MSmiles
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2014
- Messages
- 85
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Hello, yes, I’m from California the easy breezy (often times chilly) part of the Bay Area. I am hearing. I was always curious about deaf culture and ASL, but I didn’t really jump into it till "Switched at Birth" first aired summer 2011. Right away I signed up for ASL at a local community college.
I made a lot of hearing ASL friends and two deaf friends. One being my tutor and the other a close friend of his. I absolutely fell in love with the language and continued on up to ASL2. I admit that I was quite dependent on my two deaf friends for practice signing, but I never immersed myself to the culture as I should have :Oops:. They wanted me to go with them to deaf events, but I was always so busy with my current-at-the-time biotechnology degree.
When the "Switched at Birth" episode made a whole episode in ASL, I was very close (and I mean REALLY close) to dropping my biotech degree to become an interpreter. But in reality, I just really enjoy getting to know people from different backgrounds of life, and ASL happened to expand that. Therefore, I continued on with my biotechnology degree with continued hopes to keep up with ASL.
OK! Present time. It’s 2014 now. . . I finished my degree, but my continued hopes to keep up with ASL wavered. SO HERE I AM at AllDeaf.com. In the past, taking an ASL class was the central place where I got comfortable with signing and rarely used it outside of class. I’m done with school and all my ASL friends have moved on to their own things and I only keep up with one deaf friend ONLY through text as he has moved on from school as well. I’ve reviewed my books and remembered many signs, but I’ve always been terrible with my receptive skills. (which was why I was so dependent on my only deaf friends, I felt they were VERY patient with me).
I just discovered that my local Starbucks has a Deaf Chat Coffee every month that I am determined to go to. So I am here to make friends, but also build confidence in signing again and properly immerse myself by going to deaf events. (In which I should have in the past because I had company, but now I’ll be going by myself. . . I’m nervous :Ohno.
If there are students who need practice through skype or oovoo, I’m willing to help (I still have my ASL textbooks, maybe we are using the same ones?).
Or just make a genuine good friend on here.
Hello again!
Woah, I didn’t mean for my intro to be that personal and lengthy for my first post.
I made a lot of hearing ASL friends and two deaf friends. One being my tutor and the other a close friend of his. I absolutely fell in love with the language and continued on up to ASL2. I admit that I was quite dependent on my two deaf friends for practice signing, but I never immersed myself to the culture as I should have :Oops:. They wanted me to go with them to deaf events, but I was always so busy with my current-at-the-time biotechnology degree.
When the "Switched at Birth" episode made a whole episode in ASL, I was very close (and I mean REALLY close) to dropping my biotech degree to become an interpreter. But in reality, I just really enjoy getting to know people from different backgrounds of life, and ASL happened to expand that. Therefore, I continued on with my biotechnology degree with continued hopes to keep up with ASL.
OK! Present time. It’s 2014 now. . . I finished my degree, but my continued hopes to keep up with ASL wavered. SO HERE I AM at AllDeaf.com. In the past, taking an ASL class was the central place where I got comfortable with signing and rarely used it outside of class. I’m done with school and all my ASL friends have moved on to their own things and I only keep up with one deaf friend ONLY through text as he has moved on from school as well. I’ve reviewed my books and remembered many signs, but I’ve always been terrible with my receptive skills. (which was why I was so dependent on my only deaf friends, I felt they were VERY patient with me).
I just discovered that my local Starbucks has a Deaf Chat Coffee every month that I am determined to go to. So I am here to make friends, but also build confidence in signing again and properly immerse myself by going to deaf events. (In which I should have in the past because I had company, but now I’ll be going by myself. . . I’m nervous :Ohno.
If there are students who need practice through skype or oovoo, I’m willing to help (I still have my ASL textbooks, maybe we are using the same ones?).
Or just make a genuine good friend on here.
Hello again!
Woah, I didn’t mean for my intro to be that personal and lengthy for my first post.