I had a six page post all written up and ready to go then it occurred to me it would not be incredibly entertaining for you to read. I have decided to recap the events that are more interesting and not make you muddle through the boring stuff.
I just spent a weekend in DC and I really needed to talk about it. It was a totally awesome trip. This excursion was very different than most of my trips out there. The main purpose of this trip was for me to take a legal certification written test to allow me to work in the courtrooms as a legal interpreter. No, I did not pass the test but that is secondary to my experiences out there. While I was there I stayed with a good friend of mine.
When there is stuff to be done and fun to be had I am all in until everything stops or I fall over from exhaustion. On this trip exhaustion hit me first. Funny, my friend said she would not have believed how little sleep I get and how little I eat without seeing it herself over a 72 hour period. I must admit I did sleep and eat less than I normally do but I do not think she reads this blog so it will just have to be our secret. Shhhh don’t tell. I think I did this in part just because I was having so much fun and in part for the shock factor. It is fun to watch people stare in disbelief as I keep my energy levels at full steam without the advent of sleep or sustenance.
It is an important part of the story here to note my friendship with Michelle. I met her at an interpreter conference randomly and we happen to have many DC friends in common. We became fast friends but living across the country it was more of an email friendship. I travel to DC often and I would normally end up out at the same places she did due to mutual friends and the like. I had never before stayed at her house and I was a bit trepidations about the situation. Fortunately I know myself very well and I am comfortable, or at least appear so, in a myriad of situations. She did catch me off guard as we entered her house. Seems the back door where you park opens directly to her bedroom. As she opened the door and I saw all bed I had a thousand thoughts running through my head. Ok dirty people get your minds out of the gutter that is not what I was thinking. I was contemplating the most grace full way to get out of her room without hurting anyone’s feelings. I was also going through a list of people I can call to stay with at the last minute. Finally I was scanning her room for the door into the apartment . Since I could not readily locate the door I thought “Oh Snap! Is this a studio apartment?” I can’t imagine the look that must have been on my face but she totally played me. I think I made a comment bourn of desperate bravado about “so does this work on all the guys?” Turning around nonchalantly she fell to the bed saying “ready”. I was feeling very awkward at this point when she broke into a grin and said the door is in the corner and laughed at me. Arg!
The first night was some sort of fund raiser thing for dogs (you can tell I was really into it). Turns out, one of Michelle’s friends is a professional photographer and she is hobnobbing with some rich folks looking to increase her pocket book and portfolio simultaneously. I was so outclassed at this party. You know it is a high class party when you can actually hear the people talking and the girls all look like models while out numbering the guys 3 to 1. I ended up talking to this dude who is a previous employee of Merrill Lynch. I guess he had a good retirement plan as he flew to DC in his private Jet just for this event. He was fun to get riled up. At one point I got him going on a rant about all the people here for the poker fundraising event who were not actually going to play. I really got him worked up until he looked at me and asked why I was there. I told him I was one of the people here for the sole purpose of annoying him and I had no intention of playing poker. (pretty much a true statement). He seemed to not know what to do with this so he headed to the bar. I decided to push my luck. As he walked away leaving me and his young girlfriend I called out to him to bring me back some water. As soon as he was out of sight his female friend was all over me telling me how they were not together and she was just his friend.
Now the best part of the conversation. Dude comes back with is drink and mine. The lady looks at us and then glares at him. He totally forgot to get her a drink!! I love it. I left when he was headed back to the bar.
At work the next day a trend was begun. An interpreter walked out and introduced herself, I did the same. Then she replied “your THAT Dana??”
Me “um yes”
“OMG I have heard so much about you”
This was a trend that continued through the night at the party I went to. Now keep in mind folks I have not lived in DC for many years. I have no idea who was talking about me recently but wow what a great ego boost. The evening was like a homecoming party. Now this party was officially to say farewell to the hordes of people exiting the company, but when I replay it in my mind it is a party for me to get to see all my old friends. Thanks party planers Kevin and Michelle. Several times people came up and asked if Hillary was my wife. Not sure where that came from but the third person received my sarcasm full on. I responded “No, this is my mistress and that is my girlfriend, my wife is in California. They do not know about each other so Shhh.” This was also a repeat conversation.
After the party we watched “Princess Bride”. If you have never seen the movie “The Princess Bride” then skip this section because it will be meaningless. The next few hours were mingled with watching, and quoting the movie, word for word, and dozing off. Neither of us wanted to admit we were too tired to continue the movie. It is a great movie and worth a duel “to the pain” to watch. Still a good movie, If only we can listen with our perfect ears while ignoring the cries of babes at our horrible sight. If we had been able to remain awake it would have been a miracle. I know a guy, name of Max, his wife is most defiantly not a witch, but he is a miracle worker for sure. I did warn you not to read this if you do not know the movie.
