Teachers College, Columbia: Check Next up: Gallaudet!

Now that my big fat envelope of application materials for Teachers College has been delivered and paid, I can focus on the separate but equally intense application process for Gallaudet.
Transcripts have been delivered.
Letters of Recommendation have been so appreciatively received and ready for print.
The Personal Statement from TC needs some tweaking to morph into my Goals Statement for Gallaudet.
And the good old application fee.


.....and the video submission of my Goals Statement in ASL. (cue shrieking Hitchcock music)


I can do it. I just have to manage my time the right way. Efficiently. Like Dad always says, "Right time. Right Reason." --see Dad? I DO listen--


Happening in RealTime:
Advanced ASL II begins this week, every Wednesday until the end of March.
A Workshop in late January, ASL Studies for Professionals.
Hopefully an ASL Intensive Study beginning in early March.

Now that my To Do list has be rehashed, let's discuss where ASL and Deaf Studies are in my life as we know it.
I keep 'meaning to' attend these Level 4+ study sessions. My first thought when I see the remind on my iPhone is, "I'm really tired and hungry, I'll go next time."
Wrong reply, Shauna.
I also have been (slowly) developing a work-related presentation for a Deaf high school in Long Island. Confidential stuff.
But I'm not mingling like I need to be. Nor reading any Deaf studies literature. I follow several ASL/Deaf cultural blogs and tweets. That is helpful. I'm getting a larger demographic of perspectives. There is a tweeter who blogs about the Deaf experience in Japan, and a few others from Europe. I'm not stuck in NYC for opinions and stories.

The closer I am to wrapping up applications, leads to the close I am to becoming accepted. Which leads even closer to the time when I enroll. Which may lead to me inevitably moving.
This leads to acute anxiety attacks, fears of change, worries of aloneness, and thoughts of uncertainty.


Is this really what I want to do?


I'm sure I'm just getting wet feet. Butterflies in my stomach. Stressed out. Lack of caffeine.


But we can't just sit here afraid of the future, right? So even if it is unknown water, and unknown depths;
close your eyes
hold your nose
spring
and
dive
right
in.

For Real.

Contemplative thoughts have danced through my mind like the leaves on the sidewalks of North East D.C.

It's all starting to get real.

The mystical people I've read about in undergrad assigned reading 

Iconic schools and national protests 

Movemakers and Contributors.

Campuses 

Colleges 

Universities 

Directors 

Departments 

Statues

These facets are all becoming a part of my life. I am visiting and interacting with iconic beings which have until now, only existed in books, stories, and video tapes.

I've attended LaGuardia Community College and met with Robert Hills.
I have acquaintances whom have attended, work, or teach at Lexington.
I was escorted through Gallaudet by friends who have already attended, and am currently applying for grad school at this near-ethereal institution.




Black printed words on beige and white papers are morphing into tangible verifiable entities.
It's real.
It really is real.
For reals.
And it is a part of me. Soon, I will be a part of it all, too.

Post Gallaudet Post

I did it!

I made it!

I went.

I signed. 

And boy... did I walk!

Sooooo many thoughts are swimming around in my head. 

Once I arrived at Gallaudet, I saw people like me and Jeremy, my dear friend who guided me around my way. I saw people who sign. People who talk with their hands, even when their mouth is full. 

I met some great girls in the dorms and their friends. Some education students, a psychology major, an interpreter, a graduate student in international affairs, and the other prospective at the Open House. I was so nervous people would judge me and I wouldn't understand them. That was not the case at all. Everyone I met had patience with my level of comprehension, supported me in my efforts, and encouraged me to keep on trekking. The faculty I met were so encouraging and gave me all the information I requested. Class size, requirements, testing times and accessibility, advice, free magnets and pens, and smiles. By the way, my hot pink and platinum extensions were the perfect ice breaker. Everywhere I went, someone was there to tap me on the shoulder and sign, "I love your hair! That's so cool," which always lead to a real conversation. I met another education grad student in the bookstore with my hair alone. I met a dancer from New York with a cochlear implant, a Deaf man who helped establish the Deaf studies department at Washington State, a man who hates fingerspelling and interviewed to work in San Francisco for social work, people from texas, Californians from Freemont, and two international students (Malaysia and Japan). 

Wow. 

