bbaseballboy's experience at Gallaudet KnowledgeforCollege camp

bbaseballboy123

bbaseballboy123

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As some of you guys know, I went to Gallaudet for a KnowledgeforCollege camp. (wont specify course I was there for).

Before I tell my experience, i never been around so many deafies in my life before and i have to say, the deaf community is so tight, and everyone is so friendly and "chill" to hang with.
It also gave me the inspiration to actually learn ASL. In fact i made a few friends who are willing to teach me some ASL over skype.

So before I was at the camp, I really had only 2 friends that are deaf, which one of them is pretty close to me in terms of friendship but lives far out. I had (still) have no knowlegde of ASL before camp but after camp I really really want to learn ASL and made quiet a few friends. Even those who cant hear or talk, i was able to communicate with little sign or texting

I dont want to say too much about the camp itself, just more about my experience about the people i was with for a week.
Camp was pretty cool, some things i did not like too much, but i would go to this camp again (probably will for ASL courses next summer). The location's of Gally is awesome as its right outside of wash dc, but its somewhat surrounded by a getto neighborhood.

Now my experience being a "total" deaf localized area. Like I said before, I never been in an area with a high deaf community involvement and.. I have to say I really enjyed being with other deafies. I very much miss a few deaf friends I had made.

Everyone in the camp (54 students, 3 were oral only, around 15 were HOH and could talk but forced sign and the rest were signing as they could not hear/talk) was so friendly.
I was one of the first at camp and only people who signed were coming and i was super disappointed then finally a dude comes in with very good oral and we talked for a while then dinner, I met a few people that signed by "trying" to communicate, and since, I tried to make an effort in signing cause every signer was really cool to "talk" to.

I can write a million words about my experience but dont really know what else to say lol.
Please ask questionss!!

:wave: thanks
 
wow that's awesome that you got to go to camp. It must have been a great experience! I am going to be off school sept-jan so I plan on taking ASL finally! I'm very excited...it will be nice to know I won't have to rely on listening! How was communicating at first? was it a bit daunting/frustrating? You should definitely go back next summer...and I know what you mean by the neighbourhood... the tri-state area is really like that you can be in a great neighbourhood and then down the street is the ghetto...I lived in Maryland and lived in a gated community and I drove 5 min and was in the "ghetto" but sometimes you have good experiences in the places you least expect...and I'm sure the grounds at gally were safe:)
 
That closeness of the community you've just experienced is one of the biggest things we're trying to protect from being taken away from us. :)

I, for one, am glad you got the chance to experience that and decide for yourself if its for you or not.
 
Glad you had a great time and I echo PFH's thoughts about the closeness being taken away from us.
 
bbaseballboy123 said:
As some of you guys know, I went to Gallaudet for a KnowledgeforCollege camp. (wont specify course I was there for).

Before I tell my experience, i never been around so many deafies in my life before and i have to say, the deaf community is so tight, and everyone is so friendly and "chill" to hang with.
It also gave me the inspiration to actually learn ASL. In fact i made a few friends who are willing to teach me some ASL over skype.

So before I was at the camp, I really had only 2 friends that are deaf, which one of them is pretty close to me in terms of friendship but lives far out. I had (still) have no knowlegde of ASL before camp but after camp I really really want to learn ASL and made quiet a few friends. Even those who cant hear or talk, i was able to communicate with little sign or texting

I dont want to say too much about the camp itself, just more about my experience about the people i was with for a week.
Camp was pretty cool, some things i did not like too much, but i would go to this camp again (probably will for ASL courses next summer). The location's of Gally is awesome as its right outside of wash dc, but its somewhat surrounded by a getto neighborhood.

Now my experience being a "total" deaf localized area. Like I said before, I never been in an area with a high deaf community involvement and.. I have to say I really enjyed being with other deafies. I very much miss a few deaf friends I had made.

Everyone in the camp (54 students, 3 were oral only, around 15 were HOH and could talk but forced sign and the rest were signing as they could not hear/talk) was so friendly.
I was one of the first at camp and only people who signed were coming and i was super disappointed then finally a dude comes in with very good oral and we talked for a while then dinner, I met a few people that signed by "trying" to communicate, and since, I tried to make an effort in signing cause every signer was really cool to "talk" to.

I can write a million words about my experience but dont really know what else to say lol.
Please ask questionss!!

:wave: thanks
Click to expand...

