Not that I intended to make this blog specific about ASL... but I am learning the language... and there are some sweet travel stories related, and this one is the sweetest. :) )
About the photos:
1) Some treats served at VIA Rail's "Dome Car". If you travel on these long-run trains, the "Dome Car" _is_ the place to be!
2) Lakes and rivers while our train was in the province of Québec.
3) The next day, a stunning sunrise over La Baie Des Chaleurs.
Regulars to this blog know, I'm learning ASL. There's a long story behind that, but one of the goals, since I am a *visual* thinker, is to learn a language which by definition... *is* visual.I have a vocabulary of mhhh... about 100 concepts ( " words " ), and a basic understanding of the ASL grammar, which is kind of funky at first glance when compared to a spoken and written language... but its grammar is fully adapted for a visual environment.
On Day #2 on the train, I was sitting at the Dome car. The scenery wasn't much of interest, so I figure it's time to have my ASL lessons.
I'm still struggling with fingerspelling (doing hand signs of letters A through Z). The problem isn't remembering the signs. It's there in my mind in full view... but the problem is having translated from my mind to my hand... it seems that I can't order my fingers to sign right.
So, as an exercise, I took one of the magazines they have on train, and I fingerspelled, very slowly, the text I was reading... With practice, my fingers will stop disobeying !
(For instance, there are letters like D and F which finger-wise are mirror image of each other. I often mix "D" with "F" and vice-versa).
So I was going on fingerspelling merrily, without paying attention to what was going on.
Then I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I look, and there was a nice young girl. Maybe 10 at most. She was smiling.
I missed the beginning... but heck, she was signing !!!
Here is the gist of our "conversation" in sign language: (In uppercase, words derived from ASL signs)
HELLO! ME NAME C-A-R-O-L.
(Hello, my name is Carol)
(Flabbergasted Eskimo here!!)
NICE - MEET YOU !!! (with facial expressions)
ME - NAME - J-A-C-Q-U-E-S
(Nice to meet you! My name is Jacques. Footnote: In ASL, there's no "be" verbs. The pronoun and your facial expression will convey the function of the verb "to be").
You should have seen her face lightening up!
ME - FROM - T-O . ME - DEAF.
(I'm from Toronto. I'm deaf)
ME - FROM - M-T-L. ME-HEARING, ME - SIGN - A LITTLE.
(I'm from Montréal. I'm hearing and I can sign a little)
I totally didn't expect it, but she went on my row seats and she hugged me!!
Totally confused Eskimo here... and yes, swamped with emotions. :)
She got a seat next to mine. She was all smile. Having a travel partner who could understand her! I confusedly sense that in her world, she must be quite lonely.
Often I have to ask her to sign SLOWLY. She was waaay too fast for me. I missed a bunch of signs, but I could figure the gist of what she was saying. Good thing she was understanding me, with my poor signs!
Then her parents came forward. Uh oh... I hope they don't think I'm doing anything wrong, especially if they have seen each of us hugging! Then the thought hit me: Are they deaf too?
-YOUR DAUGHTER? (with a HUH expression, and fingerpointing at her)
-YES
ME - HEARING - CAN SIGN - A LITTLE. ME - LEARN LEARN - A-S-L.
(I'm hearing and I can sign a little. I'm learning ASL. Certain signs when repeated, slightly change meaning, often indicating that there is a process of some sorts. Here, the process of learning).
I saw the mom chuckling, and she continued... in English. Thanks heaven! I wouldn't last long in sign language!!!
They are both hearing, but their only daughter was born deaf. No one really knows why. Everything is "normal" in every aspect for her. Mother Nature decided otherwise, it seems.
The prospect of a cochlear implant at a later stage of her life wasn't good and the very invasive surgery that it requires has made her parents thinking TWICE.
They were impressed that I am learning ASL! Without going much in details, I told them how I came to ASL, and how I fell in love with the language.
Anyhow... I'm there... and thinking of the events...
When a children literally jumps on you and hugs you...
And doing something, which for me was a struggle, but for her *meant* _A LOT_ ...
It seems that adult, because we are " adult " , we tend to forget what is really important.
Sigh.
Anyway, just a glimpse of things that happened on the train, and I figure that is worth writing on this electronic diary.
-E
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