the College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Moreover, as a graduate college student, I have been a volunteer at the Emergency Room of the University of Illinois Hospital in Chicago, Illinois for a study on the delivery of healthcare and medical communication(s) to elderly patients who spoke English and Spanish.  This medical communication(s) study was sponsored by the American Gerontological Association in the United States. Furthermore, I have been a professional interpreter and translator since 1981 while I worked for the Illinois Industrial Commission in Chicago, Illinois during hearing arbitrations due to employment-related injuries suffered by Spanish-speaking workers.  Since then, I have interpreted for other government levels in the United States and miscellaneous business organizations. An interpreter and a translator, both have dual communicative functions, outputting and inputting messages, simultaneously and intertwined, be these spoken or written, to exchange and negotiate meaning with a third party. Interpreting and translation processes are examples of transactional communication(s).

For this presentation and proposal, I have applied the Transactional Model of Communication, (Barnlund, 1970), to include interpreting and translation in the field of communication(s) because it is a dynamic theory which requires interdependent and simultaneous exchange between the participants, be they interpreters, speakers, translators, readers, and writers, to negotiate meaning from one language to another.  In the Essentials of Human Communication (2002), DeVito describes the Transactional process of communication to be a more satisfying view of the exchange in which a person serves simultaneously as speaker and listener.  At the same time that a message is sent, one is also receiving messages from one’s own communication(s) and from the reactions of the other person.  The transactional point of view perceives each person as both speaker and listener, as simultaneously communicating and receiving messages (Watzlawick, Beavin & Jackson, 1967), (Barnlund, 1970), (Wilmont, 1995).  In addition, the transactional view sees the elements of communication as interdependent (never independent).   Each one exists in relation to the others. Interpreting requires verbal interaction between an interpreter, a speaker, and a third party,  in an oral mode—unless it is an interpretation of sight reading of a written document.  Translation invites non-verbal interaction between a translator, a writer, and a reader in written text form.    All the elements of  human communication processes are present in interpreting and translation.   Therefore, interpreting and translation ought to be included in the teaching of communication(s) as integrated disciplines, part of the whole field of communication(s), in order to make these two professions more pervasive and available to the general population as introductions to the fields; that is to say, we may include and offer communication courses in the Communication(s) Department of a learning institution, such as Introduction to Interpreting, Translation 101, which demystify interpreting and translation as totally separate, specialized disciplines, only taught in certain language programs, at certain designated institutions.  The integration of Interpreting and Translation in the Communication(s) curriculum and the Humanities division of higher learning bodies may be an interdisciplinary effort.  By doing so, students have more open options and the flexibility to use communication(s) beyond the scope of what has been defined and to include foreign language skills through interpreting and translation in a global forum, the local community, in the media, the business world, healthcare, the courtroom, at work, at home, etc.                                                                                                      

Including interpreting and translation in the curriculum for communication(s) would popularize these two disciplines and make interpreting and translation more acceptable choices and less ominous subjects of study to the general public specializing in communication(s) at learning institutions.  Communication(s) students would then perceive interpreting and translation as part of their curriculum and also as viable job options and skills to acquire in the 21^st century, along with language skills, in addition to their mother tongue.  By offering interpreting and translation as part of the communication(s) curriculum program, learning institutions improve the students’ opportunities and job marketability in the field of communication(s) for the new millennium.  Why not integrate interpreting and translation as communication processes for the 21^st century?   

Given that communication involves speaking, listening, reading, and writing, then interpreting and translation are means of communication and should be associated as communicative processes within the same field; thus, granting interpreting and translation the status it deserves for the future of the profession as partners in the field of communication(s).

 

What is communication? 

Communication is interaction among people to convey a message.  The communication process involves verbal and non-verbal dynamics to promote understanding and cooperation.  It is speaking, listening, reading, and writing.  Communication is also imaging through graphics and visuals in the media. (Hung, ICTFL 2000)   Human communication is the process by which people exchange information, (Hung, ICTFL 2001), through languages and otherwise.  Foreign languages promote understanding through interpersonal communication on a one-to-one basis, people-to-people, verbally and non-verbally, using interpreting and translation as forms of communication, from one language to another.   Languages are implemented through interpreting and translation in the fields of technology, research, and development throughout diverse professional disciplines.  Thus, languages become communication tools in the 21^st century by means of interpreting and translation.  

 

How are interpreting and translation related to communication? 

 

Interpreting and translation are communication processes which involve speaking, listening, reading, and writing to express and negotiate messages between participants in the communication exchange.

