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Guenevere Z. Just Jones

Prof. Robert Augustus
SIGN 201
30 May 2016
My Sojourning Journey into the Deaf World

When I was younger I wanted to I wanted to change the world, but I didnt know how.
After I finished high school I was accepted into the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagez
Campus, and shortly enough I enrolled into the Nursing department and my journey began. My
third year of college I kept thinking that if I was going to be a good nurse I should learn Sign
Language, right, I mean shouldnt all nurses know Sign Language, if you are the pretty much the
first person the patient sees, shouldnt you be prepared at least by knowing basic ASL? Well that
is the million-dollar question, isnt it?
With that said I went and took a 32 hour course of Basic Puertorican Sign Language
(PRSL) and loved every second of it. After I finished my best friend, Yahaira, continued with her
PRSL classes and I kind of stayed and finished my semester. During one clinical, there walked in
a lady she sat in one of our vital sign station and this lady was a Sign Languge Interpreter who
pretended to be Deaf. Later on I realized she did it to get a point across.
We were all in the Biology department where we had our clinical practice, obtaining vital
signs and giving health talks and presentations. In walked the Sign Language Interpreter, and sat
down at the time I was measuring some other participants blood pressure and thats when I hear
it, my classmates forming a commotion. They kept saying to each other: Girl 1: I dont know
what she is saying Girl 2 said: I am not going to deal with it, just give her a pencil and paper

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and have her write it. Girl 1: Great she doesnt know how to write Girl 2: I am not going to
deal with this, isnt there a girl who knows sign language here? Girl 1: Yeah, Guen.
It wasnt long before those girls come to me and asked me to go to the woman who later
would be the Sign Language Interpreter. I walked up to her and I remember feeling very anxious
for not knowing all of the medical terminology written on the medical history paper we were
supposed to ask our participants. I looked at her and began singing I know little sign language; I
try the lady smiled. While doing this, I felt so sad I didnt know so many signs, I realized there
how little 32 hours of basic Sign Language was I didnt know medical terminology so the sign
for blood pressure I didnt know at the time, so I signed Blood and number and showed her, the
blood pressure cuff. I was like this for what seemed like hours but through acting and pointing
out objects googling pictures, I communicated with whom I thought was a Deaf participant.
When I was done the patient stood up and said: My name is Sandra, I am a Sign Language
Interpreter and I was here to make a point on how unprepared you and your students are, with the
exception of one student. The professors here as well as all of these students none of you know
sign language, you cant expect all the Deaf to know how to read and write in this country, but if
you are so called health care professionals then why dont you consider PRSL, there are many
deaf people here and if nurses are not supposed to discriminate age, race, religion, ethnicity, then
the Deaf are no exception. And with that she left.
Needless to say everyone kind of gave me the glare, and from that moment on my
semester became a lot harder than what I had hoped for, however, that experience, that moment
was just barely a glance into what would become my true Sojourners Journey into the Deaf
community. What had happened that day I didnt really see the whole significance until later on.

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On May 2014, I finally graduated from the nursing department, and fell quickly into
unemployment. I had applied to over 50 hospitals and Dr. Offices, and still nothing. Wondering
what to do with my life, I ran into an article of a School for Deaf children located in Ponce,
Puerto Rico by the Name of Colegio de Nios Sordos Fray Pedro Ponce de Len.
I still had that 32hr course in PRSL and with my fingers crossed I got in the car and drove
over there, I was excited and nervous as well. While driving, I thought if the school already had a
nurse, if she would be nice, would she teach me, what were the children like, would they bully
me because I know a little PRSL Before I can continue to let my mind wonder I arrived at the
school and walked in. I met with the director and was thrilled to find out that they were a
nonprofit organization. This meant that even if they did not have money to pay me I could still
volunteer. When I told them I was a nurse who was fully bilingual in both English and Spanish
and that I had 32hrs of PRSL she couldnt believe that I was there. The school had no nurses
because the department of Education couldnt afford one and this school would occasionally run
to get the nurse who worked at the other privet school when certain things happen. I was
surprised by what this woman was saying, this school was not only a school for the Deaf it was
also a school for children with disabilities. There were deaf children with Down Syndrome, deaf
Autistic children, deaf children with Cancer and there was no nurse? I told the school Principal
that I would be the nurse for this job and would help to the best of my abilities; she was very
happy.
My first day on the job, I was assigned to Mrs. Joans English class because of my
fluency in English, they asked me to assist the teacher. I will never forget the feeling of walking
into a classroom of Deaf children. As soon as I opened the door and stepped in, all the children
started to look at eachother puzzled and all signed Who? as they looked at eachother and the

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teacher. The teacher explained to the children who I was and that I was going to assist her in
class. Joan asked me to sit next to her desk, and so I did. The childrens eyes did not cease their
stare toward me and that was when Mrs. Joan turned on and off the lights. And all the children
quickly looked toward her. I was blown away, shoot she caught my attention too. That was when
I learned that in Deaf culture you flicker the lights to draw someones attention. When it was
snack time all the kids walked up to me and started asking: who are you, are you Deaf, who is
your mom, what is your name, are you married, do you have children, are they Deaf, do you
know Sign, where were you born, do you like to play.? I couldnt answer the first question
before being asked the next question. Later Mrs. Joan signed Curious to all the children the
sign Curious in ASL means Nosey in PRSL. She explained that the children were trying to find
out who I was and how I was linked to the Deaf community.
During my stay at the school a couple of things happened that made me enraged! Now
remember that I mentioned earlier that the school was a nonprofit organization, that means that
the school relied on government funding, donations, and volunteer work. While Puerto Rico still
hadnt made public the debt crisis, we were cut back on a lot of funds, and the children of this
school were the ones who suffered the most! It started with the school cafeteria, which is against
the law by the way, they had cut the funds of the cafeteria meals and staff. Meaning, the children
were left without lunch, as such the children had to leave school at 11:30. Supplies were very
limited and so were the faculty members. Eventually we found parents to serve as the school
cooks and the parents donated food, this served as a temporary solution.
Having the school hours cut back made many of the children there sad, to them that
school was there home, their classmates were their brothers and sisters, most of these childrens
parents didnt want to learn sign and assumed the school would fix their child communication

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problems. You would be surprised on how many parents thought the same. Even so, these
children were happy and although my signing was improving and although I was Hearing
these children accepted me and made me feel as if I was part of their own. They would scold me
when I would skip work, and on my birthday they surprised me with a cake and they all signed
Happy Birthday. The girls would often ask me when I would marry and if they could come to my
wedding. When I struggled on my signing they would help me, when one child disrespected me
they would form a circle and tell that child that I was their nurse and I had to be respected. It was
like nothing I had ever experience in a school before.
This made me understand why many Deaf people are proud to be DEAF why they are so
united, why they watch for one another and rejoice when someone is born deaf and joins the
Deaf community. Although many things happened at the school I feel it was the closest I ever got
to reaching my Deaf center. I hope to one day get a PhD and teach nursing to the Deaf
community.
I believe it is truly ignorant to pity the Deaf because they cant hear, hearing isnt
something limits you from being functional in life and I hate that there isnt a law that would
demand all firemen, policemen, nurses, doctors, and paramedics take basic sign language, I dont
like that there are so many politicians out there, but few to none acknowledge the Deaf
community and its necessities? I do pray that things change and I do hope people become more
enlightened by the Deaf community, but most of all I hope and pray that the Deaf community
may touch the hearings lives as they have touched mine, and finally I hope the Hearing
community will cease to interfere with Deaf community matters and stop making decisions for
the Deaf.

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