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Found In Ceylon

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“Deaf Can!” So Say The Rohana Special School Children!

Adam Stone During one lesson in the Deaf Studies class, I showed them a short video from California School for the Deaf's Middle School PAH! Day celebration. The children were so inspired that they wanted to make a video themselves. I suggested the “Deaf Can!” theme and they ran with it. About half of the footage were [...]
Language Education Culture Sat, Jun 28 2008

The Video Dictionary Non-Project

Adam Stone I made some mention of a video sign language dictionary filming project in partnership with Ruhunu Sumaga Circle of the Deaf. I would like to update everyone and explain that this did not happen after all due to a succession of reasons. But the last reason is the best one of all: the Central Federation [...]
Language Sun, Jun 08 2008

It’s Not All Bad…

Adam Stone Of course, I don't want to leave the impression that returning to this country only fills you with deep, unanswerable questions. There's a lot of joy to be found in every single day in Sri Lanka. In the last seven days, I've: Gone to Mr. Abeygunawardana's mirith, a house blessing where twelve monks chant all night [...]
Language Education Tech Culture Fri, Jun 06 2008

Deaf Studies Programme, Week One

Adam Stone Monday, 26 May Plan: Outside Activity: Do the trust fall activity outside; first, in pairs and on the ground; second, with groups catching pupils falling backwards off tables. Introduce Deaf Studies. First activity: Pupils pick a playing card, read its number, then tell that many unique things about himself to the class. Second activity: each pupil [...]
Education Mon, Jun 02 2008

Rohana Boys Discover Photo Booth

Adam Stone This is the third time that I've tried to upload this video clip and I'm glad it succeeded this time (but not before heavily compressing it to less than 3 MB!). It's Monday morning. School begins again today after the long Wesak holiday. The week feels full of promise, despite the fact that the sign [...]
Education Sun, May 25 2008

17 Days and Counting

Adam Stone Mala arrived two nights ago! Volunteering at Rohana Special School is fun, but it's always so much better when you've got a buddy, a partner to do it with, and I'm lucky that I get to have Mala around for the next two and a half weeks. Wait a minute. That's all that's left? Just 17 [...]
Language Education Culture Thu, May 22 2008

An Interview With The Author On His First Day Back At...

Adam Stone Q: When you got to Matara Thursday night, did you go visit the school the next morning? A: Yes. I wasn't sure at first what time I should visit. I got to thinking I didn't want to disrupt classes. They don't get out until 1:30. I imagined this scenario where the children would come pouring [...]
Audism Education Culture Sun, May 18 2008

An Exploration of Deaf Sri Lankan Identity

Adam Stone I'm sitting in the international terminal at LAX Airport, beneath a large information board titled DEPARTURES. There are four flights boarding; their destinations are Brisbane, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Mexico City. Tahiti Nui #201 to Papeete is delayed; those who are on Asiana #203 to Seoul are out of luck because that flight has been [...]
Culture Tue, May 13 2008

A Nod to Nigeria

Adam Stone I would like to highlight a wonderful blog written by a friend who is beginning a two-year Voluntary Service Overseas Canada experience in Birnim-Kebbi, an arid town in northwest Nigeria. Christine “Coco” Roschaert has the luxury of having internet access at her Nigerian home, so she gets to blog far more frequently than I ever [...]
Culture Tue, Apr 22 2008

Return to Ceylon

Adam Stone This was the last picture I took of Rohana Special School before I left nearly a year ago. It was six o'clock at night, and as usual, the children and matrons were lined up, girls on the left and boys on the right, in front of the school temple. The boys had already placed a [...]
Language Education Culture Sat, Apr 12 2008

Fiduciary Privilege and Serendipity

Adam Stone It was last May when “Hong Kong” suddenly entered our daily Sri Lankan Sign Language vocabulary. I was talking with Naizer, the president of the deaf association in Matara, when he said something about a new five-year scholarship for deaf people to study flowers. Because agriculture is part of the school curriculum in Sri Lanka, [...]
Higher Education Language Sat, Apr 05 2008

The Class of 2007

Adam Stone Remember my two blogs about graduation last December? (1. Run-Up To Graduation. 2. The Class of 2006.) Well, a few weeks ago, I awoke with a start, realizing that graduation was once again just around the corner. And this time, I was 10,000 miles away. Despite all the hard work I put into the ceremony last [...]
Education Mon, Dec 10 2007