The final night is worth mentioning. The club we ended up going to is called L2 it is some fancy club for rich people. Again thank you to Michelle’s friend for her contacts. I have been going to George Town for years to go clubbing. This particular club was one I had never even heard of. Guess I traveled in the wrong crowds. The guy who got us in is a member. It is several thousand dollars to procure a membership. Even with his invite I had to pay $30 to get in. It was worth it. I think the ratio here was 5 Women to 1 male. I felt like a minority here and it was a good feeling. I very much enjoy talking to and hanging out with women. Not only was I arriving with some very attractive women but there were multitudes more just standing around. At one point in the evening, and this is sort of a highlight for me, I was surrounded by 7 gorgeous ladies talking about something funny. Keep in mind I am not a member, I am just some punk who wandered into the club with long (well groomed) hair. As I glanced around the club I noticed a group of guys looking at the group I was in, 7 Women and one guy, with a look of WTF on their faces. It was a pretty cool experience for me.
There were several pictures taken in the car on the way to the friend’s house. As the driver this was interesting to say the least. We dropped them off and headed back. We arrived back at her place and I decided it was too late to sleep because I needed to get to the airport very early in the AM. Michelle and I stayed up and I bought tickets for my trip to Peru. Finally the time came and I was driven to the airport and left on my own.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Danger on the Airplane
I had not slept in over a day and I had been running hard for some time now. I was tired and I had a 6 hour flight ahead of me followed by 10 hours of work as soon as I got off the plane. This was my time to sleep. I put my bags above me, and made myself comfortable with my shades and a pillow. I was asleep within seconds.
I woke to a women poking my shoulder yelling in near hysterics “sir sir, is this your bag SIR!” It was and I told her so as I took my bag from her. Then I looked around and noticed the only people left in a 10 foot radius were my elf and the stewardess. After asking a few people I got the full story. My bag needed to be moved to under the seat instead of in the overhead compartment. When she took it out she asked if it belonged to anyone. When there was no response she began to become more insistent. As other passengers stated to notice her reaction hey all began to move away from the lady and the bag.
It was not until everyone had moved and people were climbing over seats that she noticed the one man sitting there quietly with his sunglasses on in the middle of the chaos. It occurred to her that I may be sleeping. Much to her relief I was sleeping and it was my bag.
She seemed very happy to not be holding a bomb in her hand. I really did not care. I just wanted to get back to sleep. I did stay awake long enough to get the story for all of you.
I woke to a women poking my shoulder yelling in near hysterics “sir sir, is this your bag SIR!” It was and I told her so as I took my bag from her. Then I looked around and noticed the only people left in a 10 foot radius were my elf and the stewardess. After asking a few people I got the full story. My bag needed to be moved to under the seat instead of in the overhead compartment. When she took it out she asked if it belonged to anyone. When there was no response she began to become more insistent. As other passengers stated to notice her reaction hey all began to move away from the lady and the bag.
It was not until everyone had moved and people were climbing over seats that she noticed the one man sitting there quietly with his sunglasses on in the middle of the chaos. It occurred to her that I may be sleeping. Much to her relief I was sleeping and it was my bag.
She seemed very happy to not be holding a bomb in her hand. I really did not care. I just wanted to get back to sleep. I did stay awake long enough to get the story for all of you.
Don't Forget to Take Your Shoes Off Before You Come In
While I love traveling and sharing my experiences with you it is sometimes difficult to find the time and the internet to be able to post to my Blog. I do keep notes on my travels for topics that I want to write about. When I find the time (such as now for example) I type up stuff just for you.
I very much enjoy the city of Moscow and the people that I have the opportunity to meet there. Some things strike me as odd in the way they deal with dirt. It is almost an obsession that as you enter a building or home you should remove your shoes and put on your spare shoes (you know the second pair that we all carry with us right). Last year I was puzzled by this behavior but I followed suit because as they say, when in Rome… This year I was able to better understand a little more about this obsession.
It is difficult to describe the level and consistence of the black silt that is pervasive in the city. When you get a fresh snow as is often the case while we are there this silt is not as evident however, when the temperature rises, the snow melts and you can imagine the results. The origin of this is not clear to me but I do have some ideas. The city of Moscow has about 9 million permanent residents. On any given day the city is actually host to about 18 million people. This is because of a multitude of reasons. Moscow is the home of many national services that must be transacted in person and theses services are unique to the city of Moscow in all of Russia. Of course tourism makes up a great deal of this extra population, I am sorry to say I am a contributor to this number as well. That many people in one place can create a lot of refuse. I imagine that trying to keep up with such refuse production is a daunting task.
