Wow....school update!!

Well now. It has been a long time. So I 'll start from the beginning.

1. I GOT INTO COLUMBIA!!!!!!! Yep, I had a phone interview and she said they looked for students with high GPAs like mine because the program is so intense. They heart me. No scholarships, though. But a bunch of loans. Great. Just what I was looking for.
2. I still have to screen for the interpreter program in Queens. I really hope I get in.

Advanced ASL II ended, I miss that class. I miss the students and how helpful my instructor was. I need more deaf events in my life... stay tuned for more of those.

In my ASL 4 class, we are reviewing things I have already learned. Things like time, money, location, etc. So although the vocabulary is redundant, I am taking advantage of the reception and socializing skills practice. Practicing TOSV is hard and important for me. I don't think I learned any of that in Sacramento. Another benefit from the class is that because of all the PowerPoint assignments, my knowledge in Keynote & Powerpoint is building quite rapidly.

Two nights ago, my dear friend Jeremy hosted the ASL Slam at the Bowery Poetry Club in the LES. He was great! He and another man shared stories, then Jeremy conducted a few ASL games using body language, gesture, and facial expressions. It was fun! The place was PACKED!!! I was so happy for the producers; we were lined up all the way to the door. A lot more young adults were in attendance, and a few folks from my ASL 4 class. It feels nice to be a part of a community. I met some new friends and chatted with some old ones. And of course... got home waaaaaaaaaaay too late. Next month I should set an alarm to remind me when I should go.

Now for Gallaudet, my applications and interviews are all complete. However, my Praxis exams are not. I completed the Praxis II on Wednesday. It wasn't that bad. I got a 183; equivalent to an 85%. Today I was scheduled to take the Praxis II, including Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic. I'm not sure if it is because Mercury is in retrograde, it's that time of the month, or the rain.... but the universe was against me this morning. Long story short: I got nauseated, the express train was a hot mess, the 34th Street stop was congested, an entrace was blocked off, and my feet got wet. I was too late to take the exam. I'll have to reschedule on Monday. I just pray that the rescheduling fee will not be ridiculous. BTW: the phone receptionist was was the rudest, least helpful I have ever encountered. Even worse than Logitech.

And that's about it!! I've been really torn about which school I should enroll. But I will wait until all applications/interviews/exams are complete and all schools have given me an answer. Until then?
Just keep signing, just keep signing, just keep signing....

Application in ASL

View Here.

:-)

Oh jeez...

Wow.

Have I been busy, lost, confused, tardy, and tired. Turns out the transcripts I thought I ordered were either NOT ordered after all or sent to a miss-spelled university.

Transcripts re-ordered: Check.
Universities informed: Check.
Wait-wait-waiting.

I also have to schedule a bunch of last minute ASL interviews and conversations. Yikes! Of course the gracious folks who have offered to help have their own REAL lives, too, and are less available that I had hoped. Fear not, small graduate-applicant! For there is more help right around the corner in your instructor and yourself.

Left to do?
Too much for this blog.

I DID, however, discover that Hunter College (part of the CUNY system) has a decent Deaf Ed. program. I've heard mixed reviews, siting their lack of emphasis on ASL, but want to go attend the Open House to see for myself. Most of my role models have recommended Gallaudet, and one new school: McDaniel College. This college is a small school in Maryland with a department who has impacted how Gallaudet's education programs are designed.

Hmmmmm......

Decisions. Decisions.

Still in Adv. ASL II.
Still enrolled in ASL Intensive Level 4.
Still signing.

BTW, David Rivera at the ASL Slam was absolutely amazing!!!!!

Upon Arrival at Gallaudet

Of course on the first night at Gally, the student diversity organization is holding a dance showcase, filled with hip hopper, pop interpreters, krumpers, preachers, and capoeiristas. And it was all in ASL. Most interesting part? My group of friends kept asking me if the music was too loud for me. I could feel it rattling the plastic chair I sat in and my sternum. I for to see rap in ASL for the first time. A pair interpreted a new song by Monica and Ludacris. I think that one was my favorite. The ASL was smooth and easy to follow. One girl who performed Videophone by Beyoncé and Lady GaGa gave what I thought was a great musical representation of the piece. Her ASL skills were top notch. But a Deaf woman sitting next to me said the whole performance was too bouncy and harder to follow. Interesting. And of course, everyone kept tapping me on the shoulder to tell me they like my pink braids.


So this is the DC metro. Doesn't their subway system look like Star Trek? I kept looking for my Vulcan boyfriend.


Chinatown DC
This is where we landed and Jeremy took me to Potbelly, one of the best sandwich shops I've ever been to. This is also where I got kicked out of McDonalds for have a glass bottle of rootbeer. Go figure.


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Hands On Learning

I made a personal relationship with eye-contact in the Deaf WORLD. I've studied and read and written and reported and explained. But now I know. Now I feel it. In the hearing world, when one needs to pass by and say "excuse me," it is said with the head nearly tilted downward and barely any eye contact; presumably in a display of respect. In Deaf culture, eye contact must be made during any and all communication. Period. In my efforts to maneuver the food court at the South Street Seaport during the Deaf Expo, I physically became aware of my hearing tendency and quickly corrected myself.

The Deaf Poetry Slam at the Bowery Poetry Club was amazing! The performer, Rob Roy, gave his "Deaf Man Walking" (signed 'dead man walking') skit. Originally from Australia, he delivered in ASL and intermittently sought correction from the audience in various words. Sidenote: I found it interesting Australian signs "number" the way Americans sign "problem." He signed very clearly, a little larger than one would in normal conversation, and used humor and rhetoric for emphasis.

This was my first experience in ASL discussing more adult themes. Ironically enough, I laugh just as hard in ASL as I do in English. I love the directness and openness of ASL. Because understanding and information is so important, so pertinent to the culture, communication can be so much more smooth than in English. Well, that's my opinion anyway. Hearing people are so busy being caught up in etiquette, passivity, second-guessing, implicit statements, vague feedback, and formality. GET TO THE POINT ALREADY!

Ahem...

After the performance we migrated to the nearby bar where the center section of the floor turned into our world. Fingers flew and beer glasses collided. I met some new people and saw some old friends. Finally, deaf women MY age!! It was great to meet others who are attending or have attended Gallaudet, this makes my upcoming visit and application that much more tangible.

Something Interesting:
Sitting at the bar eating my over-cooked yet delicious veggie burger (get the English mustard, it has an extra kick!), a man with longish blond hair and an awkward way of signing came over and introduced himself. He proceeded to tell me he believed in Jesus Christ and asked me if I believe He died on the cross for us. Next he passed me two pamphlets in English and pen-drawn ASL relaying messages about the Savior's love and that I, too, can be saved.

In a bar.
He brought these papers to a bar.
I've never seen missionaries in a bar.
I know God loves everyone, including the drinkers... but come on, man!

This is yet another anecdote of my "hands on" learning in the Deaf way:
Deaf culture has everything any other culture has, including fights, bible-pushers, actors, and friends.

Video Link to LGBT Research Project

First Draft of presentation in ASL about Deaf Queer/LGBT Teens in America.

Rough draft.
Rough.

Feedback? Thoughts? let me know!