<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; ">SignWriting List<DIV>June 22, 2006</DIV><DIV><BR><DIV><DIV>Eyasu tamene from Ethiopia wrote:</DIV><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><DIV><FONT face="comic sans ms" color="#bf00bf">Thanks for your appreciation. Stefan and I are on the verge of finishing fonts for the Ethiopian Manual Alphabets(EMA). It was really very much interesting but hard to accompany the arrows with the handshapes. It is to remembered that in EMA there are 33 alphabets and each contains 7 forms which can be distinguised by arrows. Totally they are 231. We were agreed that Val's support would lead us to perfection.</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></DIV><DIV>Hello Eyasu and Stefan!</DIV><DIV>Your work with Ethiopian Sign Language is so fascinating, and I look forward to more time, after the NAD Conference in a week, to be able to work more earnestly on your elegant project!</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>The NAD Conference brings 1000 to 3000 members of the US Deaf Community together, all in one big conference! It only happens once every two years. Last year, our country had a big flood in New Orleans, in the state of Louisiana. The NAD Conference in 2006 was scheduled to take place in New Orleans, and when that flood happened, they moved the conference to California, just a few hours drive from where I live. So now I can participate in the NAD Conference this year! I am printing documents and DVDs to give away at this important conference.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>And guess what?! My elderly parents are coming with me to the NAD Conference! As supporters of SignWriting for 30 years, I think that is great for them to see SignWriting being discussed in American Sign Language! The NAD is taking place in the California desert...in a city named Desert Springs. It can be very hot there in the summer. But I know in Ethiopia it gets very hot too...In Ethiopia you really know the desert...smile...</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I hope I can lead you to perfection in July! Thank you for saying that. You are so kind!</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>I am returning from the Conference July 3rd, so after that I have on my calendar to work on the handshapes of Ethiopia and the IMWA. The two jobs are connected to each other. And it will lead to handshape illustrations for Belgium too.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Val's schedule</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>1. June 29-July 3....NAD Conference</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>2. July 5 - August 1st</DIV><DIV>Ethiopian Handshapes, adding new SignWriting symbols to the IMWA, adding handshape illustrations to SignBank.</DIV><DIV>Plus printing books for the French-Belgium SignWriting Literacy Project.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>3. August 1st - August 21st</DIV><DIV>Full-Body Movement Writing, writing the Norwegian Craftsmen project from video, and adding the Full-Body symbols to the IMWA as I complete the Norwegian document.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>4. September</DIV><DIV>School Year begins in US....we hope to start a SignWriting project at a residential school for the Deaf this Fall, and we are working on the grant for that project right now.</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>So July is my month for Ethiopia and the IMWA, and I will treasure the experience!</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Your patience has been greatly appreciated! July is almost here...;-)</DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV><DIV>Val ;-)</DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>