May 2008 Newsletter: vol.1, iss.10

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Volume 1 Issue 10 May 2551 www.discoveringdeafworlds.com

Enabling Awareness, Witnessing Breakthroughs Can you believe DDW has been on the road for seven months already?! We sure can’t believe it. A blink of the eye and this yearlong journey will have come full circle. Looking back at previous newsletters, we realize that much of our attention has been on the inspiring deaf people we have met, but we are just as often in the masses of hearing people…everyday and everywhere…on buses and trains, in restaurants and cafes, at youth hostels and temples, and so on. For example, we recently spent 72 hours in transition from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Luang Prabang, Laos with a group of sixty plus fellow travelers from twenty different countries, all hearing, except for Christy. With no means of easy escape from each other, we shared a bumpy, swervy, intense bus ride along the mountainside, 18 hours on a cramped, overbooked, standing-room-only slow boat down the Mekong River with the southeastern Asian sun beating down on us, and an overnight stay at a local farm village where the only available hostel had no electricity, questionable bed bugs, and a bathroom that made any public squat toilet more appealing.

What is DDW? Dave Justice and Christy Smith are traveling the world to learn and share stories of empowerment, inspiration, and connection between international Deaf communities. Discovering Deaf Worlds (DDW) is an opportunity to give deaf people worldwide a voice. For more information, photos, video logs, and newsletter stories, visit www.discoveringdeafworlds.com.

Aboard the slow boat to Laos where lifelong friends were made! Regardless of the conditions during this three-day journey, something magical happened: people who had no clue about the concept of a deaf “community” on day one were educating each other about deaf culture by day three. It often starts when someone approaches us drawn to our use of sign language, which stands out even in a room full of ten different foreign languages being spoken. We can feel the eyes watching us, and sometimes their heads even bob hypnotically, moving in sync with our signing hands. After we break the ice, the first question our new hearing friends almost always ask is, “So sign language is universal, right? That must be cool to know a universal language!” But of course, sign language is not universal. The roots of sign language, just like any verbal language, are influenced by culture and geography. For example, the sign for “Thank you” in Japan is adopted from the karate-chop-like gesture a sumo wrestler makes after winning his prize money, whereas in China, “Thank you” is signed as a fist with a bending thumb to represent the subtle head nod Chinese people use to acknowledge thanks in passing. BREAKTHROUGHS, continued on page 5 May 2551 1


What is Global Reach Out? It’s all about empowerment. Global Reach Out (GRO) is an outreach organization dedicated to building a global network of Deaf youth, to create cross-cultural bridges, learn from one another, and improve the quality of life in their home countries. GRO founder Alim Chandani explains, “Many organizations currently exist to serve deaf communities internationally, but none exist that utilize a peer-to-peer model to ensure that empowerment, rather than dependency, is the result of their collaboration.” Leadership and independence are the focus for this recently established non-profit organization. With past delegations to Thailand and India, GRO’s workshops have encouraged foreign delegates to step into a leaderAlim Chandani (front) and ship role and interact more within their communities. Anthony Balogh, the Anthony Balogh are expanding first GRO delegate staying in Thailand for six months, is researching the opportunities abroad for peers. pros and cons of local deaf youth’s lives. He is organizing a weekend retreat where twenty deaf high school students throughout Thailand will come together to foster leadership skills and solid networking relationships. Do you know of a Deaf student or friend that may benefit from being a GRO peer-to-peer delegate? Want to learn more about GRO? Visit www.globalreachout.org.

Deaf Vendors Everywhere In Thailand! Not sure how to connect with spontaneous heavy rains while dripping in sweat from the blazthe deaf community in Thailand? ing southeastern Asian heat. Yet Just take a short stroll through one from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., six days a of the many street markets and week, Laksana and thousands of you’re bound to see hands waving other vendors work their stations through the air in no time. Full with a smile, trying to earn a few of colorful farmer pants, paintthousand baht to support their ings of Buddhist temples, wooden frogs that croak, and thousands businesses and their lives. In downtown Bangkok, desof other unique souvenirs, these ignated stretches on Silcom and street markets provide a venue Deaf vendor Laksana Rotrungsee communicates with local Nai Lert roads are reserved for that many local Thai vendors deshoppers using a calculator. deaf, blind, and physically disabled pend on to make their living. On our first day in Bangkok, we met people holding a special permit, required by law. So if you keep Laksana Rotrungsee, an eccentric deaf woman who has worked her butt off for the past your eyes open in these areas, it is guaranteed you year at one of the busiest intersections of Khao San will bump into someone signing on a daily basis, esroad, a backpacker’s haven. It’s no easy task to be on pecially where the streets are flooded with back-toyour feet all day, with clothes always soaked from back deaf vendors.

On May 27, Dave and Christy are off to Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Have any contacts, cultural advice, or words of encouragement? Pass them along to info@discoveringdeafworlds.com. 2

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Spotlight on Jay Bunnag: Giving Back Born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, Jay Bunnag has always been actively involved with the deaf community, while confronting educational barriers head on. “You have to understand,” Jay states, “deaf schools in Thailand do not have a feeling of ‘being proud deaf ’ or producing deaf leaders for tomorrow. They agree that hearing are better, smarter, etc.” Jay is an alumni of Chonburi School for the Deaf, where he has recently taken the initiative to establish an alumni network. He was awarded an international scholarship opportunity to attend Gallaudet University, the only liberal arts university in the world for deaf people. At Gallaudet, he continued to build on his foundation of what rights, abilities, and strengths deaf people have, while earning a bachelor’s degree in theatre arts and a master’s degree in deaf education. Jay has since returned to Bangkok and is giving back to his home country. “It’s my duty to serve in return and I enjoy making a difference in my homeland every time a new plan is planted,” he says. With an extensive background and international awareness, Jay serves as a positive deaf role model, rolling up his sleeves to raise the standards for the deaf community. He is the only deaf teacher on the deaf education faculty at Ratchabhat Suan Dusit University, where

Jay Bunnag demonstrates how Thai Sign Language differs from American Sign Language. he teaches core courses for its deaf education program, in addition to teaching Thai Sign Language and English and evaluating students in internships. He serves as a mentor for leadership, management and community development skills to future teachers of deaf students in Thailand. These students, with Jay’s support and guidance are currently producing an online Thai Sign Language dictionary. We want to take a moment to acknowledge people like Jay Bunnag, who seize the moment of international opportunities and later give back to their home countries. Keep up the good work, Jay!

