These posts are edited emails that I would send home to Marc each night. I can’t even express how awesome this opportunity was and how extremely grateful I am that I got to attend. I am totally asking to go again for Christmas because it was amazing! WARNING*** These posts are REALLY long!
Today has been an interesting day. I was really calm driving down actually but I think that was due to my concentration being elsewhere. I got down to the retreat and my anxiety started to creep up again. I called you and then called my Mom but it didn't help calm my nerves. I signed in and got my name tag (which is actually pretty cool) and a blue whale that I must have attached to me at all times. I have to name him tomorrow before breakfast and it will be a shocker to everyone that I have named him George.
I filled out a thing with my name and address and then waited in line to have my interview. The line for the interview took forever and the longer I stood in it the more freaked out I became! I finally made it to the front and couldn't even think in ASL if I wanted to because I was so freaked out.... to be honest I wasn't really thinking in English either. My interview was seriously like .2 seconds and I was off to go get my room key. I got my room key but found out that our room wouldn't be ready for a little while and so I went in for orientation. I also had to sign a contract with Robert DeMayo that I wouldn't ever take a job away from a Deaf person. So things like I won't portray a Deaf character on television because they should hire a Deaf person to play that part. I don't plan on ever intentionally taking a job away from anyone because that is not really who I am.
Orientation was fine and it was the general stuff of the rules and what we can expect. I think that this will be a great program and I hope I don't get caught talking because they make you wear ridiculous things! Anyway, then we were off to lunch and it wasn't too bad. I had a few apples and a ham sandwich and a bag of pretzels. After lunch I was able to move into my room and I am so grateful for the room I have. I am up by the front entrance and I have a typical hotel room that has a closet and two queen beds and a patio. The other rooms have a common living room that branches off to the two rooms that are tiny and have 2 twin beds. My roommates name is Rebekah and she is super sweet.
She is from Ohio but is going to school at ASU. We bonded because we both brought stuffed animals to sleep with. I think we will get along just swell! It was getting my stuff into the room that afforded me my first injury. I apparently kicked the bar under the bed and broke off my toenail pretty good. For being a nice break and not going to far under the nail it sure did hurt!
Then we got to see what class level I was in and I learned I was in level two out of five. I knew this would be really easy for me but I figured I would give it a chance. It didn't even challenge me a little and I knew that I would have to ask for a reassignment. My first class we made up a sign name for the word Mango (our team name) but sign names are supposed to be one fluid motion and ours was 5 individual signs eventually spelling Mango. It took like 20 minutes to finish and I wasn't very impressed. (As a disclaimer, this is something that happens in the Deaf community to tell stories through signs. At this point I didn’t understand that concept very well. I would go on to do this exercise with other words and it was a really cool experience!)
In our next class we were doing gestures and weren't allowed to use ASL. I have done this in other classes and when it was my turn to act something out I got the word magnet. I did a very clear rendition with my hands of what a magnet does and 95% of the guessers got it right but I was scolded for doing the assignment wrong. I only used my hands to gesture that it was a magnet and not my whole body. In my defense my face played a big part of my rendition but that didn't count apparently. He then proceeded to demonstrate how I could have acted out that word that I should have asked for a partner but after seeing what he did for magnet I wouldn't have ever thought that was what he was trying to demonstrate. I would have guessed some sort of natural disaster to or being tossed around inside a turbulent plane but not a magnet. Anyway, I did the next acting assignment much better but it was easier because it was a furnace and I could act like I was cold. Anyway, then we went to our acting groups. Our acting groups are the only groups not associated with levels and are a mixture of levels. We will perform our skit on Tuesday night to the Deaf Community and we decided on doing The Three Deaf Little Pigs. It should be funny and cute.
Then I was on my way to dinner when I discovered it had been postponed and so I went to my room for a quick cat nap. I woke up and went off to dinner. And dinner I asked the person in charge if I could go from being a level two to a level four. She seemed pretty shocked but I explained that 2 was SUPER EASY and 3 would be comfortable for me but I wanted a challenge and a level 4 offered me that challenge. She agreed and I should be starting the new classes tomorrow. I just finished dinner and I am already missing my food at home. I did eat pretty healthy with a salad, rice, and a little bit of beef but it wasn't as filling as my salads ever are and I ended up eating too much to try and compensate for it. I will be very grateful to be home and eating right in a few days! I now have to go play some more ice breaker games (oh, we did play some earlier....oops I forgot!) but Deaf ice breaker games are a little bit odd.... so I don't know how excited I am just yet. It is things like find people with the same shoe size as you or the same birthday month or pretend you are on a bumpy boat. Anyway, I had better go because I am supposed to be there in like three minutes.
I just got back from the games and it was basically trying to make us feel so silly that we feel comfortable around each other. I had to be an elephant, octopus, and a monkey tonight. I then went and hung out with a few girls and then it was off to play some more games. These games were more like homework exercises and they really made my brain think but it was good for me. I decided that I was tired and feeling really sore so I would head to bed.
P.S. I forgot to tell you that I finally got a name sign today. I was a little sad about how it was chosen because getting a name is such a big deal and my was kind of thrown at me today. However, it is a good name and indicates that I am ridiculously tall and that my initials are C.D. (Disclaimer: I also grew to totally LOVE the staff member who gave me that name. His name was Michael and he reminded me a lot of my cousin Nate. I couldn’t help but laugh and smile around him and there was something about him that just made his joy for life contagious.
