Not only was it incredible to visit this village of which I’ve read books and papers, seen a documentary, and heard about from the others working in the lab, but I was also in awe of being in the car with these three “real” linguists. It was quite intimidating, just the thoughts of how much they know, how much they’ve experienced and researched, the length of their CVs compared to mine! And they were so welcoming, just as if I were not some little podunk newbie to the field. ;-) I absorbed all I could of their conversation, and they graciously conversed with me on topics my little brain could grasp and discuss, and I had a great time with them.
We went straight to the village on Thursday, turning off the highway at an unmarked driveway type thing I hadn’t noticed, passed through a paved area reminiscent of a parking lot and down a brief length of paved road onto a dirt road. And viola: a village rose before our windshield.
I had seen other Bedouin villages, so I was not imagining tents or anything like that, but I was not prepared for the vast range of houses that made up this one. Some were what I’ve seen elsewhere, an eclectic amalgam of materials gathered from wherever one may find bits and pieces of whatnot to erect a semi-permanent shelter, to three-story Arizona-type architecturally beautiful, groomed and landscaped plots that I felt a bit underdressed for in my jeans and T-shirt. The village is growing quickly these days and as the researchers made the tour for me of who lived where, it was great to have it sprinkled with their exclamations at new constructions and conjecture as to what will come next. 
I spent the four days pestering them with questions on languages, cultures, political situations and how they influence daily life and accessibility, and my head swam with the influx of information that is still marinating somewhere in my cerebrum. The first day we arrived in the afternoon (it’s quite a drive from Haifa to the Negev), and visited the new(ish) school. I was first struck by the learning environment, even apparent from the entrance to the school, where the exterior walls of the classrooms were covered in beautiful murals – one of a world map, another of something relating to biology (I’ve forgotten what it was. A plant diagram?). Do the kids stop while on the playground and contemplate the information presented there daily as they play? Doubtful, but I still say there’s something to it, better than just a plain vanilla white wall. We met with the principal (a friend of the researchers) and learned about the history of the school, the students, the teachers, and deaf education classrooms, etc. and then received a tour to several rooms. I was happy to get my hands up when we met some of the deaf students, and between my ISL (and very few ABSL signs I’d picked up), and their willingness to work with me, we had some fun conversations (if they can be called that). Mostly we talked about where each of us was from, our ages, families, etc. As the grown-ups conversed, and the recess bell rang, the room filled with more hands flying, and when one student asked me a question I couldn’t grasp, five or six children circled me, each giving it their best shot to bring a look of comprehension to my face. It was slow to come. I got that they were talking about someone important from America. But somehow I’d misunderstood some sign and thought they were referencing a musician. I thought, “Justin Beiber?” He seems to come up quite a bit with this age group recently…but I knew my knowledge base there was slim at best, and hoped for someone more familiar. One girl signed something that seemed very familiar, but I just couldn’t retrieve the referent for that sign, and another tried what I thought was "Judge"? A famous judge in America? Finally I think someone signed "America" and then "Up", very high, and I’m sure my eyes lit up as I mouthed, “OH! Obama?!” We all joined in a little victory dance before I laughed and smacked my head, Oh yeah! That vaguely familiar sign was the word for President. That would have helped. I taught them the sign for Obama (which is difficult even for some ASL signers), and we had a great time walking around the room signing his name. I’m sure he’d be thrilled.
The other researchers and I shared with them a little about how ISL, ABSL, and ASL are all very different, and demonstrated a conversation in ASL so they could see how it differed, and then it was time to head out. I’m trying to remember. I think we head back to the principal’s office for a bit and then piled back in the van to drive over to Beersheva and check into our home-to-be for three nights. The hotel had a nice business lounge, without students to knock on office doors, nor lovely coworkers to distract my very extroverted self, and we all were able to get quite a bit of work accomplished.
The next couple days we visited a few more friends, them catching up since the last visit and introducing me and my background, etc., me practicing my language reception and inadequate, but apparently amusing, production, and I’m sure glowing from head to toe. I don’t know if it showed, but when a girl and her mother both said I “looked deaf”, I think I might have floated right off the mat for joy. :)
At one point we all piled in the van to visit another nearby village where a sister of one of the families had moved to after marrying, and I was even more surprised at the size of the houses and at the ornate decorations. They were very hospitable and we had a lovely visit, lunch, data collection, and more visiting before heading back. As many of the people there were not signing, I found myself quite bonded to the girl who had come with us, who was deaf and excellent at helping me understand when my language failed me. She seemed able to even predict when she was about to sign something I’d wrinkle my brow at, and hardly would my muscles move to form the confused expression than she would already be rephrasing the sentence with more basic vocabulary, or gesturing iconically to aide my comprehension. I was deeply grateful for her kindness to me and sorry to not have more time to deepen our budding friendship (we’re both on the older side of things for that culture and contentedly single for now—a bonding point of sorts ;-)).
Sunday we were able to visit the other school (I believe the first was high school and this was elementary and middle?), and see more of the lesson teaching in action. The wall décor, the manipulatives, the mixture of languages, and how the teacher wove it all together into a smooth, integrated lesson incorporating ABSL, written and spoken Arabic, pictures of ABSL signs, and (they were working on math) abstract quantity symbols blew me away. 
The first lesson we saw was on practicing with the “greater than/less than” symbol, and it was inspiring to watch not only the students who breezed through their turn at the board, but also the teacher’s interaction with those who struggled. The pneumonic devices to remember the meaning of the symbol, the various ways to count (on the hands with ABSL, on the board with written numbers, or on the board with circles, etc.), and the teacher’s overall attitude of peace at a student’s incorrect first attempt…it made me want to enroll in the school, myself! ;-)
We visited an older class, working on a lesson in reading comprehension and public speaking (in sign), and then a speech therapy classroom (which left me feeling the way that kind of thing usually does in the states). I was thrilled to see that most of the teachers appeared to be fluent signers, and we met several of the deaf teacher’s aides, who (in our brief attendance) seemed to be quite active partners in the classrooms. One of the researchers is very knowledgeable about the deaf education situation in the states, and it was very interesting to hear her discuss the various circumstances with the people we met along the tour. I also met a girl who had been a Fulbright fellow in Florida, and had traveled around the states a bit during her time there. I wanted to ask more questions about her experience, but the conversation took a different turn, and time did not allow for circling back. But it was great to meet her, though, even briefly.
After seeing the second school, we visited one final friend, whose schedule had kept her unavailable until Sunday, and then, already attached, I pulled myself away when it was quite passed our planned departure time. Back on the road, one researcher had head home a day early and another would stay on an extra night, so just two of us head back north, and I did my best not to talk her head off or question her to exhaustion out of my overwhelmed excitement and stimulated curiosity, and we made it safely back to Haifa, and back to work as usual, with a bit of beaming on my part for days to come, I think. :)
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