DeafNation Expo occurs all over the United States. Tyler and I usually go when they come to Phoenix – it’s so easy to get sucked into conversations with friends we haven’t seen in a long time that we don’t have time to look around and see what’s at the expo.
This year was the first time they were hosting DeafNation World Expo in Las Vegas which turned out to be a huge success since 23,400 deaf people from 73 different countries all were there. Unfortunately Tyler and I couldn’t take the week off to be there but we were able to go for the weekend.
The drive there was boring since I was in a car full of boys! We got to our hotel and within minutes I was ready to go to the Deaf World Party which was hosted at Mandalay Bay. Who would’ve knew that the boys would take forever to get ready!? Rahul was being emo with his hair and the boys were swapping clothes/shoes. Finally we left after a while and got to the hotel. We had to pay $20 each to get in and I was hoping that it was going to be worth my money!
I was immediately overwhelmed at first seeing everyone again in the dark club. There were times when some people would come up to me and I couldn’t remember exactly where I knew them from….school in Washington, school in Arizona, college in New York, camp, etc. Luckily for me I didn’t embarrass myself!
I felt like I had a speech prepared for the whole weekend of how to sum up my life in a few sentences. The deaf community is so big that it’s hard to keep in touch with everyone.
It was really awesome seeing deaf people everywhere we went….in the bathroom, in line at a restaurant or club, & gambling next to us. Usually if deaf people see other deaf people in public – they usually ask in excitement, “You’re deaf too!?!” and then they introduce themselves because it’s not that often you see deaf people that you don’t know. In Las Vegas no one did that & I’m glad because I personally think it’s annoying when people approach me because we’re both deaf.
When Tyler and I normally see deaf people in public that we don’t know – we stop signing and then I make sure my hair is covering my hearing aid. I know this makes me sound like I’m a rude person but I’m not… I just don’t normally feel like talking about where I’m from, what school I went to, who else I know in the deaf community, and so on.
Anyways, there were so many other people we intended on seeing in Vegas but there wasn’t a lot of time and so many different groups & plans. We even picked up on some international sign language too and saw people signing in different languages too. It was fascinating seeing them sign and not even understand what they’re saying….but there are some signs that are obvious & similar to ours.
Haley and I’ve known each other since elementary school.
We hung out with Haley & her boyfriend, Chase, a lot that weekend.
We were leaving the club when the Deaf World Party ended and this
kid got his hand stuck in the elevator only seconds after I took this picture.
What an idiot and we had to push his hand out!
At the pool party (Treasure Island) with my Sigma Sigma Sigma sisters!
Catching up with old friends from high school.
Please ask me any questions you have about being deaf or the deaf culture. Anything and I’ll answer your questions!
