Day 3 - Museum Day

March 9, 2020

Today was Museum Day!


     For the first two hours, we had the option to go to the Museum of Natural History or the Museum of American History, both Smithsonians and just down the street from each other. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to see half of what was in one museum, much less both.


     I chose to go to the Museum of American History as several of my friends who had been here before said they preferred it over the Museum of Natural History and I had been torn about which to choose and open to both. 

   



But I'm glad I went there, I saw a lot of really neat stuff. There was an exhibit about food over the years, and also about travel.

(Not My Image)

  One of my favorite exhibits was that of the Star-Spangled Banner. The 30x34 huge flag that was raised at the battle of Baltimore inspiring Francis Scott to write the song, "The Star-Spangled Banner," that would become the nation's anthem. I did not before know that this huge flag was behind the writing of the song so it was quite a learning experience for me, a very moving and beautiful one. I really enjoyed learning about it all and being able to see the flag that was created over 200 years ago.


         If you'd like more info on the flag: Star-Spangled Banner Smithsonian


     Another favorite exhibit of mine was the Ruby Red Slippers from the Wizard of Oz. I grew up always having a pair of red sparkly shoes, getting a new pair often around Christmas time if I had outgrown the previous ones, I loved wearing them around Christmas especially and they felt so special because they were so different from every other pair of shoes I owned. 







When I first saw the movie I loved the shoes. So being able to see an original pair in person was really crazy cool.








 There was a musical instrument exhibit with a Stradivarius Violin which was really cool--I am a violinist sooo yeah, thats a big deal.


     We also went and looked at "The First Ladies" exhibit which has almost 100 of the inaugural dresses the First Women have worn over the years. I found it very interesting to see the changes in fashion over the years. There is also a presidential exhibit with information about previous presidents and the roles and things they must take on. It was super interesting.

We ate some lunch at food carts along the road and headed to the African American Museum.

     While we were standing in line I was chatting with Hope, one of the girls on the trip, and we were talking about some of the reasons we enjoy sign language and were talking about how, obviously, we love the language and culture surrounding it, but it's also really neat cause we can sign while we're eating, we can sign from afar, we can sign in loud places, and because it is a lesser-known language in most places we can sign and have relatively private conversations even in a public place. There are so many amazing and fun elements to sign language.


      The African-American Museum has 6 different floors, one on culture, one on the community, one on something else I forgot, and 3 on history. I ended up going to the 3 on history for the majority of the time. It was so interesting and really put me in the shoes of what these people that have gone through and broken free from. I grew up learning about many key figures in the fight for civil rights and it was really cool to learn more about them as well as lesser-known individuals that made a great difference. The exhibits make everything seem so much more real: displaying artifacts, including quotes, showing videos, etc. It was so interesting. Some of the specific individuals I especially enjoyed learning about Sojourner Truth, MLK, Rosa Parks, and Emmet Till--so moving. I briefly got to peek at some of the other exhibits upstairs, but so much we didn't get to see, there just isn't enough time.



     The final museum we visited was the Holocaust Museum. Wow. Once again, three levels of history and so much information packed in, there was no way to see and fully experience it all. But it was still such an educational and moving experience. It started first how the Holocaust started as just discrimination toward the Jews and eventually developed into the mass killing and imprisoning. I grew up being very well educated on the holocaust, it was something my mom really emphasized every year during Holocaust remembrance month. Because of this, I entered the Museum pretty prepared for what was to come but was still, and in new ways, so horrified at the practices and events surrounding this period of history. It's truly awful what happened to the Jews by the hand of the Nazis. The exhibits hurt me all the way to my core. There was one image showing bales of human hair the Nazis collected from the Jews that were later manufactured into slippers, fabric, rope and other soft things for the germans. Another exhibit was a replica of the gas chambers and how the procedure occurred, that one hit me the hardest, seeing the images of carven people within this replica and reading how they burned body after body was a lot to process. 
There was a hall of photographs of Jews who had died, people of all ages, real people, murdered by the Nazis. There was a hall of artwork by little kids created during the Holocaust, some of them just innocent drawings and others of the things happening to the people around them. Artwork by kids that were later killed by the Nazis. There was video footage of hundreds of bodies being bulldozed into ditches, it was so heartbreaking, I couldn't watch for very long before I had to turn away, I just couldn't continue to watch.
     The whole experience was so shocking and saddening, very solemn. But I'm so grateful that this museum exists, it reminds us of the evil that has happened and can happen in the world and hopefully inspires us never to let something like this ever happen again. It reminds us to be thankful for the freedom we have right now. 
     I'm really glad that I visited the museum at a time when I had to sign all week because I really didn't want to talk at all throughout the museum or for a long time afterword. I feel like using my voice would have somehow ruined that solemnity, that reverence, the respect belonging to these people and what happened to them. So I'm thankful that when I did need to communicate could do so without speaking.

