Sencity at Sea: Let's Party!

Tonight we will have our party going on! The smaller version of what we had planned will take place at the ice skating rink. Now, remember, we are traveling through the Caribbean, but yes there is an ice skating rink! Not that anybody is skating…..

The Sencity crew is very excited. After several breakdowns and some restrictions from the cruise director, they want to show them what they are capable of. They are so driven that I’m starting to like the idea of having all these restrictions. I might work with that ‘concept’ more often.

Meanwhile we get to see a little bit more of the world of cruises. After three days on the ship, we still get lost every now and then. Everything is very impressive. From the 1,500 people crew up to the small details like the special doormat in the elevators that change everyday so that it can tell you what day it is. When room service is brings you new towels, they fold them into rabbits or elephants.

Everything is very well thought out, scheduled and prepared in advance. Deaf Travel has made a huge effort to have a crew of interpreters working smoothly. When you take an excursion on land, for example to go swimming with dolphins, you get an interpreter with you. When you go diving, same thing, except for the interpreter does not need to go with you in the water as divers and deaf people share the use of sign language.

What is also very interesting is to see 3,000 deaf people on a small tourist island like Cozumel, Mexico. Seamlessly, without any problem, the local population changes their way of approaching the tourists. Like they have been signing all their life - they know perfectly well how to draw our attention. Their attempts to make illustrate Cuban cigars are a bit embarrassing sometimes, but still, they are unstoppable in presenting their goods.

So this is what is happening when you need deaf people. It makes you think…imagine if the whole world would look like that. What would be possible then in the education of deaf kids, or in the labor market? It is not that it’s impossible to offer the same chances to deaf people. It all comes down to the willingness to adjust or maybe even transform the way we manage our living in the society. Hearing people would benefit as well. Imagine the quietness in the trains when you are still a bit sleepy. Or the fact that you do not have to shout into someone’s ear when the music is loud. You could communicate over a long distance without shouting.

But most of all, what impresses me every time again and again in deaf culture, is the powerful way of their social communication. To understand a deaf person, you have to look him or her straight into the eye. Looking with your eyes to the ground would not only be very rude but also, it wouldn’t work. But how often don’t we look back in our conversations? Once you are face to face with somebody, you have a very close and intense contact. It is almost like a sixth sense is activated. No way you could hide anything, or use any hidden agenda, they look right through your eyes into your mind. Deaf communication is a very honest and straightforward way of sharing your life with somebody else. And only for just that reason, I say, we need the deaf people!