The Deaf Community

I have a special blessing with my job as a sign language interpreter; I am blessed to be an adopted member of the Deaf Community. The Deaf have a culture all their own and are a very tight-knit group. It's hard to explain how much a part of my life this group of people are but they are so, so dear to my heart. I am so sad to be leaving St. George because it means leaving these incredible people.

       I am always amazed at how accepting and loving and serving everyone involved in the Deaf Community are. They are another family to me. Last week they threw a going away party for Jackie and Jimmy Harris, Danny and Tycee Radford and my family because all three of our families are moving this next month. Oh my goodness how loved I felt. I have made some incredible friends related to signing and my passion for it. This is a plaque they gave me with the pics of my friends from the Community. I love it!

         This next pic is of Jackie, myself, and Andrea. Oh i could write for days about these two ladies. Jackie was my very first person who started helping work towards being an interpreter. She worked with me interpreting in a class a full semester when I was just figuring out what an interpreter really even does. Her family has been so dear to me. She believed in me when I needed someone to believe in me.

       And sweet Andrea, she was my mentor during the ICAN program. I would say by far that I improved the most from this program. For ten months Andrea, Robin, and myself would drive to Salt Lake once a month for either a one day workshop or a four day workshop. We became so close. I owe so much to Andrea as well.  

This last picture is a funny story. A few of my friends decided to go down to Mesquite and go dancing... Wow, that was an experience. It was a ton of fun. We laughed a lot, danced a lot,  had some interesting experiences with some interesting people, and talked a lot. I have to give a little background as to why there is alcohol at our table. We asked one of the waiters to take our picture and he ran and grabbed another person and they thought it would be hilarious if a group of crazy, noisy women had huge things of Vodka on the table with their pic. Thus the big (untouched, completely full) bottles on the table :)

Me, Meadow, Meredith, Melissa, Mari, and Andrea