*Japanse translated book of Ella Frances Sanders' "Lost in Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World", Yasumi-san recommended it to me.
I met Ms. Yasumi Yamaguchi, who is a pastel-color Mandala artist and my first sign language teacher at Oti-koti book cafe in Yakuin, central Fukuoka.
Yasumi-san is a cute lady, and yet knowledgeful and very tactical in teaching by driving learner's curiosity and desire for communication. Today, I learned basic greetings and also how to say my name in signs. The two-hour lesson went amazingly fast. She explained to me that different geographical locations will have the different ways of expressions, so as the sign languages; this is but natural. However, she also said that in most cases, our willingness in communication could go easily cross the language barriers, taking an example of Kenyan Maasai people's method.
My conclusion after taking her lesson is that why haven't I learned this exciting way of communication much earlier!? Yasumi-san provides sign language lessons for Japanese speakers at different levels. If you are in Fukuoka and want to contact her for the lessons, feel free to write to me so I can connect you with her.
