Video: https://youtu.be/9nkwGZBoGQo
Whoaaaaa! A second post/video in the same 24 hours?? Well, two big things happening today — the #NoMoreCraptions campaign and #InternationalDayoftheDeaf Thus, two posts/videos! Enjoy!
Hello! Welcome to my seventh post/video for Deaf Awareness Month. I will link all of the others in a playlist here. I decided that since today is International Day of the Deaf, I wanted to make a post/video related to that. For those who don’t know, I recently studied abroad for nine months in Denmark. And it was an amazing experience. I studied in a program called Frontrunners and it’s really incredible. The school has students from all over the world. My group was the smallest in history (five people) but it was still a great group, great year, many new experiences. Really amazing. I have a few videos from that, my experiences there, and I’ll link the playlist here. So, thanks to this program, I’ve been to Denmark, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia. And I’ve met people from over 20 different countries. Which is really cool in itself! A lot of those people that I met, I communicated with by using International Sign. In some of my videos in that playlist, I sign in International, not ASL. So if you’re curious and want to see what International looks like, go ahead and check that out. I’ve met people from all over the world, mostly Europe, but I know some people from Central America, South America, Australia, New Zealand. It’s really cool. And the fact that I know people from all over the world is just cool! A lot of people from the States don’t have that chance, that opportunity. Just going to this school, even though it’s in the middle of nowhere, in one place – It’s still amazing, and we’re exposed to a lot of the international community.
Because of Frontrunners, I was able to meet people who have different experiences growing up. In the States, we have some of that, kind of, little differences depending on where we grew up in the States. But in Europe, it’s completely different, because each country has its own culture, its own language. Its own everything! It’s really cool, being able to meet people like that. They have completely different experiences growing up. I personally think everyone should go out of their own country at least once. Doesn’t matter, I don’t care if you’re from Europe or not. I know some Europeans who have never actually been out of their own country. So I want to be clear, this is talking about anyone. American or not. I don’t care. Anyone that hasn’t left their country. You should do it at least once, and no, going to the country just over the border does not count. For example – I live in a town that’s a hour, hour and half away from the Canadian border. I don’t count Canada in that case. Unless you have actually gone and stayed, seen the city. Not just drive there and back. Or if you drive from Rochester to Toronto or Montreal – three hours and five hours respectively – I would count that. Because you’ve actually went into the country and not just border-jumping. That doesn’t count, please. Also, I don’t count it if you go to only the “tourist” spots. Take Mexico for example. I know some people who say that they’ve been to Mexico, but after some questions… Ah, they went to the resort. I don’t consider that “true Mexico.” That’s Mexico for tourists. For me personally, I would count it if you’ve gone to parts that are actual Mexican cities, not only the resorts. Because resorts are “perfect” places and just… Boring. Hm. Boring. Well, maybe not to some people but to me… Going to a country so you can say you’ve been to another country, then you stay in only the tourist spots? Like, that’s not the whole point of going to another country. The whole point of going to another country is to see their culture, immerse yourself in it, see their language, see the people who live there, see a different way of life there. That, to me, is kind of important. To get different perspectives, and expand your worldview.
Would I want to go back to Europe? Absolutely, 100% yes! Yes! There’s so much I haven’t seen. When I was there, I was mostly in the north. I haven’t seen any of the southern or eastern countries. So yes, absolutely, I want go back to Europe. When that will be, I don’t know. Up in the air. If someone’s willing to sponsor me, I wouldn’t say no. Do I want to go back to Australia? Yes. I still haven’t seen all of Australia. Really, I want to travel as much as I can. To… Anywhere, really. I love traveling. I know most people complain about the flight, long train ride, blah blah. I don’t mind, really. Usually when I fly, I fly by myself. It’s nice to have that time to really just… Be by myself, and think. I like travel. I just do. Even if it’s a short weekend, out to go camping or go to this area to sightsee, and come back. That, I enjoy. Just seeing new places, new people, new everything.
I know this video was a little all over the place, but I didn’t have a script for this one so there’s that. Happy International Day of the Deaf! And for this day, you should go ahead and check out places like WFD (World Federation of the Deaf), Frontrunners – see what the program is about, anything else that’s to do with the international community. I hope you enjoyed this post/video anyway, even though it was all over the place. I will see you next time!