Written by Madison Mauro, (American University) Student Correspondent CET Jordan: Intensive Language, Fall 2018
I am a CODA (Child Of a Deaf Adult): my father and sister are Deaf and American Sign Language was my first language. It has been an overarching part of my identity; I often like to say that my life has been shaped by contorting hands and silent conversations. I decided to study abroad in CET Jordan primarily because I knew Deaf individuals from Amman. Their excitement when discussing the city and the Middle East was something I wanted to replicate through my own experiences in Jordan.
When I arrived in Amman, I walked out of the airport with a determination to not only study spoken Arabic, but also to try to study Arabic Sign Language. However, with the immediate whirlwind of new experiences and countless outings to places like Rainbow Street, I unfortunately had yet to pursue the latter goal.
Part of the CET program curriculum in Amman is to randomly assign you to a language partner to help you along in your language learning. I had a little trepidation about the assignment, which, like all things in the program, required you to speak only in Arabic due to the language pledge you commit to in the beginning of the semester. I had spoken briefly with my partner, Aseel, and the rapidness and confidence in which she spoke Arabic with me made it sometimes difficult for me to to fully understand her. But she was incredibly kind and patient and I slowly became comfortable speaking with her. Eventually, she invited me to her house that weekend to meet her family and eat a traditional meal.
So the day came and off we went (or, as you might say in Arabic, “يلا”)! We rode a bus to the countryside and walked to her house, a beautiful apartment on a rocky hill. When I met Aseel’s mother, who reminded me of my own mother, she greeted me in typical Jordanian fashion: a handshake and multiple kisses on the cheek. Then I met her father.
Aseel’s father was the polar opposite of my father: he was my height (5’5″) with grey hair and wore grey chinos with a button down shirt. My father is over six feet tall with dark hair and never shies away from bright, colorful trousers and as equally bright t-shirts. What surprised me, however, wasn’t the difference. What surprised me was the one thing that they did have in common: they were both Deaf.
After recovering from the shock of the surprise that Aseel was a CODA too, Aseel’s father was just as caring and patient with me as we attempted to communicate: me, trying to figure out the similarities between Arabic Sign Language and American Sign Language, and him, kind and warmhearted as he taught me the Arabic signs for words like “duck” and “goat” over Mansaf (a dish I highly recommend). I spoke with Aseel about the Deaf experience in the Middle East and her father’s experiences. When the day ended, I would like to think all of us—Aseel, Aseel’s father, and I—were all incredibly surprised and happy about the strange coincidence. It was truly an experience I would never replace and will likely share as often as I can.
My mother has a saying: “The Deaf world is very, very small.” I think I’m starting to agree with her.