     For supper we went to the Cafe again. This time while I was looking around for a place to sit a girl actually invited me to sit with her, she also invited another girl on the trip with me so the two of us sat with her and she was super nice. She is a freshman and super involved with sports and in a sorority and more! Turns out she's from Tennessee which is where my university it is so we connected over that which was cool. She also was super patient--repeating signs, slowing down, and explaining things. That's something I have noticed, most everybody who knows sign whether they are deaf or hearing, are super patient and kind when it comes to those of us who are learning. They're always willing to repeat, explain, and slow down. I really appreciate that. Like so much. Without it, I would not be able to understand or learn what is going on. But anyway, she was really fun to chat with, unfortunately, though she had to leave for a sorority meeting. So then I was chatting with Hope and Sarah (who joined us toward the end) for a while which was fun, they are both super nice. They taught me a bunch more signs. I need to start keeping a list, there have been so many. Our meeting was much shorter tonight which gave me some time to work on blogging and video editing. But in the meeting, we once again shared stuff we'd learned and observed today and we talked about the plan for tomorrow and what not.


Notes From Today:

1. Something I noticed in the Gallaudet Cafeteria was that often a student is playing music aloud on a speaker, it isn't so loud that it's distracting but it is definitely there. I suppose it doesn't bother most people because it's all about feeling the vibrations which would only be felt at that one table. I saw one guy who had his speaker hanging from his shoulder, I'm assuming so that he could feel the vibrations through his chest. It was neat. The other night I saw one girl playing music on her speaker and it seemed like she was hearing and her friend was deaf because the first girl was signing the song to the second girl and sometimes the second girl would join in. It was just really neat and unique to witness. It's a very different environment than other communal food areas. For the most part quiet, with the exceptions of music sometimes and laughter every now and then, but its a more enjoyable place to be because there isn't constant loud chatter everywhere.

2. One thing one of the girls mentioned that I hadn't thought of was that individuals who are deaf don't get to hear the sometimes casual remarks we hear strangers make as we pass by. The example she gave was that yesterday on the monument tour there was one little boy at the Lincoln memorial that was fascinated by "all the big words" on the wall, and it was so cute to hear him, but those who are deaf don't get to hear those little cute and funny remarks. I hadn't thought of that before. I wish was there was a way they could.

I will link the video below as soon as it is finished:)



     


    It was a good day, a lot of learning--signing wise as well as historically--and my brain is very stuffed full of information but it was great. Onto tomorrow!

Gabriella

Day 2 - Monuments and Memorials

March 8, 2020

     Today we went and saw all the monuments and memorials in D.C. Wow. I've only ever seen pictures, and they don't even come close. There's something amazing about actually being there and seeing these places yourself and experiencing the emotions that accompany each historical moment.

     For our day we had a tour guide to give us the history about each monument/memorial, but it was really neat because Tanya arranged to have ASL interpreters for the guide so that we could watch them and still be learning sign and experiencing ASL while visiting important historical places in D.C. I really liked that we had them because it was a super unique opportunity. Not only are we going to see all the amazing monuments, but we have a tour guide AND ASL interpreters!
There are Cherry Blossom trees all along the area with the monuments as well as in D.C. and I was told the Japanese people gave them to us in 1912 as a symbol of friendship. I thought that was really beautiful.



