[rmpalpha]

Howdy! I'm Ron, and I'm a chemistry teacher based in the San Francisco bay area. I'm a language enthusiast and have always been interested in learning Japanese. So, this summer, I've been taking my very first Japanese class and I really like the language. I know I have a very long way to go, but I'd like to be able to have an useful command of the language one day.

Oh, I'm also deaf - and have been learning Japanese Sign Language. Since I'm American, I'm also a native user of American Sign Language. Japanese Sign Language is quite different from ASL, so it's been a challenge (especially the completely different fingerspelling and number systems)! I dream of someday going to Japan and interacting with the deaf people there, and being able to learn both of their languages (written Japanese and JSL).

It's nice to be here. I've lurked these forums for some time, and I finally decided to join tonight. I hope I can make a meaningful contribution to these forums in some way!