Hello all,
I am glad to see that some of you are doing well and sorry that some of you are not. I have returned to work full-time. And, I am spending my days working and trying to work out ways to communicate. My colleagues (I am a school librarian), and students have been very helpful and supportive. For this, I am very thankful. I still go to PT twice weekly, and continue to improve.
Being deaf is hard. But, there have been some comical situations. The other day, I went into a fast food restaurant to pick up some lunch. I placed my order to go, got my number, and waited. After seeing people who had been behind me get their orders, I began to worry. It just so happened that a tour bus of Japanese nationals had stopped just before I arrived.
So, a Japanese man and I were waiting for our orders when he starts pointing to the food and talking. I had no clue what he was saying. I do a fair job of lipreading English, but not when it is spoken with a Japanese accent. I replied that I was deaf, but I don't think that he knew what that meant. So, the manager came over and understood that he was saying that his and my orders had been combined and were sitting on a tray on the counter.
Finally, I gave the manager my order receipt, told him what I needed, got my food and left. I chuckled all the way back to work. I had no idea what this man was saying, and very little chance of figuring it out and vice-versa. You have to laugh.
Have a good one,
Jeff