 Given that these are modes of communication in our global and local community, (Hung, ICTFL 2001), interpreting and translation of languages are to be perceived as communication processes for the 21^st century.   Whether we are at work, in the courtroom, during doctor-patient interviews, at the immigration  office, conferences, business meetings, etc., we need to speak, listen, read, and write in any language to communicate.  For instance, other applications of language interpreting and translation uses can be seen in satellite and global positioning systems, world-wide assistance telecommunication(s) centers; geo conferencing, videoconferencing, videophones, teleconferencing; internet delivery of instruction on-line; email tutorials; intranet web-based education; audio computer-based tests for ESL listening skills, remote learning, multimedia, etc. Interpreting through spoken communication is used simultaneously or consecutively, on a regular basis in the business world, consulate offices, legal settings, in the medical field, technically, for liaison and group escorts, telephone transactions, conferences, etc.  Translation is also a written mode, a process of communication and a language tool on-line, on the internet and the world wide web, through machines, electronically, commercially, legally, medically, and otherwise.      Ian Mason has defined spoken dialogue interpreting in Triadic Exchanges as a generic term covering diverse fields of interpreting which have in common the basic feature of face-to-face interaction between three parties: the interpreter and (at least) two others, a source-speaker, a receiver-listener.  The communication exchange and/or transaction consists of spontaneous dialogue interaction, involving turn-taking conversation, in two languages, a source and a target. It is usually goal-directed in the sense that there is some outcome or message to be negotiated.  The interpreter is perceived as one of the parties to this three-way exchange, in which each participant’s moves can affect each participant and thus the outcome of the event.  The interpreter is a “critical link” in spoken triadic communication. Translation as a communication process also involves a three-way transaction for meaning between the writer, the reader, and the translator in a written format–it is a semantics exchange.  According to Random House Webster’s Dictionary, a translation is a rendering of the same ideas in a different language from the original text.  A translator communicates the writer’s message to the reader from one language to another through written text.  In the same way that a computer compiler decodes and encodes data from a high level language to a machine language, a human translator decodes and encodes the assigned meaning of symbols from a source language to a target language. 

 

From where is the Transactional Model of Communication derived? 

Dean C. Barnlund discussed a Transactional Model of Communication in 1970 while working with J. Akin, A. Goldberg, G. Myers, and J. Stewart on their research using Computer Compilers as seen in Language Behavior: A book of readings in communication, (pp.43-61), published by The Hague: Mouton. For our purposes, a Computer Compiler is a software that translates a program written from a high-level language into another language, usually a machine-based language, by means of a “compiler”, that is a “translator”.  Compilers in computer-based formats convert a program, data, code, etc., from one form to another, that is to say, a Fortran program into assembly-based machine language, according to Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary. 

 

In the 21^st century interpreters and translators might as well be human “compilers” and/or information processors from one language to another.  Interpreters and translators facilitate communication(s) from one language to another on behalf of others.  These communicators convert a message from the source to the receiver, from one language to another, in a triadic exchange of information.  Although some people address interpreters as translators interchangeably, we know that interpreters work primarily in a spoken/aural format and translators function primarily in a written/visual mode.  Just as a computer compiler translates a software program written from a high-level language into another, interpreters and translators process an exchange of semantics information simultaneously from the source speaker/writer to the receiver/reader, from one language to another, in a verbal or written format.  Interpreters and translators negotiate the meaning and content of a message formulated by the source and/or the receiver in sync with the transactional model of communication(s) based upon computer compilers (Barnlund, 1970).  

In addition to the application of the transactional theory to communication(s), Ling Liu, Calton Pu, and Robert Meersman have also researched and developed a computer-based Transactional Activity Model for Organizing Open-Ended Cooperative Flow Activities.  This computational application is based upon a number of extended transaction models which have been proposed to support information-intensive applications, such as CAD, computer-aided drafting, CAM, distributed operating systems, and software development It is a mathematical algorithm which integrates two mergeable activities to ensure a merged history from two correct histories.  It establishes the existent dependencies between two activities.  These activities are structured programs that exchange information with other activities, databases, files, and users.  The system covers a family of dynamic activity restructuring operations, as well as other important features of the Transactional Activity Model (TAM). 

