Category: Safe Haven
Hi all,
Since other topics are titled a change of subject, or a topic about anything, I thought I'd better start an original off topic thread, and give it a more original title. Caitlin, we were talking about my new portable dvd player I got for Christmas, and you'll be happy to know it's working fine. There were those 2 dvd's that wouldn't play for my mom, but they played for me, ! I was afraid the good son would be one of those movies that weren't going to play on it, but it played perfectly.yay
In one discussion, we touched lightly on sign language, and my homebound teacher told me I probably couldn't do it, because deaf people use a lot of expression to show meaning or ideas, but she said that, after I had already learned enough of it so that I could converse with deaf people. I had never been around that many deaf people in my life, since I don't go out and about, and I didn't know any deaf people, and I don't now, and people are always talking about how high strung deaf people are, mostly I think, people who are born deaf.The first girl I met at camp easter, that's in southern pines north carolina, well, she was very high strung. Unfortunately, before I took that sign language class, I could tell more when they were unfriendly than when they were friendly. I had asked for a co-cola, when they let us have them. Well, someone evidently told her to come over and hand me my coke, and I got a hold of it to take it, and her hand was clenched so tightly around it, I had to pry it out of her hands.
I'd better continue this in the next post, before my login times out. to be continued.
part 2.
Well, there was one other deaf girl I remember, and she was more calm. I tried to learn a littlesign language that year, but there wasn't enoughtime between activities to do much practicing. Once you learn the deaf alphabet, the signs are half like scrabble, half like charades, so it's like a mixed game of scrabble and charades. The next year, my best friend and I were in a wrap group, which was one of the work shops they had the next year, and we weren't doing good in that, so we decided to switch over to sign language. I had been taking it for 3 days, and I barely had time to learn to finger spell very good, but the counselor who taught the sign language class told her I was learning it, so I guess she thought I was better atit than I really was. I wasn't as fast as sighted people would, and finger spelling out each word is a very slow process. Well, we tried letting her show me the sign for every word as I said it. In other words, I was trying to learn signs and have a conversation at the same time, and it wasn't working. At one point, she said, you're, not, doing, it, right! I thought since communicationwith deaf peoplewas in sign, and there was no speech involved, and I can't see facial expression, I wouldn't be able to tell if they were angry, irritated, or just plain cranky. Wrong, I could tell by the way their hands moved. If they're mad or irritated, their hands move in quick short jabs. If they're tired, their hands are sort of lifeless, and there's no energy at all. If excited, theirsigns are real bouncy. If they're in a gentle mood, their hands have an easy graceful flow, and makes me think of a bird in flight, sort of. Well, from the way her hands jerked at me, I had the feeling if she were a sign language teacher, and you so much as got one sign wrong, she would beat your hands with a ruler, and say, now, do, it, over, and this, time, do, it, right!I was just a beginner, and she was too fast for me. Finally she said in very slow irritated sign, You're Too, Slow. Well she could read lips a tiny little bit, and she'd been doing it for 2 years. So, very slowly I said, Well your lip reading isn't any better than my signlanguage, and you've been lip reading for a few years, and I've only been learning sign for 3 days. To be continued.
hmmm whats on my mind? Really can't think of anything :) I'll be back later.
oh drats, the server timed out on me, and I found myself not logged in. Part 3.
Anyway, as I was saying, there are some who might think I shouldn't have said that to a deaf person, but if I feel cornered, or if I'm given a verbal thrashing for something I can't help, I just say whatever comes in to my head, and that was the first thing that came in to my head.
Well a few days later, they took the whole camp to the circus, and we stopped on the way back at a Mcdonalds to get supper. My friend and I, and 2 other girls went inone of the counselors cars, because the bus had one very high step at the bottom, and she and I can't do steps very well. While we waited for the counselor to come back with the food, a 9 year old girl came up and asked us if we could move the car so her mom could park. The counselor came back and moved the car. A few minutes later, the girl came back and asked if I was blind. I thought she was the one who was curious, but it was her mother who was curious, so she told the girl to ask. The counselor came to my side of the car and opened the door, and told me the woman wanted to talk to me. The lady was a deaf mute, but her husband and little girl could hear. I guess the counselor told her I was blind and that I was a beginner in sign language. She was very sweet, good natured, and had a good sense of humor
to be continued.