That is how Nate always came across to me at family campouts (not as a monkey but as a really fun person to be around) and I always wanted to be around him. Looking back I am really glad that Michael gave me my name!) It was pointed out to me today that if I ever get divorced that I will be forced to get a new name sign. So I have informed Marc that he can NEVER divorce me and we will be just fine.
I filled out a thing with my name and address and then waited in line to have my interview. The line for the interview took forever and the longer I stood in it the more freaked out I became! I finally made it to the front and couldn't even think in ASL if I wanted to because I was so freaked out.... to be honest I wasn't really thinking in English either. My interview was seriously like .2 seconds and I was off to go get my room key. I got my room key but found out that our room wouldn't be ready for a little while and so I went in for orientation. I also had to sign a contract with Robert DeMayo that I wouldn't ever take a job away from a Deaf person. So things like I won't portray a Deaf character on television because they should hire a Deaf person to play that part. I don't plan on ever intentionally taking a job away from anyone because that is not really who I am.
Orientation was fine and it was the general stuff of the rules and what we can expect. I think that this will be a great program and I hope I don't get caught talking because they make you wear ridiculous things! Anyway, then we were off to lunch and it wasn't too bad. I had a few apples and a ham sandwich and a bag of pretzels. After lunch I was able to move into my room and I am so grateful for the room I have. I am up by the front entrance and I have a typical hotel room that has a closet and two queen beds and a patio. The other rooms have a common living room that branches off to the two rooms that are tiny and have 2 twin beds. My roommates name is Rebekah and she is super sweet.
She is from Ohio but is going to school at ASU. We bonded because we both brought stuffed animals to sleep with. I think we will get along just swell! It was getting my stuff into the room that afforded me my first injury. I apparently kicked the bar under the bed and broke off my toenail pretty good. For being a nice break and not going to far under the nail it sure did hurt!
Then we got to see what class level I was in and I learned I was in level two out of five. I knew this would be really easy for me but I figured I would give it a chance. It didn't even challenge me a little and I knew that I would have to ask for a reassignment. My first class we made up a sign name for the word Mango (our team name) but sign names are supposed to be one fluid motion and ours was 5 individual signs eventually spelling Mango. It took like 20 minutes to finish and I wasn't very impressed. (As a disclaimer, this is something that happens in the Deaf community to tell stories through signs. At this point I didn’t understand that concept very well. I would go on to do this exercise with other words and it was a really cool experience!)
In our next class we were doing gestures and weren't allowed to use ASL. I have done this in other classes and when it was my turn to act something out I got the word magnet. I did a very clear rendition with my hands of what a magnet does and 95% of the guessers got it right but I was scolded for doing the assignment wrong. I only used my hands to gesture that it was a magnet and not my whole body. In my defense my face played a big part of my rendition but that didn't count apparently. He then proceeded to demonstrate how I could have acted out that word that I should have asked for a partner but after seeing what he did for magnet I wouldn't have ever thought that was what he was trying to demonstrate. I would have guessed some sort of natural disaster to or being tossed around inside a turbulent plane but not a magnet. Anyway, I did the next acting assignment much better but it was easier because it was a furnace and I could act like I was cold. Anyway, then we went to our acting groups. Our acting groups are the only groups not associated with levels and are a mixture of levels. We will perform our skit on Tuesday night to the Deaf Community and we decided on doing The Three Deaf Little Pigs. It should be funny and cute.
Then I was on my way to dinner when I discovered it had been postponed and so I went to my room for a quick cat nap. I woke up and went off to dinner. And dinner I asked the person in charge if I could go from being a level two to a level four. She seemed pretty shocked but I explained that 2 was SUPER EASY and 3 would be comfortable for me but I wanted a challenge and a level 4 offered me that challenge. She agreed and I should be starting the new classes tomorrow. I just finished dinner and I am already missing my food at home. I did eat pretty healthy with a salad, rice, and a little bit of beef but it wasn't as filling as my salads ever are and I ended up eating too much to try and compensate for it. I will be very grateful to be home and eating right in a few days! I now have to go play some more ice breaker games (oh, we did play some earlier....oops I forgot!) but Deaf ice breaker games are a little bit odd.... so I don't know how excited I am just yet. It is things like find people with the same shoe size as you or the same birthday month or pretend you are on a bumpy boat. Anyway, I had better go because I am supposed to be there in like three minutes.
I just got back from the games and it was basically trying to make us feel so silly that we feel comfortable around each other. I had to be an elephant, octopus, and a monkey tonight. I then went and hung out with a few girls and then it was off to play some more games. These games were more like homework exercises and they really made my brain think but it was good for me. I decided that I was tired and feeling really sore so I would head to bed.
P.S. I forgot to tell you that I finally got a name sign today. I was a little sad about how it was chosen because getting a name is such a big deal and my was kind of thrown at me today. However, it is a good name and indicates that I am ridiculously tall and that my initials are C.D. (Disclaimer: I also grew to totally LOVE the staff member who gave me that name. His name was Michael and he reminded me a lot of my cousin Nate. I couldn’t help but laugh and smile around him and there was something about him that just made his joy for life contagious.
That is how Nate always came across to me at family campouts (not as a monkey but as a really fun person to be around) and I always wanted to be around him. Looking back I am really glad that Michael gave me my name!) It was pointed out to me today that if I ever get divorced that I will be forced to get a new name sign. So I have informed Marc that he can NEVER divorce me and we will be just fine.
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