Week 1

This first week of service learning was a rather frustrating experience. Even though I knew I wasn’t going to be able to work with the deaf association I at least hoped that I would be able to contribute in some form. Maybe edit English translations or clean the office or something. Instead it turned out to be a meeting discussing what the other four UC students who are volunteering would be doing over the next few months. The whole experience was a true exercise in patience and an introduction into just how difficult communication could be with this organization.

I spent most of the time sitting while Anh Thai spoke to the head of the Teng Sung association in Vietnamese. Occasionally bits of information were translated, but I felt like much more was discussed then was translated. It makes me a bit nervous for when I actually start working with the deaf association. I learn signed languages easily enough, but before then communication could be pretty rocky. I guess in some ways my experience was like that of a deaf person having one of their family members or friends translate for them. Without a professional translator you just feel like you are missing so much information.

However I did learn some interesting things from the meeting. The organization was founded with help from a Danish organization. While the brochures and website all talk about equal access and disabled right, the main goals of the organization seem to be rebuilding the esteem of the disabled people and giving them some way to contribute to their family. For example one of the main programs is that members produce handicrafts, which are then sold to bring income to the disabled people and their families. However when I asked about making homes more accessible for disabled people they didn’t seem to understand. This seemed odd considering that many of their members were bedridden (whereas I’m guessing that people in the US with similar disabilities would not be). I have a feeling that this disconnect comes from language in their brochures being borrowed from the Danish association.

I don’t know much yet about what the deaf association does, but hopefully I will find out Monday. I’m hoping that next week I will be able to actually be useful or at least learn more about how the organization is run and what it does.