I started a new job less than a week ago. I knew 3 people that worked there before I got there and they let me know of one of their employees that is deaf. I lost a large portion of my hearing in Afghanistan, so I started learning sign language recently. When the time hit midnight, the deaf employee was walking around cleaning up, so I signed "Happy New Year" to him. He had such a huge grin on his face!

So after that, we talked (in sign language, mine extremely broken/new) for about 30 mins. 5 other employees saw us talking, and then approached me later asking me about him. I told them the truth, he is hilarious! Great guy, I wish I would have approached him earlier, but due to scheduling conflicts, I didn't work with him much. The deaf employee left happy today and said he looks forward to talking to me on a more regular basis.

I had 3 other employees hang out with me after work so I could teach them a few different sentences, their names, and other stuff. It was nice to see people take interest, especially after working with this guy for 1 1/2 years (no one talked to him). I can't wait for him to show up to work on Monday, because lots of people are waiting to talk to him!

It was an awesome start to the new year!