A New Experience

I headed off together with Weibo early this morning excited to go about, find a nice coffeehouse and look for work. However while at Starbucks Lundu, there happened to be a hearing impaired couple sitting near me, and I challenged myself to break the ice and say hi to them. They are seriously one of the most amazing couples I’ve ever seen.

Through a combination of hand gestures, facial expressions and words on paper and screen, we shared about 7 hours of life together. I got to witness their love that they had for each other that was built up since knowing each other in 2004. It gave me a taste of their life as I watched them sign their thoughts to each other and choose words on their phones.

They were extremely friendly and full of confidence, something I wasn’t expecting. They shared some of their many difficulties in life like social stigma, and how it was harder for them to find work and that affected them with lower salaries and the rising price of housing. I was really impressed as to how they have sought to experience a full life in spite of their handicap.

A few months ago I started having the thought to learn sign language, and I decided to go with China’s version. Should I pursue this opportunity? Two things necessary is lots of patience and a heart to learn. And time, of course.