Today was sort of a light day, which was nice considering I didn't sleep well last night. Other people staying in our hotel rang the doorbell EARLY in the morning and talked so loud while we were trying to sleep. It seemed to last hours, but probably not quite that long. Things just seem more horrible when you're tired. On top of that, I'm still feeling kind of gross, so all that added up to a short night's sleep. Luckily, we were able to sleep in, so I made up for some of the missed rest.
Today at work, Mickey had the students plan and teach routes, and we were really just there to observe and refine their teaching. It was really, really neat to see some of the pay off from all our work. Almost all of the students have really taken our strategies and ideas to heart, and they are really excited about implementing them.
Tomorrow, we are going to a school and home for blind children run by some nuns. They came to our little tactile graphics seminar and left a card, so we are going to visit them. We don't really know what they do at their school or how closely it approximates best practices in the US, but we are going to try to make some impact in a morning-long visit.
Here's one last image I can't get out of my head. Today, as we were waiting on all the O&M students to return to our spot, a woman and her son approached us. She walked near us, so I figured she was about to beg for money. Then, I saw her motion toward her son, who was probably about four years old, and he reached out his hand in the beggar's pose, hand outstretched with the palm up and finger's curled in. I can't get the desperation of the image out of my head. This woman was teaching her son how to beg, how to make his living. We ignored them, as our Indian friends did, but the woman and her son didn't go away. They just stood there, too close to me for my comfort. I tried to continue my conversation with Lauren, but we weren't able to concentrate as the woman started motioning toward her mouth, pantomiming eating. Asking for food. Eventually, they gave up and moved on, but images like that, well, they stick with you.
Today at work, Mickey had the students plan and teach routes, and we were really just there to observe and refine their teaching. It was really, really neat to see some of the pay off from all our work. Almost all of the students have really taken our strategies and ideas to heart, and they are really excited about implementing them.
Tomorrow, we are going to a school and home for blind children run by some nuns. They came to our little tactile graphics seminar and left a card, so we are going to visit them. We don't really know what they do at their school or how closely it approximates best practices in the US, but we are going to try to make some impact in a morning-long visit.
Here's one last image I can't get out of my head. Today, as we were waiting on all the O&M students to return to our spot, a woman and her son approached us. She walked near us, so I figured she was about to beg for money. Then, I saw her motion toward her son, who was probably about four years old, and he reached out his hand in the beggar's pose, hand outstretched with the palm up and finger's curled in. I can't get the desperation of the image out of my head. This woman was teaching her son how to beg, how to make his living. We ignored them, as our Indian friends did, but the woman and her son didn't go away. They just stood there, too close to me for my comfort. I tried to continue my conversation with Lauren, but we weren't able to concentrate as the woman started motioning toward her mouth, pantomiming eating. Asking for food. Eventually, they gave up and moved on, but images like that, well, they stick with you.
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