This morning I attended my first Auslan coffee and chat with Miss A. I was grateful that several other students were in attendance as well as Miss A’s speech/sign therapist.
To start it was nerve racking being around so many Deaf people with their beautiful and fluent language – I felt as thought I was signing everything wrong and my nerves made my finger spelling quicker then normal (I think) in hope that if I made a mistake no one would catch it.
But my nerves slowly dissipated and I really enjoyed it. It gave me a chance to do some practise Inbetween weekends for my course. As well as practicing myself I was able to watch others signing and make sure I can recognise the signs and better understand the structure of the language. It is so beautiful to watch. I watched a young hearing man clarify to his girlfriend what he was signing as his “cold” looked some what like “bath” I smiled. This was a safe environment, it was okay to make mistakes – mistakes are part of the learning process.
Miss A was quite a lot of the time, taking everything in. I wish I knew what she was thinking. She signed to tell a few people her name. Beginning with her hands under the table (obviously nervous herself) then by the end signing as she always would.
It was amazing & I am very much looking forward to going again next month 🙂
ifhandscouldtalk 