On the train today...

I observed something today that I would like to share.

I'm on the skytrain, heading back from the cat cafe to my home, reading my book and listening to my music on shuffle from the iPod.

I look over and scan the train and the people, and see a typical sight... mostly Thai people, a few white folk scattered about, and a fairly full car.  No seats, many standing, but not as packed as I've seen before.

Seated together, there is a group of three people.  One is a man, probably about 35, with a tattoo on his hand, speaking with a woman, younger perhaps, with short hair and a round, expressive face.  Sandwiched between them, another woman, with a sharp, angular face looks out the window, pensive and unengaged with the conversation.

I noticed them only because they were speaking in sign language.  I developed a passing interest in sign about a year ago, signing up for a 10 hour course through my school.  It helped that one of my closest friends at the time was nearly fluent and we could talk about the art together.  I tried to pay attention to the flow and see if I could pick up the jist of the conversation, but I was barely able to recognize a single word.

What I could recognize was a piece of the language that I was never fully able to attempt: the pure expressions on the face of the speaker as a means to communicate more fully.  The young woman stuck out her tongue, grimaced, smiled, raised her eyebrows, and communicated with her face as much as with her hands.  It was fascinating.

The other woman, with her eyes watching out the window and not the conversation, eventually joined in when the others tapped her thigh to get her attention.  They were engrossed in what she was writing down after searching one another for a pen and something to write on.  When we got closer to the end of the line, I noticed that there were a few comments about which stop they were on, from looking at the video screen and out the window to the signs.

There is no other part to this story, just faces that stood out from the crowd and lived their normal lives.