Day Seven. July 16, 2012

If this present day encompasses a title it should be "Africa becomes enlightened"

. I'll get to that in an exceedingly minute.

Today is Tuesday, July 17 in Japan, and Monday, July sixteen in Novato. As usual, I was up at six AM. I checked a few voice mails and then known as Karen to check in. It was around two:15 PM on Monday once I reached her. Great joy! Tony was back and feeling better. She and Karen were working hard on a variety of comes getting ready for selling quilts in San Rafael Thursday evening at the open market. We tend to chatted for a small amount just catching up and being together even if it had been solely electronically. Really I grasp we have a tendency to are perpetually along spiritually so that helps.

I apprehend I am sounding repetitive, however once again we have a tendency to had a wonderful Japanese breakfast. Yoshie added and some Japanese roasted egg that is simply a little egg patty with the consistency of Jell-O. Actually, it tasted nice! I actually have been attempting to eat ancient Japanese food as a result of it's undoubtedly lower in cholesterol and with the serving being smaller it is higher on behalf of me. I have solely had a few small suites since I even have been here so I've been keeping the sugar intake as low as attainable. We'll see what happens when I checked the dimensions at home Sunday night.

We have a tendency to left the Okayama View Hotel at nine o'clock once trying out. Our initial stop was the Okayama blind school. I was asked to initial speak with a class of blind students for concerning 40 minutes. And then to speak to those self same students with the addition of multi-disabled youngsters for about another forty minutes I was told that the second session would be less formal which instead of simply speaking I was going to be asked to play some games with the youngsters in order to hold their interest.

I set to speak for simply a few minutes concerning myself and my life. Mostly I created this a Q&A session. The youngsters ranged from elementary through junior high. Lots of queries pertained to guide dogs, how they work, why I had one, and was a guide dog right for every blind person? With regarding 5 min. left to go in the first. I had a bright flash. I asked the students if they would like to satisfy Africa close-up. Of course, there was lots of enthusiasm for this. So, I removed her harness and invited everyone to come back visit Africa. At initial, Africa did her usual bouncing around, wagging her tail wildly, and greeting everybody in sight. It had been is that if she didn't grasp where to turn next. No matter how many people she greeted, more kept coming. Suddenly, Africa stopped, lay down on the bottom, and flipped over on her back. It was as if she suddenly realized, "why should I do all this work when they're returning to work out me anyway?". She remained nearly motionless for 3 or four min. till the scholars moved away. Never let it's said Africa is not smart. Enlightenment has return to Africa. Why work thus hard?

Near the end of this show the second group of kids began joining the primary cluster.

Once everyone settled down and class began I was asked to require just a jiffy to talk regarding Africa and me. Once this, Africa and i walked around the area where all the scholars were placed during a circle, and we have a tendency to said hello to each and every one separately. A couple of these youngsters were crying and told me that they'd never touched a dog in their life. One said that she had never touched a dog's foot and did not even apprehend that that they had toenails.

Then the children sang some songs together with "London Bridge is falling down". It had been fascinating to listen to it and Japanese. When singing, the youngsters were asked once once more to sing the song with me, but now I was asked to run round the circle slowly and when the music stopped I was requested to ask the child to whom I was nearest what food they liked. Everybody enjoyed this game. Three out of the four youngsters I questioned said they liked Rice. The fourth said that he liked cookies.

We have a tendency to ended our time at the school close to noon. I should say that at this point our team included Africa and me, Yoshie, Mr. Shirai, and Teddy who had came to Okayama with us the previous evening.

We tend to left the college and went straight to lunch. As usual, we tend to had a smart choice of Japanese food and a few Chinese dumplings thrown in simply for fun. While at lunch I learned something very interesting. In Japan, there are truncated domes and solid race lines along most sidewalks and on the floors in public buildings, airports, train stations and different major structures it is the law that these raised "pathways" are there to guide blind individuals. The person who invented this method was a blind man who lived in Okayama Japan. Within the morning on the manner to the blind faculty we tend to stopped and took a image of me in front of his statue, but I failed to learn the total story of his invention till later. The presumption is that blind people will use these raised lines and dots to successfully walk along a sidewalk and in an exceedingly building to search out a selected location. I now understand where the silly truncated domes used in the US came from. While within the US strips of those domes are used to point edges of platforms or ends of driveways going into streets this system is used heavily in Japan to delineate actual pathways along with edges of curbs and platforms.

I was in one public building where the raised pathway began at an elevator and went about 50 feet ending at the entrance to a terribly busy cafeteria why in the globe would someone need a special pathway and special markings on the floor to point out them the approach to the cafeteria from the elevator when all they very required to try and do was to use proper cane techniques or their guide dog and hear the sounds that a cafeteria makes. I realize that this system was invented by a blind person, however as we all too typically see blind folks will be their own worst enemies. Many various dollars have gone into the implementation of this special pathway system. It is another example Japan has learned concerning the true capabilities of blind individuals.