Introducing Sri Lankan Sign Language: The Dictionary

Adam Stone I'm really proud to finally announce this project. I've kept it somewhat under wraps waiting until the actual product was finished, and now it is! It is: Introducing Sri Lankan Sign Language! This is Sri Lanka's first-ever conversational sign language dictionary, with more than 350 illustrated signs categorized by topic area and compiled in a sturdy,...
Language Culture Wed, Dec 05 2007

Updates From Ceylon

Adam Stone Life in Sri Lanka does go on, and things do keep improving, with or without the help of foreign volunteers. One of the most challenging parts of working in a foreign country is creating sustainable solutions. In other words, you might be working super hard on a project. Anticipating your departure, you'll train a few locals [...]
Media Art and Storytelling Education Culture Wed, Oct 03 2007

Adam Stone Leah and I were standing in one of Miami's Metrorail cars, waiting impatiently behind the closed doors as the train pulled into Government Center Station. Moments before the doors opened, I felt a hand brush against my back. It existed in that nether land between an accidental swing of the wrist and an intentional tap, [...]
Language Culture Sat, Aug 18 2007

The Queen Of Fruit

Adam Stone “When ripe the [mangosteen] fruit is as delicate and agreeably sweet as the finest lansehs and may even be mistaken for ripe grapes. It is at the same time so juicy, that many people can never eat enough of it, so delicious is its fragrance and agreeable its sweetness; and it is believed that the [...]
Language Education Culture Tue, Jul 24 2007

Now and Then, Here and There

Adam Stone It's the strangest thing: to be there one day and gone the next. And I often think back to those final days, each one of them stretched out as if they had been swollen with tears. Those faces–not just the school children but half of Matara, it felt like. When I picked up my last [...]
Language Culture Wed, Jul 04 2007

Adam Stone I leave Sri Lanka on 24 June. It's hard to describe the feelings I have about this–but the children are quite upfront about it. “Sad,” they sign. I keep responding the same way: “Not now. Forget about 24 June. Don't think about that just yet.” It doesn't quite validate their feelings, but it keeps the [...]
Language Education Culture Fri, Jun 01 2007

These Are Auspicious Times, Parts 2-115

Adam Stone Building on the proverb that a picture is a thousand words–a belief which Sri Lankans take to heart–I have concluded that to type out blogs about the rest of April and May would consume, well, all my available time from now through June. So instead, here are 115 more photographs spanning four weeks. I've put [...]
Culture Fri, May 18 2007

These Are Auspicious Times, Part 1

Adam Stone Just as David said, April (and the first week of May) was like the New Year, Christmas, and Easter mashed up into a long string of celebrations incorporating ancient Sinhalese traditions, sacred Buddhist theology, and East Asian and Western influences. Looking back, I'd include Halloween and the Chinese New Year into David's smorgasbord as well. [...]
Culture Sun, May 06 2007

Fingerspelling in Sinhala

Adam Stone So you're interested in expanding your repertoire of fingerspelling alphabets from all over the world? You've come to the right place. Settle into your seat for your lesson in Sinhala Fingerspelling! First, let's open up your chart and guide to the Sinhala fingerspelling alphabet (click here). Because Sinhala has more than twice as many letters as [...]
Language Mon, Apr 16 2007

Adam Stone Yesterday was the last day of the first term. Everyone was excited to go home because, as David says, “April is like Christmas, New Year's, and Easter all rolled into one.” Last Monday was a poya holiday; Friday is Good Friday, and 13-14 April is the Sinhalese and Tamil New Year. And I'm pretty sure [...]
Wed, Apr 04 2007

Your Input Requested

Adam Stone Two months ago, the headmistress of the Brilliant Stars International College strolled onto the Rohana campus, looking for anyone to talk to. I was the first person she found, and over the next hour, she shared her challenge with me. She had a deaf girl, Amra, who was seven years old and had been enrolled in [...]
Wed, Mar 21 2007

