Amy Signs: A Mother, Her Daughter, and their Stories

49. Deaf in the Hearing World

295 49 Deaf in the Hearing World Amy Many people wonder what it’s like to be deaf. Are Deaf people hiding inside their homes to avoid hearing society? What can they do to make their life interesting and amusing? Perhaps hearing people think that deaf people can’t really experience life or accomplish anything.They may wonder if Deaf people have real lives, something beyond Deafness. YES! Some Deaf may hide in their homes, but that is not for me and most Deaf people. We are no different than people in the hearing society; some accomplish a lot, and others do very little. I have many accomplishments and experiences in my life beyond Deafness. I believe if you want to do something, you can just do it, no matter if you are Deaf or hearing. I have done many things in my life as a Deaf person in a hearing world. As a teenager, for two summers, I worked as a corn detasseller, the only jobs available to fourteen- and fifteen-year-old kids, except for babysitting, which I never did.The work was hot and dirty, but I made money. Once in a while I worked at my father’s grocery store. Both of these jobs were in the hearing society. Even though I interacted with the hearing people, I didn’t really communicate with them much as my job was something I did as an individual. Both jobs gave me good experiences and added some delight in my life. For six or seven hours a day I walked through miles of corn stalks snapping off the tassel, high on the top of the corn plant. If it rained Amy Signs Main Pgs 1-320.indd 295 6/27/2012 10:37:50 AM 296 Amy Signs that day or the day before, it was very dirty work slopping through the mud. One morning when I was going to work in the corn fields, I got on the wrong bus. My crew leader was working with another group, and I followed her onto the bus instead of going with my regular bus and crew. I was surprised to see all boys on the bus because boys and girls did not work in the same fields. My crew leader said to me, “What are you doing here?” I said, “I don’t know. I thought this was where I was supposed to be. I followed you.” While the crew I should have been with was already in the field working, I was riding a bus in another direction. The ride went on for a long time. I just sat back and relaxed. I did not know it but, the assistance crew leader had called my mother at work and asked, “Where is Amy? She is always here every day. Is she sick?” “What?” My mother said. “I left her at the bus pick up point at 6:30 this morning. Where is she?” Neither my mother nor the boss knew where I was. Later the supervisor called my mother and said, “Don’t worry. I found Amy. She got on the wrong bus. We’ll see she gets to where she belongs.” That night when Mother got home from work she asked me, “Were you worried or scared when you realized you were on the wrong bus?” I said, “No, I thought I was getting a little vacation. I was glad I did not have to work!” ) After earning my master’s degree, I decided I wanted to live in the southwest, as I never had been there. I applied and got a job as a middle school teacher at the Deaf school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I taught there one year, and for the next six years I was an ASL instructor for the Interpreter Program at Santa Fe Community College. Wow! During my time in New Mexico, I directed a school play, obtained my scuba diving license, and was treasurer for the American Sign Language Teachers Association of New Mexico. On the weekends, to gain more experience and to see what I could accomplish in hearing society, I worked at the GAP store. My job was as a stock person. I put clothes on the shelves or unpacked the clothes that had just been Amy Signs Main Pgs 1-320.indd 296 6/27/2012 10:37:50 AM Deaf in the Hearing World...