     The first several monuments were in honor of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the work he did throughout his presidency and the Great Depression. I learned a lot of things from our tour guide I hadn't known or retained before. Franklin D. Roosevelt had polio and instead of always being in a wheelchair, he had a specific chair designed for him that, from the waist up, looked like a totally normal chair. He called it his, "Chair with wheels," the wheels being very well tucked under the chair out of sight.
 Some famous quotes of Franklin Delano Roosevelt:

     "The Only Thing We Have To Fear Is Fear Itself."

     "Unless the peace that follows recognizes that the whole world is one neighborhood and does justice to the whole human race, the germs of another world war will remain as a constant threat to mankind."

     Some of the memorials have braille beneath the English words, however, our tour guide told us that the blind individuals she's brought that visit the area can't read the braille because it is printed much larger than normal and therefore doesn't feel the same. I thought that was sad,  first of all that the people designing it were trying to be all-inclusive, but were unsuccessful, and secondly, that blind that visit the area can't fully experience the monument themselves.

  The memorial for Eleanor Roosevelt is after the FDR ones, and our guide said, it was to show she was famous in and of her own accomplishments, I thought that was creative and powerful.




      Visiting the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was one of my favorite moments. An unfinished sculpture of King in rock, he appears to be cut out of a mountain several feet behind him. The quote on the rock reads, "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of Hope" Dr. King is emerging from the mountain, his sculpture is unfinished. Why? It symbolizes his early death with work still unfinished. He was the hope to those around him during his time.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes:

      Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."

   "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mortality, tied in a single garment of destiny, whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

      "Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in."


  This last quote really spoke to me, "make a career of humanity. . ." It'll make you a better person and create a finer world. I just think that's such a beautiful call to help people. It inspires me to choose a profession in which I can serve those around me, doing my best to show love, show Jesus, and in turn grow myself into a kinder, more loving person. I want to be an interpreter because I want to serve and help others, I want to be a communication bridge. I hope through that I can show love to the people I interact with.



     The Korean War Memorial was quite moving. It consists of a sculpture group of military men of different occupations walking up a hill--symbolizing the terrain they faced in Korea. There is a 164-foot wall made of California black granite, on it are stone blasted faces. I was amazed by the details and accuracy of the faces. They were beautiful. Although there are only 19 statues in the green area, they reflect onto the wall creating an image of 38 figures. This symbolizes the 38 months that the war lasted as well as Korea being on the 38th parallel line.
    At the Korean War Memorial as well as others there were letters written by children and grandchildren of war participants, laminated and left at the sites. They were very moving to read. Part of me felt I was invading a personal conversation, but it also showed me how much these wars affected those at the time, and their families, spouses, children, parents, siblings, so many people were affected by the losses during these wars and they continue to feel that loss.

     The Vietnam Memorial was so incredibly moving and incredible to experience in person. It was designed by a 19-year-old girl and appears simple: listing the names of every soldier that died or went missing in the war. Let me say that again: Every. Single. Person. When you see it, you realize it isn't simple at all. To see all those names, just rows and rows of them going for so far, helped me fully realize how many people sacrificed their lives for me and my country. They gave up their life so that I could have the one I know today. Beside each name is either a cross or a diamond. The cross symbolizes that this solider went missing in action, and the diamond means they were killed in action or passed away from their wounds. If a missing individual is found then the cross is filled in--becoming a diamond. There are over 58,000 names on the Vietnam memorial. Wow.



The Lincoln memorial was absolutely breathtaking. Our tour guide told us that there are 36 columns because at the time there were 36 states. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech from the Lincoln Memorial and there is now a plaque with his name in the spot where he stood. In the center of the memorial is a sculpture of Abe Lincoln and on either side are written famous speeches, by LIncoln, one is the Gettysburg Address and the other I do not know the name of.