I understand that my thoughts in all probability our controversial here in Japan. My challenge, I assume, is to somehow get people to assume beyond these limiting pathways and find them to consider that blind folks are additional capable and ought to be challenged just set folks are challenged. In Japan there are 3 jobs for that blind folks are mainly trained. They are piano tuning, work in massage, or being an acupuncturist. Blind folks don't seem to be challenged to go to varsity and tackle the a lot of ancient roles of successful folks who can see. To paraphrase "Thunder Dog" people here are letting their web site get within the method of their vision. I can need to think if and how I need to discuss this in upcoming speeches.

When lunch we have a tendency to headed to a Christian high school where I spoke to 400 kids in the 9th grade. The original plan was on behalf of me to speak to any or all 160zero students. But, the air-conditioning within the gym wasn't working. So, I got the ninth graders. I had the opportunity to talk with them for two hours.

Mr. Shirai and therefore the YMCA individuals have enjoyed me showing a video during my speech. Now I decided to do a different video. Instead of showing a video concerning me, I 1st asked the children what they thought blind people may not do. I was trying for a explicit answer, and now I got it. One of the kids said they did not think that a blind person may drive a car. When I said that every one of the examples they gave were things that a blind person might do I said I even have a video to indicate you regarding a blind person driving a automotive. I then showed the NFB blind driver challenge video with Mark Rick regarding oh driving round the Daytona Speedway race course. Once talking a small amount about me and blindness I opened the floor for queries. We have a tendency to spent regarding an hour and 15 min. of the two-hour. Asking and answering queries and in general creating the session a dialogue rather than a lecture.

Clearly the kids and teachers were impressed with the video and the discussion. I also had learned that a lot of of these kids had scan "thunder dog". Clearly what they browse had a positive result on them, and it made for better questions.

From the Christian faculty we went straight to Santa Hall where I was to deliver the last speech of the day. We arrived there around five PM. We tend to were invited to the offices of the Sanyo television network where I met the director and also the president of the company. We chatted for pretty much an hour. It was an honor to be ready to pay therefore abundant time with these terribly busy people, however they kept plying me with questions. Somewhere throughout the conversation I asked if they were visiting record my speech since once all this was the home of a tv network. They had not thought of recording the speech, but, when I mentioned recording the speech and said that it had been fine with me to form a recording thus long as I got a copy suddenly people left the area while not another word. The president, Yoshie, Mr. Shirai, Teddy, and that i kept talking. Within five min. the director and alternative workers were back and announced that all the arrangements were made. I asked them half in jest what they plan to try to to with the recording. They said that they did not understand, however when they found a sponsor they'd broadcast the speech. (Everything must be acquired, right?)

At around 6 PM we have a tendency to left the offices of the tv station and went across the building to the office of the president of Sanyo newspaper company, LTD. We chatted with him for concerning a half-hour. He mentioned that the "blind blocks" had been invented in Okayama. He asked me what I thought of them. I said that I suppose a ton more work wants to be wiped out addressing other issues therefore that blind individuals may have true independence. We tend to talked about the very fact that job choices for blind people are limited. I told him how blind folks were active in most every work environment in the United States. I said I saw no reason why blind folks may not have the same opportunities in Japan, however that much education would be needed.

Simply before half-dozen:30PM we tend to went down to the building meeting hall where I was to speak to 700 individuals. Once again I spoke for concerning 45 min. including showing the KGO video. We tend to opened the ground for questions and i spent almost fifty minutes interacting with the audience. Each speech I give includes a element about what blind folks really will do. I describe how blind folks within the US are working at virtually any job imaginable. I talk regarding the positions I have held and that i speak a very little bit concerning how I do my work and described some of the technology. In fact, most all of this technology except for the K NFB reader mobile is out there in Japan.

At eight o'clock we had to cut off queries in order to induce to the station in order to board and 8:forty six PM train bound for Fukuoka. The trip took an hour and forty minutes. When we arrived we tend to were met by the director of the Fukuoka YMCA. He invited us all to dinner. Mr. Shirai neglected to inform us regarding the dinner plans. He conjointly bought us sandwiches on the train. Yoshie asked if dinner was obligatory, and Mr. Shirai said that it was not. This was fine with me as I was quite tired after delivering three major talks plus participating in many high level discussions. On the manner to dinner, Yoshie and i were dropped off at the Nishitetsu Grand Hotel. This hotel was quite nice particularly since it had larger rooms than those we tend to had experienced over the past few nights. I fed Africa, took her out, and was in bed by Midnight. Tomorrow would be another busy day with two speeches and then an airplane trip back to Tokyo.

I am having an exquisite time. I am disappointed about some of the conditions I am finding regarding blind persons. I hope I will build some friends who will work to help folks assume concerning reexamining their lot of blind persons in Japan. I must travel a tightrope as I do not would like to make enemies, but I do suppose I want to speak about what blind people can do and i suppose it acceptable to push the envelope a bit.

by: Harley l Porter

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