In addition to the population density there is also the problem of increased automobile use. A friend of mine let me know that the use of cars has increased substantially in just his life time. He had even noticed a dramatic increase in the last four years alone. All of these vehicles can create a lot of silt and dust to be left for the city to collect.
A final note is a personal experience I had at McDonald’s. We had just finished a snack and I was going to get a refill of my drink. I of course did not expect to get free refills and I had my money ready when I approached the counter. I removed the lid from my cup and explained in broken Russian that AI wanted to refill my drink. The man behind the counter, while friendly, was adamant that he would not reuse my cup. The exchange was very quick but the message was clear, if I wanted a refill it required a new cup. This may be health code of some other reason but the idea is exemplary in the refuse problem. Trash receptacles are few and far between so if you happen to have trash the easiest solution is to just drop it where you are standing. This seems to work out well because with 18 million people there, the trash is quickly trampled to a dust to be added to the rest of the silt.
This all leads us back to the shoes. When the snow melts and the silt mixes it creates a special black mud that sticks to and dies everything it touches. I have a pair of pants this trip that may never recover from the ordeal. With all of this extra information I now better understand the need to remove your shoes as you enter a building. I think next year when I return I will bring a second set of shoes to wear inside to help reduce spreading the dust and silt throughout the places I visit.
I very much enjoy the city of Moscow and the people that I have the opportunity to meet there. Some things strike me as odd in the way they deal with dirt. It is almost an obsession that as you enter a building or home you should remove your shoes and put on your spare shoes (you know the second pair that we all carry with us right). Last year I was puzzled by this behavior but I followed suit because as they say, when in Rome… This year I was able to better understand a little more about this obsession.
It is difficult to describe the level and consistence of the black silt that is pervasive in the city. When you get a fresh snow as is often the case while we are there this silt is not as evident however, when the temperature rises, the snow melts and you can imagine the results. The origin of this is not clear to me but I do have some ideas. The city of Moscow has about 9 million permanent residents. On any given day the city is actually host to about 18 million people. This is because of a multitude of reasons. Moscow is the home of many national services that must be transacted in person and theses services are unique to the city of Moscow in all of Russia. Of course tourism makes up a great deal of this extra population, I am sorry to say I am a contributor to this number as well. That many people in one place can create a lot of refuse. I imagine that trying to keep up with such refuse production is a daunting task.
In addition to the population density there is also the problem of increased automobile use. A friend of mine let me know that the use of cars has increased substantially in just his life time. He had even noticed a dramatic increase in the last four years alone. All of these vehicles can create a lot of silt and dust to be left for the city to collect.
A final note is a personal experience I had at McDonald’s. We had just finished a snack and I was going to get a refill of my drink. I of course did not expect to get free refills and I had my money ready when I approached the counter. I removed the lid from my cup and explained in broken Russian that AI wanted to refill my drink. The man behind the counter, while friendly, was adamant that he would not reuse my cup. The exchange was very quick but the message was clear, if I wanted a refill it required a new cup. This may be health code of some other reason but the idea is exemplary in the refuse problem. Trash receptacles are few and far between so if you happen to have trash the easiest solution is to just drop it where you are standing. This seems to work out well because with 18 million people there, the trash is quickly trampled to a dust to be added to the rest of the silt.
This all leads us back to the shoes. When the snow melts and the silt mixes it creates a special black mud that sticks to and dies everything it touches. I have a pair of pants this trip that may never recover from the ordeal. With all of this extra information I now better understand the need to remove your shoes as you enter a building. I think next year when I return I will bring a second set of shoes to wear inside to help reduce spreading the dust and silt throughout the places I visit.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Video Coming Soon, I Have the Cable
I was able to get the cable for the computer!! I am almost positive I previously wrote about accepting the answer of “no” or rather not accepting that answer. If I am wrong then someone point it out to me and I will correct the mistake and tell you all about my feelings on accepting the answer of NO.
I have noticed in my travels a general theme of, if the person does not understand me or the question is outside of their reality the answer comes all too quickly and it seems to be mostly, no. Here are some examples:
I am going to a blues bar; No, it does not exist.
Do you have the—NO—cable I need (We were interrupted before we finished the question)
Can I buy a ticket to Copenhagen; There are no tickets to Copenhagen, it is impossible
Is there internet here; You cannot be on the internet.
