I began my new, non-credit (community), ASL class this week: The same teacher (deaf), in a whole new class. I have the same teacher that discouraged me from continuing my ASL endeavors five years before. He is now an experienced ASL teacher whereas he was not before- a rookie teacher then. He is, so far, teaching ASL grammar, vocabulary and idioms (which I love) among other interesting and important topics. It seems that the class is all well and good at this point and it shows promise.
Another important fact is that the same teacher is also an instructor in the credit courses I will take this summer. I told him (manually) that I was going to go for a degree in ASL interpretation in the college he teaches. He honestly told me that the course is extremely difficult and that he had only a very few students pass the national test for terpship. I was, of course, not at all discouraged because I know that I will do fine, I know it in my heart.
Another great thing about this class is that I am the only dude there; young, beautiful women surround me! My classmate (female!), all of them, are eager to learn the manual language and I will help them as best I can…and I will do so with pleasure. Boy I love this class already!
So every Monday and Wednesday night I will be instructed in ASL and I will be sitting with a grin from ear-to-ear at the fact that twenty-something ladies are learning along with me. Yes!