I'm glad you had such a positive experience. Now you understand a bit better what we are talking about when we refer to the insular qualities of Deaf culture.
 
posts from hell said:
That closeness of the community you've just experienced is one of the biggest things we're trying to protect from being taken away from us. :)

I, for one, am glad you got the chance to experience that and decide for yourself if its for you or not.
Click to expand...

So true.
 
Bballboy, now do you see why we're pro Deaf ed etc? You know....you could maybe have it written into your IEP that you want ASL instruction....or maybe you could transfer to a school that has a regional dhh program. Heck maybe you could even do a split placement or something.(some classes at your hearing school, and some classes at a Deaf School/regional program. I'm very excited that you've found this to be such a positive experiance......try Explore Your Future, at NTID or maybehttp://campisolabella.org/page.cfm?p=478 (for a more traditional summer camp experiance)
 
AliciaM said:
wow that's awesome that you got to go to camp. It must have been a great experience! I am going to be off school sept-jan so I plan on taking ASL finally! I'm very excited...it will be nice to know I won't have to rely on listening! How was communicating at first? was it a bit daunting/frustrating? You should definitely go back next summer...and I know what you mean by the neighbourhood... the tri-state area is really like that you can be in a great neighbourhood and then down the street is the ghetto...I lived in Maryland and lived in a gated community and I drove 5 min and was in the "ghetto" but sometimes you have good experiences in the places you least expect...and I'm sure the grounds at gally were safe:)
Click to expand...

It was a great experience. I was glad I went with a very opened mind about it and i actually enjoyed being there.

At first, it was frustrating cause there was no one to talk to, so I felt alone for a day until I made effort in communicating with a few people, then asked for basics of ASL. Sure I was rusty with sign but they (mostly) were patient with me.

I was just making an obveration i noticed about the location of the college but it does not effect the actual campus cause it was a safe place.

I'm currently waiting for monday so I can call up my local community college for ASL classes in the fall. Which is why I just ordered a web cam so I can ASL with sign buddies i made from camp.

posts from hell said:
That closeness of the community you've just experienced is one of the biggest things we're trying to protect from being taken away from us. :)

I, for one, am glad you got the chance to experience that and decide for yourself if its for you or not.
Click to expand...
jillio said:
I'm glad you had such a positive experience. Now you understand a bit better what we are talking about when we refer to the insular qualities of Deaf culture.
Click to expand...
shel90 said:
Glad you had a great time and I echo PFH's thoughts about the closeness being taken away from us.
Click to expand...

I now really understand when you guys mention the "closeness" of the community. But I still am glad I have implants, but everyone to their own.

I asked a few why they dont have implants/hearing aid and they simply said because they just like to be deaf (no hearing) and I said alright thats cool, understandable.

deafdyke said:
Bballboy, now do you see why we're pro Deaf ed etc? You know....you could maybe have it written into your IEP that you want ASL instruction....or maybe you could transfer to a school that has a regional dhh program. Heck maybe you could even do a split placement or something.(some classes at your hearing school, and some classes at a Deaf School/regional program. I'm very excited that you've found this to be such a positive experiance......try Explore Your Future, at NTID or maybehttp://campisolabella.org/page.cfm?p=478 (for a more traditional summer camp experiance)
Click to expand...

I'm going into my final year of high school and dont even wanna change schools on my final year. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Again I am looking into ASL classes but if you have any communities within Connecticut that I can look into, I highly appreciated it.

I am looking into RIT and gally as some of the schools i'll be applying to.

Just need to be fluent in sign lol
 
bbaseballboy123 said:
I'm currently waiting for monday so I can call up my local community college for ASL classes in the fall. Which is why I just ordered a web cam so I can ASL with sign buddies i made from camp.





I now really understand when you guys mention the "closeness" of the community. But I still am glad I have implants, but everyone to their own.

I asked a few why they dont have implants/hearing aid and they simply said because they just like to be deaf (no hearing) and I said alright thats cool, understandable.



I'm going into my final year of high school and dont even wanna change schools on my final year. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Again I am looking into ASL classes but if you have any communities within Connecticut that I can look into, I highly appreciated it.

I am looking into RIT and gally as some of the schools i'll be applying to.

Just need to be fluent in sign lol
Click to expand...

Oh just a suggestion. Do you have a TOD? Maybe you could demand ASL instruction. There is a community college in Conneticut that has a HUGE dhh program : NCCC - CEDHH Program
 
deafdyke said:
Oh just a suggestion. Do you have a TOD? Maybe you could demand ASL instruction. There is a community college in Conneticut that has a HUGE dhh program : NCCC - CEDHH Program
Click to expand...