There was a quote that really stood out to me while reading the second, written during the Civil War:

     "Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. but. . .the prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes." 


     I thought this was really interesting because it is true. Many people who are doing wrong believe they are doing God's will. They are praying and then acting in what they think He wants them to do. It shows me how important it is to make sure the things we believe God is calling us to do and the things we are asking God to do for us align with the principles He lays out in the Bible because if we believe God is calling us to an action that is against the Bible's principles, we need to take a step back and reevaluate the action or request. Because it's not from God. 


While the Tour guide was talking to us she mentioned that Daniel L. Chester was the architect behind the sculpture of Abe Lincoln. Now, before Chester created the Lincoln sculpture he created a sculpture for Gallaudet University of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and his neighbor Alice Cogswell who was deaf. The sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, done later, appears to have his hands loosely forming the ASL letters "A" and "L"---his initials. Some believe that Daniel L. Chester did this on purpose in memory of his history with Gallaudet. But others, our tour guide included, believe this is all false and merely coincidence because there is no proof that it is true. However, despite no proof there are many things that support the possibility of it, connections and coincidences that seem a little too good to be chance. But I shall not go into detail here. Although many doubt it, I like to believe that it is true. 

Although the angle makes it harder to see. You can see the similarity.

     Across from the Lincoln Memorial is the Washington Memorial. Before it lies the reflecting pool: Not only does it reflect the images of those who pass by, but it serves as a place for people to think back--reflect--on their lives and the moments within them. Unfortunately for us, none of the monuments, memorials, or reflecting pool had any water in them as it is cleaning time, so that was unfortunate.






Down the way is the Jefferson Memorial, currently it is being cleaned and restored so there was a bunch of scaffolding around the outside. But it was a really beautiful monument. It makes sense, but somehow I never knew there was anything inside the Jefferson memorial. here is a statue of Jefferson along with many quotes inside that were really inspiring. One I especially liked is as follows:

         "Almighty God hath created the mind free. All attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens. . .are a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion. . .no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship or ministry or shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief, but all men shall be free to profess and by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion. I know but one code of morality for men whether acting singly or collectively."

    After the Jefferson Memorial, we went to a mall with some fast food places and got lunch. During lunch, Tanya and Jody were emphasizing again how important it is to ask for clarification if you don't understand what's being signed. The whole point of this trip is to learn and most people don't mind repeating or explaining things. I feel like this was a really good reminder for me as I sometimes I can just go along and try and figure it out good enough because I don't want to be a bother. But I'm glad they reminded me of this because it really helped me the rest of the week to remember not to be afraid to ask for something to be repeated or explained to make sure I truly understood.

     This afternoon we went to Arlington Cemetery, which, although was quite sad and solemn, it also possessed an incredible beauty. Arlington Cemetry is the nation's most sacred cemetery with over 400,000 graves. The entire cemetery smelled like flowers, dotted around with different flowering trees. Members of the military and fall under several specific categories (that I forget) are eligible to be buried in the cemetery. All of the newer gravestones are the same style of gravestone--white marble, small, and thin. Some of the older ones are larger but most still stick to a similar color scheme.

      Although it was extremely saddening seeing the vast number of graves. There was something beautiful about looking out at the white marble stones for as far as I could see. There was a sense of peace and beauty about the place.


     We were able to attend The Changing of the Guard at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a ceremony demanding great respect and solemnity. It was highly specific and complicated, I can't imagine how long they have to practice to be able to execute it perfectly. Definitely something amazing to witness. Reminded me of all the soldiers who were missing or unidentifiable and the families that never got closure with their loved one.  

     John F. Kennedy and his brothers are buried there. The brothers each have a white cross at their graves, and JFK has a flame that never goes out. Written in stone nearby is the famous quote:

      "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." 

It really makes one think: What can I do in my life, change in my life, pursue in my life, to make a change in the world?