Do You Know Who I Am? Last September, a young deaf man, who goes by the name of F4 because of a tattoo on his right forearm, was dropped off at the doorsteps of the Deaf Development Programme in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He has no passport, no identity, and no known family. While F4 is cheerful and friendly in conversation, he has no developed language (written, signed or spoken). A profile of F4 in Phnom Have you seen him before? Please Penh, Cambodia share any information you might have to help unravel his story. For more information, visit http://discoveringdeafworlds. blogspot.com/2008/04/do-you-know-who-i-am.html.

Help DDW stay alive to the end! Donate at: www.discovering deafworlds.com

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Shout -Outs! Shout Shout-Outs! -Outs! Jay Bunnag, for introducing us to the Thai deaf community, the King’s Palace and late-night egg tosses. Bob and Glenda, for delivering our new videocamera (wahoo!) and bringing a much needed slice of home to our halfway point on this trip. We love you! Anthony Balogh, for allowing us to be a part of your experience here in Thailand. Good luck in fulfilling your dreams! Newsletter services provided by T.S. Writing Services, LLC www.tswriting.com


BREAKTHROUGHS, continued from front page

sorta balance each other out with the translating.” This was a proud moment of awareness, demonstratThese conversations often lead to a more in-depth ing equal standing, from a hearing person in reference chat about deaf culture, conversations that sometimes to a deaf person. The ripple effect has begun. carry on for many hours. After all, we are on a boat or a bus or a train for the next umpteen hours to our next destination; why not make the most of a cultural exchange? And so it goes. While we learn about the uniqueness of places like Israel, Switzerland, Australia, and India, they learn that deaf people do in fact • This is the May 2551 issue of the DDW newsletter - at least, according to the Thai calendar, have a language and a culture. They learn that lipwhich follows the birth of Buddha instead of the reading isn’t so easy after all and begin to adjust their birth of Christ. communication style by speaking clearly, keeping eye contact, and using a gesture here and there. They learn • There are over 2,000 wild elephants in Thailand. that deafness is not so much genetic, and begin pos- • In 1999, Thai Sign Language (TSL) was officially acknowledged as the national language ing questions about everything from deaf education of deaf people in Thailand. This recognition was to the various cultural differences in the deaf commusigned by the Minister of Education on behalf of nities we have visited. the Royal Thai Government. As we travel the world, we feel it is our duty to • Thailand is listed in the Guinness Book of educate hearing people on deaf culture. And we know World Records for the world’s biggest hamwe’ve made an impact when we see the conversations burger, largest mass scuba dive, and man with the happening independent of our involvement. For inlongest hair. stance, we once overheard a person say, “Wow, it must be tough for Dave to be the one always translating • In 1950, American-trained Thai educators introduced American Sign Language in the deaf things.” And out of nowhere, one of our hearing schools, so TSL and ASL belong to the same traveling buddies stepped in with, “Yeah, but Christy language family. translates just as much when they’re with deaf people • Krating Daeng, a type of ox that is otherwise in other countries. She’s deaf and more visual so she known as Red Bull, originated in Thailand. picks up on the different sign languages better, so they

Did You Know...?

International Travel Tidbits Thai Bush Medicine While trekking through the rainforest in Northern Thailand, leeches are everywhere. They crawl up your shoes, onto your skin, and start sucking your blood! While these tiny creatures may seem harmless, their bite will stop your blood from coagulating. So if you can’t stop the bleeding with the typical gauze, pressure and band-aid, try the Thai rainforest village way: press a thumb full of ashes from the wood of a nearby campfire onto the wound. This stops the bleeding immediately.

HELP! HELP! Call ___, um___,? If you were to be in an accident, injured, or robbed while traveling, what number do you call? 911 is not an international number, so do your homework and have Thailand’s emergency digits tucked away in the back of your head – just in case. It’s better to know it and not need it, than to need it and not know it! The number is: Thailand-1155.

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Restoration from the Asian Tsunami On December 26, 2004, the second largest earthquake in the world ever recorded struck the Indian Ocean with a magnitude of 9.3. A series of devastating tsunamis were triggered pushing waves up to 30 meters (100 feet) high over the coastlines of eleven countries, including Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. Let us remember the 230,000 victims of this tragedy and acknowledge the power of mother nature as these communities continue to rebuild their land and their lives. A photographer escapes to higher ground as tsunami waves rise.

(Photo at left courtesy of www.rc-racing.com/2005/ january/tsunami/tsunami-photographer.jpg.)

Looking for a good read on the road? If you’re looking for a good read on the road, in the air or by boat, here are a couple of books we couldn’t put down! Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts, and Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. Both books take you to faraway places and give a glimpse into the human spirit’s ability to endure through challenges that life throws at each one of us.

Thai Sign Language In each issue, DDW prints the fingerspelled alphabet of a visited country. For more information on deaf culture in Thailand, connect with the National Association of the Deaf in Thailand (NADT) at www.geocities.com/nadtthai/ indexeng.html. The website is available in both Thai and English.

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