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That's ok Jessica, not much was on my mind either, just taking a stroll down memory lane, and since no one ever asks that question as a topic starter, I thought I'd be the first to do it.
wonderwoman
part 4.
Well, the lady was a sign language teacher who taught sign language to young deaf children. I guess that's why she was so patient with me. She said she'd rather people just take their time, and sign slow and get it right, rather than trying to sign too fast and getting it so wrong, she couldn't understand what they were saying. I think she and I got along so well, because we thought along the same lines, and she wasn't sensitive about her deafness, anymore than I am about my blindness, and soft bone disease. She thought everyone ought to learn sign language, and if she had her way, they would. I asked her if she thought people ought to learn sign language, why didn't she try to learn to speak? She didn't mind my asking at all, and she said she had thought about it, but she was more comfortable with sign, and she couldn't get the words right. I told her about the girl back at the camp, and what she said about my being too slow. When I told her what I said back, the lady said, "well, she deserved it. to be continued.
wonderwoman
part 5. I can't remember everything we talked about, because it was so long ago, and we talked for about 2 hours. She liked to talk as much as I did, and I still like to talk as much as I did when I was young, incase anyone hasn't noticed, haha. Back at the camp a few days later, I was introduced to another girl who was deaf, and we talked a while. If it hadn't been for that woman I met at Mcdonlds, I might have gone on for the rest of my life thinking deaf people were irritable and cranky. You have to remind them to slow down sometimes, but the really calm good natured ones don't mind, and sometimes, they even apologize if they sign too fast. Sign for them is just like speech is to us, and I found out, after being in vooice rooms with people who don't speak much english, it's hard to talk slow likethat for a really long time.
wonderwoman
lol...nothing on my mind right now either, just sleep. alison
well the thing that's on my mind right now, is how it's only one hour till one in the morning, and how I have to go to bed, and time passes when you're having fun. Oh well, one of mother nature's nuisances.
wonderwoman
Speaking of sign language, I know how to fingerspell, but I think the alfabet is different in Australia, England and America.
Ohh that I could discuss it here.
Hicool_turk, That would be confusing to have to learn several different kinds of finger spelling, and Goblin, yes, that's why I put a topicwith that title in the safe haven board, so we could keep it clean, civil and decent.
wonderwoman
No I meant I wish it was that easy.
Hi Wonderwoman, Glad your DVD player is working, and sorry I haven't posted in a few day. I've been busy with streaming, homework, etc. But it was great to hear that it's working!
Caitlin
I dunno what's on my mind right now either. Not much. Just having to go to school, and worrying about finals in the back of my head. Lol. It'll be at the front of my head by and by though.
Caitlin
Hmm, so you can say what's on your mind, provided it's "clean" .. interesting .. not saying mine is not ... just think this might end up being a bit restrictive, but I shall report this breach of cevil liberty to LawLord, chief constible of the off topic police and see if he can use interrigation tactics to figure out the real meaning behind this discussion.
It's in Safe Haven. So no one can say dirty things, or they'll get kicked off the site! Muahahahahahahah!
Caitlin
TRASH CAN, TRASH CAN
See, a trash can, is usually, a dirty thing .. oh no, am I going to get kicked off,
Well said, Caitlin, I think anyone with a fair amount of intelligence knows what I meant. If you want to get r rated about what's on your mind, you can do it on the lets talk board, ormaybe the rant board, thank you.
Yes Caitlin, ah homework, I remember it well. My last few years in high school, myhomebound teacher gave me so much homework, I felt buried alive by it, and didn't think I'd ever dig my way out of it. Some of it payed off in the end though. After all, when it comes to typing the exact url, spelling is everything. I found high school to be harder than lower grades. In the lower grades, it would take me only half an hour to 45 minutes to do my homework, but with high school, it took about 5 hours.
My mom got me another dvd movie on monday, and I listened to that after the soap operas went off.
wonderwoman
Right now I'm thinking about posting on the boards and how I want a milk shake. Hehehe.
Caitlin
well now I'm thinking about a couple of stories I was listening to on one of my old time radio cds. It was on the cd that has the bbc ghost stories on it. There are 30 of them.
wonderwoman
Not even if I was stretched beyond endurance on my medieval rack would I divulge the truth because no one here would understand.