     During World War II the battle at Iwo Jima marked a crucial turning point in the war, 1 out of 10 men died--7,000 from the US. The Iwo Jima monument is based on a photo taken whilst U.S. soldiers planted the American flag on Mt. Suribachi. A beautiful moment: as we drove past the monument the way the road curved and because of the changing angle of the flag pole made it appear as if the flag was being raised, it blew my mind and was so neat. There was a story about the Iwo Jima battle that I listened to many times growing up and because of that, it sticks out to me from the war. The Iwo Jima Memorial was definitely one of my favorites, beautiful, patriotic, powerful, and moving. 



   The last memorial we visited was the WWII memorial. There are 56 columns, one for each of the 48 states at the time, one for the District of Columbia, and 7 for the Territories of the time (including Alaska and Hawaii).

 "The Freedom Wall" is a wall of gold stars, 4,048 in all, each representing 100 deaths. Below the stars reads the quote "Here We Mark the Price of Freedom." So many deaths😔 


     Lastly, we drove to a place where you could see the back of The White House from a pretty decent ways off, but it was still pretty neat: to be standing there so close to where the nation's leaders have lived and led, the country for the last 200 years.

For supper we went to the Gallaudet cafeteria again. I picked a table to ask if I could sit at, one of the girls talked with me for a little while, asked why I was interested in ASL and she thought it was really cool that I want to be an interpreter, she was super nice and friendly but had to leave shortly after I got there. Then it was weird because the other four students at the table did not talk to me. They were in the middle of a conversation and I didn't want to interrupt but they never even looked at me or said hi and so eventually once I'd finished my food I left and went and joined another table that a few people I knew were at. The Gallaudet students at that table were super nice and friendly and once again were great at explaining things or slowing down and repeating sentences if I missed something. My fellow ASL Students were also super helpful in explaining signs that I was unfamiliar with which I appreciated a lot. One of the students taught us the sign for "Corona Virus" Which I had not previously known before, that was a neat moment.

   After a while, I started talking with Malachi (An ASL Student on the trip) and just through that one conversation I learned so much. We were discussing our faith and other random things but there were just so many signs he used that I didn't know and he patiently explained and repeated each one time again until I understood. Very thankful for everyone being so willing and positive in teaching me new signs and helping me to understand. After all, that is the goal of the trip. It's only day two and I've learned so much!

     Funny Moment: at one point Malachi was asking me why I am a vegetarian and I had been trying to say that it was something I had grown up doing and something I believed in and what not. So I had thought the sign for husband and believe were the same, (apparently they are quite similar but indeed different), and Malachi was very confused because I was saying "It was something my husband did so I did it too." He told me, he hadn't realized I had a husband and I seemed kind of young and it was then I realized the full implications of what I was signing. Needless to say, I shall remember the difference between husband and believe from now on😂.

     In our meeting tonight we went over different signs that people had learned--so many. And we also talked about the interpreters that had been with us through the day, discussing things that were great they did and things that our chaperones (who are interpreters themselves) thought would have been better if they had done differently. It taught me a lot. By this time I was very tired out, and my head and eyes hurt from so much deep focused watching of signing and trying to understand what was happening. It definitely is different than one might expect, not being able to just hear and process while looking around. You have to look at whats around you and then look at the person signing and you can't do both at the same time.



Notes From Today:

1. So I am introvert and I very much enjoy my peace and quiet but I also really enjoy spending time with my friends, however, I tend to get burnt out in large groups of people and I think a part of that is how loud it can all get. Something I'm finding I really enjoy about signing is that, although there is a large group of us, it's never loud, hard to hear, or chaotic. But instead, it's quiet and peaceful all of the time, with a laugh every now and then. But it isn't quiet because there's an awkward silence, or because no one is talking. Everyone is still communicating and conversing but without chaotic noise. It is very nice.

2. I think the sign I've used the most so far is the sign for, "Excited." I just am so excited about everything happening right now!

     I will be linking the vlog below as soon as I get it finished:)

I hope you enjoyed!