The best part of the whole trip? Wayne's birthday. Jeremy's best friend's boyfriend turned 26 and of course, the gang got together to celebrate with chips, salsa and beer in sippy cups (which is actually pretty useful, signing with a cup of beer in your hands can be detrimental). Oh! Don't forget the games!!! This was the real deal. This was real ASL. This was me signing in real time. My reception sure picked up, as did my speed. The sayings holds true: 

Practice makes perfect. 

You don't use it, you lose it. 

People I hadn't met put me up on their couch, their spare bed, their dorm room and gave me directions and advice for the area. I've never met such friendly and earnest strangers. Being a part of their community for three days has helped me learn so much about myself, my skills, my dreams, my weaknesses, my goals, and my role. Just when I told them I started to feel overwhelmed, more than once the reply was, "Struggle is a part of the process." 

and on a personal note: "Everything can't be a big deal." 

In closing, I want to thank my dear friends Anna, Tiffany, Aspen, Devin, Chris, Jeremy; my best friend Marjorie; my brothers Joe & Jim; and my parents for all of the support and pushing. I would still be sitting in this very chair like a sack of potatoes dreaming about my future instead of making my future, if it weren't for all you folks and your words of wisdom and pats on the back. 

What's next?

It's Application Season!!! So if I fail to return your text and ditch our plans, please know it is because I am busy typing away for letters of rec, resumes, and transcript acquisitions. You'll hear from me in January. Until, keep reading!

and I'l keep signing.

Learning Signs

Learning experience #683:

I comprehend ASL better from men, as opposed to women.

Hmmmm. Why? How come? I wonder why that came to pass... Let's look at my background.
First ASL instructor: Wendy, female. Hearing with an unhealthy pity perspective of the Deaf.
All other ASL instructors during undergrad: Male. 1 hearing, 2 Deaf.
Sorority sister: raised orally, spoke a LOT when she signed.
Other college Deaf friends: mostly male.
NYC--
1 Instructor: Deaf Woman, Carmen King. Strong ASL skills, yet very feminine & assertive approach.
1 Instructor: Deaf Man, graduate of Gallaudet.
Current tutor/good friend: young Deaf man, social butterfly.
1 CoDA coworker: man.

See a trend?? I'm not used to the tapered fingers and fluttery trills of thought. Women's hands move differently, on average. Mens hands appear visually more stable, in my humble opinion.

So it looks like I know just where to start my homework for grad school:
Single Hearing Female ISO Single Deaf/CoDA Female Tutor :-)




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Restaurant rules

Today I rode the metro all by myself. I even switched colors. Why? To meet some newfound friends for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Of course I had the Hawaiian BBQ, with half to go. This was yet another learning experience:

I arrived late, culturally appropriate. When the waitress came to take my order I spoke in my native tongue to speed things up. Plus, my hands were usurped by taking my coat off.

What a big mistake.

And I knew better.
'Why?' -you may be thinking. Did my Deaf friends judge me? Don't think so. Did I stop signing? No.
But the moment I spoke, it signaled the waitress that I communicated like her and, naturally, she gravitated toward me. So when she addressed the table, she only looked at me. When she wanted to know if they want water, she looked at me. When she wanted to know if we were ready for the check, you guessed it; she looked at me.

Once I realized her dependency on me and lack of acknowledging the other side of the table, I began to use my hands with a very low voice volume. And avoided eye contact. Mission accomplished: she started looking around to everyone.

Moral of the story, don't talk with your mouth(ful) at the dinner table.

:-)
Amber & Me sharing some tunes.


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Grad. School Open House

Go Bisons!


I just had the lunch social with the graduate school's department if education. Early, Elementary, Secondary.... hmmm. So specific. So many tests and exams. So focused. So much support and encouragement! And they even have their own sorority.

During the open house, which is set up like a fair with tables and balloons, I was able to meet with Admissions, Financial Aide, Deaf Studies, Ed., Interpreting, the organization which administers the ASL Proficiency Interview. Wow. $175 where they quiz my language skills. Admittedly this becomes a little daunting. But success is so much sweeter when you have to work for it, right?! When I return to NYC, it is time to hunker down and sit in on some classrooms in the real world where I can get an eyewitness account to help me form my final decision. I am so very glad to be here.




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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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