[Travelandtourism] Feedback on what the tour company learned from us

[cheryl echevarria]

Being that we are doing these trips, not only for fundraiser purposes, and to learn about our own mobility and learning that blind people can do anything that we set our minds to, and just blindness is a nuisance and a characteristic of one's self. We asked the Tour Company, what they learned from us. Southern Utah Scenic Tours, owned by Ron Helquist and his wife from St. George, Utah was our tour company. We will be using them again in the future, because all of us on the trip want to go back to Utah in 2015 and we hope others will join us. But what I am trying to say, is below is the information that they gave back to us that I want to share with all of you. 
Hi Cheryl,
I have talked to the three guides that were involved with your group and would like to relay to you the "lesson's learned" that each experienced.  All were deeply impacted in a positive way!!!  Each felt honored to in their presence and found all to be a wonderful group to work with.

Here are some of their direct comments:
1.  Be very specific in describing things and don't take fro granted that they can understand what you are saying.
2.  Don't try to be too helpful.  They are very independent.  Always ask if they need some help.3. Always use left and right in giving directions.4.  Never come up and touch or grab them, it causes them to react negatively.
5.  Never assume anything.  Always ask questions and give explanations. 6.  Don't ever patronize them.7.  Learn from them how to be perceptive.  Their other senses are amplified and very astute.
8.  They are very appreciative of everything you do for them, return the compliment.9.  They are very special people, try to emulate the things they do and say.
One of the things that impressed me very much was the way they helped each other by doing things that made a difference.  Example:  When we checked in at Ruby's Inn one of the women put a piece of tape on the top of the card opposite the arrow you slide in the slot to open the door.  This way they knew which way to use the card.  They also felt the doors to see if the room number was in braille.  Their sense of direction was amazing.  They were able to find things when others with sight could not find them.  When we ate at the buffet at Rubys they would hold the plate with one hand and explore what was on the table and then dish up their own food.  They never asked us to help them find their food or the way back to the table.  I felt honored to be in their presence.
"As I said goodbye to the group at Best Friends, I drew an analogy between that 150 year old story and the similarity of us coming together on this tour with sight impaired persons: we, the staff, shared our knowledge of the southwest, and the members of the NFB gave us a fresh "look" at how to relate to our surroundings.  The NFB group gave us a deep appreciation for our abilities to take in the environment with our eyes, motivated us to rethink and act upon our other senses, but, even more so, inspired us with their resiliency and bravery.

The result: bonds of friendship blossomed as we shared in personal victories of the courageous individuals in this group."
As we were taking them back to the airport, Lorraine took several right to the gate and in at least one case, all the way thru to their gate.  She too mentioned their independence as well as their appreciation for us taking the extra step.

We certainly look forward to working with you again.
Thanks,
Ron