Senior Lena Jenny pursues love of communication by learning foreign languages and American Sign Language

At pizzeria Pizza My Heart on Stevens Creek Boulevard, the usual weekday diners munch on slices of pizza, and maybe some salad as an afterthought. The jazz music playing overhead creates a cozy, communal atmosphere, interrupted at times by the rhythmic thumps of the dough being made behind the counter—except some people can’t hear any of it.

In one area of the room, a smiling but silent group sits at several tables pushed into one. Chatting animatedly at the head of the table is senior Lena Jenny, but no sound escapes from her moving lips—she speaks through the vigorous yet fluid movements of her fingers and hands, and mouthing the words seems to help her sign. Upon catching sight of a trio sitting separately, Jenny immediately plants herself at their table, forging a friendly bond between fellow American Sign Language learners.

For Jenny, communicating is an inherent part of her life. She is heavily involved with the performing arts, having directed skits in this year’s MVSNL, and is a self-made polyglot with extensive knowledge of Spanish, Farsi, Chinese and Italian.

“My house is very multilingual. My mother knows random Yiddish words from her grandmother that I grew up hearing and thought they were just part of regular speech,” Jenny said. “My sister also [catches onto] languages really quickly, and together we decided to peruse the world and see what awesome languages we could find.”

This avid interest in learning about other cultures laid a foundation for Jenny’s fascination with ASL, which she studied independently for two years after her drama teacher introduced it to her.

“When I discovered that there was an entirely rich, amazing deaf culture, I was so intrigued,” Jenny said. “I was like, wow, [there’s] this beautiful culture going on [that] I have no part in whatsoever, [and] I was really curious.”

After some learning, Jenny found her niche at Pizza My Heart, where members of the Deaf community of the Bay Area meet every Wednesday to chat and socialize, though “hearing” people like Jenny also go to practice their ASL.

When conversing with the Deaf, Jenny feels liberated from the rigid rules of the English language.

“[ASL is] so artistic… and so [romanticized],” Jenny said. “In English, we’re very strict; we have these words and we have to use them this way or it doesn’t mean that. [It’s] such an amazing feeling to be able to have a little bit more freedom and be enriched in this [beautiful] culture.”

At the pizzeria, Jenny regularly interacts with both deaf and hearing people. Jack Street, a middle-aged member of the Deaf Community, has known Jenny for about four or five months.

“I can tell the difference between hearing people and deaf people when they sign ASL,” Street said, via translation by Jenny. “But [Jenny] is good.”

Despite occasional self-conscious moments about making mistakes, Jenny has succeeded in conquering the languages and ASL and using them to form relationships.

“[It’s great] just knowing enough and seeing the smile on people’s faces when you say something,” Jenny said. “It’s such a great feeling to know that you’ve made a few inches towards them in that direction. They have a little bit more respect for you, because you have respect for their culture.”

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