Photo By Sgt. Simone Lara | U.S. Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Gary Westergren, an intelligence analyst for the...... read more read more
Subscribe
“At first, I think they’re in disbelief,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Gary Westergren. “They’re pretty shocked to see this white guy speaking Mandarin to them.”
Westergren, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed intelligence analyst for the 163rd Attack Wing, California National Guard, is an unexpected sight to Mandarin-speaking community members at the Cal State Los Angeles vaccination center. After ten years of service in the Marine Corps and following the tragic events of 9/11, Westergren was looking for a new direction in life. So, he decided to become an English teacher in China.
“I wanted to take a break from America and go see the world,” said Westergren of his 2002 move to China. “I wanted to get a different perspective. China was like a 180 degree difference from America. It was a refreshing change of pace.”
During his two-year stay in China, Westergren grew to love the people, culture and the spicy food. While he never became fluent in Mandarin, he learned enough to currently assist with language services at Cal State Los Angeles alongside certified Federal Emergency Management Agency interpreters who provide advanced language assistance.
When Mandarin-speaking community members come to the vaccination site they aren’t sure if anyone is going to speak their language, so Westergren breaks the ice by joking with them to put them at ease, he said.
Pinned to his Air Force uniform, Westergren wears a tag stating, “I speak Mandarin at the level of a preschooler, please have patience with me.”
Westergren, who currently lives in San Diego, is one of nearly 250 Cal Guard members serving at the Cal State LA vaccination site alongside active-duty Army, FEMA, California Office of Emergency Services and others. He joined the Army National Guard in 2010 before switching to the Air National Guard seven and a half years later.
“We’ve developed this comradery, said Westergren. “We have Army Guard, Air Guard, regular Army, and we are already like brothers and sisters on the line taking care of each other. We’re like a family.”
| Date Taken: | 03.18.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.31.2021 11:40 |
| Story ID: | 391743 |
| Location: | LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Unexpected Translator, by SGT Simone Lara, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