Gabriella

Day 1 - Arrival

March 7, 2020 

Wow! Day 1 was a looongggg one! But it was awesome!

   So my awesome roommate Rachel happily agreed to drive me to the airport at 3:30am (what a wonderful human). I didn't go to bed till about 11:45 the night before so only got about 3 hours of sleep, starting the day tired, Oof. My first flight was from Chattanooga, TN to Philadelphia, PA, and the second from PA to Baltimore, MD. I did my best to sleep most of the time. Not too long after I got to the airport, everyone from CLC arrived, they had already begun no voice long before so I jumped right in. I got to see Sami for the first time in 2 years I think, we were both so excited! And I got to meet JG, her and Sami and I are roommates for the trip, she's so nice. We got on a bus to drive us to Gallaudet and on the way Sami and I were talking about how we were gonna document the trip through blogging/vlogging.

     Got to Gallaudet! Yay!! We put our things in the hotel rooms and then divided into two groups depending on where people wanted to eat. I went with one group to the Union Market which is just across the street from Gallaudet. It was a really neat place, so many different kinds of foods all right there to choose from, I got Indian food, yum.

     The Gallaudet mascot is the Bison, and their softball team had a game today. So, we decided to go watch that and it was really cool! I've never watched a softball game before, so it was totally new, but I found it so interesting to see how the deaf team and hearing team communicated with their teammates differently throughout the game. We'd see the deaf signing to each other with a large distance between and it was so neat. Clear communication despite the space. I love that. Their team was exceptional, almost always had multiple people on the bases and constantly scoring, versus when it was the other teams turn to bat they got out really fast. Gallaudet's team has a strong defense and offense. However, it was cold out and windy, so after about 1.5-2 hours we decided to head back to the dorm. When I left the score was 14-5 --Bison in the lead, and later I found out that they won 22-5! I went back to the hotel and slept for about an hour, was so tired from traveling. 

     Supper time! So we headed to the Gallaudet Cafeteria to eat supper. Tanya explained to us that we needed to put ourselves out there and go sit with students--people we didn't know. "Just ask if you can sit with them and they'll most likely say yes," she said. "If not then just move on and ask someone else. But that way we are meeting new people, practicing signing, making connections, interacting with deaf, etc." The cafeteria was kind of a buffet style with lots of different build-your-own options. I made a veggie wok dish. Yum. I looked around the Cafeteria until I found a table of students without anyone from our group at it, I think there were about 5-6 people. I went over and asked if they minded if I sat with them and they all welcomed me to sit. I told them my name and they all introduced themselves. We were talking and I explained that I'm an ASL student and I'm here with a group visiting. They signed really fast and I had a hard time understanding but they were super kind and accommodating and when they were talking to me they would slow down and repeat things multiple times and explain them to me. Really nice.
Then they asked me why I wanted to learn ASL? 
                I explained that I want to be an ASL interpreter eventually because 
     I have found such a love for the language and Deaf culture and I have a 
     heart to help. I want to be able to communicate with and help give deaf a 
     voice when nobody else will listen. I know that deaf individuals are not
     needy or incapable of living life without help. That's SOO not true! 
     But for anyone in America who's primary language is not English it is 
     important they be understood and I want to try and help be that bridge of 
     communication. 
As I mentioned before when the students were conversing with each other I had a hard time following their conversations because first of all, they were signing really fast, second of all there were a lot of signs I didn't know, and thirdly, I had to keep looking back and forth across the table at each of them signing and in the process would miss stuff. So for awhile, I was pretty lost. Then the girl sitting beside me (her name is Jessica) starting asking me about myself. She asked me if I was a Christian and I replied that I am, turns out she is too. She asked me if I am Baptist and I replied that I am actually a Seventh Day Adventist. I tried my best to explain that but was having a really hard time with my limited signing knowledge. I'm pretty sure I totally butchered it and was probably very unable to represent my faith. I wish I could've done better, but it inspires me to learn how to explain my faith in sign language so that in the future when the opportunity arises I can. 

