Deaflympic 2007

Deaflympic 2007 in Salt Lake City, USA on February 1st - 10th.

Focus-5 , a news programme for deaf, is reporting live from Winter Deaflympic.

They are signing in International Sign Language.
Link: www.focus-5.tv (click on "Live")

I love this program Focus-5, because it's easy to understand their International Sign Language and they always have good news. And... the guys are gorgeous too... of course I'm watching their news! *lol*

Good luck to Focus-5 over there!




UPDATE: I found more news from Deaflympics. DeafNation also reports from Deaflympic. Little hard to find the video-news, click on Deaflympic TV, then Video, and you should find the videos there. They sign in International Sign Language too.

Vlogging

Should I start vlogging in sign language? I'm thinking of it... My friend who is deaf asked me to start vlogging, and I asked her back why she doesn't start vlogging too? She has so much to write about, she writes in her blog almost every day, so surely she should have a lot to talk about in her own language, the sign language. But she said, she is waiting for someone else to be the first to vlog. She doesn't want to be first. Just like me then!

There is almost no deaf vlogger in Sweden...

Actually there IS one deaf vlogger, she is the first and the only deaf vlogger for now. I enjoy reading her vlog almost every day, she talks (signs) about a lot of subjects like everyday life, her school, her deafness etc. And I was thinking, who will be the next vlogger? Me or someone else? Hmmm, I'm still thinking...

visiting the deaf club

Recently, about 2 weeks ago, I was to my local deaf club, I go there every week. A deaf man, who hasn't been there for 6 months, visited the club today. When he saw me, he asked me who I am and if I am new here? He also asked me if I am a new guy visiting here?

What? We have talked to each other so many times before, and now he suddenly doesn't know who I am? Oh, that's because of my new hair, I have cut it short. So he thought I was a boy! Hmffppp!!

Hmmm... I walk like a woman, I sign like a woman, wear typical female clothes and a handbag. That's ok if he doesn't remember me, but surely he should see that I am a woman even thought I have short hair! That was a confused guy!

Later that evening, he came to me and said to me "You are cute". Thanks but too late!! Hmmppff!

Before (when I had long hair), he was trying to flirt with me, but I didn't care. Now I am glad we didn't get together! He he!

My Norwegian date

Now I have met the Norwegian date. We met in Orebro, Sweden, had a cup of coffee and chatted for a while. He was a nice guy and I wouldn't mind get hitched with him. But I found out that he is already dating an another woman. He said they have dated for a while and he is thinking of moving in with her. Hmpfff, then why did he date me?? Strange...

Anyway, two weeks later he called me on the MSN chat. He told me he want to date me again. What? What happened to his other date? He wants me to visit his home in Norway, but that is not going to happen. Obviously he can't make up his mind.

I keep on searching...

Dating on the Net

This summer I will go on two dates. One from Norway and the other from England. I have chatted with both on MSN, and we have decided to meet IRL. Both communicates in Sign Language, one with Norwegian Sign Language, and the other in British Sign Language (BSL).

Is Sign Language international, maybe you ask now?
No, Sign Language is not international. Every country has it own Sign Language.
As you know, Switzerland even has several languages: German, Italian, French and Romanch, if I remember it right from my school time.
It’s the same with Sign Language. In Switzerland there are French and German Sign Language.
In Sweden, we only have one Sign Language – the Swedish Sign Language - thank goodness!

Sign Language is different in every country. Some examples:
In Sweden, we sign the word “yes” by signing the alphabeth letters “J” and “A”.
But in Norway and England they sign ”yes” different from the Swedish Sign Language.

Sweden: “Yes” in Swedish Sign Language, but in England this sign means ”stop”.

Norway: This Norwegian sign for “yes” means “maybe” in England, and “childish behavior” in Sweden.

England: “Yes” in England, but in Sweden it means “nodding” or “pretend to understand” or “be deceived”.

Confusing? No, not if you have learned to understand the different Sign Languages.

I have learned some BSL (British Sign Language) but not the Norwegian Sign Language. I think we can understand each other well even thought I don't know Norwegian Sign Language.

After the ordaining

Many people came to Johan's ordaining to priest, I heard it came about 300 people. I haven't been there myself, but those who have been there told me it was a beautiful and a great event. No music or psalm singing, but dance and deaf poetry instead of music. The bishop had learned some sign language, and signed to Johan on the ordaining.

You can see some pictures from Anne-Maj's blog here.
She also signs about this day in her vlog and she shows more pics in her video.

First deaf priest in Sweden

Johan Selin from Harnosand, Sweden, will be ordained to priest on Sunday 11th June. This is a great event, because Johan is the first deaf who will be ordained to priest in the Swedish Church.

Anne-Maj write more about this in her blog. If you know Swedish Sign Language, you can read it here. She has interviewed Johan Selin, and he told her that he used to play priest when he was a child. Later, after his one-year work in Tanzania, he decided to study to priest, which he has succeded at it now. Johan did his studies in Uppsala, near Stockholm, which is far away from his wife and two children. But he could to go home on the weekends, and came back to the studies on weekdays.

