Well, I'm diving in and learning ASL. Thank god for YouTube. There are no resources in my area.
I mentioned in a previous entry that I'm working into a place of accepting the loss of my hearing. I did the whole song and dance around cochlear implants, and it turns out there are several potential complications and side effects. It's not "Stick some tech into your brain, hook it up to your ear, and your hearing returns overnight." Nope. It's not that straightforward.
Actually, there's a risk of your face getting paralyzed, migraine headaches, meningitus, and other fun stuff. Hell, I already get migraines, and I hate surgeries, anyway.
Whatever, man. It's time to get real and learn ASL. So far I love it. I love the feeling of my hands moving, I love the shapes and gestures, and I love the way facial expressions and body language play into the meaning. And I'm a professor who is obsessed with linguistics anyway. So there ya go. I finally get to be bilingual--I bombed at learning Spanish--and who knows? If I get a deaf student in class someday--and I could--then I can actually interact with them directly.
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