Day 8. It's better to be silent and be thought a fool, that to speak and remove all doubt- A.Lincoln

For those who personally know me, or at least heard me talk, you know that i have a heavy accent. Even though I have been here in the States for almost 8 years(!) now, my accent has yet to abandon me. I have realized that people that have never heard me speak make different assumptions about me. I never thought that anyone would have taken me for an American, but since I have turned silent, the new people i meet have different ideas on where i come from and what i am about. This is extremely interesting for me, because I get to meet people and get "understood" on a whole different scenario. I wonder how they view my VOS. Is it easier for them to "accept" it because I am a foreigner ( and those foreigners do them foreign things..)? Would they find it more or less "credible"? 

Talking about "credibility", tonight i got to hang with a group of deaF people who use sign language. A friend of mine who is a sign language teacher had a birthday party , and a number of her students was there. I felt bad for forbidding myself to speak around people that do not speak (not by choice). I was hesitant to approach their company but when my friend introduced me and told them what i am doing, they were thrilled. One of them stretched his arm to shake my hand, as a "thank you" gesture because I was now dealing with problems that they have to face daily.

I discussed the guilty and self-consciousness issue with a deaf woman and she said that she knew where my self consciousness was coming from and advised me to go on and don't worry about what people think because people forget.

she also wrote this response on my note pad. I will scan it and post it but i couldn't wait to share it.

I was telling her how now, after 8 quick days, I can block the sound, because I don't expect anyone to talk to me. I disregard any noise or calls as if  they are directed for someone else . Her response was this:

"I understand-for me, I just got 2 new digital hearing aids. It's annoying for me to hear sounds. Thank God I can turn it off when I want to. I can't imagine how people  have to endure disturbing sounds- I do like/enjoy music-nice."

wow