equality

Taking the train to Deaf fellowship tomorrow morning. A local person pays 100. I pay 3,000. The surprising truth is, I think that's fair. :-)

you know those perfect moments...

The fleeting wave of contented "life is totally good..." that just comes out of the blue. I have those when I'm working with translation teams on exegetical checking. I have them when I'm immersed in a Deaf environment, surrounded by brothers and sisters in the Lord. I love the sounds of the Deaf world. I can't explain or describe them to you, except to say they are familiar and they are part of what makes me feel at home.

handwashing my clothes for a month...
no A/C in a 7th story flat where I could see myself living
eating at a stall on the street
praising You for these moments

seeing pictures of friends back home getting married... getting engaged... having kids... beautifully bittersweet. i would still never exchange my life for theirs. YOU are my satisfaction and fulfillment. My inheritance is beautifully secure.

the very best thing

"He is always doing something--the very best thing, the thing we ourselves would certainly choose if we knew the end from the beginning."
~Elisabeth Elliot~

Interpreting for myself... (another internalized moment)

Sitting at my computer, 2 hours into trying to write a concept proposal paper for a SL (sign language) development vision, I had another "internalization moment." (After dialoguing with a colleague over my last blog post below, I realized I've had many such moments... I've just never written them down.)

So, I am struggling to write out this vision in English. However, in my head, I have it spatially arranged clearly in KSL (Kenyan Sign Language). Why? Well, I do process things mentally in SL. BUT, the reason, I believe is this: for a week, as I sat in on various meetings with NGOs... I was listening, taking in audiological information (never a strong learning style for me). But the details I most clearly remember are the ones I signed while interpreting for several national Deaf. I'm sure the listening reinforced the details, but what I remember is in the form of mental pictures and spatial information tags in SL.

Basically, I'm sitting here trying to decide if I should just flip on my webcam, sign it all out in KSL, then go back through and interpret myself into English... or should I try to skip the first two steps and just try to close my eyes and interpret it out of my mental pictures. It is frustrating, but fascinates me just enough to make it bearable.

Any psycholinguists want to study my mental language processing? I just might volunteer my brain.

internalized

I've been signing American Sign Language (ASL) for years... almost 12 years, in fact. And started using sign language almost 17 years ago. I could communicate just about anything I wanted in ASL.

Then I moved to Kenya. To an international Deaf training center, where I became completely immersed in Kenyan Sign Language (KSL). Day and night. Work and play. 24/7. For 9 months. And, the transition from ASL-->mixed blend-->KSL was a rapid one. Conversations, jokes, stories, arguments, meetings, work, and play... all in KSL.

But this is what amazes me... Bible studies, church services, sermons, worship, fellowship, prayer time... all in KSL. In fact, in my last 4 months in Kenya, I stopped going to hearing church services all together. All my spiritual nourishment came from my time in Deaf fellowships under Deaf church leaders, during exegetical conversations over translating passages with Deaf colleagues, and my own personal time in the Word. (All but the latter, in KSL.)

Never before, in all my years of signing, had I felt that English was inadequate to express my heart to the Lord. But, in the months following my return to the USA from Kenya... I found myself subconsciously, instinctively switching to KSL in my alone prayer time, because the spoken English words fail me, and I knew I could express my thoughts clearly in KSL. (In the past, I'd never felt the need to pray in ASL in my one-on-one time with God!)

Somewhere along the way, somehow, what was once external, I had internalized. And, I think--as I've been unable to determine why I've felt so reluctant (and slightly scared, honestly) to lose KSL in an effort to switch back into ASL or any other SL--I've finally found one of the reasons. KSL was the venue through which my personal language of identity shifted.

Even now, 8 months since leaving East Africa, I still think (both internally and aloud) and often pray in Kenyan Sign Language... even if only in my head. I guess it's in there deep. However, in all my travels this spring, and all the exposure to more and more SLs, my own SL is morphing into an international hodge-podge. Ha! Yet I still find it easier to express myself in SL, where I have more dimensions at my disposal, more visual resources, more spatial freedom.... =)

“I cannot explain or understand how a language like Sign Language- the richest in expression, the most energetic...is still neglected and that only the Deaf speak it. This is ... one of the irrationalities of the human mind I cannot explain.” (Pierre Desloge)

way too cute

I'm staying this week at a flat that belongs to colleagues of mine who are out of town. I'm on the 18th floor, which provides plenty of opportunity to ride the elevator. ;-) Today, on my way down, a young mama and her adorable little 15 month old son joined me at the 16th floor.  "Tell her 'good morning'," she prompted her son. With an embarrassed smile, he buried his face in her legs. "Good morning!" I coaxed. As we descended, he snuck shy glances up at me while I spoke to his mama. They disembarked at the 4th floor, and mama said, "Tell her 'goodbye'!!" He hestitated for a second, then suddenly looked up and blew me a kiss as the elevator doors closed...  *melt* C'mon, now... "Awwwwwwwww!!!!"

eating implements, part 2 (with pictures)

Thailand... where you have your choice of whatever eating implements you'd like:
Fork.
Spoon.
Fork & Spoon.
Chopsticks.
Chopsticks & Spoon... wait, what?

Thai Noodle Soup

Lunch with friends

Riding in a tuktuk (public transportation)

Dinner at the Night Market ... delicious!

Sticky rice & mango (drizzled with coconut milk,
with toasted rice sprinkles)... yummy!

A fancy lunch

"The Africa I know...where my mind drifts to across the distance of a never-ending ocean..."