Jan 31, part II
I’m trying not to let the honeymoon period in a new place get the best of me, but I have to say that there are so many things to appreciate about this environment...
Just a few of my favorites:
The people (Nancy, Elodia, Rubia, the kids, Deaf church members)
Getting a laugh from any of the kids
When the kids play w/ signs
Joking with Nancy at Spanish church
Kriol accents-- [For any English speakers who have previously been discouraged, take heart! Your accent would not stand out quite as much if you learned Spanish here; they don’t trill the R’s!:)]
Espanglishiol (mix of Eng, Span, & Kriol that I hear. People switch in and out in fascinating ways.)
I saw the ocean today!! The bus to Corozal takes me right past it. Gorgeous!!!
The weather, ahhhhh
The pride in different cultures & languages
Limes! Lime on everything (well, that might just be me, but it’s pretty popular. Yum)
The rooster next door who wakes me up in the morning, and prances around during the day
The stray starving dog that Nancy took pity on, who now wags her tail when Nancy comes home and gives her some food, before she runs away again
I could keep going. Maybe I’ll start off all my posts with the favorite thing of the day.
New Vocab:
91.torta: sandwich. Hast traido una torta para comer?
92.keik: cake. Que dicen para “cake” entonces? --Le decimos keik no mas
93.Evelyn: E at mouth
94.Michel: M on forehead, fingers moved up and down
95.Leisha: L at corner of eye
96.Naida: N at corner of eye
97.milpa (farming): grow many differen kinds of foods in small plots of the same land, Often for subsistence farming, but also for sale.
98.panga: canoa. Se puede ir en panga hasta Mejico a comprar cosas de contrabando
99.guero: white person. A veces los ninos parece gueritos al nacer, pero luego la piel se hace mas moreno.
100.Christopher: C at forehead
101.Carlos: C flicks shoulder
102.Ana: thumb of A follows eyebrow
103.pepito: seed. Quiere pepito?
104.grenacho: tostado sin carne. Estoy comiendo grenacho. No, no es tostado, porque no lleva carne.
105.shhh: for getting someone’s attention, not for hushing. (Kids at Evelyn’s school)
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Meeting "my" students
Jan 31
I think I am going to learn a lot about how Special Ed works in Belize. I’m already getting some perspective by traveling with Elodia, seeing her talk to the teachers, and doing assessments with her. I feel privileged this semester to be working with two incredibly dedicated women who are great teachers (and great examples for me). Today, Elodia took me to meet the students, teachers, and principals that I will be working with.
First, I met Evelyn, a Deaf girl who is mainstreamed with no interpreter, and no one to teach her sign language. She does math well, but spends the rest of the day copying things off the board that she may or may not understand. My heart broke for her. I left one of the Signing Illustrated textbooks (which First Menno donated--thanks!) with her teacher so he can learn and teach her too, but he has a multi-grade class of like 40 students so I don’t know where he’ll find the time.
After spending the morning with Evelyn at Cristo Rey Elementary, Elodia and I went to Mary Hill, where there are 3 Deaf children. At this school, one of the teachers has tried hard to learn to sign (Nancy was her teacher), and is doing quite well with the kids- Carlos (12), Ana (15), and Christopher (10?). It was great to be in that environment where they get a lot of support, espcially after coming from Evelyn’s school, where everyone has the best intentions but she’s the only Deaf student and there’s just no one available to focus on her language needs.
We ended the day by stopping by San Narciso Elementary, where I met Mitchel (7) and Leisha (4), a Deaf brother and sister. Their cousin Rubia is a good friend of Elodia’s, so I met their mom and older Deaf sister Nadia (25) as well. Elodia and I hashed things over for a while on the way back to Orange Walk and we're hoping Evelyn’s parents might be able to bring her to Mary Hill with the 3 other Deaf students for school 2 days a week. That way I all 4 kids get more language exposure from me and each other, and Miss Lupita (the teacher who is signing with her students already) can give Evelyn the educational support she needs that I have no experience in. Since Lupita is eager to learn, hopefully I could maximize my short time in Belize and support her ASL efforts so that the kids keep benefiting even after my internship's over. I’m really here for such a short time...
In any case, I think I’ll spend one day a week at San Narciso with the teacher there, and Nadia said she’d come in and help teach the kids too, which would be excellent. I’m learning a lot about how to work in an educational team, and how to offer the linguistic knowledge I have in a way that’s helpful without overstepping my knowledge-base as someone who has never taken an education class. Elodia, for example, is really good at firmly but empathetically conveying to parents how important it is that their children come to school, even when things are not easy for them because of various disabilities, and she is willing to go an extra 5 miles for each student to try to get them what they need to be successful in school. Nancy is the same way-- driving 3 hrs every morning to pick up Deaf church members, giving workshops and doing home visits for families with Deaf children, being a little bit Mom, a little bit Teacher, a little bit Pastor, a little bit..whatever else someone needs at the moment. She’s another great role model for me of someone who knows how to meet a person where s/he is and go from there (a lot like Myron and his constant stream of Deaf-culture-impaired students:) ). This is definitely a place where you feel both like the task at hand is too big to take on, and also that with the necessary skills/equipment you could make a significant difference in the lives of many of the students.
I think I am going to learn a lot about how Special Ed works in Belize. I’m already getting some perspective by traveling with Elodia, seeing her talk to the teachers, and doing assessments with her. I feel privileged this semester to be working with two incredibly dedicated women who are great teachers (and great examples for me). Today, Elodia took me to meet the students, teachers, and principals that I will be working with.
First, I met Evelyn, a Deaf girl who is mainstreamed with no interpreter, and no one to teach her sign language. She does math well, but spends the rest of the day copying things off the board that she may or may not understand. My heart broke for her. I left one of the Signing Illustrated textbooks (which First Menno donated--thanks!) with her teacher so he can learn and teach her too, but he has a multi-grade class of like 40 students so I don’t know where he’ll find the time.
After spending the morning with Evelyn at Cristo Rey Elementary, Elodia and I went to Mary Hill, where there are 3 Deaf children. At this school, one of the teachers has tried hard to learn to sign (Nancy was her teacher), and is doing quite well with the kids- Carlos (12), Ana (15), and Christopher (10?). It was great to be in that environment where they get a lot of support, espcially after coming from Evelyn’s school, where everyone has the best intentions but she’s the only Deaf student and there’s just no one available to focus on her language needs.
We ended the day by stopping by San Narciso Elementary, where I met Mitchel (7) and Leisha (4), a Deaf brother and sister. Their cousin Rubia is a good friend of Elodia’s, so I met their mom and older Deaf sister Nadia (25) as well. Elodia and I hashed things over for a while on the way back to Orange Walk and we're hoping Evelyn’s parents might be able to bring her to Mary Hill with the 3 other Deaf students for school 2 days a week. That way I all 4 kids get more language exposure from me and each other, and Miss Lupita (the teacher who is signing with her students already) can give Evelyn the educational support she needs that I have no experience in. Since Lupita is eager to learn, hopefully I could maximize my short time in Belize and support her ASL efforts so that the kids keep benefiting even after my internship's over. I’m really here for such a short time...
