I feel it is my personal and moral obligation to my English-speaking deaf counterparts to study, understand, and communicate in American Sign Language. There is more than a certain tug at my heart strings when I am unable to fully interact with someone who is deaf.

The difference between someone who is deaf and someone who legitimately speaks a foreign tongue is that those in America using ASL are speaking the same language as I am, only using their hands, fingers, and facial expressions, not their tongue and lips. If a Frenchman were to approach me, asking “Parlez-vous francais?”, I would politely shake my head, saying “Non”, and moving on. I do not expect a French person to learn English to speak with me, as he should not expect me to learn French to speak with him. Someone who is deaf, though, speaks the same language as me. I feel an utter shame when I am forced to use a pen and paper to communicate with a deaf individual.

So, in my attempt to become fluent in ASL (as well as German and Spanish by the age of 30), I have enrolled in a night-time ASL course at Evergreen state starting in September. I will take ASL I until December, and plan on taking ASL II during the winter quarter. As of today, Evergreen plans to offer ASL III in spring, which I may have to take as well. After that, it will only be a matter of continuing to use (and market) that skill so I don’t lose it.