Even though I had complete
trust in my partner to guide and navigate the courtyard, I became more hesitant
about where I was walking and felt anxious and insecure about the situation. I
was very worried about where I was stepping because I wasn’t able to see at
all. If I accidently hit my foot against a rock or a fence, I reacted more
strongly than usual because I was scared of what I couldn’t see. I trusted my
guide to lead me to the right path but losing one of my senses made me feel
helpless and uncertain about everything. I also felt a little frustrated that
my sight was handicapped because it made me feel weak and powerless.
When I was walking on a
normal path with no obstacles, I walked at my normal pace but I started to be
more cautious and hesitant of walking when there were rocks or fences in my
path. Because I wasn’t able to use my sight, I became nervous of bumping into the
obstacles. I found climbing the rock the most difficult because I was afraid to
jump back to the ground after going up the rock. I felt like I was coming down
from a high place because I wasn’t able to see the ground at all.
The descriptions my
partner made were detailed so I was able to visualize what I was encountering.
I think it was easier to imagine the route because I knew the path well from
explaining it to my partner when she was blindfolded. But at the same time I found
it quite difficult to visualize the colors of the rock or the physical characteristics
of people around me.
I remember using the
sense of touch and sound to navigate my way around. Despite the fact that I wasn't supposed to touch my partner, I unconsciously tended to rely on my sense
of touch. It also helped me visualize what the rock or the fence looked like by
touching them. Another sense I relied greatly was sound. If I hadn't used my
hearing then I think I would've bumped into a lot of people because I wouldn't be able to hear my partner or the other people. I also realized that I became
more concentrated on my partner’s voice because that was the only thing I could
use to help me navigate my way around. I think it didn't really compensate for
the loss of sight because I did not feel assured or confident of where I was
going without my sight.
I partially agree with
the statement “knowledge is the true organ of sight, not the eyes” because if I
believe it is important that we know what we are seeing. If we have no
knowledge of the object that we see through the eyes, then we will never be
able to understand it. But on the other hand, there are some aspects, such as colors,
that we would not be able to visualize without knowing.
Guide role:
It was my first time
helping someone blind and I found it very interesting because I wasn’t used to
navigating someone. It was a little frustrating to explain something that would
be so easy if they could only see because my partner required detailed
descriptions and I found some obstacles or routes hard to explain. My partner
and I have similar faith and trust towards each other so I found my partner
listening to all my instructions. I think my partner had relied a lot on my
instructions and descriptions and she trusted me to give her accurate
information.
The most difficult part
was helping the person climb over the fence because there were several flower
pots placed next to the fence which made it more difficult for my partner to go
over the fence. I think she would've bumped into the fence or stepped on the
flower pot if I hadn't told her about them. I think this situation could be difficult and dangerous if I didn't give her any descriptions about the
fence or the flower pots. If they had been able to see then it would not have
been dangerous because they could see the obstacle.
The sightless experience
really helped me realize that sight is critical to knowing and understanding
because even we would not be able to understand something completely without
seeing. We could gain knowledge through learning but to understand something in
real life would require sight.
How would you describe the following to a blind
person so they could gain an understanding of it?
- Cat – two pointy ears, long thin whiskers, four legs, soft fur, and moving animal.
- Riding a bike – two wheels, one seat, handles to help change direction, push pedals with feet to go forward
- Sunset – the shades of red, pink, and dark blues, gradually becomes darker as the sun goes down
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