      We had a group meeting tonight and we all shared stuff we had learned or noticed today, lots of good info. 


Some specific things I noted today:


1. At my University, we have long rectangular tables in the cafeteria and some smaller square ones. I noticed in the Gallaudet cafeteria all the tables are round so that students can communicate well and all see each other for conversation. I thought that was really cool.

2. There was a lot I didn't understand today which was kind of frustrating and hard. My brain was working a million miles a minute trying to take the signs I know and register their meaning and use the context to try and figure out what might be happening despite all the signs I didn't know. Then when responding trying to take what I wanted to say and simplify it into signs I know. Having had only three hours of sleep probably didn't help but it definitely was interesting to experience that. I know many people learn second languages or move to America and have to learn English and it gave me a whole new respect and understanding of the struggle that that is. I hope by the end of the week I can understand and communicate better. 

3. I'm having a really hard time not signing English. ASL is not English on the hands, it has its own grammar, syntax, and words that can't be directly translated to English and whatnot. It's different, not a direct translation. But I am having a reallly hard time not simply signing my English words. Tonight my signing was very English. I want to try and work on changing that more this week. But yeah that was hard too.


     Today was a really great day, very tired though, and my eyes huuurrrttt, and my brain is shutting down haha, just so much watching and trying to process it all was definitely a lot. But it was an amazingggg and great day and I am so excited to be here and learn new things. This is gonna be great! It's so amazing to be with a whole group of people all learning sign language and communicating through ASL and helping each other understand. 

Alright, If you want to watch today's video I will put it below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mzLBnAwkc0

Thank you for reading!

If you want to continue following along feel free to subscribe to my youtube and get email alerts for the blog!

Gabriella 

Intro - What is going on??

  Hello! I suppose I should have planned ahead a little more and posted this beforehand but I didn't so here we are.

What is this blog for/about?

     I am currently taking American Sign Language classes and am planning to become an ASL Interpreter eventually. I grew up in Minnesota and the community college there has a great Deaf Studies program. I know one of the instructors as her daughter was my best friend growing up. Because I became interested in ASL recently I reached out to her and was asking questions about interpreting (she is also an interpreter) and ASL. She told me about a class at Central Lakes College where she works that is an ASL Culturally Immersive class in which they take a week-long trip to Gallaudet University in Washington D.C.---the only University for the deaf in the world. Throughout the week they spend a considerable amount of time on campus interacting with students, observing classes, participating in activities, and they also visit the national monuments and museums in D.C. Throughout the week students are only allowed to use ASL, no talking. She told me that if it was something I was interested in I was welcome to join them. I jumped at the opportunity, how often are you able to do something like that right? So now here I am, in Washington D.C. at Gallaudet University, using only Sign language!

     Going into this trip I feel somewhat scared and nervous, but also so excited. Although I know some signing I still feel like I need to know more. So I'm a little scared a won't understand enough, but I guess we'll see. I'm also nervous about no voice. I'm a very talkative person and am often making sounds or singing and so the idea of no talking this week sounds like a challenge for sure. However, I am still able to communicate with people so in a way am still talking, so maybe it'll be fine. I am expecting to learn SOOO much on this trip, ASL wise and history of the nation and I am so excited for all of it. I can't wait to see how much I've improved in my signing by the end of the week.

     I love to journal regularly because it helps me remember the things I do, experience, and feel, and I especially want to journal this trip as it is such an amazing experience and I don't want to forget anything. I decided to blog it because this way I can share it with friends and family who are interested in my travels and experiences and they can keep up with what I'm doing on my trip!

     I'm also planning to vlog as I go, I will do my best to include pictures and videos throughout my posts. As you may have noticed, I'm already behind...But I'll get it all up eventually:)

If you want to Subscribe to my Youtube Channel here is the link:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyWPO-cg15Gd6JFtU2ZH7LA/

My first video explains some of the same things that I wrote here: 

Thank you!

Gabriella