Kiefer’s and my adventure today was tackling American Sign Language. After watching Switched at Birth on ABC Family, I became intrigued with ASL. It’s amazing that deaf people can communicate with their hands and have learned to adapt to a lifestyle that isn’t mainstream. Seeing their hands fly with fluid grace or angry tension is really a cool sight.
When Kiefer told me that she took ASL at school for three years, I was like “Oh, that’s really cool.” But it wasn’t until today that I actually asked her about it. Since she is so gung-ho about everything, she agreed with enthusiasm. And so it began…
The first thing she taught me was the swear words, because those are the first words everyone wants to know when learning a new language. I mastered these instantly.
But then we moved on to the alphabet. I can now “fluently” sign my name and say it at the same time. And then I learned how to form sentences like “I am a journalist”, “I want to eat, NOW”, “Where is the bathroom” and others.
For me, it was hard to remember the specific formation and placement of the hand. It has to be strictly precise and perfect otherwise you could confuse someone. I hope that with more practice I can learn it on my own. What a feat!
When I start to practice at hom, I know for a fact that my parents will love having a silent Mia in the house.