In any case, I think I’ll spend one day a week at San Narciso with the teacher there, and Nadia said she’d come in and help teach the kids too, which would be excellent. I’m learning a lot about how to work in an educational team, and how to offer the linguistic knowledge I have in a way that’s helpful without overstepping my knowledge-base as someone who has never taken an education class. Elodia, for example, is really good at firmly but empathetically conveying to parents how important it is that their children come to school, even when things are not easy for them because of various disabilities, and she is willing to go an extra 5 miles for each student to try to get them what they need to be successful in school. Nancy is the same way-- driving 3 hrs every morning to pick up Deaf church members, giving workshops and doing home visits for families with Deaf children, being a little bit Mom, a little bit Teacher, a little bit Pastor, a little bit..whatever else someone needs at the moment. She’s another great role model for me of someone who knows how to meet a person where s/he is and go from there (a lot like Myron and his constant stream of Deaf-culture-impaired students:) ). This is definitely a place where you feel both like the task at hand is too big to take on, and also that with the necessary skills/equipment you could make a significant difference in the lives of many of the students.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Been a Big Week, continued
To continue with breaking news: Dj got a job in DC this week and is not coming to visit. I’m excited for her and disappointed for me, but it’s okay because coordinating travel might have been a complicated task anyway it seems. Adam got accepted into the WOOOF-Belize program (www.wooof.org), and will be in Teakettle at some point in the coming months, which, thankfully, is at least a 10hr bus ride away. I say thankfully b/c a) it’s a really cool opportunity for him, b) it will be really nice to be able to share Belize stories with someone when I get back to the States and c) at the same time I’m glad it’s a little far away b/c if I had a close friend nearby it would be tempting to go and visit often and that’s not why I’m here.
Nancy’s supervisors are coming this Saturday and I will travel with them on Monday to Lamanai, a Mayan community. Then Tuesday I will go with Nancy’s class to Belize City for the Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) ceremony at the Anglican church there (Nancy’s school, St. Peter’s, is Anglican.) Nancy and her supervisors are going to the beach that day b/c the supervisors want to travel a little (and Nancy could probably use a little R&R). She graciously invited me along, but she also thought I might like to go with the kids instead, and I had to agree that it was an opportunity I shouldn’t miss. Skipping the beach this time also means that I have the opportunity to substitute teach in Nancy’s class on Wednesday-- eek!!! She said she will plan an easy day for me but I am definitely praying for Pentecost or something to endow me with a sudden burst of her teacher-super-powers, b/c I have very little experience with effective classroom management. I’m good with kids who listen to me, but I'm not sure I know how to pull them back if they don’t. I'm planning to pay extra close until then to Nancy's deft methods. We shall see...! I’m looking forward to it, but I’m scared too:).
One perk of this arrangement, is that I’ll also be babysitting Sulmi for one night, 2 days, and she has to be one of the highlights of living here. She has the most enchanting laugh when something strikes her as funny.
Wish me luck!
Nancy’s supervisors are coming this Saturday and I will travel with them on Monday to Lamanai, a Mayan community. Then Tuesday I will go with Nancy’s class to Belize City for the Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras) ceremony at the Anglican church there (Nancy’s school, St. Peter’s, is Anglican.) Nancy and her supervisors are going to the beach that day b/c the supervisors want to travel a little (and Nancy could probably use a little R&R). She graciously invited me along, but she also thought I might like to go with the kids instead, and I had to agree that it was an opportunity I shouldn’t miss. Skipping the beach this time also means that I have the opportunity to substitute teach in Nancy’s class on Wednesday-- eek!!! She said she will plan an easy day for me but I am definitely praying for Pentecost or something to endow me with a sudden burst of her teacher-super-powers, b/c I have very little experience with effective classroom management. I’m good with kids who listen to me, but I'm not sure I know how to pull them back if they don’t. I'm planning to pay extra close until then to Nancy's deft methods. We shall see...! I’m looking forward to it, but I’m scared too:).
One perk of this arrangement, is that I’ll also be babysitting Sulmi for one night, 2 days, and she has to be one of the highlights of living here. She has the most enchanting laugh when something strikes her as funny.
Wish me luck!
Been a Big Week!
Feb 1
I'll try to summarize!
Last Friday was my first Girl's Nite, and allow me correct a previous error-- I think I said there was no one in church over 15, and I have no idea where I came up with that. I don't know if there's anyone over 30, but there are lots of 20-somethings, and some teens, and some younger kids. It's a nice mix, and Nancy is the fearless leader of them all, working towards discipleship with them so they can take leadership roles.
Saturday was a day of down time, and I had entirely too much time to think about things because I wasn't doing homework (which I'm proud to say I'm actually keeping up on fairly well!). It was a bit of a homesick day, but that dissipated when the week picked up again on Sunday and just kept right on charging along.
Sunday was my first time at Deaf church. First I went with Nancy for the 3hr extravaganza of picking people up and meeting their families. It was great to have an idea about where the church members live, and I liked meeting their siblings and parents. I also met one of the older boys that attends the service, Sherwin. Three hearing siblings of Hipolito came to church too, so interpreted for them in Spanish while Nancy told the story of Paul and Silas' time in prison.
Sunday night, after dropping everyone back off at home, Nancy and I went to the Spanish-speaking Mennonite church that sponsors her Deaf ministry. I interpreted the service from Spanish to ASL, but there was an American couple there who may not have spoken fluent Spanish, so Pastor Chon translated for himself, going back and forth from Span/Eng. This means the sermon was twice as long:). After a while, it was probably a little boring for both of us to get the same message twice (altho my interpreting might have been better the 2nd time), so we ended up joking around mostly, and occasionally tuning back in to the message. It was a fun evening, and an example for me of the difference between interpreting in a strict "client-interpreter" relationship, versus interpreting/conversing with a friend. It seemed like a more natural relationship than interpreting assignments where both parties don't know each other.
I'll try to summarize!
Last Friday was my first Girl's Nite, and allow me correct a previous error-- I think I said there was no one in church over 15, and I have no idea where I came up with that. I don't know if there's anyone over 30, but there are lots of 20-somethings, and some teens, and some younger kids. It's a nice mix, and Nancy is the fearless leader of them all, working towards discipleship with them so they can take leadership roles.
Saturday was a day of down time, and I had entirely too much time to think about things because I wasn't doing homework (which I'm proud to say I'm actually keeping up on fairly well!). It was a bit of a homesick day, but that dissipated when the week picked up again on Sunday and just kept right on charging along.
Sunday was my first time at Deaf church. First I went with Nancy for the 3hr extravaganza of picking people up and meeting their families. It was great to have an idea about where the church members live, and I liked meeting their siblings and parents. I also met one of the older boys that attends the service, Sherwin. Three hearing siblings of Hipolito came to church too, so interpreted for them in Spanish while Nancy told the story of Paul and Silas' time in prison.
Sunday night, after dropping everyone back off at home, Nancy and I went to the Spanish-speaking Mennonite church that sponsors her Deaf ministry. I interpreted the service from Spanish to ASL, but there was an American couple there who may not have spoken fluent Spanish, so Pastor Chon translated for himself, going back and forth from Span/Eng. This means the sermon was twice as long:). After a while, it was probably a little boring for both of us to get the same message twice (altho my interpreting might have been better the 2nd time), so we ended up joking around mostly, and occasionally tuning back in to the message. It was a fun evening, and an example for me of the difference between interpreting in a strict "client-interpreter" relationship, versus interpreting/conversing with a friend. It seemed like a more natural relationship than interpreting assignments where both parties don't know each other.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
In case your people want to call my people
My phone is up and running.
For Stateside callers, the number is
011.501.668.5135
I'm on Central time, and I try to go to bed by 10.30-11pm at the latest these days (esp cuz I'll be getting up at 5 most Tues, Wed, Thursdays), so catch me before then if you like.
For the motivated and frugal, you could also call and set up a Skype date.
My schedule-ish you might ask?
M, F: 8am-3pm School
TWR: 6 or 7am -4pm School
Sat: Free
Sun: 9.30am-12pm Deaf Church & Lunch,
6pm-8.30pm Spanish church
I am trying to keep to my original plan of staying out of contact for at least the first two weeks, so I won't be checking my e-mail again until this weekend(ish).
Much love!
For Stateside callers, the number is
011.501.668.5135
I'm on Central time, and I try to go to bed by 10.30-11pm at the latest these days (esp cuz I'll be getting up at 5 most Tues, Wed, Thursdays), so catch me before then if you like.
For the motivated and frugal, you could also call and set up a Skype date.
My schedule-ish you might ask?