We are going out for some fun would you like to join us; No
Do you mind if I sit here; NO (ok this was a good one to hear)
When searching for the cable for the camera I ran into a similar problem. Macktie had agreed to join us for a little excursion into Arbat Street. It was previously a street filled with outside vendors selling their wares for discount prices. It is now a pedestrian street lined with upscale tourist stores. Either way it is a nice place to visit. We had been there last year but did not know the name or the significance of the location. This year was more enjoyable because we knew what we were getting into.
I have noticed in my travels a general theme of, if the person does not understand me or the question is outside of their reality the answer comes all too quickly and it seems to be mostly, no. Here are some examples:
I am going to a blues bar; No, it does not exist.
Do you have the—NO—cable I need (We were interrupted before we finished the question)
Can I buy a ticket to Copenhagen; There are no tickets to Copenhagen, it is impossible
Is there internet here; You cannot be on the internet.
We are going out for some fun would you like to join us; No
Do you mind if I sit here; NO (ok this was a good one to hear)
When searching for the cable for the camera I ran into a similar problem. Macktie had agreed to join us for a little excursion into Arbat Street. It was previously a street filled with outside vendors selling their wares for discount prices. It is now a pedestrian street lined with upscale tourist stores. Either way it is a nice place to visit. We had been there last year but did not know the name or the significance of the location. This year was more enjoyable because we knew what we were getting into.
It seems that each time I explained about the cable I needed to buy I was assured it probably cannot be done. For you tech people out there the cable is a 1394 (firewire, ilink, etc) I ne
eded the mini plug version of this cable. This is a fairly common cable and seeing as computer hardware is pretty much standardized internationally I was confident, that if I could find a computer store, then I could find the cable I needed. After taking a slight detour from the metro we arrived at Arbat Street and met up with Macktie.Macktie was skeptical as to the availability of the cable but true to our friendship he trusted that I might know what I was talking about and went along with me to the stores to ask. You may or may not have guessed at this point, but I am fairly goal oriented. If it is something I am set on doing and I believe it is possible to succeed then I WILL do it. This being said I could have gone in alone and inquired about the cable, but it was so much easier with Macktie there asking for me. The first store was a cell phone store and I did not have high hopes but it was right next to where we were standing so I did not want to pass up the opportunity to look. Of course it was a total bust. The guys behind the counter seemed to at least consider the question before rejecting our request. Even though they had told us no, I still looked around just to make sure.
We hit up a Starbuck’s for some coffee, it was great for me, but not so great for my friends around me. I have not had much caffeine since I have been here, and any small amount is an enormous boost to my already high energy levels. I was literally bouncing in place for the next two hours or so. I recommend everyone try it at least twice.
We slowly meandered our way down the street popping into soap shops and souvenir shops along the way. Macktie knew of a Sony shop down near the end of Arbat street. We made it to the shop and I had a cable with me that was correct on one end but not correct on the other end. As Macktie opened his mouth and started asking the lady behind the county he was interrupted by her saying, in a very pleasant matter of fact manner, no we do not have it. I do not understand much Russian but I was pretty sure he was not even able to complete the
description before being rejected. This store looked like the right kind of store to me, there were Sony laptops (actually my laptop was there), Sony DV cams (the newest version of mine was there) and general computer stuff all around. The women was insisting that the cable end I was showing her must be old outdated technology and that I would not be able to find it in any stores with new equipment. I am fairly sure that 1394 and USB cables are the most common and newest means of transferring mass amounts of data quickly. That is of course excluding optical cables which are not as common in DV cams or computers yet. By this ladys statement I was reassured that this was just another case of denying the existence of something to mask ignorance. I stayed in the store for another 5 minutes looking around. I found a section with cables behind the counter and peered at each one as the woman twittered on about how my cable was old technology or something like that. Ignoring her I spotted what I was looking for, about half a meter away from her head. I pointed it out and she told me it was the wrong cable and it would not work. She said it only looked a little similar but it was totally different. She told me that the cable I was pointing to was for newer technology and was not compatible with my camera. Keep in mind this woman has never seen my camera and has no idea what brand or model I own, she has only seen the cable I brought with me as an example. I insisted on purchasing the cable.We left the store on good terms and headed to McDonalds to warm up and get a cherry ice cream shake.