Johan wanted to change the church for deaf people, and raised a debate about Sign Language in church services. The priests had too little knowledges in Sign Language by then. Now, the hearing priests have got further training in Sign Language, and now signs in the church services.

We can also learn from Anne-Maj's blog that in U.K there are 3-4 deaf priests, and a couple more in other places around the world. But here in Sweden, Johan is the first deaf who will be ordained to priest.

Congratulation to Johan Selin!

A talking cake

Last year in May, my friend from Stockholm sent a MMS to me. It was a birthday-greeting from him to me, a picture of a birthday cake with the text "Happy Birthday to you!" (in Swedish of course). My friend found the cake on three:s homepage and sent it to me. That was a funny cake.
Later in the summer, my sister had her birthday in July. I sent the birthday-cake as MMS to her, with same text and congratulated her on her birthday.

Some minutes later, I got a text message from her, saying "Happy Birthday on your 39-years day? I am only 36 years!" What? I haven't written that! Where did she get that from?

My sister explained to me, it was the birthday-cake that talked and said that. Oops! I didn't know that the cake talked too! Because I'm deaf, I didn't heard that.

But my sister understood that I couldn't hear what the cake said.
She was happy anyway. :-D

I have been unfaitful!

Yesterday I went to an another hairdresser than the one I usually go to. My friend told me, one of her students in her sign language class work as hairdresser. I didn't know about that hairdresser before. So I decided to go there and try her.

Great to communicate in sign language with the hairdresser! Unusual to meet an "official" person who know sign language. I hope that more and more hearing people learn sign language, to be able to communicate with deaf little easier. And it is so fun to learn something new!

And about my hair? Yes, it was alright, I cutted my hair little shorter and it looked good.

Text telephones in England

I will write a little more about my visit to England.

Text telephones in England are different from Swedish text phones. Most things are same, but some things are different. When we write "come" or *, they write GA instead. When we finish the phone call we write "kl sl", they write SK instead. "Kl sl" means "over and out".
They have special keys for GA and SK, which we don't have. On Swedish text phones we must write c-o-m-e or "kl sl" with the ordinary keys.

And they have another special key, which don't exist in Sweden. That is the emergency key. If something happen, like burglary, fire or abuse, you use this key to give alarm to the police. Wow, we should have something like that for deaf in Sweden!

But sometimes mistakes happen. My friend told me, one day he was dusting off his phone. He touched the emergency key by mistake, but he didn't notice it. After a little while, when he sat in the sofa and read a newspaper, the police came into his apartment!

The police had a copy of his apartment key, so when they got the alarm, they went to his house and opened his door and walked in to his living room. My friend was very surprised to suddenly see two police men standing in the living room!

The police asked my friend if something have happened. No, he said. But then he remembered that he had dusted off his textphone. The police understood it and said to him, next time he clean the phone, he must pull out the plug cord to not start the alarm again by mistake.

Interesting with English text telephones!

One day in London

I have been to London between Boxing Day and New Year 2005 to visit my friend there for a couple of days. One day I wanted to go shopping, but my friend couldn't follow me, he had to work.

So, next morning, we took a bus from his home to the nearest Tube station. He explained to me which bus to take, how many bus stops there are and where to get off the bus.

Ok, so far everything was clear to me.

At the Tube station, my friend showed me where to take the bus home to his house. This bus stop is not at same place as the one we recently got off from the bus. One bus stop is on one side of the Tube station and the other bus stop is on the other side of the station. Very confusing.
Anyway, my friend dropped me off at the tube station, and I went shopping at the Christmas sales.

Later that afternoon, I went back to the tube station with full loaded shopping bags. I walked to this bus stop my friend had showed me earlier. I even hopped on the right bus, I checked the bus number very carefully.

It was dark out now, and it was hard to see the bus stops. I counted the bus stops, there would be 6 of them, as my friend told me earlier this morning. At the 6th bus stop, I hopped off the bus. But it didn't seemed right. Where is that small shop where I bought my one-day bus card? And where is that hairdresser salon next to the small shop?

I quickly walked back into the bus, walked to the bus driver and asked him: "Excuse me, but I think I have missed my bus stop." I told him where my bus stop is and asked him if he know where it is. He said something I didn't hear, but I think he said that I should have told him before, so he could show me my bus stop. I told him "I'm sorry" and asked him if I should take another bus back?

Now he got very angry and shouted at me, and said lot of things I didn't hear. I was surprised. I don't know why he became so angry. He shouted a long time. Another passenger, a woman, pointed to a bus stop across the street and told me to go there. I thanked her and got off the bus. This was embarrassing. Everybody in the bus was looking at me and I felt ashamed.

I waited at the bus stop for about 10 minutes until the next bus came. This time I asked the bus driver (not same bus driver, this was another one, phew!) to tell me where to get off at the tube station. I planned to go all the way back to the tube station and ask my friend to come and pick me up there.

After 4 bus stops, I suddenly saw "my" shop and the hairdresser salon. I quickly got off the bus. Finally something I recognize! Phew! The rest was easy, walk past the shop, turn right and then to my friend's house.

I texted on the mobile to my sister about what had happened today. She answered back on the mobile: "Don't get lost! You should always follow your friend! Don't mess it up!"