CONCLUSION

 

This proposal has presented “Interpreting and Translation as Communication(s) Processes for the 21^st Century” in order to associate the status of interpreting and translation to existing communication processes and establish the future of the interpreting and translation profession within the field of communication(s) using the Transactional Model of Communication (Barnlund, 1970) as a frame of reference.  As you know, interpreting and translation are both expressions of communication(s) processes in a different way, shape, and form.  Consequently, interpreting and translation are to be included, considered, and taught as related disciplines to the field of communication(s) for the future of the profession. As we have discussed earlier, the transactional model of communication perceives human communication as a simultaneous, interdependent process, in which the speaker serves as a listener and the listener as a speaker, in tandem.  It is also symbiotic, that is to say, mutually beneficial to the source and the receiver since each one exists in relation to the other. The source of the communication, as well as the receiver of the message, both are continuously exchanging information in a cyclical pattern.   In the same way, the interpreter and the translator, both have dual communicative functions, outputting and inputting messages, be these spoken or written.  Interpreting requires verbal interaction between an interpreter and a speaker in an oral mode—unless it is an interpretation of sight reading of a written document.  Translation invites non-verbal interaction between a translator and a reader in written form.  Given that communication(s) involve speaking, listening, reading, and writing, then interpreting and translation are means of communication(s) and should be associated as communicative processes within the same field; thus granting interpreting and translation the status deserved for the future of the profession as partners in the field of communication(s). Although I have taught at the community college level for many years, I am not aware of any learning institutions that currently include Interpreting and Translation in the Communication(s) curriculum program.  That is one of the reasons why I decided to present this proposal at this FIT 2002 conference focusing on Translation: New Ideas for a New Century in Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA.  As far as I am aware, Interpreting and Translation are not widely taught nor included in the curriculum programs at institutions of higher learning.  As far as I know, there are designated institutions world-wide that teach Interpreting and Translation.  However, these two disciplines are not readily available now as courses of study to the general public or communication(s) enthusiasts at institutions of higher learning.  Perhaps my proposal to regard Interpreting and Translation as Communication Processes in the 21^st Century will note and highlight the need to include and integrate Interpreting and Translation in the field of Communication(s) at academic institutions for the benefit of future communicators in the new millennium. 

 

REFERENCES AND SOURCES 

Barnlund, Dean C.  (1970) A Transactional model of communication.  In J. Akin, A. Goldberg, G. Myers, and                J. Stewart (Compilers), Language behavior: A book of readings in communication, (pp.43-61).                The Hague: Mouton, The Netherlands. Baron, Sara, M.A., M.S.  http://www.lilb.umb.edu~sara  (2001) COMSTU 200, Introduction to Communication(s),                University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA                DeVito, Joseph A.  (2002) Essentials of Human Communication.  Fourth Edition.  Hunter College.  The City of                New York.  Boston: Allyn & Bacon, A Pearson Education Company, USA. Diccionario de Informática Inglés-Español.  Glosario de Términos Informáticos.  Sexta Edición.  (1985)                ParaInfo Madrid.  Olivetti Centro de Formación Personal. Hung, Gardenia C., M.A.  Conversational Spanish for Business.  (1997-2000) Business Professional Institute.                College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA. Program Managers Kim Ramey and Donna Marchant.                Hung, Gardenia C., M.A.  Spanish for Healthcare Professionals.  Bilingual Resources by Small Group   Collaboration.  Winter 2000.  College of DuPage, Continuing Education for Healthcare Professionals.                Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA.  Prepared and edited medical interpreting and translation information for                healthcare professionals in DuPage County, Illinois from 1997 through 2000. Hung, Gardenia C., M.A.  Spanish for Healthcare Professionals & Service Learning.  Winter 1999.  Prepared for               Kathy Hennessy, Service Learning Coordinator, College of DuPage, and  Continuing Education for                Healthcare Professionals, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA. Hung, Gardenia C., M.A.  Spanish Tutoring.  (1999-2000) Continuing Education Program.                College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, USA.                 Hung, Gardenia C., M.A.  “Communicate: Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing in Foreign Languages”.                Presentation at the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Conference 2000, Friday,                October 20, 2000, Carlyle Room at the Wyndham Hotel, Itasca, Illinois, USA.   