That is a total logical contradiction and I am fully aware of the irony. We spent the evening at Vitya’s house and had some soup and bread and other stuff to eat. Eventually Maria joined us there for the sole purpose of annoying Vitya, very commendable I must say. Mitch is pretty sick now and has been for the last three days. He has a 101-102 fever. He has been to the doctor and is on antibiotics now, while under the very attentive care of Sasha, Vitya’s mom. Last night he asked if I could find some Tylenol PM or NyQuil for him. So Vitya and I went on a scavenger hunt at 9 PM to many different pharmacies. I found out that Tylenol is not available in the 6 different pharmacies we went to. I even asked for it by the generic name of acetaminophen. I was able to find some stuff by coldex that seemed to be the same thing as NyQuil. I was a bit surprised to have such a hard time finding such a common medication. I guess this is a lesson to me to bring a healthy supply with me when I travel just in case something happens to me.Now back to the cable story. As I write this post I am loading the video from my camera to my laptop without any difficulties. I watched all the raw footage and there are some really funny clips coming along with some great examples of Russian Sign Language. Turns out I did know what I was talking about. Also it turns out that accepting the answer of NO is not always the best course of action.
As my friend Michelle would say “toodles”
Dana
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Oh Man I Need a Cable
I thought I had brought all the cables I needed to upload video to my laptop. This is the same set up I had used this summer while in Europe. Unfortunately I left one of the cables at home. Really the only reason I brought the laptop with me was to post video for you online. Thankfully it is not an uncommon cable to purchase. I guess I will spend my day today looking for a cable instead of editing video.
Some of the video is from Heather's excursion with the large group of deaf Russians. I have not even seen it yet. I am looking forward to taking a look and editing it so that we can all enjoy the video. I have not decided if I will add music for an audio track or leave the audio as is, yet. If you have any preferences let me know and I will probably follow whatever you all want.
Later
Dana
Some of the video is from Heather's excursion with the large group of deaf Russians. I have not even seen it yet. I am looking forward to taking a look and editing it so that we can all enjoy the video. I have not decided if I will add music for an audio track or leave the audio as is, yet. If you have any preferences let me know and I will probably follow whatever you all want.
Later
Dana
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Gesturing with Hearing People 101
I teach at Gallaudet University in the summer time. I work in the personal discovery program under Jean Berube. I am also one of the few hearing staff she has working with her. It has been both an honor and a challenge working within this program over the last 8 years. This has awarded me many wonderful opportunities both in personal development and adventures. I am going to talk a bit today about what it has been like for me being a hearing person working in the discovery program with so many deaf coworkers. I will also demonstrate how the skills I have learned working with my friends and the discovery family at Gallaudet has helped me in the programs I am teaching here in Russia.
When we teach at Gallaudet Jean will generally pair up two staff members per group. With this technique we are able to take turns teaching and help one another with various problems that arise. I am an interpreter by trade. When I first began to team teach with a deaf partner all of my groups were deaf. Everything worked out well and I was able to personally develop my leadership skills along side the other deaf staff members. It was not until about a year of working with the discovery program, that I encountered my first challenge as a hearing person. The group I was given consisted of all hearing people and they did not know sign language. My natural instinct was to provide interpreting services for the deaf person I was team teaching with. It took only about 10 minutes for me to see the obvious inequity I had created. Without meaning to, I had usurped the power from my partner. When the group had a problem or a question they would only approach me.
Needless to say my partner had a miserable day, as did I. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I was not sure how to make it better. I asked Jean if she would let me not teach for a few days so that I could observe the other deaf leaders and see how they were teaching the workshops with out the aide of an interpreter. It was over the next few days that I gained an enormous insight and a set of skills that would benefit me both in teaching in discovery and in my professional life. Of course I knew that the deaf people would not be leading by only using sign language, I knew there would be gesturing and miming involved as well. The problem was I had never taken the time to actually watch how they did it. Now I took the time to watch them work their magic. After three days I felt I was ready to participate again. I had made a decision to totally change my approach to what I was doing and how I was doing it.
We all meet early in the morning to set up the equipment and to discuss our plans for the day with our groups and partners. I talked it over with my partner and told her I was not going to use my voice at all. I felt some conflicts in this decision because I did not want to pretend I was deaf, but at the same time I felt that by doing this it would force the group to see us as equals. All day long I spent hours gesturing out what the group was to do. I borrowed skills from my fellow facilitators and came up with new solutions on the fly. I still provided some interpretation but mainly during the discussion, and only secretly so the group was not aware what I was doing. My goal at this point was to ensure my partner was fully aware of what was going on with the group dynamics. The day was a wild success. During our debriefing at the end of the day I informed Jean and the rest of the group, what I had been doing all day. There were mixed feelings on my approach to this problem. Then my partner for the day spoke up and expressed what a success the day had been and how well it had worked out for her as well. Thanks to her comments the group was sold on my solution. Over the years I have spent a lot of time revising and fine tuning my techniques. For example if my partner is hard of hearing they may prefer to lead with their voice. Sometimes I will intentionally still not use my voice which actually puts me in a lower role from the groups perspective. This is a great way for my team to develop their own skills in a safe environment. At times I will use my voice with my team member and we will lead the groups as equals. I have worked with many discovery staff members over the years and each experience is a little different but now I have a better equipped tool bag to choose the correct tool for the job from. While the task is physically exhausting the rewards are worth the work.
