Pulling a few thoughts together today. Last night I went with a friend of mine to a coffee shop to meet up with other Deaf and signing people. Both of us are basically rank beginners with ASL although we’re both pretty quick linguistically. I had the most amazing and fun evening, and for the first time ever, I was in the position of explaining something to someone else who had missed it. I mean, I have a long way to go towards fluency, no question about it, but for the first time in my life, I don’t see a limitation coming up with it. No matter how fluent I am in Spanish, for example, how well I can read or speak it, I will always hit a wall with understanding what is being said, same as in English.

One thing I think is interesting is that even though I was not raised in the Deaf culture, I do have the deaf eye and the general notion that you don’t turn your head away while talking or listening to someone. (I’m quite well known for stopping what I’m saying if the person I’m talking with looks away or moves out of my field of vision — I’ve trained many a hearie to keep that visual component with me, to the point that more than once they’ve said to me they start doing the same thing with other people they know — heh).

And in some ways my experiences are the same as any other deaf person’s even though I’m not Deaf. The hearing world doesn’t understand that and treats me with the same impatience and wrong assumptions. I was reading Micah Brown’s entry earlier this morning where he said:

This sort of thing isn’t unique to the Deaf community, folks. Why, just a few days ago, I read an article somewhere about some leaders in the black community who say that Senator Obama somehow “isn’t black enough.” After all, Barack Obama is the product of a Kenyan father and a white mother. His family weren’t slaves from way-back-when. But, Obama does consider himself one of them. Who are they to say “you’re not part of our culture enough”?? Who are we to say the same thing about someone who chose to have a CI at the age of seventeen?

Here’s the thing: I guarantee you in this country most everyone interacting with Obama has no idea of his family background, and so they treat him like any other African American in this country. So it’s absolutely not a question of being “not black enough.” He knows damn well what it’s like to be black in this country.

Just thought that was kind of funny in terms of the similarities and such I noticed last night.

Also there were several deafblind people there so a question I had been meaning to ask about how they sign was answered. I’m deeply, deeply impressed. I’m having enough trouble picking up things watching them, but doing so while holding on to the hands that are signing? Very much of an eye opener (no pun intended).

Anyway, my head is filled to the brim with all sorts of new words I picked up last night (including many that would never, never be taught in a classroom, ha ha) and I’m still giddy. Can’t wait till the next one I can show up at…