So, Monday, was a really great day. It was the first of a few 50+ degree days this week. That in and of itself was amazing. Monday was also the day that I got my assignment for China in the fall. I have been assigned to Weihai, China. For those of you who have absolutely no idea where Weihai is (and neither did I until after a few google searches), it is in eastern china on the very edge of a peninsula. It looks a little something like this :) :) :) :) -->
Across the ocean from Weihai is South Korea and Japan. Even though I don't get to go to either of these places, it's still pretty cool. This peninsula is pretty large and has almost 1,000 miles of beach on it. I.AM.SO.EXCITED! I am going to be at the beach all the time! :) Weihai is also relatively close to Beijing and Shanghai. I probably wont make it to Hong Kong, but hey, I'm going to be in China. I still think that's pretty great. I told my 7 year old sister that I would be living in China this year, and she gasped and said, "Living?!?". I thought that was pretty great. So, basically Monday was pretty good.
The rest of this week haven't been bad, but they haven't been great either. I am just ready to be done with BYU and roommates and apartments and being jobless. I'm finished. It's too bad, though, that I still have 4 1/2 weeks of school, 1 week of finals, and ILP training standing between me and my flight home.
I did get to see a movie yesterday, about Audism. It was for my ASL class, and going into it, I was thinking, "this is stupid" or "do I really need to go watch this". But it was required, so I went. I am so glad that I did. My career path right now is to become an American Sign Language Interpreter/Translator. That is my dream job right now. Anyways, this video was about audism and what that should mean and does mean to people. Audism is the belief that having the ability to hear makes you superior to those who cannot hear. Audism is essentially discrimination of deaf people. Like sexism or racism, for sexes and races. In the movie these deaf people gave their experiences of discrimination, and my heart broke over and over for the entire hour that this movie went. Especially at the end when there were little, little kids signing. The movie had subtitles, "for the signing impaired" (the movie was entirely in sign). Usually, I find myself just reading subtitles and not worrying about the original content of the movie. However, as I sat there, I found myself actually understanding the majority of what was signed.
It was then that I realized that I really am learning something. I have taken sign language for a year and a half, and I understand a pretty good bit of it. And I can speak somewhat decently as well, atleast hold a conversation. I feel amazing with that realization! I want to be an ASL interpreter, not just because it is a very unique job, or because it is in high demand. I want to be an interpreter because it is the right thing to do. I can make this world better for a group of people who would otherwise be alienated by this world. This world was not made for the deaf, but that's not their fault. Because this world was made for the hearing, it is the hearing's responsibility to make it accessible and accommodating for the deaf. It's up to us not to alienate those who belong here as much as we do.
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