 

REFERENCES AND SOURCES 

Hung, Gardenia C., M.A.  “How Are Languages Used as Communication Tools in the 21^st Century?”.                Presentation at the Illinois Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Conference 2001, Saturday,                October 20, 2001, Barrington Room at the Wyndham Hotel, Itasca, Illinois, USA. International Book Distributors, ibd ltd., Freek Lankhof, P.O. Box 467, Kinderhook, NY 12106 USA Internet Website, http://www.americantranslators.org/divisions/FLD/fldfaqs.htm                 FAQs about Interpreting, Gardenia C. Hung, M.A., (1999) French Language Division, Frequently Asked                Questions about Interpreting, American Translators Association, USA. Kelling, George W.  (1975) Language: Mirror, Tool, and Weapon.  Chicago: Nelson-Hall.  Levinson, Paul.  (2001) Digital McLuhan.  A Guide to the Information Millennium.  London and New York:               Routledge, Taylor & Francis. Liu, Ling and C. Pu.  A transactional activity model for organizing open-ended cooperative activities.              Technical Report TR96-11.  Department of Computer Science, University of Alberta, Canada                http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/43023.html Logan, Robert K.  (2000) THE SIXTH LANGUAGE.  Learning a Living in the Internet Age.  Toronto:  Stoddart                                                                                                                                                                                    Mason, Ian, Editor.  (2001) Triadic Exchanges.  Studies in Dialogue Interpreting.  United Kingdom:          St. Jerome Publishing.  Edited by Ian Mason, Heriot-Watt University, Edingburgh Centre for                           Translation and Interpreting Studies in Scotland, United Kingdom.Mason, Ian.  (1997)

                                                                                                                                                                            The Translator as Communicator.  Routledge. Mikkelson, Holly.  (1994) A Training Program for Spanish/English Medical Interpreting.                Spreckles, California: ACEBO. Nuevo Espasa Ilustrado 2000.  Diccionario enciclopédico.  Espasa Calpe, S.A. España. Petit Larousse Illustré.  (1987) Larousse: Paris, France. Public Speaking Module One.  Public Speaking as a Communication Process.  Notes from the Instructor.                On-Line Learning.  Web-based instruction for Communications Models and Theories. Random House Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary (1998) New York, USA. 

Consulting Media Arts Communications©2012 Gardenia Hung. 

All Rights Reserved.

East Meets West

The best thing about Lombard is The Eastgate Shopping Center, a community neighborhood located along Westmore-Meyers Road, between Wilson Avenue and Jackson, in the Village of Lombard, DuPage County, Illinois. The Eastgate Center is only five blocks from Route 38, on Roosevelt Road and Westmore-Meyers Road in Illinois. Eastgate is notable for the Drivers Services Facility, Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, and the Illinois Employment and Training Center. The Eastgate community has a multi-ethnic and diverse population near Trinity Lutheran Church and School, the Islamic Foundation Center, Saint Pius X Catholic Church and School, and the Lombard Community Church on Madison Street in DuPage County, Illinois. Schroeder’s Ace Hardware and the 7-Eleven convenience stores open regular hours, accesible to the public with free parking. There is also the Chinese Restaurant for Mr. Wonton  featuring authentic Cantonese cuisine, Oriental decor for dining inside, online ordering, and fast delivery.  Eastgate Center combines the best of town and country life in the western suburbs for residential and commercial businesses, educational facilities, banking, laundromat, restaurants, etc. Nearby, Madison Meadow Park hosts many community events, family reunions, picnics, celebrations, athletic and recreational sports during the year, as well as music concerts, fireworks during the July 4th festivities, arts and crafts exhibits, Lombard Food Festival, and many other sports, games, and tournaments, close to the Eastgate Center in Lombard, DuPage County, Illinois. Lombard is a great place for the Lilac Festival at Lilacia Park…

How Are Languages Used As Communications Tools in the 21st Century?

As we move through the new millennium, we need to focus on how languages are used as communication tools in the 21^st century to promote understanding, listening, cooperation, trade, military security, and peace in the world to become more effective and efficient communicators. 

Technology, research, and developments in communications for the 21^st century will regulate how languages will be used as tools in diverse professional fields and disciplines.  In addition, the application of languages as communication tools in the 21^st century is subject to the existing influence of political and socio-economic developments in the world.

According to Philip Howard in his Foreword for The World of Words.  An Illustrated History of Western Languages, new revised edition, I quote, “we can only guess that hundreds of thousands of languages have been spoken since the beginning of the world, from the fact that 2,769 languages are spoken around the world today (the figure depends a bit on what one counts as a language)”.   

Human communication is defined as the process by which people exchange information.  Languages are forms of communication in our everyday world.  We use languages to communicate on a daily basis at home, work, with friends, at leisure.  Languages are an indispensable way to function, interact, and exchange information, especially as our world becomes closer.  Thus, languages become communication tools in the 21^st century as work issues, military protection, and concerns in the world evolve from local to global to become “glocal” in the international arena. 