M, F: 8am-3pm School
TWR: 6 or 7am -4pm School
Sat: Free
Sun: 9.30am-12pm Deaf Church & Lunch,
6pm-8.30pm Spanish church
I am trying to keep to my original plan of staying out of contact for at least the first two weeks, so I won't be checking my e-mail again until this weekend(ish).
Much love!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Weekending
Jan 26
Oops! Well, I don’t know where I came up with my numbers, but I have better facts after tonite. The church has plenty of people over the age of 15. There are several women age 20-26 who I met last nite (as well as several 20-something men who I haven’t met yet.) I enjoyed getting to know the women a little better. Alva is about 3 months pregnant, smart, and fun to talk to. She has a tough story though. One of the women that came tonite, Yaniry, never received much formal education or got to be around many other deaf people/signers, so her signing vocabulary is smaller. It was a great lesson to watch Nancy and the other women translate from printed English to signed English, to ASL, and beyond. Alva might make a great CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter), tho I think she might make Yaniry feel slower than she is sometimes by continuing to explain even after Yaniry has probably gotten it. I can’t necessarily tell though. In any case, at one point it was my turn to read/sign a Bible verse, the one about how the sick need a doctor, not the healthy, and I did a decent job of expanding on the idea in a clear/gestural way I think. Then Nancy took the parable and instantly translated it into an example of ....ah, what’s it called? The linguistic term for when ASL uses a list to illustrate a concept? Well, that-- it was an example worthy of our Say It Like They Mean It textbook:) Great to see. I also got to do a little interpreting because Angelica’s and Yelitzia’s lil (hearing) sisters came too, and they don’t really sign. Mostly they chatted w/ each other, but occasionally they asked me what was going on and I caught them up.
I worked out for a little bit this afternoon, watched While You Were Sleeping on TV, and finished the part of The Poisonwood Bible I have to read for my independent study class. I’m feeling a little better than I did this morning (Saturdays are my down-time days when I tend to get a little melancholy). Tomorrow will be a long day—animo!
New vocab
77.Chamaco/a: (Hipolito’s brothers) kid. Vamos a recoger la mujer y el chamaco. Y el chamaquito?
78.Denila: D, p-in on cheek, m=GIRL
79.listing: (Belize, Sherwin)-- start w/ pinkie and work up, i/s of index and work down. Naming people who live nearby
81.judge/juez: 2h p-d B, ftips back, m=stairs on either side of head
82.COMPASSION: TOUCH-heart (Rh), Lh UNDERSTAND
83.SHARK (2): B p-L on forehead// or Lh p-d Rh p-o B splits Lh, both hands move zigzag. Nancy giving vocab for the week.
84.canoe: canoa
85.cabbage: (hombre del mercado) repollo
86.recio: strong, loud, hard
Oops! Well, I don’t know where I came up with my numbers, but I have better facts after tonite. The church has plenty of people over the age of 15. There are several women age 20-26 who I met last nite (as well as several 20-something men who I haven’t met yet.) I enjoyed getting to know the women a little better. Alva is about 3 months pregnant, smart, and fun to talk to. She has a tough story though. One of the women that came tonite, Yaniry, never received much formal education or got to be around many other deaf people/signers, so her signing vocabulary is smaller. It was a great lesson to watch Nancy and the other women translate from printed English to signed English, to ASL, and beyond. Alva might make a great CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter), tho I think she might make Yaniry feel slower than she is sometimes by continuing to explain even after Yaniry has probably gotten it. I can’t necessarily tell though. In any case, at one point it was my turn to read/sign a Bible verse, the one about how the sick need a doctor, not the healthy, and I did a decent job of expanding on the idea in a clear/gestural way I think. Then Nancy took the parable and instantly translated it into an example of ....ah, what’s it called? The linguistic term for when ASL uses a list to illustrate a concept? Well, that-- it was an example worthy of our Say It Like They Mean It textbook:) Great to see. I also got to do a little interpreting because Angelica’s and Yelitzia’s lil (hearing) sisters came too, and they don’t really sign. Mostly they chatted w/ each other, but occasionally they asked me what was going on and I caught them up.
I worked out for a little bit this afternoon, watched While You Were Sleeping on TV, and finished the part of The Poisonwood Bible I have to read for my independent study class. I’m feeling a little better than I did this morning (Saturdays are my down-time days when I tend to get a little melancholy). Tomorrow will be a long day—animo!
New vocab
77.Chamaco/a: (Hipolito’s brothers) kid. Vamos a recoger la mujer y el chamaco. Y el chamaquito?
78.Denila: D, p-in on cheek, m=GIRL
79.listing: (Belize, Sherwin)-- start w/ pinkie and work up, i/s of index and work down. Naming people who live nearby
81.judge/juez: 2h p-d B, ftips back, m=stairs on either side of head
82.COMPASSION: TOUCH-heart (Rh), Lh UNDERSTAND
83.SHARK (2): B p-L on forehead// or Lh p-d Rh p-o B splits Lh, both hands move zigzag. Nancy giving vocab for the week.
84.canoe: canoa
85.cabbage: (hombre del mercado) repollo
86.recio: strong, loud, hard
Friday, January 25, 2008
Beyond Orange Walk
Jan 25, 2008
Today was my first day with Elodia. I really like her; she’s completely overworked but clearly cares deeply about the kids. I also met Carmelita, a student at Trial Farm whose bone conduction hearing aid recently broke. Her right ear is fine, but her left year is closed over, so she’s been having surgeries to reconstruct it. They don’t know if she’ll need a hearing aid or not once the surgeries are completed. Elodia invited her to compete in the Deaf Spelling Bee that’s coming up in May, but she wasn’t interested. I’m sure she gets along pretty well in school and doesn’t see herself as Deaf. I helped Elodia do assessments on 8 students with possible learning disabilities. They are all in Standard 6 (=8th grade), which is the last year of required education, so they should be going on to highschool next year (if they can afford it), but all the students we tested today were functioning way below grade level. Elodia conducted the reading comprehension tests and I did the ‘Point to the picture that completes the pattern’ section. The kids were really nice, and I was certainly a novelty:). I heard one “hay una gringa!” when I walked in, and lots of kids were coming past the windows that looked into the classroom where Elodia and I were meeting with the students. Most of the white people in town are tourists (except one man who’s always drunk, wandering around town; Nancy figures he lost his passport or something and got stuck here who-knows-how-long-ago because he’s too out of it to figure out his way home), so having me at the school was pretty interesting. I also got to speak lots of Spanish, which was great. I’ll be with Elodia most Tues, Wed, & Thurs, and at Nancy’s school on Mon & Fri. Elodia also invited me to travel to a remote community called Indian Church to visit Mayan ruins sometimes. I’m looking forward to that. I had to smile when she said that the church “esta lejisimo” (super far), about 4 hours away:). Lejisimo is always relative, si? Then again, Nancy said at least an hour of that is pretty bumpy, so maybe I’ll be thinking it’s lejisimo too.
Bueno, tonight we have Girl’s Night at Nancy’s, a Bible study for any girls at church. I know I always emphasize using the word "women" instead of girls, but I actually mean girls in this case, b/c there are no church members over the age of 15. Lately I've been thinking more about what it means for any white North American to be doing mission work in another country. While I still don’t think anyone can separate themselves from some of the perceptions they bring as white North Americans, I am more struck now by the importance of being Deaf in a Deaf ministry, regardless of the country. Nancy, for example, is committed to developing Deaf leadership in the church and the community as much as she can, encouraging Deaf and hearing alike to realize how much Deaf people are really capable of. In contrast, some of the other missions in the area (there is a Canadian group and a Jehovah's Witness group) have been here for years and have shown zero interest in involving the Deaf people they work with in church leadership. So, in this context my perspective shifts some, from "missionaries shouldn’t 'colonize' the Deaf” (true) to “the Deaf should have as much access to church as anyone else so they can make their own decisions about religion” (also true).
Just some musings I've had of late.
