Small Victories

Several events have occurred in the past week that I’d like to share with my blog readers. On the 24th of March I was asked to participate in the quarterly meeting of the Disability Action Committee of the University of Hong Kong. After the committee members learned a little about me as I introduced myself, I was appointed for the entirety of my stay in Hong Kong to the Committee. This appointment was a great encouragement to me, since I have served on many such committees and/or boards in the States. I have a sense of what is expected of a member of such a body, and I hope I can both contribute to this Committee and, more importantly, learn from its members and the decisions they adopt.
The DAC is a subcommittee of the Equal Opportunity unit of the University. There are two professors with disabilities, two students with disabilities, and the coordinator for academic accommodations for students on the Committee. Representatives from the Equal Opportunity Committee, the health service, the library, and the Estates Office (analogous to the physical plant) serve on the DAC as well.
During the open portion of the meeting which I was asked to attend, the Chair asked me to explain the Independent Living movement after I had indicated my association with it. I made a point to mention the accessibility features, such as the guide path, that are present on this campus which I’ve never seen in the States. I hope I explained my eagerness to learn from the committee members as well as to provide, if desired, ideas that have been tried in the States.

I have a bit of disability advocacy success to report! I now have on my hard drive the songs that we will sing at Emanuel Church on Sunday! I had approached the priest at the church during my first time attending to inquire whether a braille hymnal could be located for me. I assumed that this would be a relatively straight forward process. The Church of England has been around for centuries, and it seems like the needs of people who are blind in Britain are fairly well addressed. From late January until late March, no tangible progress had been made. This rather disappointed me, since the priest preaches about having a social conscience. But, as usual, I didn’t want to confront him.
However, I have an ally in the church. A very kind Canadian woman sits with me often in church. Her name is Colleen, and she teaches English in Hong Kong. She has two teenage boys, and her husband flies for Cathay Pacific. She asked about how I could read the songs for church. I explained what actions I had taken so far. I also noted that, generally, singing is the most meaningful part of the service for me. I think she has approached our priest to reiterate my request, for I now have the songs for Sunday’s service! Thanks to the efforts of others who have championed my cause, I can now sing with the congregation!

The last little victory I have to report would seem on the surface to be rather mundane. But, to me as a blind woman who often lacks self-confidence, especially in new environments, it is pretty exciting! I have previously written at length about how stressful walking on the campus is. I have to fend off well-meaning helpers who grab my arm or push my back, sure that they know exactly where I want to go. I used to over compensate by letting them drag me along. Now, I just smile and pull away. As usual, I worry about offending them. But, if I don’t do what is right for me, my self-esteem will suffer.
Anyway, my point is, I’m getting used to dealing with overly helpful people. Furthermore, I am learning how to ask questions about navigating the campus in simple ways that seem to work better, even for those who speak no English. The other day, I had to go to the K.K. Leung Building on campus to observe a student in his class. I located the correct floor of the building, but I wasn’t sure where the room in question was. So, I asked a Cantonese-speaking woman where the room was. I just said the room number in my monotone Cantonese and also used my fingers to reiterate the numbers I was attempting to say. She understood me immediately! This is a very big deal for me! So, she took me to the room without even having to ask someone to translate for us!
OK, back to my little victory. As some of you know, I’ve been fighting insomnia and messed up biorhythms for the last month and a half. Well, this week has gone quite well. So, I wasn’t feeling absolutely exhausted by 4:00 p.m. yesterday. There was a lecture on the legitimacy of elections in villages in China that anyone could go to. I decided to go by myself! The lecture had some quite interesting points. The host personally thanked me for coming and walked with me back to the lift.
I was hungry, since it was 5:30 and my lunch had been only somewhat edible. I decided to try to order my own dinner from the fast food canteen called Maxim. This is located on the fifth floor (if you are counting from the American perspective) of the Cheung Yuet Meng Amenities Centre on campus. I walked in and found the counter on my right-hand side. The women at the counter spoke some English. I order chicken curry. They asked me if I wanted to stay there and eat or “take away”. American translation: “to go”. I said take away. One of the women indicated with her pointing hand that I should sit “over there”. A month ago, I would have stressed and felt very ashamed that I couldn’t explain to her that I couldn’t see where she was pointing. But, last night, I just calmly said in English, “I can’t see where you are pointing.” She talked with her colleague for a few sentences in Cantonese. Then, she took me to a seat to wait for five minutes or so while my food was being cooked.
Then, the same woman and a male colleague came over to me. The male directed me to stand up. He told me that my food was ready. I took his arm, and we walked out of the canteen. But, here’s where it gets interesting. Near the entrance of the canteen, he gave me to a female worker who walked with me to the lift. I thought that he would part ways with us and go back to his other duties. But, he also walked with us to the lift. So, I assume that he was just uneasy because I was touching his arm. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he have just walked me to the lift. I find gender questions to be so fascinating. Anyway, the woman went down to the second floor of the building with me. Then, she handed me the bag of food. I, of course, smiled profusely and said “mm goy” several times. That means thank you, kind of.
As has unfailingly been the case here, all of the staff with whom I interacted during this transaction were truly kind and responsive to my requests for help. How I wish I could properly thank them for their kindness.
So, like any other doc student might, I went home with a much-too-heavy briefcase on one shoulder and a bag of very good curry in the other hand. And, my friends, with that I will take my leave of you for now.

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