I just finished the first week of a basic sign language course; one that’s meant to be fun and everyone passes. The biggest challenge wasn’t learning the signs or even staying silent for almost eight hours a day but rather learning the culture. I picked up a lot of little quirks that almost made it feel like I was in a different country. The most obvious difference between the hearing and deaf community is that deaf jokes (as in jokes made by deaf people) are pretty much 100% visual. There’s also a lot more bluntness, which takes getting used to.

I don’t consider this task accomplished yet, as there’s still a lot left to learn. I’m not expecting to be fluent, but I’d love to be able to carry on a conversation without finger-spelling every other word. Yikes, Two and a half weeks till the next course…