Today while I was working with a hearing group in the Basement theater my co teacher/interpreter had to leave the group to drive Mitch (he got sick) home. I was left with a group of early 20's female psychologists who only know Russian. I bet you will never guess what techniques I utilized to instruct them on the events. The one down side in this skill I have developed is in leading the discussions afterward. As I said the discussions are there to show the groups what they already know, unfortunately this is more challenging if I have no idea what they are saying. My solution was to hold off on the discussions until I could recruit the aide of a Russian interpreter. This seems to work out well with my group.
It is amazing that when I was developing this approach to teaching discovery I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would employ these skills in another country teaching other hearing people. I do have a translation program on my phone that I used a bit to facilitate some of the discussions without an interpreter. I think today was a wild success and I am looking forward to working with these groups one more time tomorrow.
These skills have also improved my ability to interpret. I find that when I come across a difficult concept to interpret I will utilize my skills form discovery to express the concept. This allows the deaf person to understand the topic more fully that may have been possible for them previously. This also allows me to communicate more effectively with the deaf person I am interpreting for.
On a totally separate topic. My friend with no goals read my blog and we had a long and wonderful discussion about this topic. It turns out that we have different views of what the word "goal" means. I was amazed to hear about her dreams and aspirations for life. The many wild and wonderful things she would like to accomplish fill me with inspiration. I was also deeply moved to hear of the thought and consideration she puts into each experience she has with the discovery programs. It seems that after each program she chooses to isolate herself to fully reflect on and internalize what growth she has experienced and to be ready to implement her new found skills at the next program. I find this to be a wonderful skill and one I can only hope to achieve at some time in the future. Odd how we can find little nuggets of knowledge in the most unexpected times and places.
Perhaps I am able to more clearly explain myself though writing than I am in person. It was only after reading what I had written that we continued our discussion and the misunderstandings were clarified. I love it when that happens it is like a brilliant light suddenly and expectantly illuminating a darkness that you never even realized existed.
Until next time,
Dana
When we teach at Gallaudet Jean will generally pair up two staff members per group. With this technique we are able to take turns teaching and help one another with various problems that arise. I am an interpreter by trade. When I first began to team teach with a deaf partner all of my groups were deaf. Everything worked out well and I was able to personally develop my leadership skills along side the other deaf staff members. It was not until about a year of working with the discovery program, that I encountered my first challenge as a hearing person. The group I was given consisted of all hearing people and they did not know sign language. My natural instinct was to provide interpreting services for the deaf person I was team teaching with. It took only about 10 minutes for me to see the obvious inequity I had created. Without meaning to, I had usurped the power from my partner. When the group had a problem or a question they would only approach me.
Needless to say my partner had a miserable day, as did I. I knew what I was doing was wrong but I was not sure how to make it better. I asked Jean if she would let me not teach for a few days so that I could observe the other deaf leaders and see how they were teaching the workshops with out the aide of an interpreter. It was over the next few days that I gained an enormous insight and a set of skills that would benefit me both in teaching in discovery and in my professional life. Of course I knew that the deaf people would not be leading by only using sign language, I knew there would be gesturing and miming involved as well. The problem was I had never taken the time to actually watch how they did it. Now I took the time to watch them work their magic. After three days I felt I was ready to participate again. I had made a decision to totally change my approach to what I was doing and how I was doing it.
We all meet early in the morning to set up the equipment and to discuss our plans for the day with our groups and partners. I talked it over with my partner and told her I was not going to use my voice at all. I felt some conflicts in this decision because I did not want to pretend I was deaf, but at the same time I felt that by doing this it would force the group to see us as equals. All day long I spent hours gesturing out what the group was to do. I borrowed skills from my fellow facilitators and came up with new solutions on the fly. I still provided some interpretation but mainly during the discussion, and only secretly so the group was not aware what I was doing. My goal at this point was to ensure my partner was fully aware of what was going on with the group dynamics. The day was a wild success. During our debriefing at the end of the day I informed Jean and the rest of the group, what I had been doing all day. There were mixed feelings on my approach to this problem. Then my partner for the day spoke up and expressed what a success the day had been and how well it had worked out for her as well. Thanks to her comments the group was sold on my solution. Over the years I have spent a lot of time revising and fine tuning my techniques. For example if my partner is hard of hearing they may prefer to lead with their voice. Sometimes I will intentionally still not use my voice which actually puts me in a lower role from the groups perspective. This is a great way for my team to develop their own skills in a safe environment. At times I will use my voice with my team member and we will lead the groups as equals. I have worked with many discovery staff members over the years and each experience is a little different but now I have a better equipped tool bag to choose the correct tool for the job from. While the task is physically exhausting the rewards are worth the work.
