Deaf Community Interview Report

I attended St. Jean Baptiste church in Warren Rhode Island for an interpreted mass. I wanted to be early so that I could introduce myself to the interpreter and members of the Deaf community prior to mass starting. I was initially nervous by the idea of communicating through sign language because I knew my sign skills were very obviously at a novice level. Although the interpreter and community members easily caught on to me being a beginner they communicated with me, making sure that I understood what they were saying and teaching me new signs after I had to fingerspell. They were all extremely supportive and happy to see students taking such an interest in their language and lives. May favorite part of the experience was seeing how something, in this case church, could be so different for others. During mass when the chorus was …show more content…
They continued to keep us involved by teaching us the sign for peace, when saying peace be with you. This made for a very positive and educational experience. In addition, while at mass I noticed how inconvenient things like the layout of the room can be. A giant pole, which held up the balcony, was in the center of the pews that we were sitting in. This blocked the view of the interpreter for nearly half of us. As well, the pews directly in front of the interpreter were not reserved so anyone could sit there. This meant that if not early, people who need to see the interpreter could be to far away. I was initially very nervous to walk in to the church, but after meeting and communicating with the people who were there I realized how ridiculous it was to be nervous. Everyone was so excited to see students learning about their culture and intrigued in the development of our sign language skills. I would not necessarily choose to go to church again, but I would love to attend more sign language events to get involved in the community and meet more