Ok, I'm off to see about activating my phone here now. I should have a Belizian phone number by tomorrow.
& Can I just say that it’s totally beautiful out today? It must be about 80F. Ahhhh.....
New Vocab
63. línea atrevasada: horizontal line
64. hard-headed/takes a while to learn: (alva) Cl-shell (p-facing Cs make circle)- m=OPEN Cs (shell cracking), put Cs on head, OH, UNDERSTAND. She’s stubborn, it takes a lot of work to explain thing so she understands
65. USA (Belize): (all the kids) AIRPLANE. You’re from the US? Your mom and dad are in the US?
66. broccoli (Angelica): TREE GREEN. Alva’s picky. She doesn’t like raw broccoli.
67. black/creole (person/skin): Rh p-d B rubs p-d L forearm
68. Bible: (Alva), LAW, marked w/ B. The Bible says Matthew left everything to follow Jesus. (Nancy clarified that this is the Jehovah Witness sign for Bible)
69. bean: Rh x tap++ Lh p-d index. Tostadas have beans, lime, cheese, & tortillas.
70. lime: p-L L, thumb touch chin, m/nms= SOUR
71. Christian (Belize): Lh p-R 1, Rh p-d 1, make cross in front of heart, Rh in front, pushes both hands onto heart. Does being a Christian mean we are perfect? We don’t need Jesus help anymore? No, of course not.
72. gangsta rap: (Alva) G on heart, flicks up-- #RAP. I like watching gangsta rap on TV, but Nancy and my mom don’t like it.
73. Yelitzia: p-o W signs GIRL
74. Y.......: Y at R nostril (where her mole is)
Anyone know the Spanish word for ¨pattern¨?
Today was my first day with Elodia. I really like her; she’s completely overworked but clearly cares deeply about the kids. I also met Carmelita, a student at Trial Farm whose bone conduction hearing aid recently broke. Her right ear is fine, but her left year is closed over, so she’s been having surgeries to reconstruct it. They don’t know if she’ll need a hearing aid or not once the surgeries are completed. Elodia invited her to compete in the Deaf Spelling Bee that’s coming up in May, but she wasn’t interested. I’m sure she gets along pretty well in school and doesn’t see herself as Deaf. I helped Elodia do assessments on 8 students with possible learning disabilities. They are all in Standard 6 (=8th grade), which is the last year of required education, so they should be going on to highschool next year (if they can afford it), but all the students we tested today were functioning way below grade level. Elodia conducted the reading comprehension tests and I did the ‘Point to the picture that completes the pattern’ section. The kids were really nice, and I was certainly a novelty:). I heard one “hay una gringa!” when I walked in, and lots of kids were coming past the windows that looked into the classroom where Elodia and I were meeting with the students. Most of the white people in town are tourists (except one man who’s always drunk, wandering around town; Nancy figures he lost his passport or something and got stuck here who-knows-how-long-ago because he’s too out of it to figure out his way home), so having me at the school was pretty interesting. I also got to speak lots of Spanish, which was great. I’ll be with Elodia most Tues, Wed, & Thurs, and at Nancy’s school on Mon & Fri. Elodia also invited me to travel to a remote community called Indian Church to visit Mayan ruins sometimes. I’m looking forward to that. I had to smile when she said that the church “esta lejisimo” (super far), about 4 hours away:). Lejisimo is always relative, si? Then again, Nancy said at least an hour of that is pretty bumpy, so maybe I’ll be thinking it’s lejisimo too.
Bueno, tonight we have Girl’s Night at Nancy’s, a Bible study for any girls at church. I know I always emphasize using the word "women" instead of girls, but I actually mean girls in this case, b/c there are no church members over the age of 15. Lately I've been thinking more about what it means for any white North American to be doing mission work in another country. While I still don’t think anyone can separate themselves from some of the perceptions they bring as white North Americans, I am more struck now by the importance of being Deaf in a Deaf ministry, regardless of the country. Nancy, for example, is committed to developing Deaf leadership in the church and the community as much as she can, encouraging Deaf and hearing alike to realize how much Deaf people are really capable of. In contrast, some of the other missions in the area (there is a Canadian group and a Jehovah's Witness group) have been here for years and have shown zero interest in involving the Deaf people they work with in church leadership. So, in this context my perspective shifts some, from "missionaries shouldn’t 'colonize' the Deaf” (true) to “the Deaf should have as much access to church as anyone else so they can make their own decisions about religion” (also true).
Just some musings I've had of late.
Ok, I'm off to see about activating my phone here now. I should have a Belizian phone number by tomorrow.
& Can I just say that it’s totally beautiful out today? It must be about 80F. Ahhhh.....
New Vocab
63. línea atrevasada: horizontal line
64. hard-headed/takes a while to learn: (alva) Cl-shell (p-facing Cs make circle)- m=OPEN Cs (shell cracking), put Cs on head, OH, UNDERSTAND. She’s stubborn, it takes a lot of work to explain thing so she understands
65. USA (Belize): (all the kids) AIRPLANE. You’re from the US? Your mom and dad are in the US?
66. broccoli (Angelica): TREE GREEN. Alva’s picky. She doesn’t like raw broccoli.
67. black/creole (person/skin): Rh p-d B rubs p-d L forearm
68. Bible: (Alva), LAW, marked w/ B. The Bible says Matthew left everything to follow Jesus. (Nancy clarified that this is the Jehovah Witness sign for Bible)
69. bean: Rh x tap++ Lh p-d index. Tostadas have beans, lime, cheese, & tortillas.
70. lime: p-L L, thumb touch chin, m/nms= SOUR
71. Christian (Belize): Lh p-R 1, Rh p-d 1, make cross in front of heart, Rh in front, pushes both hands onto heart. Does being a Christian mean we are perfect? We don’t need Jesus help anymore? No, of course not.
72. gangsta rap: (Alva) G on heart, flicks up-- #RAP. I like watching gangsta rap on TV, but Nancy and my mom don’t like it.
73. Yelitzia: p-o W signs GIRL
74. Y.......: Y at R nostril (where her mole is)
Anyone know the Spanish word for ¨pattern¨?
Thursday, January 24, 2008
4 Languages, Peanutbutter & Sunshine: What else could I need?
Jan 24--
I have a feeling my journaling’s going to taper off dramatically once I start working at my other schools but I’ll keep it up for now. Today was a good day-- tiring, but good. Practiced fluency/literacy tests w/ the kids, met the student who was absent yesterday-- Misael, who is quite possibly the cutest child I have ever seen. That makes 10 students total in the class, 7 boys and 3 girls, ranging from 6yo to 14yo. Yesterday I got to brush up on my math while I helped the older boys w/ their homework. The years each student has been in school doesn’t really correspond to her/his age, so it’s definitely an interesting environment. Nancy manages it all really well and it’s awesome to get to see a really good Deaf teacher with Deaf students-- today I got to see a great rendition of the Little Red Hen and Dr. Seuss’ Bartholomew and the Oobleck. It’s great to see the kids interacting with the story, copying signs, asking questions, etc-- something they wouldn’t get to do much with a hearing teacher. Anyway-- after school I got lost in town for a bit before heading home. When someone I had passed already asked if I was lost though, I said No, just out for a walk. I found my way eventually and got some exercise out of it too. It was fun to check out what’s in town anyway. I found a beautiful river/lake where I’ll probably take my lunch sometimes, and lots of little shops. I’m realizing I had painted a picture in my head that was a lot more rustic; from what Nancy had told me, I thought I’d be roughing it a lot more. Not so! We have lukewarm water, not cold, and it’s so hot here, who’d want hot water? There are little convenience stores everywhere where you can get just about anything you need (including a Montana Glacier Park t-shirt, ha), people are friendly, I’m not lonely because I get to hang out with Nancy or the kids, the town is small enough to be walkable but big enough to have interesting places to see, my house and room are really nice, and we might soon have internet at home. Plus it’s warm, sunny, cuadralingual+ (English, Spanish, Kriole, ASL), and I get to feel a little self-righteous whenever I see the tourists come through w/ their safari hats and backpacks, because, after all I live here;). (I realize I much prefer living in a place than touring it, whenever possible).