What is TOD?

Anyway, I'm going into senior year of high school so I'm not to worried about deaf services at college just yet.

However I did sign up for ASL1 at MCC!
 
bbaseballboy123 said:
What is TOD?

Anyway, I'm going into senior year of high school so I'm not to worried about deaf services at college just yet.

However I did sign up for ASL1 at MCC!
Click to expand...

Teacher of the Deaf (TOD)

I'm glad you took the opportunity because it seems to have opened your eyes to something completely new and unique. :)

I know it doesn't seem much to you at the moment regarding the disability services at colleges and universities. However, I would recommend that you look into it as soon as possible, it's for your sake. I have friends who have went through hell trying to get the proper accommodations of all kinds. It's always better to be prepared than be sorry for it.
 
bbaseballboy123 said:
It was a great experience. I was glad I went with a very opened mind about it and i actually enjoyed being there.

At first, it was frustrating cause there was no one to talk to, so I felt alone for a day until I made effort in communicating with a few people, then asked for basics of ASL. Sure I was rusty with sign but they (mostly) were patient with me.

I was just making an obveration i noticed about the location of the college but it does not effect the actual campus cause it was a safe place.

I'm currently waiting for monday so I can call up my local community college for ASL classes in the fall. Which is why I just ordered a web cam so I can ASL with sign buddies i made from camp.





I now really understand when you guys mention the "closeness" of the community. But I still am glad I have implants, but everyone to their own.

I asked a few why they dont have implants/hearing aid and they simply said because they just like to be deaf (no hearing) and I said alright thats cool, understandable.



I'm going into my final year of high school and dont even wanna change schools on my final year. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Again I am looking into ASL classes but if you have any communities within Connecticut that I can look into, I highly appreciated it.

I am looking into RIT and gally as some of the schools i'll be applying to.

Just need to be fluent in sign lol
Click to expand...

I know of no one that would want to take your implants away from you. They really don't have much to do with the issues we discuss when it comes to the Deaf community. And you were able to find that CIs and all...which pretty much validates what we have stated regarding implants all along.

I really get a kick out of it when someone actually makes the effort and learns what it is all about!
 
AWESOME!!!!! Wonder who was your staff, leader or counselor whatever it called on campus. who was this person to see if I know this person or not. Some of my old college buddies works there.

Glad you went there so you will know what you want to do with your life after high school.
 
I hope you had a chance to meet Curtis Pride who is a current baseball coach at Gally. :D
 
jillio said:
I know of no one that would want to take your implants away from you. They really don't have much to do with the issues we discuss when it comes to the Deaf community. And you were able to find that CIs and all...which pretty much validates what we have stated regarding implants all along.

I really get a kick out of it when someone actually makes the effort and learns what it is all about!
Click to expand...

Well they did tell me to "shut off" cause i would talk to all of those HOH and they were forcing ASL outta me lol.

I dont really care weather you have an implant or not, its just your choice as far as I see it

Thanks.

Frisky Feline said:
AWESOME!!!!! Wonder who was your staff, leader or counselor whatever it called on campus. who was this person to see if I know this person or not. Some of my old college buddies works there.

Glad you went there so you will know what you want to do with your life after high school.
Click to expand...


I loved the staff, bunch of them were in their early 20s, some in mid 20s. However, my teacher for my program/class was at least in her 50s.

Added a few of the staff on facebook lol.

Banjo said:
Teacher of the Deaf (TOD)

I'm glad you took the opportunity because it seems to have opened your eyes to something completely new and unique. :)

I know it doesn't seem much to you at the moment regarding the disability services at colleges and universities. However, I would recommend that you look into it as soon as possible, it's for your sake. I have friends who have went through hell trying to get the proper accommodations of all kinds. It's always better to be prepared than be sorry for it.
Click to expand...


Oh Yeah I have a TOD at the high school. We did do a piece of paper which I have accommodation that i "must" need, and "may" need.
Royale said:
I hope you had a chance to meet Curtis Pride who is a current baseball coach at Gally. :D
Click to expand...

Lol, I dont play baseball anymore, I run track. But I did do a few laps around the track one of the nights at gally, and the football coach questioned who I was and where I was from..

Must be cause I ran 5 min mile lol
 
Mod note:

Once again... this bickering is getting old here. If someone here have any differences in opinions should debate civilly and accordingly. Stick to the topic and respect the OP.

Thanks.
 
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