Today while I was working with a hearing group in the Basement theater my co teacher/interpreter had to leave the group to drive Mitch (he got sick) home. I was left with a group of early 20's female psychologists who only know Russian. I bet you will never guess what techniques I utilized to instruct them on the events. The one down side in this skill I have developed is in leading the discussions afterward. As I said the discussions are there to show the groups what they already know, unfortunately this is more challenging if I have no idea what they are saying. My solution was to hold off on the discussions until I could recruit the aide of a Russian interpreter. This seems to work out well with my group.
It is amazing that when I was developing this approach to teaching discovery I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would employ these skills in another country teaching other hearing people. I do have a translation program on my phone that I used a bit to facilitate some of the discussions without an interpreter. I think today was a wild success and I am looking forward to working with these groups one more time tomorrow.
These skills have also improved my ability to interpret. I find that when I come across a difficult concept to interpret I will utilize my skills form discovery to express the concept. This allows the deaf person to understand the topic more fully that may have been possible for them previously. This also allows me to communicate more effectively with the deaf person I am interpreting for.
On a totally separate topic. My friend with no goals read my blog and we had a long and wonderful discussion about this topic. It turns out that we have different views of what the word "goal" means. I was amazed to hear about her dreams and aspirations for life. The many wild and wonderful things she would like to accomplish fill me with inspiration. I was also deeply moved to hear of the thought and consideration she puts into each experience she has with the discovery programs. It seems that after each program she chooses to isolate herself to fully reflect on and internalize what growth she has experienced and to be ready to implement her new found skills at the next program. I find this to be a wonderful skill and one I can only hope to achieve at some time in the future. Odd how we can find little nuggets of knowledge in the most unexpected times and places.
Perhaps I am able to more clearly explain myself though writing than I am in person. It was only after reading what I had written that we continued our discussion and the misunderstandings were clarified. I love it when that happens it is like a brilliant light suddenly and expectantly illuminating a darkness that you never even realized existed.
Until next time,
Dana
Saturday, January 3, 2009
MOTIVATIONI find that motivating myself is one of the hardest things for me to do. It is so easy for me to tell someone else to do something. I can even keep track and confirm that they are following through with whatever it is they started. This does not mean I do not self motivate; it just means it is a challenge for me. The best way I find I can motivate myself is to set goals both large and small. Along the way I do things like post to my Blog because my goal is to share my adventures with friends. Without my goals I would be content to just sit in bed and do nothing all day long.
Perhaps because I struggle so much with motivating myself to do, anything, I am intolerant with apathy. I think if I have gone to this much trouble to get my lazy but up and ready to do some stuff, then darn it the least the people around me can do it jump on board for some adventures. It is so easy to join someone else in an activity that is all ready to explode. This was one of the reasons my group in the unnamed city frustrated me so much. I was there to motivate and encourage and they just did not want to do anything. At times I was surprised they found the motivation to even breathe.
New Years day I was talking to a friend here in Russia and I asked what her life’s goals were. She had only one, to graduate from the university. This for me was a moment of epiphany, without goals then of course there will be little or no motivation to do anything. I have read several books on goal setting and worked diligently to improve my ability to set and follow through with my goals in life, but I have always had dreams and aspirations to motivate me to go beyond what I was currently doing. Heather told me to learn to accept this as it is just a cultural difference. Without goals, without constantly expanding your abilities and skills, without dreaming, you will never grow. Instead you become a mass of unrealized potential. Every person is capable of doing so many wonderful things in their life time and while I can accept cultural differences, I will not accept seeing a friend, choose to not live up to their enormous potential. At times it feels like I am beating my head against a solid brick wall, but it is worth it because with enough effort eventually the wall will crumble and a world of limitless opportunities will be revealed to my friend. I can only hope that my head is solid enough for the task. Perhaps I will include the task of goal setting in my workshops from now on to motivate them to action.On New Year’s Day we all slept for the greater part of the day. Remember, I did not get to bed until 8 AM. It was about 5PM by the time I was awake and ready to leave the house. It was a nice leisurely process. We had all agreed to go skating today so I headed out in the correct direction while keeping in contact with my cohorts through SMS. I arrived at the skating place and they were still meandering around the city doing, well I have no idea what they were doing, but whatever it was, was keeping them from being at the skating park. As I was standing in line at the Kacca (ticket booth) I saw several Deaf people in line in front of me.