Given the multilingual population in our planet Earth, there is a need to communicate and listen in more than one language in the U.S.A. and around the world.  The process of active listening is an essential and important factor in communication because it allows us to perceive selectively what the information exchange entails, without overlooking details and steps to follow directions. 

The need to communicate effectively and efficiently in the 21^st century requires a mandatory acquisition of another language, in addition to English, which fulfills an educational requirement in the our country and overseas.  Thus, in the same way that “Education is a tool for success”, languages are used as tools in the 21^st century because these facilitate the process of communication around the world.

Tools are means by which we ease our interaction in a work environment and around us.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language defines a tool as anything regarded as necessary to implement one’s occupation or profession.  Since languages in the 21^st century are used to perform one’s job, as the work force travels and relocates around the world, in response to employment and military deployment, labor supply and demand, then languages become communication tools in the 21^st century. 

International companies in the United States and around the world require personnel to travel on demand where employee skills are needed.  Consequently, employment relocation and logistics are common factors for global work in the 21^st century.  An awareness and knowledge of languages is an underlying pre-requisite to international employment, deployment, and travel.  So, if one knows two or more languages in the world, chances are that one will travel for work or leisure and become more effective and efficient as a communicator and an employee…

We need to discuss how languages are used as communication tools in the 21^st century to promote understanding, cooperation, trade, and peace in the world. 

Technology, Research and Development: 

                      Videophone,  Videoconferencing, Global Positioning

                      Systems World-Wide Assistance with Satellites,

                      Student Centered Distance Learning for Remote Rural Areas, 

                      Internet Delivery of Instruction On-line, Email Tutorials,

                      Intranet Web-Based Educational Environments
                     Audio Computer-Based Test for ESL Listening Skills

Understanding:   Interpersonal, one-to-one basis, people-to-people;

Interpreting—Consular, Commercial, Legal, Medical, Technical, On-line; Translation—Electronic, Commercial, Legal, Medical, Technical

Listening:               The process of active listening is an essential and important factor in communication because it allows us to perceive selectively what the information exchange entails, without overlooking details and steps to follow directions.        

 Cause and Effect:  The application of languages as communication tools in the 21^stcentury is  subject to the influence of political and socio-economic developments in the world.  

We need to foster the use and application of languages in education to facilitate communication in a global and local sense, around the world  and in our own communities to become effective and efficient communicators. 

The application of languages as communication tools in the 21^st century is subject to the influence of political and socio-economic developments in the world.

©2012 Communications, Languages & Culture, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

Deicke Home For The Retarded in Lombard, Illinois USA

YORK TOWNSHIP COMMUNITY SERVICE ASSISTANCE AT THE DEICKE HOME FOR THE RETARDED IN CARE OF BRUCE THOMPSON AND DARLENE COX FOR VOLUNTEER SERVICE BY GARDENIA C. HUNG-WITTLER IN THE VILLAGE OF LOMBARD, 1005 WEST DIVISION STREET, LOMBARD, ILLINOIS 60148

     My name is Gardenia C. Hung-Wittler, Lombard resident homeowner, taxpayer, and U.S. citizen in Du Page County, Illinois, in the United States of America. I have been involved in community service for the York Township Senior Community Center, at 1502 S. Meyers Road in Lombard in care of Diane Arturi, Michael, and Daniel Dragojevich for Senior Transportation Services during 2009 and 2010. The first week of July 2010, Diane Arturi advised that I was being re-assigned to another community service facility on Tuesday, July 6th, 2010. On Thursday, July 2nd, Pam at the Reception Desk provided a handwritten note with Bruce Thompson’s name and telephone number to report at the Deicke Home for the Retarded. http://www.deickehome.org/,  on Tuesday, July 6th, at 9:00 a.m. at 1005 West Division Street, Lombard, Illinois  60148.