As I was saying..I eventually found the house on my own and immediately crashed for a much-needed nap. All you teacher people, my long-standing admiration of your energy is confirmed. I’m wiped out after a day w/ the kids, fun as they are.
In the evening, Sulmi and Kristel and I played on my computer. They got a huge kick out of the PhotoBooth program on my Mac. It takes all kinds of distorted, fun-house-type pictures that had us all cracking up. Then we were off to Elodia’s house. She’s the district liaison for special education, and I’ll be working with her about 3 days a week. Tomorrow I’m spending the day with her doing assessments of 14 kids in Trial Farm, a small community right next to Orange Walk. Next week we’ll figure out exactly how/when I’ll be working with the kids she serves in the different districts. It could be pretty overwhelming, but I hope I can make a small contribution to the kids’ education in the short time I’m here. I did get a little boost to my signing self-esteem today from Nancy-- she said I understand her students’ signing better than she thought I might-- Yay!:)
To summarize, it’s certainly been interesting so far, but I’m really enjoying it. I miss everyone bastante, but I’m so busy all day with school and then work for my GC Internship class that I don’t have too much time to think about it. Hopefully I’ll get a real handle on the rhythm of things here next week.
Have a great weekend!
Much love.
-- Oh, I almost forgot; we have 2 cats in the house! One is as big a pain as our Plilf in Goshen, but the other one is super sweet. (I have to say it’s pretty nice to be in a new culture but still have some US-cultural comforts since I’m living w/ Nancy-- she’s a great host/bridge person, and keeps pets & peanut butter in the house even tho that’s strange here. Lucky me:) )
New vocab:
50.MISAEL: p-d M brushes back at eyebrow
51.HEN: 3, p-L on chin. Little Red Hen story.
52.YESTERDAY (Belize): marked w/ Y. Yesterday we read 3 little pigs.
53.DONUT: m= CLASS, marked w/ D. Mystery of the missing donut story.
54.DINOSAUR (2): p-o, ftips up D moves fwd/ 2h p-in, knuckles down S, plod fwd. Reading book to Misael, The Big Dinosaur
55.SPICEY: p-d Bent B, ftips L, waves front of mouth. These tamales aren’t spicey.
56.EAT (Belize): =SPICEY, but ftips face mouth. Eat first, then shower (to Sulmi).
57.IGUANA: p-in S at throat, opens to open C. We always stop here by the road and count the iguanas.
58.TATTLE: COMMENT, point to person, nms=th. I don’t to hear you tattle on everyone else, just sit quietly and pay attention.
59.LIQUID: POUR, marked w/ L. Give examples of solid, liquid, and gas
60.SOLID: HARD. “
61.GAS: #GAS “
62.SMOKE/STEAM: Cl-4, ftips-d, swirl up from Lh. Must describe kind first, eg WATER HOT/FIRE
I have a feeling my journaling’s going to taper off dramatically once I start working at my other schools but I’ll keep it up for now. Today was a good day-- tiring, but good. Practiced fluency/literacy tests w/ the kids, met the student who was absent yesterday-- Misael, who is quite possibly the cutest child I have ever seen. That makes 10 students total in the class, 7 boys and 3 girls, ranging from 6yo to 14yo. Yesterday I got to brush up on my math while I helped the older boys w/ their homework. The years each student has been in school doesn’t really correspond to her/his age, so it’s definitely an interesting environment. Nancy manages it all really well and it’s awesome to get to see a really good Deaf teacher with Deaf students-- today I got to see a great rendition of the Little Red Hen and Dr. Seuss’ Bartholomew and the Oobleck. It’s great to see the kids interacting with the story, copying signs, asking questions, etc-- something they wouldn’t get to do much with a hearing teacher. Anyway-- after school I got lost in town for a bit before heading home. When someone I had passed already asked if I was lost though, I said No, just out for a walk. I found my way eventually and got some exercise out of it too. It was fun to check out what’s in town anyway. I found a beautiful river/lake where I’ll probably take my lunch sometimes, and lots of little shops. I’m realizing I had painted a picture in my head that was a lot more rustic; from what Nancy had told me, I thought I’d be roughing it a lot more. Not so! We have lukewarm water, not cold, and it’s so hot here, who’d want hot water? There are little convenience stores everywhere where you can get just about anything you need (including a Montana Glacier Park t-shirt, ha), people are friendly, I’m not lonely because I get to hang out with Nancy or the kids, the town is small enough to be walkable but big enough to have interesting places to see, my house and room are really nice, and we might soon have internet at home. Plus it’s warm, sunny, cuadralingual+ (English, Spanish, Kriole, ASL), and I get to feel a little self-righteous whenever I see the tourists come through w/ their safari hats and backpacks, because, after all I live here;). (I realize I much prefer living in a place than touring it, whenever possible).
As I was saying..I eventually found the house on my own and immediately crashed for a much-needed nap. All you teacher people, my long-standing admiration of your energy is confirmed. I’m wiped out after a day w/ the kids, fun as they are.
In the evening, Sulmi and Kristel and I played on my computer. They got a huge kick out of the PhotoBooth program on my Mac. It takes all kinds of distorted, fun-house-type pictures that had us all cracking up. Then we were off to Elodia’s house. She’s the district liaison for special education, and I’ll be working with her about 3 days a week. Tomorrow I’m spending the day with her doing assessments of 14 kids in Trial Farm, a small community right next to Orange Walk. Next week we’ll figure out exactly how/when I’ll be working with the kids she serves in the different districts. It could be pretty overwhelming, but I hope I can make a small contribution to the kids’ education in the short time I’m here. I did get a little boost to my signing self-esteem today from Nancy-- she said I understand her students’ signing better than she thought I might-- Yay!:)
To summarize, it’s certainly been interesting so far, but I’m really enjoying it. I miss everyone bastante, but I’m so busy all day with school and then work for my GC Internship class that I don’t have too much time to think about it. Hopefully I’ll get a real handle on the rhythm of things here next week.
Have a great weekend!
Much love.
-- Oh, I almost forgot; we have 2 cats in the house! One is as big a pain as our Plilf in Goshen, but the other one is super sweet. (I have to say it’s pretty nice to be in a new culture but still have some US-cultural comforts since I’m living w/ Nancy-- she’s a great host/bridge person, and keeps pets & peanut butter in the house even tho that’s strange here. Lucky me:) )
New vocab:
50.MISAEL: p-d M brushes back at eyebrow
51.HEN: 3, p-L on chin. Little Red Hen story.
52.YESTERDAY (Belize): marked w/ Y. Yesterday we read 3 little pigs.
53.DONUT: m= CLASS, marked w/ D. Mystery of the missing donut story.
54.DINOSAUR (2): p-o, ftips up D moves fwd/ 2h p-in, knuckles down S, plod fwd. Reading book to Misael, The Big Dinosaur
55.SPICEY: p-d Bent B, ftips L, waves front of mouth. These tamales aren’t spicey.
56.EAT (Belize): =SPICEY, but ftips face mouth. Eat first, then shower (to Sulmi).
57.IGUANA: p-in S at throat, opens to open C. We always stop here by the road and count the iguanas.
58.TATTLE: COMMENT, point to person, nms=th. I don’t to hear you tattle on everyone else, just sit quietly and pay attention.
59.LIQUID: POUR, marked w/ L. Give examples of solid, liquid, and gas
60.SOLID: HARD. “
61.GAS: #GAS “
62.SMOKE/STEAM: Cl-4, ftips-d, swirl up from Lh. Must describe kind first, eg WATER HOT/FIRE
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Why are these posts so long??
