I found the lesson Fiona gave us on ASL very interesting, especially the use of facial expressions that one has to use. The questions the class asked about sarcasm and how some people might be better than others at using their face and body parts to convey emotion makes the sign language complex. I'm still a bit confused about when and when not to articulate words with your mouth.

There were a whole bunch of aspects of Deaf culture that I had not considered before reading this book, and lots of things I had not considered about ASL before the book and the talk from Fiona. One of the things that particularly amazed me about ASL as a language was simply how three-dimensional and nuanced it is--you can change certain features of a sign (who it's about, how enthusiastic it is, etc) simply by doing the sign differently, or in a different space.

Train Go Sorry is different than most of the other things we have read about disability as it is much more narrative based. Instead of getting some narrative, with a lot of view and analysis on disability and the way disabled people are perceived, it feels much more like we are simply reading a story whose main characters happen to be deaf. 

I think that one of the passages that stood out to me the most so far in Train Go Sorry was on page 81. The author's grandfather, Sam, is in the hospital and it is clear that the hospital is not being accomodating to his deaf needs. They will not let the father serve as an interpreter and no other interpreter is coming in to help. This means that Sam is unsure of what is going on and the doctors are unable to communicate with him easily.

While reading Train Go Sorry and thinking about Deaf culture, I wondered exactly how many documented forms of sign language existed in the world.  The answer appears to be that no one really knows, but it's a lot.  One particularly interesting tidbit I found online had to do with a dying sign language that was invented by and intelligible only to one Turkish extended family so that its deaf members could communicate at family gatherings (https://www.degruyter.com/view/books/9781614511496/9781614511496.395/9781614511496.395.xml).

So far, I really like the book. I think it is interesting that it is first told in the perspective of a hearing person. I expected it to be told in the perspective of a deaf individual; however, it makes sense regarding the Deaf culture! I really like all of the different stories, especially Jame's. Since there are so many stories, I am extremely interested in reading all of the endings of them. I want to know if James got into college and how Sofia turned out. I have learned so much about how Deaf culture was a few years ago and it is quite interesting. I wonder if it has changed since the book has been written (it probably has). ASL is quite interesting to me. I have always wanted to take ASL; however, it was not offered at my high school.

In eighth grade I read the play The Miracle Worker and we were assigned to memorize twenty words in ASL per week. Personally, I struggle with memorization and I remember my frusration with the assignment because it seemed to isolate students who were naturally good with memorization and those who were not. I had taken Spanish for years, however, this memorization was different becase rather than being auditory-based it was visual/tactile. For hearing-abled people like me, auditory learning occupies the majority of our learning, however, it struck me then that for deaf students, that style of learning is not even a consideration. There is only visual and tactile, and for me, I could not imagine learning without auditory aid.

"Heard the One about the Disabled Muslim Comic from New Jersey?"

"The stand-up comedian Maysoon Zayid likes to joke that if there were a competition called the Oppression Olympics, she would win gold. 'I’m Palestinian, Muslim, I’m a woman of color, I’m disabled,” Zayid, who has cerebral palsy, tells audiences, before pausing a beat to hang her head, her long dark hair curtaining her face, “and I live in New Jersey.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI :) wear sunscreen! enjoy!

Re: Paradise Between 1 by Hee Sook Kim uses water colors, bright rhinestones, fake fingernails, and printmaking to create a dreamlike, multilayered piece.  Paradise Between 1 consists of five parts: one floor-to-ceiling painted canvas and four smaller wood panels. The first (and largest) of these is painted from the top with light blues and whites. We see clouds and a dark blue light that spreads horizontally over a painted landscape that looks like a mountaintop, but whose smudged and dripping paint gives it the simultaneous appearance of clouds, or perhaps water.  Over the entire bottom half of the canvas are interspersed a variety of colorful plants and wildlife.