Whuz Poppin’?
My definition of a Social Adventure is coming across a challenge in which you are restricted in terms of means of communication between you and another individual whom is restricted from discovering the world around him/her, and surpassing all obstacles in order to become successful in understanding with one another.
My idea for encountering a social adventure is visiting the school where my cousin, Giselle, attended for her high school education. She was born deaf in both ears and it has been difficult in understanding her position in society. Most of my family members try to reach a mutual level of communication with her, but in the end, she probably feels like a misfit in my family. Doing this adventure will not only enhance my ability to use sign language, but also will help me better understand where individuals like my cousin feel in society, where their everyday life is complete silence.
The institution is located in Washington, D.C. and I plan to contact them soon and make an appointment to visit and stay at the campus for a whole weekend (That’s right, Friday, after school, Saturday, and I return Sunday evening.) This will be an adventure for me because I hope to gain as much incentive as I can as to understanding and spending time with individuals that only communicate using their hands. In addition, I do not know, (or I should say, I barely know), any deaf people, so it would be really cool and interesting to be in that environment. On the other hand, I know that many individuals will think differently about attending the institution. Who knows? I’ll have to ask my cousin to see what people REALLY thought about the school, in terms of workload and the environment in classrooms.
As for when I get back to Atlanta to my life, I will obviously ask all my professors for extensions (I would say at least two days). Or if I get bored in Washington D.C. (which I doubt), I will probably do my assignments (Haha). Furthermore, I will ask that I be excused in case of an emergency and I leave on a school day. I will document my experience by recording video journals every morning and evening of my stay. If I am out during either times, I will use my cellular device or take pictures of my practicing American sign language. Also, I plan to visit a Specialist and ask questions as to how and why any individual can end up hearing-impaired.
I know I will have fun with these people, because in the end, they are just like us, only with different communication skills. Once I return, I predict that I will be a beast at speaking American Sign Language, have more hearing-impaired friends, and have a well amount of knowledge on how to live in a deaf society. This adventure will be a great social experience and I am looking forward to it.