The Sinhalese of Reason

Adam Stone This is the story of Kasun, a young boy who lived in one of the many villages which dot Sri Lanka's splendid coastline, and how he came to attend a special school. As Karma would have it–perhaps retribution for bad deeds caused in a past life such as the killing of animals, the stealing of [...]
Fri, Mar 16 2007

Trains And White Privilege

Adam Stone I remember the exact place where I swore off long-haul train rides for as long as I lived. It was in the middle of my 2002-2003 winter break, which I had planned entirely around the idea of using trains to travel between Rochester, Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. What a novel concept in our [...]
Sat, Feb 24 2007

The Joy of Teaching

Adam Stone “I never realized they needed to be painted!” a friend responded when I told him what some of the boys and I did last Sunday. Several of the blackboards in the secondary classrooms were so riddled with permanent white pock-marks that anything chalked onto them were unreadable. One of them was inexplicably painted with glossy [...]
Tue, Feb 06 2007

Culture Shock, Shmulture Shmock

Adam Stone I returned to Sri Lanka four days ago, and not a moment too soon. I couldn't wait to come back here and get my right hand dirty once again with rice and curry. As if God had arranged the cosmos to satisfy especially me, I awoke from a jet-lag induced nap at the Beach Inns [...]
Sun, Jan 28 2007

The Many Names of Brinjal

Adam Stone If there's one vegetable that Sri Lanka has made me even more crazy about, it's brinjal. To the Americans, it's also known as eggplant. For Europeans, it's aubergine. Growing up, I harbored an intense dislike for eggplant. I suppose it all started when I was playing one of the best games released during the original [...]
Tue, Jan 16 2007

Adorable Damnation Puppies

Adam Stone So yesterday, I'm reviewing one of my students' government-issued English textbooks and find this phrase in one of the graphics: “Damnation puppies! Adorable, for sale.” But I'm just being picky. The English textbook is actually not too bad–it is replete with vibrant colors and innovative exercises. It just goes way over the heads of any Rohana [...]
Wed, Jan 10 2007

Commence The Almost-Island-Wide Tour

Adam Stone Liz arrives tomorrow–sometime between 3:15 PM and 5:15 PM, depending on which website you check. I really cannot completely express how much I am looking forward to her visit. As remarkable as it may sound, she will be the first full-blooded American I will have seen in three months. But that's not why I'm so [...]
Tue, Dec 19 2006

Kataragama or Bust

Adam Stone 11 December 6:00 AM: I wake up and pack my backpack carefully, trying not to bring too much for an one-night trip but simultaneously preparing for as many possible contingencies as possible. It will be a long two days. Nightmare scenarios include gastrointestinal discomfort (Imodium and Pepto-Bismol), more cuts on my already shredded-up feet (Detterol bandages), [...]
Thu, Dec 14 2006

On The Lighter Side?

Adam Stone Despite the impression that my recent blogs have given, my stay in Sri Lanka isn't a constantly breathless event. It has its quieter moments (usually on the weekends). However, being in a foreign country (the poorer the better, maybe?) is like being given permanent front-row seats to a private viewing of the boldness and colorfulness [...]
Sun, Dec 10 2006

Run-Up to Graduation

Adam Stone “This is new for us,” Mr. Abeygunawardana said slowly, signaling that the school community needed time to understand what graduation is about. We were in another one of our meetings discussing preparations for the graduation ceremony to be held on Friday the first of December. Rohana's history with graduation is haphazard; prior to 2005, there was [...]
Tue, Dec 05 2006

The Class of 2006

Adam Stone I strolled onto the campus Friday morning filled with pride. All the preparations were done; the monk would come at 3:00 pm and we would have a ceremony that the graduates would remember forever and that would be so awesome the school would simply have to do it every December from now on. Then Samantha [...]
Tue, Dec 05 2006

Adam Stone I had written up this long blog about graduation. Rohana’s graduation is next Friday, December 1, and I am approaching this event with mixed feelings. I am also approaching this event as its planner; this has entailed running among fabric shops and tailors getting graduation gowns custom-made, making sure the principal remembers to tell the [...]
Sun, Nov 26 2006

Steamrolling Towards Vacation

Adam Stone As a student, vacation could not come quickly enough. As a teacher, I want to say, “Wait a minute! I need a few more days here!” Disclaimer: This is going to be another “telling” blog. I originally planned on writing only “showing” blogs (this is something I learned from Mrs. Zides’ AP English 12 class [...]
Mon, Nov 13 2006

