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| Practicing the sign language songs |
Want to hear something funny (at my husband's expense, of course)? Remember Graem's amazing study with his student's deaf friend, Errol? Well, last week, we went back. Graem was super excited to see that he was there again, ready to study. We sit down and wait for him to come in. He walks in and we wave hello. I'm curious how much sign he remembers. Then he says, "Good afternoon. Would you like some guavas?" We tried to hold in our laughter and Graem, his embarrassment. Errol is not deaf!! The week before, Graem had an amazing study with him and Renny. He never voiced a thing and just signed. The crazy thing is, though, that Renny seemed surprised that Errol was talking too. I guess he is a great example for us to sign, not voice, when we are with deaf. One sister says that Graem's not the only one to get the hearing and deaf confused. Another sister had a study for quite awhile before she found out that the deaf person was actually hearing. From now on, we're thinking about implementing hearing tests when we start studies.
You fellow Americans, do you ever watch cricket? Before coming to Guyana, I had no clue. I still don't understand it (honestly, though, I don't understand football either. Superbowl is all about half time nachos, anyway. Right?). It's baseball with a fat golf looking thing, right? I'm beginning to think that we're the only ones that are just not into it. The other day, a few guys delivered water to our house. I had the TV on, watching the news. As one guy passed me, he asked "White girl don't watch cricket?" At first, I thought "What white girl?" Oh yeah, that's me. Then, I thought, "Cricket? What? Come again." By the time I processed his question, he was already in the truck driving away. Sometimes white girl, a little slow.
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| Sarah and Jaide enjoying ice cream |
Yesterday, we went to the monthly ASL meeting in New Amsterdam. Four deaf students and five hearing brothers and sisters accompanied us. For three of the deaf, this was their first time to the meeting. All together, attendance was 68, including 30 deaf. It's always incredible to see deaf communicate freely with one another, even if they know limited ASL. Another fabulous example for us hearing. Don't be afraid to communicate, even if you don't have the same language. Even a hearing couple from Chile was there. They are learning English, but still managed to answer in sign language. Here, the important thing is not how you sign it, but that you tried.
Guyanese word of the day: boulanger. Translation: eggplant.
If you are considering "stepping over into Macedonia", please email me. We would love the help!
Love Jaide and Graem