This trip I have seen more deaf people in Moscow then I thought possible. It seems every time I turn around there is another group of deaf Russians to talk to.
I started up a conversation with them using a mixture of Russian sign language and gestures. They explained the complex ticket process to me and how to rent skates as well. They then invited me to join them around the park. I accepted of course. I told them I would meet up with them as soon as my friends arrived.
After texting back and forth with Heather and the others, I gave up hope on them and decided to take advantage of the opportunity that was right in front of me. I am not sure what the big delay was with the rest of my group, but at the moment it was not my problem and I had no control over it. I met up with my new deaf friends, and we rented skates and headed out on the ice. It was an awe
some time and I have a few pictures here of them. Eventually Heather and the rest of the gang arrived. I bid farewell to my new friends and rejoined my old ones.
I was very excited to see them. One, I had not seen Heather for any period of time since her solo adventures and I wanted details. Second, to my surprise Ilya and Lala were there as well. These are two of my friends from Russia that I had not seen yet. I am not going to lie, many hugs were exchanged in public and several people smiled. I just hope no one else saw how much fun we were having out in the open. After a few hours of skating we parted ways and headed to our respective homes.
Perhaps because I struggle so much with motivating myself to do, anything, I am intolerant with apathy. I think if I have gone to this much trouble to get my lazy but up and ready to do some stuff, then darn it the least the people around me can do it jump on board for some adventures. It is so easy to join someone else in an activity that is all ready to explode. This was one of the reasons my group in the unnamed city frustrated me so much. I was there to motivate and encourage and they just did not want to do anything. At times I was surprised they found the motivation to even breathe.
New Years day I was talking to a friend here in Russia and I asked what her life’s goals were. She had only one, to graduate from the university. This for me was a moment of epiphany, without goals then of course there will be little or no motivation to do anything. I have read several books on goal setting and worked diligently to improve my ability to set and follow through with my goals in life, but I have always had dreams and aspirations to motivate me to go beyond what I was currently doing. Heather told me to learn to accept this as it is just a cultural difference. Without goals, without constantly expanding your abilities and skills, without dreaming, you will never grow. Instead you become a mass of unrealized potential. Every person is capable of doing so many wonderful things in their life time and while I can accept cultural differences, I will not accept seeing a friend, choose to not live up to their enormous potential. At times it feels like I am beating my head against a solid brick wall, but it is worth it because with enough effort eventually the wall will crumble and a world of limitless opportunities will be revealed to my friend. I can only hope that my head is solid enough for the task. Perhaps I will include the task of goal setting in my workshops from now on to motivate them to action.On New Year’s Day we all slept for the greater part of the day. Remember, I did not get to bed until 8 AM. It was about 5PM by the time I was awake and ready to leave the house. It was a nice leisurely process. We had all agreed to go skating today so I headed out in the correct direction while keeping in contact with my cohorts through SMS. I arrived at the skating place and they were still meandering around the city doing, well I have no idea what they were doing, but whatever it was, was keeping them from being at the skating park. As I was standing in line at the Kacca (ticket booth) I saw several Deaf people in line in front of me.
This trip I have seen more deaf people in Moscow then I thought possible. It seems every time I turn around there is another group of deaf Russians to talk to.
I started up a conversation with them using a mixture of Russian sign language and gestures. They explained the complex ticket process to me and how to rent skates as well. They then invited me to join them around the park. I accepted of course. I told them I would meet up with them as soon as my friends arrived.After texting back and forth with Heather and the others, I gave up hope on them and decided to take advantage of the opportunity that was right in front of me. I am not sure what the big delay was with the rest of my group, but at the moment it was not my problem and I had no control over it. I met up with my new deaf friends, and we rented skates and headed out on the ice. It was an awe
some time and I have a few pictures here of them. Eventually Heather and the rest of the gang arrived. I bid farewell to my new friends and rejoined my old ones.I was very excited to see them. One, I had not seen Heather for any period of time since her solo adventures and I wanted details. Second, to my surprise Ilya and Lala were there as well. These are two of my friends from Russia that I had not seen yet. I am not going to lie, many hugs were exchanged in public and several people smiled. I just hope no one else saw how much fun we were having out in the open. After a few hours of skating we parted ways and headed to our respective homes.
Again it was another marvelous day with friends and family. Have you figured out the secret ingredient to have a good time yet? Remember, it is the one thing I always remember to bring with me and I keep it on me, almost at all times.
Best to all,
Dana
Best to all,
Dana
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