The Botanical Pics

Day at the Botanical Gardens : )

       

David being a little scientist.. : )

We tried to catch this one

 A Pinneapple : ) Cute huh?

A Normal Day

Apart of the interpreter profession is waiting.  Sometimes you go to a doctor's appointment for your Deaf client and you wait.  Some Deaf people are super friendly and are interested in who you are, some tell you their life story and others just blatantly ignore you.  Every person is different and you have to respect that, roll with the punches..go with flow.  It's all apart of the job : )

This was a clip that I found in a magazine during one of those times waiting... I thought it was pretty funny ; )

            

 One thing that will always stay true about me: I am addicted to thrift stores.  This is a strange addiction for many reasons....
1.  If I have the time, 99% of the opportunities that present themselves in thrift store form, I take them.
2.  If I need to calm down, relax/de-stress myself...I go to a thrift store.  There's something about it that makes me at ease, probably because there are too many things around me to keep me focused on my stress.
3.  At regular stores, I go to the sale rack...at thrift stores, I go the sale rack.  It simple doesn't matter where I am..I have to find the best deal.
4.  I have been known to be in a thrift store for hours... too much?

Last week on my way to Kissimmee I got VERY distracted by thrift stores.  My plan was to leave town early so that I'd beat rush hour.  Whoah did I miss the mark here... I ended up being at two different thrift stores for almost 2 1/2 hours.  This resulted me in the middle of rush hour...competely.  Why do they call it "rush" hour anyway?  It doesn't last only an hour and there's no hurry because no one moves... no sense at all.  Anyways...back to my point.  The jacket on the left was something I walked away with.  There wasn't a price tag on it, I noticed a few snags but it was a really nice coat that fit me.  I asked someone about it and he told me he'd give it to me for $15.  Well by the end of my visit he noticed I was at the register without the coat.  He said..."now this doesn't look right.." I explained to him that I'm a college student and I just couldn't justify the $15.  Then he gave it to me for $9.  What a day!

He went straight into traffic through 3 lanes....need I say more?  Come on Florida.

My Same....in ASL (or whatever kind of signing you'd like to label it)

So last night, randomly, after watching a lot of signed songs with my friend Amelia I decided to get started.... I want to sign one song a week, just to stretch myself a little bit. I know sometimes its SO overdone but it's also something I really enjoy and can express myself through. So here it is, the first of a few. This is one that I actually tried a year ago but my friend Kaleena requested Adele, so I decided I would like to try it again.

"My Same"

The Update!

 Today was a beautiful day!  I woke up early, tutored Deaf kids at Fitzgerald Middle School, went to an OBGYN interpreting assignment and then came home to prepare dinner.  Spending time with my family meant so much to me, especially because those opportunities seem so few and far between.

A few weeks ago, I was in the middle of driving around to different assignments and had a few hours between my next assignment.  I thought I would stop by my Aunt Jessica's house but instead was interrupted with rude company: a flat tire.  It was a scary, frustrating, I wanted-to-kick-the-car-moment...but my Aunt helped me see it through and I got to my last assignment with just a few minutes to spare.  Ugh, cars.  

 A recent goal I've had, is to make it a point to be outside for at least an hour everyday.  Unfortunately, I don't make it to the beach as much as I want to but sometimes it's about sitting on the porch and reading or taking a bike ride around the block....

Two weekends ago the Deaf Literacy program at Safety Harbor Library put together a Deaf Poetry night.  This was such an awesome opportunity for Deaf students to put together their own expressions, using ASL as their medium.  Peter Cook, a famous Deaf Poet and comedian opened the show with a few of his famous stories.  This was such good exposure to Deaf culture...especially for my Grandparents : )  My grandma learned how to clap in ASL and how to sign "fart"...my grandpa on the other hand said he'll just keep his hands to his side in fear that he'll sign something offensive.

Yesterday, I spent the day with my Uncle Rick's side of the family... this baby, Nicole, was anything but camera-shy.

 It was Rebecca's birthday and we spent the whole day drinkin' tea, eatin some grilled food and hangin out with family.  It's so cool to reconnect with family and see what's going on in their lives now.  That's been a huge positive part of my stay here.

 

The "opposing" grandma's uniting

HB 1367...Please Read!

  Audism:  The notion that one is superior based on one’s ability to hear or behave in the manner of one who hears.

--Tom Humphries

  This is a post that I've been wanting to talk about for the past few weeks.  Recently, word has spread that the state of Indiana is getting closer to shut down the Indiana School of the Deaf.  The Bill HB 1367 were passed, it would mean less money focused on an education, environment and language that Deaf children thrive from and more money poured into cochlear implants.  This is once again reverting from the dreams of the Deaf community: to be equal to the world around them yet preserve their beautiful language and culture.  Deaf people are often "molded like hearing people to function" but from what I have learned through my four years of involvement in the Deaf community, most Deaf people are proud of their Deafhood.



