Week 6: As the weeks go by...

As you know for the last six or seven weeks I have been researching, studying, and trying to learn sign language. I have been leaning numerous words and shorts phrases, but I find it increasingly difficult to memorize or remember a majority of them days after the initial learning. I try to fit in some sign language everyday, but between school, homework, and working during the week, it is really hard to balance and try to give sign language my full attention when so much other stuff has to be done at this time. I really wished I could have focused on this project second semester when things calm down a little, but I am still motivated to learn as much as I can. My aunt told me she had trouble learning at first as well,  but she admitted, of course, that she was not under the same conditions as I. I know learning an entirely new language can be difficult so I am trying to not be so hard on myself if I do not remember things as efficiently as I should.
Regardless, I am having a lot of fun with this project still and during 20% time I have the chance to look up really cool things about sign language that I never knew before.

Week four: My first encounter...

Some may not realize this, but I do have a job at a local Arby's. I usually work about five days a week, but last week was my first encounter with a deaf person who was very fluent in sign language. She was with her mom and they both were speaking to each other through sign language only. I was just standing there behind the counter trying to catch any word or phrase I could understand or comprehend, but they were moving so fast which made it impossible for me to keep up. When she was ready to order she had to take out her phone type it, then show me. I almost felt bad that I couldn't understand her, I felt like she had to conform to using her phone in order to communicate with me and she shouldn't have to. That experience made my motivation for learning sign language sky rocket. Imagine how cool it would have been if I could have just taken her order in sign language.

In other news I have found a mentor finally! It is one of my aunts whom I did not know studied sign language in college. She is not extremely fluent, but she does remember many things that are proven to be very useful to me. This upcoming week I am going to mainly focus on forming sentences. In sign language a sentence is not signed exactly how it would be spoken in English. This can sometimes make it difficult to understand how to form sentences, but I am getting there.

Until next time!