[nfb-db] Travel

[Haben Girma]

"Some thoughts?" /smile/ Those were many thoughts! I completely understand your need to live in a place where you can be independent. I lived in Alaska for one summer and hated it because the transportation system was so bad that I couldn't go anywhere unless someone was free and could drive me there. Alaska is the land of adventures, and I had many wonderful adventures there, but they all required driving.  I've vowed never to live in a place where I couldn't live independfently. I remember one day I was so mad about the transportation system in Alaska that I walked all the way downtown, a six mile trip that took two hours. I had nothing to do there, but I found a nice cafe I didn't mind entering to rest my feet and get a snack. So yes, I definitely understand the desire to live in an accessible city.

I have to admit I'm still a little confused about SSPs, but I guess I'll have to try them out to realy know what it's all about. I'll have to learn ASL before that can even happen, though.

Oh, I was just thinking of something. Do you wear a pin that says "I am Deafblind?" I remember meeting one woman who does this. Sometimes I have thought that it would be useful. I never have to tell people that I'm blind since they can see my cane and come to this conclusion on their own. What usually happens, though, is they'll see my cane and assume I have extremely good hearing. Wrong! So such a pin would prevent such confusion, but perhaps it would draw unneccesary attention? I'm not sure...

I get what you're saying about your wife and some people's wrong assumption that she babysits you, but there's something very 1950s about the phrase "I'm just his wife." Perhaps you mean your wife is a proud homemaker and stay-at-home mom. If so, then that's conveyed well. Is this the case, though? 

Haben



-----Original Message-----
From: John Lee Clark <johnlee at clarktouch.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 17, 2009 5:17 PM
To: 'NFB Deaf-Blind Division Mailing List' <nfb-db at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [nfb-db] Travel

Haben:

About travel, I travel for one of three reasons:

1.  Because I am paid to.  This is the best.  All of my expenses paid for,
plus a check for my bank.

2.  To get away and focus on some serious writing or work on my artwork
alone.  Again, I get paid to do this, in the firm of the artist's fellowship
or grant that I won.  Those are nice, because the actual travel expenses to
fulfill the purpose of the residency is less than the total, leaving me with
money to put in the bank.

3.  To spend quality time with family and friends.  You asked, What if no
one on the tour knows ASL?  This isn't a relevant question for me, because I
wouldn't want to join a tour of nonsigners in the first place.  Even if an
interpreter was provided, I'd still say no thank you.  I haven't joined any,
but there are always signing tours going on year around all over the world.
Even so, I'd probably still prefer not to get into a tour.  I am not
interested in the typical tourist attractions.  They are mostly contrived,
and geared toward getting as much of your money as possible.  No, I'd rather
be with my friends who live in that country and just be with them for a
while.  

In each of the above three types of travel, there's no need for me to travel
with a SSP.  Maybe I'll get a SSP over there, for specific events or
purposes, such as conferences.  It just depends on what it is.  At a
writer's retreat, I might only get an interpreter for the lunch seminars and
that's it.  Depending on the facilities, I might get a SSP just to orient
myself around the campus or colony or mansion.  And that would be all.  At
NTID last month, I didn't use a SSP at all.  The coordinator for the events
I was presenting at showed me around where I would need to go, between my
room and a café and a select few other locations.  Then the rest of my
schedule just took care of everything else.  For example, after getting
breakfast on my own, I met two teachers at the coffee shop to brief and then
I went with them to the room I gave the first of presentations, and
afterwards was the campus tour.  Then I had lunch with DB students.  Then
the director of the documentary met me there and we went to the studio.
Afterwards, out to dinner wiwth my old friend and his wife.  They dropped me
off at my hotel on campus.  

Sure, some of them did "SSPing," but it was always in a context they would
do it for anyone else anyway.  The coordinator always shows guest speakers
to their rooms and shows them around a bit.  Guest speakers wouldn't know
where the auditorium was or where the studio was, so they'd meet up with the
coordinator or director or whatever first.  And so on.  To actually hire a
SSP would be redundant.  If I had any needs beyond what theyy would do
anyway for any guest speaker, during any time, I'd ask for a SSP for that
period of time.  

I don't know if this is any help, but I guess you'll just have to start
using SSPs and feel your way around the boundaries that work for you and the
principles you'd like to adhere to.  For example, my wife is never my SSP or
interpreter or driver.  Other DB people may use their partners as such, but
I feel this isn't right.  Sure, I'd follow my wife when we go out together,
and you could say that's SSPing.  But it is only when we are going out as a
couple or as a family.  If it is something for me and not for her, like
going to a doctor's appointment, or a meeting that has nothing to do with
her or my family, I go there on my own, arrange for my own rides, or SSP or
whatever.  Sometimes when people find out that my wife is sighted, they'd
say, "Oh, that's nice.  So she can drive for you and help you.  Wonderful!"
My wife would laugh at that and say, "Oh, no.  I'm merely his wife."  

One principle I have is to ask myself, whenever we need to move, "Can I live
independently in that location?  If I had no wife and children, would I
choose to live there?  Would I be able to shop for food, go places, etc.
with ease in that area?  Does it have the access and services I need?"  If
so, great.  If not, forget it.  There are many DB people living in places
where they almost have no choice but be dependent on family.  Don't get me
wrong.  Family members are supposed to help each other, to support each
other.  That's what families are for.  But there is a line.  There's a line
where if you go over it, the relationship becomes unequal and that's bound
to cause problems, creating an unhealthy relationship.

You know what I'm saying?  As for SSPs, I'm sorry to say that many of them
are trained to help too much.  This is bad.  This is why I always train my
own SSPs, so that they don't help too much.  For me, the SSP's main job is
to give me information so that I can do something myself, not for the SSP to
do it for me.  In a way, my SSPs mostly just are interpreters.  Whereas
interpreters facilitate communication between two languages, between two or
more people, my SSPs "interpret" things and the environment.  I like to have
them stay in that role.  There are two fringe benefits that they offer in
addition: driving a car and guiding.  Those are great services, but even
then I set limits for them.  But with some other DB people's SSPs, you many
encounter those who everything short of spoon-feeding their DB consumers.  I
hate that and wish they wouldn't do that.

Just some thoughts!  Let me kinow what you think!

John

  

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