39 year old, HoH and Learning Sign Language - Joining from South Africa

M

Mossie

New Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2026
Messages
5
Reaction score
1
Good day everyone,

Joining all the way from South Africa.

I’m 39, born HoH, and very slowly starting to learn sign language. I’m not here because I’m trying to “fix” myself, but rather to learn to accept myself and connect with others who understand what it’s like.

I grew up mostly surrounded by hearing people, but sometimes I feel that they don’t really understand what silence or stillness can mean to someone who is HoH. Without my hearing aids, I’m completely deaf. I’m hoping to learn more about that part of myself and the Deaf/HoH community.

I’d love to meet some like-minded people, make new friends, learn more about the Deaf/HoH community, and hopefully improve my signing along the way.

If anyone is willing to chat, communicate with me, or even patiently teach me some sign language, I’d be very happy to “hear” from you.

Looking forward to meeting you all!
 
Welcome! What part of ZA are you from? I spent some time there years ago and loved it. Beautiful country with amazing food!

I stayed in Guateng/Jojurg but explored all over and absolutely loved my days in Krueger Park.

I hope you find companions here. :)
 
Thank you. I am from Cape Town, in the Western Cape.

Kruger Park is definitely a special place, with nature that you don’t usually get to see anywhere else. And yes, I have to agree about the food. especially the braai (barbecue)

Where are you from?
 
I'm from Missouri. (the midwest of USA)

I miss a braai! Especially the rashers and boerewors. I never made it to the Cape, maybe some day.
 
Let me know if you ever find yourself in Cape Town. Then we can braai some lekker steak, boerewors and braaibroodjies. Also, a lekker salad. I tried to attach some pictures I took of Cape Town and Table Mountain, but it says the file is too large.
 
Thanks for trying! I am sure they are beautiful. Have you found someone to practice signing with in your area? I am sure ZA SL is so different from ASL. I hope you find someone to practice with soon, if that's part of what you're looking for here.
 
I have not found anyone to practise with yet. I have mostly just been learning from online videos, and I am still very much a beginner. Lol.

So far I have learned the one handed alphabet and a few basic signs like thank you, I don’t know, sorry, name, deaf, help and cappuccino.

I don’t mind learning international signs either. I would actually be happy to learn ASL and SASL, or whatever I can pick up from people. For me, I mainly just want to learn and be able to communicate better.
 
Back
Top