(This is the content of a short reaction paper for SLG 102, the sign language class Jodi and I are taking at Chandler-Gilbert Community College)
Deaf Cultural Experience
On Saturday, March 4, my wife and I went to the DeafNation Expo at the Phoenix downtown convention center.
We walked toward the hall, noting already how quiet it was. I started to note a few people standing around signing, and I tried to remember what I had learned about Deaf etiquette - don’t stare unless you intend to introduce yourself! I was uncomfortable as we entered the lobby and headed toward the hall entry… folks all around were signing in rapid conversation. And I could not understand 99.5% of what was being said.
As we entered the hall, I felt very self-conscious - did I have a huge sign on my forehead that said “Hearing Person”? Surely everyone here could tell and resented my being here.
Jodi and I wandered for a bit, stopping at a booth that had vibrating alarm clocks (we were interested in what was available for our daughter). As we looked around, trying to get our bearings and something “normal” to latch onto, I told (signed) to Jodi that this was what all these deaf people felt like when interacting with the hearing world. What an eye-opener!
I realize now that what I was experiencing was culture shock - the realization that all your normal societal cues are not available. In foreign countries, culture shock kicks in when a visitor realizes that the peripheral sights and sounds she is used to at home are not around - these are the signage, traffic patterns, inter-personal expectations and norms that allow us to navigate life with a minimum of conscious thought.
Walking around the hall at the Expo for the first 30 minutes was emotionally difficult. I had interacted with d/Deaf folks in my own environment - at parties with mixed heading/deaf participants - but never had I interacted with the deaf on “their own turf”. I was excited but afraid of doing something that would offend someone or mark me as an outsider.
I never expected to feel this way! I love sign language, I have a deaf daughter and have had some contact with those in the Deaf community before. I appreciate a lot of aspects to that community, but to be here, immersed, was a totally different experience.
After a while, Jodi and I got more used to the overall lower noise volume, became less self-conscious, and started discussing aspects of deaf culture that we had learned about and were seeing lived out around us. At one point we ran into someone we had met at a deaf friends house during a party, and chatted for a few minutes (signing). Having that personal connection suddenly put us more at ease, and we relaxed and were able to enjoy the Expo. Later on, we ran into another friend from a church we had visited, and chatted for a good 15-20 minutes, catching up and conversing about our experiences there.
Ultimately, I really enjoyed myself at the Deaf Expo, and hope to return next year. I was able to communicate somewhat - much better than any time previously - and seeing this life lived out gave me a new appreciation for what the deaf go through in our world, and only increased my desire to continue making ASL and the deaf community a part of my family and social life.
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