It's Sunday morning. Along with the usual anticipatory feelings I get in the hours before new campers come, I am experiencing a little bit of anxiety. Today I will be getting 8 campers with medium to profound hearing loss. Some of them use both oral and sign to communicate; some only use sign. Now I know some things in sign. I can carry on a conversation with the deaf/hard of hearing (DHH) staff. But what will these campers think of me? Their parents? I am hoping to learn a lot from my girls this week, rather than be made the laugh stock, "dumb counselor that doesn't know sign." <--I can actually sign that sentence so I guess I'll know if that's what's going on!
I am excited and also very nervous for the week ahead. I just want to be able to meet the campers needs and my fear is that I won't be able to if I can't understand them. On the other hand, I was picked as one of the top three female counselors that is most prepared for an "all-deaf" cabin. So that means that other people believe I can do this and I should too. It's a great summer for stepping outside my box, challenging myself, and pushing my limits. So, here I go!
~SJ
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