Note of explanation:
Since my internet access is intermittent at best and it's easiest to post everything in one place, this blog is also doubling/(tripling) as the journal I have to keep for Sheila, our GC professor & internship coordinator, and the list of new vocabulary I have to keep for Myron, our GC ASL professor.
Everyone knows how to skim, right?:)
Paz y amor amigos.
Since my internet access is intermittent at best and it's easiest to post everything in one place, this blog is also doubling/(tripling) as the journal I have to keep for Sheila, our GC professor & internship coordinator, and the list of new vocabulary I have to keep for Myron, our GC ASL professor.
Everyone knows how to skim, right?:)
Paz y amor amigos.
Little bit mo', a little bit mo'...
Jan 23
First day at school! I had fun today. I watched Nancy tell the 3 Little Pigs story, then the kids acted it out. They were a little reserved, but it was cool to observe a literacy lesson. It was a great example for me of how great it is for the kids to have a Deaf teacher. I got to participate in another literacy/language fluency lesson, when the kids came and signed a passage with me. It was interesting to see them learning a second language, connecting signs they know with the English words, or learning new signs even. I understand the word-for-sign method for learning new English words; it was just hard for me to hold back from talking about what the paragraph as a whole meant. I’m sure they do that type of activity at other times, so I’d just like to ask Nancy more about the language learning process. It’s always hard for me to see people struggling with another language; clearly learning a 2nd language is not easy! Here were kids I can see sign well and communicate well most of the time (some are newer signers than others), but they struggle to write unguided sentences in their second language (English). I figure it’s a lot like trying to learn to write Mandarin without any mneumonic devices (as in, being able to connect characters to sounds you hear as a way to help you remember the characters), just straight up memorization of characters and sequence. Granted, millions of Deaf people do it every day; my respect for the effort that takes is deep. It was really cute to read some of the cards the kids made for Angelic tho: “I love Angelica. You deaf. I deaf. You friend. I respect.” :)
I interpreted the PTA meeting in the afternoon. I was pretty wiped out really after school all day, and I was hoping for a nap in the afternoon so I’d be more useful, but I hadn’t figured out how to walk home yet (I rode with Nancy in her van to get to school) and I wanted to see some of the town anyway. I did my best, but I definitely struggled some too. It was a bilingual meeting, so at least I got to interpret everything twice, and get better the 2nd time. Nancy was very patient and supportive during and after. I was thinking about how it’s a different kind of relationship to have your mentor and your “client” be the same person. Nancy was giving me some background information or feedback as I was interpreting, which was really helpful as I tried to understand people’s relationships & roles (and accents). I know it’s not “textbook” interpreting, but it seems like a great way to start working on my interpreting skills. How nice to have the person I’m interpreting for be able/willing to critique my interpretation, even tho that means having to split her attention between what I’m saying and how I’m saying it. One of the differences b/t doing my internship in Belize vs. with an agency is going to be about throwing out formal “interpreter role” dynamics, and I’m excited about the broader skills I’ll hopefully get to develop here as a result. I know I’ll have more responsibilities and relationships with the people I’m working with, and I’m excited about that. Nervous sometimes too about not having the skill base people might need/expect me to, but excited. Nancy and I are getting along well, which feels great. It’s always a little nerve-wracking to go into a situation where you’re going to be living & working with someone you don’t know, or in Nancy’s case, inviting a stranger into her home and classroom. I hope I’m putting her more at ease, as she does the same for me. I feel like I have a little ground to make up, or prove myself on, so I’ve been trying to convey my sincere gratitude to her for this opportunity, as well as my desire to be useful here, rather than an added worry. I think this is coming across b/c she has said she seems pleased that I’m easy to feed, don’t stay up super late, like helping out with the kids at school, enjoy visiting Deaf community members, and readily accept the cultural advice she gives. Hopefully her misgivings are dissolving at the same time mine are-- I’ve felt nothing but welcome here. Nancy’s friendly and open with everyone and I think we have a lot in common. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better continuing to develop a comfortable relationship.
p.s. Sulmi’s adorable. I’m really glad she lives here for lots of reasons, one of them being because she reminds Nancy and I to sign instead of falling into talking, and Nancy obviously signs differently to a Deaf child than to me, which is fun for me to see. Did I mention Sulmi’s laugh is one of my favorite things ever?
New vocab:
20. SEAL (V, like a container): flat on on mouth. We need to seal all the containers b/c of ants.
21. TORTILLA: RH presses fingers of Lh p-up B. We’ll have tortillas for dinner. Sulmi’s fav.
22. BRAG/GOT IT DOWN/BEEN THERE DONE THAT: EXPERIENCE, but claw-hs.
23. LUIS: L on heart
24. SAIR: S by ear
25. Hipolito: H-pd flap front of forehead
26. GOAL (n, soccer goal): p-facing 1s. Reading exercise. Kick a soccer goal.
27. GRAY: G on cheek, m=GIRL . Rain comes from gray, black, and white clouds.
28. LUMBER: TREE, marked w/ L. 3 Little Pigs. Man comes carrying lumber.
29. PIG: p-d B taps under chin. 3 Little Pigs
30. COMMIT: p-facing C from pecs out. Parents need to commit to learn sign. It’s hard.
31. ERASER: (from Luis). Look at my eraser? It’s an eyeball.
32. EDGAR: P-in E front of eyes
33. ALEJANDRO: A at temple
34. GINELLI: G signs CURL
35. JP: JP at temple
36. ANGELICA: A, thumb brushes shoulder
37. RHINO: (from JP) p-L I on nose. Pointed to picture in book and signed.
38. MULTIPLY: FIGURE OUT (m=once). Help them do problems. 34 x 12, etc
39. CAYO (district): p-up C, m=snow mobile. South, in Cayo district, there’s no Deaf church
40. MAYA: =KOREA, hands to shoulders tho
41. DOLPHIN: p-d CL-1 make jumping out of water motion. Sentence ideas: go boating and take pictures of dolphins
42. ARREST: 2h, p-d 5, Lh close to pd-S, Rh twist close to p-up S on Lh wrist. If your children are truant, the cops can arrest you
43. PRIZE: #prize
44. RAFFLE: describe or fs
45. GATE: 2h p-in 4s, fingertips touching e/o (ftips not pointing up), Rh m=OPEN
46. TERM (of school): =VIDEOTAPE, Rh=T. School has 3 terms, with exams during 1st and 3rd.
47. LOCK (Belize, per Ava): =CONNECT, 25hs
48. SHOP( Belize, small kiosk-type business): CREDIT CARD. School has little shop now that helps with revenue.
49. FOLD/FAIL/COLLAPSE: Rh // TREE, hs=S, Rh falls on Lh forearm (m=DAY, more abrupt). If the church weren’t here, the school would cease to exist.
