The Apple Revolution + Sign Language

So after 3.5 years of college(GW’s finest :) ) I have joined the apple revolution. Yes, I know it scares me too. I swore by my red Dell that I would never do it. But I did. Why? Two reasons...two very important reasons. One, I am studying to become a sign language interpreter and needed a way to communicate with Deaf/HoH(Hard of Hearing) friends without lugging around the VP(Video Phone). The second reason is that my Dell was falling apart anyway and I figured,after lots of research and this article I read about interpreting and the Ipad 2, that I should make the switch (http://www.signlanguageinterpreters.com/blog/88-video-interpreting-via-the-ipad-2) . 

So since this is my first blog, I will introduce myself and my sign language background. I started off at Kendall(at Gallaudet) when I was 

a child, I am hearing but at the time my mother worked at Gallaudet and they provided a huge discount on daycare. So, she would drop me off, go to work and pick me back up after work. The interaction with the Deaf/HoH children was amazing, I learned so many signs. My mother has told me that I would often sign while I talked. Eventually I aged out of the system and since at that time(in the early 90’s) there weren’t many opportunities for Hearing children to learn ASL, I went without it. That is, until I got to college. 

One of the foreign languages offered at my university was ASL, I took it and fell in love with it again. So much so that I did an internship with the Metropolitan Police Department(MPD) Deaf and Hard of Hearing division. I tutored students learning ASL while I was in college. Also, I was a teaching assistant to my Deaf college professor and helped him teach my fellow students ASL.  

I would love to become an interpreter for 3 reasons. First, I want to help people, not just Deaf/HoH but ALL people. Maybe there is a child who wants to learn ASL but isn’t sure how to go about it, maybe this blog will inspire people. Second, I love the language. Everyday I learn a new sign, a new way to improve my structure or my fingerspelling, my grammatical tactics. Third, I live in D.C. and interpreters are in extremely high demand with little supply. 

Vlogs in ASL will come soon. Promise.

Love,

Tiffany