Saturday, November 7, 2009 . Billy's Entry
11:39 PM

Hey all!

Before the DID tour, I was both excited and unsure about the tour. I initially thought that the tour would be something like a very quick, fifteen minute hand-in-hand tour with a blind Guide, with simple, mundane fun things to do in the dark (like drinking water out of a cup and navigating thru a little obstacle course?) that showed us how it was like to be blind.

When i first stepped into the DID grounds, i realised that the tour was much more, far beyond what i expected. The first thing that struck me was the nature of the darkness..it was REALLY REALLLY DARK. Nothing like i even imagined. (Just to give you a guys a vague picture of what i think about its intensity- blindfold yourself with a t-shirt or something. Now imagine that darkness amplified ten times over. That's not even close to how dark it was in the room!) The first thing that flooded in my mind was absolute fear. losing my sense of sight immediately was really hard to accept. Even with the cane and wall on hand, it was uncomfortable and very difficult to navigate. I kept on banging into the people in front and behind of me, and i was very afraid that somewhere along the tour, i would lose my way and get lost, with no one to find and lead me out.

I was extremely relieved when we first met our blind guide, Halimi. (Mi.) Hearing his voice was really fantastic- it gave me a sense of orientation and direction. As we went through the tour, Mi encouraged us to use our senses and to explore the various grounds inside DID. As we went thru the tour, i became more acustomed to the dark and i could handle myself better. I also noticed how proeficent and comfortable halimi seemed to be in the dark - it's true, what they say about the 'blind being superheroes' and a reversal of roles in the dark.

After the DID tour, i felt that i came away with a great respect towards the blind. I didn't expect such a great level of optimism from our blind guide (he worked in the airlines for a long time before he became blind in a unfortunate incident, but he never was at all depressed or pessimistic about anything.) I felt inspired to help the handicapped in a non-handout way..and to be optimistic and happy myself :)

Another thing i took away was a great appreciation for the things i have, especially my sight. being in such a dark room for a long time made me think about how i took my sight for granted. being out in the open made me appreciate my sight and the world in a much sharper, new perspective. Being blind for an hour also made me appreciate the other senses in the body much more-percieving a world in many different ways (touch, smell, hearing) has made me view the outside world in a very different way.

I strongly believe that DID has great potential in Ngee ann, and by extension the education system. The business and social aspects of DID are something the both BZSE and PCS students can learn from and experience hands on in-campus. DID also allows people to experience social difference, change first-hand in a immediate way. I believe that DID can provide learning experiences for its students in their scope of study, and also instill/encourage values such as appreciation, etc.

I believe BZ as a whole, can help DID by promoting its services through a strong marketing plan. There are many more opportunities to be discovered and taken advantage of, and this is where BZ students can come in. Exploting opprotunities, starting up a new business/museum concept business and expand this social cause, and at the same time learn from the concept. PCS students can study the psychology of people before, and after the experience, and study the psychology of the disabled. just a thought : P

Anyway, i hope that DID continues to grow, prosper, and benefit our students, the public and last but not least the blind. three cheers for did!

Billy


------