A great friend told me that we should always remember that we are beautiful daughters of God. (substitute the adjective and noun for guys). Yes, indeed, another great friend said that I am a princess of the Most High God! Yesterday, I felt like I allowed the princess bit to come out! haha
Today I met up with two wonderful friends who have inspired me so much. Darryl and Sara. They are my Deaf teachers and one of them has been my coursemate since last year. Had a great time catching up with them. They have a great sense of humour, they are such good natured people, cheery, warm, and welcoming. We connect. I had forgotten many of the signs I had learnt last trimester but we still had a good conversation. Without using pen and paper. What does this mean?
1. DEAF 101 is an excellent course. You really do acquire basic skills of communicating in sign language. You can have a conversation in sign!
2. Even with limited language ability (my limited sign compared to theirs - NZSL is their native language), we connect. Despite the differences - they are Deaf and I am hearing, at the core of it, we are all human beings, created by the same Almighty God. Therefore, we connect!
I felt the bond. I really did. I felt so accepted by Darryl and Sara, despite the fact that I am hearing. That I am different from them. We can communicate as equals.
This is one of the things I will treasure A LOT from my time in NZ: having the privilege of peeking and stepping into the Deaf world. In the midst of the silence, there is a lot of activity going on - you see hands moving in sign, facial expressions, you hear the sound of laughter, and you wonder what is so funny that this group of people gesturing with their hands are laughing about. Yes, we talk with our hands. And our faces. Sign language is a creative language. It's a real language just like any other language. Yes, it is possible to make grammatical mistakes, vocabulary errors, etc.
Thank you, Darryl and Sara. Thank you for welcoming me into your world and allowing me to enter. Thank you for accepting me.
Sign language is the ticket to enter the world of the Deaf. You can't make Deaf people speak your language. I take the first move and learn their language. And they are so glad to teach their language to others.
Darryl and Sara, I love your sense of humour. Your warmth. Your patience in teaching. Your dreams and ambitions. How far you have come. Your achievements. The way you live your lives.
You are the first two Deaf people I've ever known in my life, and I thank God for giving me the chance to know you. You are not just Deaf people. You are human, just like me. We are people and we connect. =) I owe a lot to you both for changing my perspective and taking me out of the tempurung to see how you are really like. And I like what I see. =) Ignorance, in this case, is not bliss. Step out, take risks, do something different, learn sign language! Or Braille. Or etc..
There are skills that Deaf people are able to perform, but hearing people find difficult. Today was the first time I looked at another person signing while eating. Sara and Darryl skilfully 'talked' while eating! I found it a challenge not to look at my food while eating. Instead, I looked at Sara / Darryl signing to me, and scooped my rice with my spoon, monitoring it with the corner of my eye, or not even looking at my food at all. To tell you the truth, it was a challenge! yet, Sara and Darryl do it so easily. haha.
Sara was really understanding. She understands the culture of hearing people, yet, sadly, not many hearing people understand Deaf culture. She acknowledged that it is hard for hearing people to look at another person sign while eating! So, she assured me in the beginning that she would do the 'talking' and I can eat and just watch her sign. After that, when I had had more food, I started 'talking' more.
The word 'talking' has a new meaning for me now. I use it not only to refer to verbal communication, but to signing as well. When I tell my flatmates about Sara and Darryl, I often say, 'Today Darryl said this, and I said this', when I actually meant 'signed'. What does this mean for me? It simply means that to me, signing / talking verbally are just ways of communicating. Therefore, I use the common word 'talk' or 'said' when I tell my stories. haha. It does get people confused.
Will I teach Deaf children in future? I don't know. I might. I do know that Darryl and Sara have inspired me a lot. They have changed my worldview. They have opened my eyes. For that, I am forever grateful to them. I guess this is one of my interests at the moment. I don't know whether it will grow into something bigger, but in God's hands and in His time, He will decide what to do with the seeds He has planted in my heart.
Thank You Father, for Sara, Darryl, David, Rachel and all the Deaf community in Wellington.