First day at school! I had fun today. I watched Nancy tell the 3 Little Pigs story, then the kids acted it out. They were a little reserved, but it was cool to observe a literacy lesson. It was a great example for me of how great it is for the kids to have a Deaf teacher. I got to participate in another literacy/language fluency lesson, when the kids came and signed a passage with me. It was interesting to see them learning a second language, connecting signs they know with the English words, or learning new signs even. I understand the word-for-sign method for learning new English words; it was just hard for me to hold back from talking about what the paragraph as a whole meant. I’m sure they do that type of activity at other times, so I’d just like to ask Nancy more about the language learning process. It’s always hard for me to see people struggling with another language; clearly learning a 2nd language is not easy! Here were kids I can see sign well and communicate well most of the time (some are newer signers than others), but they struggle to write unguided sentences in their second language (English). I figure it’s a lot like trying to learn to write Mandarin without any mneumonic devices (as in, being able to connect characters to sounds you hear as a way to help you remember the characters), just straight up memorization of characters and sequence. Granted, millions of Deaf people do it every day; my respect for the effort that takes is deep. It was really cute to read some of the cards the kids made for Angelic tho: “I love Angelica. You deaf. I deaf. You friend. I respect.” :)
I interpreted the PTA meeting in the afternoon. I was pretty wiped out really after school all day, and I was hoping for a nap in the afternoon so I’d be more useful, but I hadn’t figured out how to walk home yet (I rode with Nancy in her van to get to school) and I wanted to see some of the town anyway. I did my best, but I definitely struggled some too. It was a bilingual meeting, so at least I got to interpret everything twice, and get better the 2nd time. Nancy was very patient and supportive during and after. I was thinking about how it’s a different kind of relationship to have your mentor and your “client” be the same person. Nancy was giving me some background information or feedback as I was interpreting, which was really helpful as I tried to understand people’s relationships & roles (and accents). I know it’s not “textbook” interpreting, but it seems like a great way to start working on my interpreting skills. How nice to have the person I’m interpreting for be able/willing to critique my interpretation, even tho that means having to split her attention between what I’m saying and how I’m saying it. One of the differences b/t doing my internship in Belize vs. with an agency is going to be about throwing out formal “interpreter role” dynamics, and I’m excited about the broader skills I’ll hopefully get to develop here as a result. I know I’ll have more responsibilities and relationships with the people I’m working with, and I’m excited about that. Nervous sometimes too about not having the skill base people might need/expect me to, but excited. Nancy and I are getting along well, which feels great. It’s always a little nerve-wracking to go into a situation where you’re going to be living & working with someone you don’t know, or in Nancy’s case, inviting a stranger into her home and classroom. I hope I’m putting her more at ease, as she does the same for me. I feel like I have a little ground to make up, or prove myself on, so I’ve been trying to convey my sincere gratitude to her for this opportunity, as well as my desire to be useful here, rather than an added worry. I think this is coming across b/c she has said she seems pleased that I’m easy to feed, don’t stay up super late, like helping out with the kids at school, enjoy visiting Deaf community members, and readily accept the cultural advice she gives. Hopefully her misgivings are dissolving at the same time mine are-- I’ve felt nothing but welcome here. Nancy’s friendly and open with everyone and I think we have a lot in common. I’m looking forward to getting to know her better continuing to develop a comfortable relationship.
p.s. Sulmi’s adorable. I’m really glad she lives here for lots of reasons, one of them being because she reminds Nancy and I to sign instead of falling into talking, and Nancy obviously signs differently to a Deaf child than to me, which is fun for me to see. Did I mention Sulmi’s laugh is one of my favorite things ever?
New vocab:
20. SEAL (V, like a container): flat on on mouth. We need to seal all the containers b/c of ants.
21. TORTILLA: RH presses fingers of Lh p-up B. We’ll have tortillas for dinner. Sulmi’s fav.
22. BRAG/GOT IT DOWN/BEEN THERE DONE THAT: EXPERIENCE, but claw-hs.
23. LUIS: L on heart
24. SAIR: S by ear
25. Hipolito: H-pd flap front of forehead
26. GOAL (n, soccer goal): p-facing 1s. Reading exercise. Kick a soccer goal.
27. GRAY: G on cheek, m=GIRL . Rain comes from gray, black, and white clouds.
28. LUMBER: TREE, marked w/ L. 3 Little Pigs. Man comes carrying lumber.
29. PIG: p-d B taps under chin. 3 Little Pigs
30. COMMIT: p-facing C from pecs out. Parents need to commit to learn sign. It’s hard.
31. ERASER: (from Luis). Look at my eraser? It’s an eyeball.
32. EDGAR: P-in E front of eyes
33. ALEJANDRO: A at temple
34. GINELLI: G signs CURL
35. JP: JP at temple
36. ANGELICA: A, thumb brushes shoulder
37. RHINO: (from JP) p-L I on nose. Pointed to picture in book and signed.
38. MULTIPLY: FIGURE OUT (m=once). Help them do problems. 34 x 12, etc
39. CAYO (district): p-up C, m=snow mobile. South, in Cayo district, there’s no Deaf church
40. MAYA: =KOREA, hands to shoulders tho
41. DOLPHIN: p-d CL-1 make jumping out of water motion. Sentence ideas: go boating and take pictures of dolphins
42. ARREST: 2h, p-d 5, Lh close to pd-S, Rh twist close to p-up S on Lh wrist. If your children are truant, the cops can arrest you
43. PRIZE: #prize
44. RAFFLE: describe or fs
45. GATE: 2h p-in 4s, fingertips touching e/o (ftips not pointing up), Rh m=OPEN
46. TERM (of school): =VIDEOTAPE, Rh=T. School has 3 terms, with exams during 1st and 3rd.
47. LOCK (Belize, per Ava): =CONNECT, 25hs
48. SHOP( Belize, small kiosk-type business): CREDIT CARD. School has little shop now that helps with revenue.
49. FOLD/FAIL/COLLAPSE: Rh // TREE, hs=S, Rh falls on Lh forearm (m=DAY, more abrupt). If the church weren’t here, the school would cease to exist.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
I made it!
Jan 22
That's all for now. It's beautiful here and I'm off to interpret a PTA meeting at school.
Besos.
That's all for now. It's beautiful here and I'm off to interpret a PTA meeting at school.
Besos.
Kickin things off right
Jan 22
Day 1: I’m here! This weekend in Chicago was overwhelming, amazing, wonderful, and hard. Saw lots of great people, my favorite people-- all in one place dancing the night away-- and ‘twas glorious! Then we all ran away to our respective corners of life again, and I fearfully approached the unknown. It was also very very cold. Extreme cold makes everyone a little grouchy, we found:). Then I had a relaxing evening at the home of a relative in Dallas, before catching my flight from DFW to Belize City. We flew in over the countryside and it was so gorgeous! I was literally bouncing in my seat. (And murmuring calming words to myself.) There were rivers and mangroves and egrets near the landing strip-- beautiful.
I zipped right through customs, and was met by a smiling Nancy, who was flanked by Kristel (10) and Sulmi (8). It was a fun first meeting. All three ladies are easy to like right away. After commenting on my towering backpack (filled to the brim w/ text books and other odds&ends), Kristel’s first comment to Sulmi was “Her skin’s so white!”:) Indeed. Luckily, I come prepared with 3 bottles of sunscreen.
In any case, we loaded up the van (with A/C!-- woot), and Nancy started orienting me to the countryside as we drove, teaching me new regional signs along the way. We made a stop at Nicole’s house (a member of Jesus Deaf Church), and met her new baby Rondell, who is 3 weeks old and hearing. Super cute! I got my first interpreting gig of sorts there, interpreting a few comments between Nancy and Nicole’s mom. Nancy and I chatted the rest of the way back, and I was glad to feel like I was understanding 90% of what she was signing. She also speaks English aloud when other hearing people are around, or when she wants to tell me something quickly. It makes things easier and sometimes and I don’t want to impose on her communication style, but I hope we end up mostly signing. I already learned lots of new vocabulary just in the drive from the airport, and I’d like to continue the trend.
When we rolled into Orange Walk. Nancy pointed out the school to me and I met one of the teachers, Ashanti. Then we came home and I set up my room. Mom, you’d be proud-- I was totally unpacked before dinner! The girls helped me put my clothes away, and then I put pictures up to make it feel homey. The house, and my room, and Nancy, and the girls, are all really nice. And we have two cats-- one of whom is curled up beside me as I write on my laptop. We had tostadas for dinner-- with lots of lime:D. My first experience with Belizian cuisine tells me I may fare quite well. Nancy’s aide and friend Angelica came by for dinner with her brother Miguel. They brought field corn that you eat w/ lime and chili salt. Yum.