     When I arrived, I met Bruce Thompson and Sherry who was waiting by the lobby door. Bruce Thompson invited to sit in his office and complete the Deicke Home for the Retarded Volunteer Form. During the Volunteer Service Interview, I mentioned to Bruce Thompson that I had been a volunteer at the Deicke Home for the Retarded before on behalf of the Wheaton Friends of the Court Program for John Gar and Peter, court wards, sponsored by Judge Robert E. Byrne and Judge Mehling formerly at the Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Court, 505 North County Farm Road, at the Du Page County Government Center—during our conversation, I mentioned that I remembered when Peter Fantuzzi was there as the former director of the Deicke Home of the Retarded in Lombard. I told Bruce Thompson that I have been a certified Illinois teacher and faculty at the College of Du Page in Glen Ellyn and Lombard, Illinois. Bruce Thompson provided a copy of the July 2010 Calendar for Activities at the Deicke Home for the Retarded, so that I could select which two (2) days of the week I would visit the Deicke Home for community assistance. I chose to provide community volunteer assistance on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the Deicke Home of the Retarded residents in Lombard, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Thereafter, I have arrived at 8:00 a.m. and sometimes have stayed for activities in the afternoon until 4:30 p.m. or after 3:00 p.m. For the record, I have provided volunteer community assistance at the Deicke Home for the Retarded with laundry folding and bed-dressing for Denise, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club shopping, outdoor recreational activities, lunch assistance for preparation and serving set-up, pantry cleaning, Sam’s Club Grocery Shopping Day Loading and Unloading, Lake View Nature Center in Oakbrook Terrace, Spirit of Chicago Luncheon Yacht Cruise, Willowbrook Wildlife Center in Glen Ellyn, Helen M. Plum Library Scarecrow Crafts Day, Sonny Acres Farm in West Chicago, Sewing and Designing Crafts for Marilyn, etc.

     Afterwards, Bruce Thompson introduced me to Darlene Cox, I told her that I had been there before for the Wheaton Friends of the Court when Peter Fantuzzi had been the director of the Deicke Home for the Retarded. Some of the Deicke Home residents met me and remembered that I had visited them some years ago.

     On Tuesday morning, I was also introduced to Linda Hallenstein and Joyce, the other two staff members along with Crystal, the secretary. First, I was assigned to assist with the Vegetable Garden and the existing weeds around the tomatoes, peppers, Brussel sprouts, cabbages, and zucchini. Then, Linda invited me to play Billiards Pool in the basement—since I had had a billiards pool table at home, I was familiar with playing pool as an amateur. Then, we went upstairs to help set up lunch and the tables, along with the preparation of the lunch meal for serving to the Deicke Home residents.

During the weekly visits for community assistance on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, I helped the Deicke Home residents shopping at Wal-Mart and with the groceries loading and unloading from Sam’s Club to the Deicke Home’s kitchen in Lombard.

Also, during the summertime, Linda Hallenstein planned outdoor activities at the Lake View Nature Center on Wild Wednesdays with Story Time in Oakbrook Terrace.

www.vimeo.com/13416253  A Story Time at the Lake View Nature Center

www.vimeo.com/13363343  A Life Cycle of the Monarch Butterfly on Wild Wednesday

     The first week of September 2010, the Deicke Home residents with Maryann, Joyce, Linda, and Adelle, a senior citizen community volunteer, planned a Lake Michigan yacht cruise with luncheon aboard the Spirit of Chicago organized by Tiffany Weinstein on Tuesday. When I arrived early on Tuesday morning, Bruce Thompson told me that I did not have to stay that day because the Deicke Home resident were going on the Spirit of Chicago Luncheon Cruise at a cost of $36.03 per person paid for them, but he would not pay for me to attend as a volunteer, only for the others. I was rather disappointed that Bruce Thompson would not pay for me as a community volunteer, when I had been providing community assistance every Tuesday and Wednesday, even before… So, I paid for my Spirit of Chicago Cruise ticket by mail, after Bruce Thompson made a telephone and Email reservation for me with Tiffany Weinstein.

     Sometimes, I was assigned to do outdoor detail for picking up twigs and weeds with Marilyn around the front yard, up to corner and all around the Deicke Home, including the indoor walking courtyard and track. Another time, I had to help checking out the glass storm windows and screens which had popped out overnight, all around the Deicke Home.

     During October and November 2010, Marilyn Francik asked me to help her with her Sewing and Mending clothes, as well as some Sewing Projects which Nancy who had left, did not complete for her—such as the Bunny Remote Control Holder and her Memorabilia Pillow with the pink satin recyclable fabric they had left for remnants. In addition, I gave Marilyn several new Thanksgiving fabric material for her holiday gifts for her guardian Stephan, her cousin Evelyn, and also for Adelle, the senior volunteer driver.  I was designing and sewing for Marilyn’s holiday gifts of fabric, as well as for her own sewing needs.  I helped Marilyn with her Pink Satin Memorabilia Pillow, the Bunny Remote Control Holder, Guardian Stephan’s Clown Placemat, Cousin Evelyn’s Thanksgiving Table Runner and Adelle’s Holiday Table Runner.