A Personal Revolution in Teaching

Adam Stone In our first training session, Anne imparted to me her personal mantra: “every teacher of the deaf is a teacher of language.” In just a few days, my teaching style would undergo a metamorphosis guided by Anne, who draws from her 35 years of experience in teaching deaf children in England. Five weeks ago, I [...]
Sun, Nov 05 2006

Adam Stone Gail: I love that you pick your own bananas for breakfast- No, I didn’t mean to give that impression. I don’t pick my own bananas–but they are that fresh! Maybe I’ll let David write a guest blog here so he can tell his great story about the amazing banana plant. Jim: Tell us more about that [...]
Sat, Oct 28 2006

Visu-Centricism At Last

Adam Stone Weekends are pretty good for me. I get to sleep in, stare at the ocean, work on my various projects, and not think too hard about Sinhala Sign Language. I was planning on finding a photo shop in town and print out photos to give to the kids, but I was told the stores were [...]
Sat, Oct 21 2006

Adam Stone Shortly after school on Thursday, Jenny walked onto the school campus. Lying under the stairs that go to nowhere, she reported, there was a dog eating a rat. “I saw entrails pouring out of the rat’s stomach,” she said. Having never heard of a dog eating a rat, I was skeptical. Later, I approached the dog. [...]
Sat, Oct 21 2006

Adam Stone I hate to blog as if I’m ignoring what people are asking and remarking in the comments, so here’s my Talkback. When I get enough questions, I’ll write one of these where I’ll tackle as many as I can without going into too much detail. Here goes: Sophie: Your reports are so articulate about how the [...]
Mon, Oct 09 2006

Consciousness-Raising

Adam Stone Last Friday morning, Amila and I rode onto the school campus in a green three-wheeler and were met by boys who looked distraught. It was a poya day; this meant no classes and a three-day weekend. Nothing for overactive boys to be upset about, right? “Bald-Head is leaving! He’s leaving us!” they cried. Rohana Special School employs [...]
Mon, Oct 09 2006

English Education in Sri Lanka

Adam Stone Thursday was my first full day of teaching at the school. In two days at the Rohana Special School, I’ve just about learned all there is to know about English education for the deaf in Sri Lanka. Despite my limited (but not for long!) fluency in Sinhala Sign Language, my inability to read or speak [...]
Sat, Sep 30 2006

International Day of the Deaf

Adam Stone Did you know that yesterday was the International Day of the Deaf? I think it’s shameful that it’s such a non-holiday in America’s deaf community. So yesterday, I was introduced to the deaf community living in Sri Lanka’s southern province (although most were from the greater Matara area). I’ve already been to the school a couple [...]
Sun, Sep 24 2006

Lanka Ashok Leyland

Adam Stone Well, duh. Ayubowan doesn’t just mean good-bye. It also means hello, blessings, and all sorts of nice pleasantries. You say it while bowing a little and putting your hands together as in prayer. But don’t get the idea that people are ayubowaning each other all throughout Sri Lanka. No one has greeted me in this [...]
Sun, Sep 24 2006

Adam Stone (Again, writing from the iConnect lounge in Singapore Changi Airport) I gotta make this one quick, because I’ve got a 8:15 shoulder massage and shower appointment. Trust me, I need it. I know I’m staying at the Hilton tonight (for just one night, people!), but still, I want it now and not seven hours and an [...]
Wed, Sep 20 2006

The Longest Night

Adam Stone (Writing from the iConnect Lounge in Singapore’s Changi Airport) So that was the longest night of my life, I think. See, here’s how it works. The sun set around 7PM in California (to be more specific, we were on I-5 in San Clemente) on Monday night, so that’s about six hours of darkness. Plus a fourteen-hour [...]
Wed, Sep 20 2006

Adam Stone That’s “bye-bye” in Sinhalese. A quick shower, one last check of my worldly possessions, a squeeze for my now-lame Toby (see my other blog for a pix of her), and then it’s off to Los Angeles. Gosh. I’m already feeling homesick. It’s a little scary, goin’ out all by yourself into a whole new country in [...]
Mon, Sep 18 2006


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