Tomorrow is my first day at Nancy’s school, interpreting a PTA meeting and just getting to know people. Hope I’m up to the task. Prayers for patience with myself and humility much appreciated:)
New signs today:
1. ORANGE WALK (o-w)
2. BELIZE (p-o B, m-Z)
3. PUP (pol party)
4. UDP (pol party)
5. CARMELITA (company, p-o C, m=AFRICA, p-o A)
6. SULMI: S on cheek, m=CRY
7. KRISTEL: K above mouth, m=CAT
8. NANCY (Miss Marshall): =JUSTIN (yoder), hs=M
9. NICOLE: 2h, both hands sign NIECE
10. SHERWIN: S taps above eyebrow
11. SEASON (wet/dry): // VIDEOTAPE, hs=S, m=+++ Belizian alternative signs:
12. GOAT (OLD-STUPID). See goats, chicken, egrets by road
13. BUS (marked B, LIMO): Sulmi’s parents left, she got frustrated and took the bus by herself.
14. FOOD (marked F, FOOD):
15. CORN (on arm or front of face): Angelica’s parents have lots of corn at their house.
16. GUATEMALA (3 on fist, boy go wrk there): Church member went there to work.
17. LITTLE BIT (20 on nose, lil rain, lil salt): Girls need not to POUR salt, take a little bit.
18. #11-19 (11-15= p-up HUNDRED motion. 16-19= p-d shake, 20s= V-__, not L-__)
19. RICE & BEANS (p-up 20, twice): people here eat alot of rice and beans
Day 1: I’m here! This weekend in Chicago was overwhelming, amazing, wonderful, and hard. Saw lots of great people, my favorite people-- all in one place dancing the night away-- and ‘twas glorious! Then we all ran away to our respective corners of life again, and I fearfully approached the unknown. It was also very very cold. Extreme cold makes everyone a little grouchy, we found:). Then I had a relaxing evening at the home of a relative in Dallas, before catching my flight from DFW to Belize City. We flew in over the countryside and it was so gorgeous! I was literally bouncing in my seat. (And murmuring calming words to myself.) There were rivers and mangroves and egrets near the landing strip-- beautiful.
I zipped right through customs, and was met by a smiling Nancy, who was flanked by Kristel (10) and Sulmi (8). It was a fun first meeting. All three ladies are easy to like right away. After commenting on my towering backpack (filled to the brim w/ text books and other odds&ends), Kristel’s first comment to Sulmi was “Her skin’s so white!”:) Indeed. Luckily, I come prepared with 3 bottles of sunscreen.
In any case, we loaded up the van (with A/C!-- woot), and Nancy started orienting me to the countryside as we drove, teaching me new regional signs along the way. We made a stop at Nicole’s house (a member of Jesus Deaf Church), and met her new baby Rondell, who is 3 weeks old and hearing. Super cute! I got my first interpreting gig of sorts there, interpreting a few comments between Nancy and Nicole’s mom. Nancy and I chatted the rest of the way back, and I was glad to feel like I was understanding 90% of what she was signing. She also speaks English aloud when other hearing people are around, or when she wants to tell me something quickly. It makes things easier and sometimes and I don’t want to impose on her communication style, but I hope we end up mostly signing. I already learned lots of new vocabulary just in the drive from the airport, and I’d like to continue the trend.
When we rolled into Orange Walk. Nancy pointed out the school to me and I met one of the teachers, Ashanti. Then we came home and I set up my room. Mom, you’d be proud-- I was totally unpacked before dinner! The girls helped me put my clothes away, and then I put pictures up to make it feel homey. The house, and my room, and Nancy, and the girls, are all really nice. And we have two cats-- one of whom is curled up beside me as I write on my laptop. We had tostadas for dinner-- with lots of lime:D. My first experience with Belizian cuisine tells me I may fare quite well. Nancy’s aide and friend Angelica came by for dinner with her brother Miguel. They brought field corn that you eat w/ lime and chili salt. Yum.
Tomorrow is my first day at Nancy’s school, interpreting a PTA meeting and just getting to know people. Hope I’m up to the task. Prayers for patience with myself and humility much appreciated:)
New signs today:
1. ORANGE WALK (o-w)
2. BELIZE (p-o B, m-Z)
3. PUP (pol party)
4. UDP (pol party)
5. CARMELITA (company, p-o C, m=AFRICA, p-o A)
6. SULMI: S on cheek, m=CRY
7. KRISTEL: K above mouth, m=CAT
8. NANCY (Miss Marshall): =JUSTIN (yoder), hs=M
9. NICOLE: 2h, both hands sign NIECE
10. SHERWIN: S taps above eyebrow
11. SEASON (wet/dry): // VIDEOTAPE, hs=S, m=+++ Belizian alternative signs:
12. GOAT (OLD-STUPID). See goats, chicken, egrets by road
13. BUS (marked B, LIMO): Sulmi’s parents left, she got frustrated and took the bus by herself.
14. FOOD (marked F, FOOD):
15. CORN (on arm or front of face): Angelica’s parents have lots of corn at their house.
16. GUATEMALA (3 on fist, boy go wrk there): Church member went there to work.
17. LITTLE BIT (20 on nose, lil rain, lil salt): Girls need not to POUR salt, take a little bit.
18. #11-19 (11-15= p-up HUNDRED motion. 16-19= p-d shake, 20s= V-__, not L-__)
19. RICE & BEANS (p-up 20, twice): people here eat alot of rice and beans
Friday, January 11, 2008
Orange Walking, Vol. 1
Jan 11, 2008
Hola hola.
You have reached the home of what will hopefully be a periodic updating location for my experiences as an intern in Orange Walk, Belize.
The outline of life as I know of it at the moment is thus:
On Jan 22, I will arrive in Belize City and meet Nancy, my host, at the airport. Nancy is a USAMerican Deaf woman who uses ASL. She's been working in Orange Walk for a couple years now, since she was invited by a Belizian family to teach in the program for Deaf students at a local school where students are able to learn in a language-rich (eg, visual langauge) environment.
I will be living with Nancy and one of her students, Sulmi, which means lots of ASL practice for me:D. I'll be spending 2 days a week north of Orange Walk, in the Corozal district, interpreting for a couple Deaf students, as well as being an aide of sorts in a special ed classroom. Most of that work will involve interpreting between spoken Spanish and ASL--a great experience for me! The rest of the week, I will be observing in Nancy's classroom, interpreting parent-teacher conferences, and attending events at the Jesus Deaf Church with Nancy. I will also have the opportunity to visit the Deaf school in Belize City, keep warm in the Caribbean climate, and travel around a bit (hopefully with a couple friends who are considering coming to visit).
Internet access is available in a local internet cafe, but time is kind of expensive so my updates might be spotty. If you don't hear much from me, hit me up when I'm back in the country, on April 5. I'll be on campus again until the end of the semester doing Senior Seminar, and maybe for May term.
Have a great semester!!
Hola hola.
You have reached the home of what will hopefully be a periodic updating location for my experiences as an intern in Orange Walk, Belize.
The outline of life as I know of it at the moment is thus:
On Jan 22, I will arrive in Belize City and meet Nancy, my host, at the airport. Nancy is a USAMerican Deaf woman who uses ASL. She's been working in Orange Walk for a couple years now, since she was invited by a Belizian family to teach in the program for Deaf students at a local school where students are able to learn in a language-rich (eg, visual langauge) environment.
I will be living with Nancy and one of her students, Sulmi, which means lots of ASL practice for me:D. I'll be spending 2 days a week north of Orange Walk, in the Corozal district, interpreting for a couple Deaf students, as well as being an aide of sorts in a special ed classroom. Most of that work will involve interpreting between spoken Spanish and ASL--a great experience for me! The rest of the week, I will be observing in Nancy's classroom, interpreting parent-teacher conferences, and attending events at the Jesus Deaf Church with Nancy. I will also have the opportunity to visit the Deaf school in Belize City, keep warm in the Caribbean climate, and travel around a bit (hopefully with a couple friends who are considering coming to visit).
Internet access is available in a local internet cafe, but time is kind of expensive so my updates might be spotty. If you don't hear much from me, hit me up when I'm back in the country, on April 5. I'll be on campus again until the end of the semester doing Senior Seminar, and maybe for May term.
Have a great semester!!
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