February 22, 2016 | The fact remains that I've seen a version of my reality in which translation plays a large role, and what is left is simply to make that version lasting; I've proven to myself that I can do it, in other words, so there is absolutely no reason why I would not do it when I know I want it. That is a bit of a strange thought since I had not realized there was any question of it in my mind, but apparently there was until these weeks strengthened my confidence and resolve alike.

February 11, 2016 | I've also managed to find a number of good websites which cater to Latin American Spanish and different vocabularies, colloquialisms, and so which are specific to given countries; they've been immensely helpful in identifying "non-correct" or at least nonstandard Spanish which is not necessarily readily available through more academic dictionary sites. Interestingly, many of these appear to be fairly new websites...I would guess that recently many countries have probably been developing a greater sense of pride in their differences recently, but that could just be my own speculation.

February 3, 2016 | At one point, I found myself considering the impact that the large Guatemalan Spanish population had on the local Spanish in Postville; "my" interviewee is from Mexico, but she was one of very few Spanish speakers from Mexico at least for the first several years, meaning when she spoke to those around her she was hearing mostly Guatemalan Spanish, which in turn was being influenced by Midwestern English. In a day and age when people are traveling more than ever, I would venture to say all languages are changing faster than we realize and in ways we can scarcely imagine.

January 20, 2016 | While most recognize the dangers in labor industries in the 1920s and '30s, and Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" brought to the public eye the horrific conditions in the meatpacking industry more than half a century after that, few seem to recognize the conditions people go through every day now... It's sobering.

January 14, 2016 | ...hearing of the interviewee's first-hand experiences during the raid brought home in the most significant way possible some of the real struggles many such individuals, as well as the communities they live in, face far more than we could ever see on the news.

January 14, 2016 | The Labor Center which I am interning with has an ongoing project, the Iowa Labor History Oral Project (ILHOP), with which I am assisting in my own small way. ILHOP has been going on for more than forty years, interviewing the diverse individuals which have built the history of labor in Iowa, organizing unions and going through many struggles in their day to day lives to make things better for themselves and for future workers. In recent years, many of those workers have been immigrants, including some locally large numbers of Spanish-speaking immigrants.