Every month 15 babies in Indiana are born with hearing losses. 
A cochlear implant surgery costs between $40,000.00 and $100,000.00 per baby.
The estimation of MONTHLY revenue is $1,000,000.00. 
15 babies x $70,000.00 per cochlear implant surgery = $1,050,000.00 per month!

If HB 1367 were passed, the budget would enable the cochlear implant industries and Hear Indiana Chapter of AGBAD to multiply their profits. 

The state budget would be paying between $1,000,000.00 and $2,000,000.00 annually for AGBAD’s eugenics curricula especially the auditory verbal therapy (AVT), facilities, and tuition fees to for-profit schools like St. Joseph. 

The AGBAD’s curricula ban deaf babies’ human rights to use sign language, and this leads to low literacy among the majority of deaf children.

The AGBAD owns the EHDI system, and has a tight relationship with the cochlear implant industries. 

A cochlear implant industry has offered a reward of $150,000.00 to an organization for implanting the most babies per year.

-Indiana Deaf Education Coalition

   Why would we pour so much money into something that the Deaf community themselves don't want?  I'm really sad for them right now...  I am sad for the times that Deaf friends tell me they don't receive fair treatment because they're Deaf, I am sad when I see hearing people view Deaf people like they are "dumb" or "mute" and am I also sad that hearing people are trying to take away one of the most cherished parts of their community: their Deaf school.  A Deaf school provides a home; a place they feel they can be with other kids that have the same struggles through life or just the same experiences.  A Deaf school provides an education that is focused on their apt to learn visually.  A Deaf school also provides a central base for the Deaf community to gather and develop.

   I know that it must be scary for parents to have a child that is Deaf but I think that it happens far to often that these parents are not offered all of the options.  They automatically assume that their child needs to be "fixed" and to "fit" with the rest of the hearing world.  If they only knew!  The Deaf community is such a beautiful place to thrive, especially with the use of ASL.

   As an advocate of the Deaf community I ask, all that have read through this...please take two minutes of your time to fill out your name, email address and number.  There isn't any other step to take to sign the petition unless you would like to take a step further!

Click below to sign the petition! 
Just so you know...you don't have to live in Indiana to sign!  Also, this site gives more information about the Bill and the petition.

http://www.change.org/petitions/oppose-hb-1367?utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=share_petition&utm_term=friends_wall

"When digging deeper, I find that the deaf community sees themselves as a linguistic minority, not disabled" -Robert Silva on Audism and Deaf culture

Read more about ISD's resistance against "Hear Indiana"

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/jun/07/no-headline---deafprotest/

The Eventful Weekend

This past weekend was the busiest of them all!  I started off Friday evening by heading to Safety Harbor library to go to Deaf poetry night.  This is a time that Deaf kids come to practice their poems, ABC stories and "I have a dream" statements.  Although I'm not one actually creating stories, I get to be there to observe and what I have seen so far is absolutely amazing.  If you would like to come to this event they are performing this Saturday along side of a famous Deaf poet and comedian Peter Cook.  It will be at Crosspoint church, 7:00-8:30.  Tickets are $5.

After Deaf poetry was over, a new friend that I have acquired and I went to a place called "The Venue".  There was a sushi bar, a few different bars, live music and a second floor all under one roof.  It was pretty sweet. Alyssa and I talked for awhile over a shared a sushi roll and delicious edamame.  When we were done eating we decided to check out the dance scene and didn't see much activity going on.  As the night picked up, I found that Alyssa hated dancing!! Which was such a shock because she is a very talkative person (and also a disappointment because I LOVE dancing).  So I sat with her and we watched other people make fools of themselves instead : )  Before we left that night two guys approached us and asked if we would dance.  I forced her to do it just to be spontaneous and she finally did.  As the two guys realized Alyssa was Deaf they were instantly intrigued.  They gave the usual, "oh my gosh..you know sign language?".."so is she Deaf?" and one guy even said, "I have a friend that is in a wheelchair... she has scoliosis"... I still haven't figured out the connection on that one.  Maybe he was nervous.   

The next day I went to the Farmer's Market in downtown St. Pete with Rebecca & Roy.  It was so great!  I bought a hat, a coconut ring and a few avacados.  There was so much cool art and everyone had so many creative ideas up their sleeve.  One woman who had "paper art" that focused on the uses and decoration of using paper (origami's, journals...), another vendor was an artist who used wood to carve out jewelry pieces... It was so cool to see what people had.

Before we left we watched the band at the market play.  People were gettin crazy!  This minute will be worth your time... (hint: old woman to the left, baton twirler to the right, miss legs takin over the dance floor..)

We left the market and Rebecca brought me to the Dali Museum.  Wow.  I was just blown away.  Have you seen the art with the melting clocks?... that's him

 (outside of the museum : ))

The next day I spent at Deaf church (Calvary Baptist) and then went to lunch with Alyssa's family.  They are all Deaf and all so much fun! They're very understanding when I don't understand what they're talking about or just giving me insight on what's up here in the area. I am lucky to have found them and I look forward to spending more time with them through these next few months.