This past Saturday, I went to deaf awareness day at White Bear Lake High school. I had been eyeballing the event for some time since it seemed like a good way to see what the Deaf community is like on a larger scale than a single theater performance or game.
I drove with Beth, and we ended up bumping into additional classmates on our way into the event. The six of us spent our time walking around to the many booths and asking questions as we went. I was surprised by the variety of presenters. I suppose I didn’t have any hard expectations going into the day, but I was surprised by the variety of presenters. The event reminded me of fairs at my own high school back home in that the event seemed to feature a number of grassroots organizations. …show more content…
When I had gone to the table with the raffle for a TV, I didn’t know the sign for credit card, so I fingerspelled it (oops). Then, I wasn't sure what the person signing back to me had said. In the end, he fingerspelled “check” and I understood that he had signed that a check or cash would work, but I definitely felt like I was out of the loop during the conversation. I think it was also a bit awkward because I wasn't sure what to ask in the moment. It felt like the signs and information were moving so quickly that it had all happened before I had enough time to make sense of what I didn’t know, let alone remember the right things to do when you don’t know a …show more content…
The fact that there was a good showing of organizations working with accessibility issues and providing services for people, like hearing parents with Deaf children, made the deaf culture topics we have covered in class seem particularly relevant. At times, it can be easy for me to think about cultural issues broadly and forget that they manafest uniquely in my own community. The event this weekend was a good reminder that the issues we talk about in class are present im my own circles as well.
In the community, it was interesting to see how people changed their method of communication with us when it came up that we are hearing. In class, all of the students are hearing so we all don’t talk because we know we are learning. At the deaf event though, people still spoke to each other and with us; some presenters would sign while they voiced to us in English. Essentially, the way hearing people interacted in that Deaf space was different than how I would interact with other hearing people in
I drove with Beth, and we ended up bumping into additional classmates on our way into the event. The six of us spent our time walking around to the many booths and asking questions as we went. I was surprised by the variety of presenters. I suppose I didn’t have any hard expectations going into the day, but I was surprised by the variety of presenters. The event reminded me of fairs at my own high school back home in that the event seemed to feature a number of grassroots organizations. …show more content…
When I had gone to the table with the raffle for a TV, I didn’t know the sign for credit card, so I fingerspelled it (oops). Then, I wasn't sure what the person signing back to me had said. In the end, he fingerspelled “check” and I understood that he had signed that a check or cash would work, but I definitely felt like I was out of the loop during the conversation. I think it was also a bit awkward because I wasn't sure what to ask in the moment. It felt like the signs and information were moving so quickly that it had all happened before I had enough time to make sense of what I didn’t know, let alone remember the right things to do when you don’t know a …show more content…
The fact that there was a good showing of organizations working with accessibility issues and providing services for people, like hearing parents with Deaf children, made the deaf culture topics we have covered in class seem particularly relevant. At times, it can be easy for me to think about cultural issues broadly and forget that they manafest uniquely in my own community. The event this weekend was a good reminder that the issues we talk about in class are present im my own circles as well.
In the community, it was interesting to see how people changed their method of communication with us when it came up that we are hearing. In class, all of the students are hearing so we all don’t talk because we know we are learning. At the deaf event though, people still spoke to each other and with us; some presenters would sign while they voiced to us in English. Essentially, the way hearing people interacted in that Deaf space was different than how I would interact with other hearing people in