Gee, Thanks Giving is certainly a big holiday in the states. My school
and Rhys's school have a week off. I wasn't really ready for a vacation,
as I was just getting into the swing of things at the centre. Oh, well,
guess I shouldn't complain about a holiday!
I had a great third week at the centre. We had a big Thanks Giving Dinner
on Tuesday and every student at LCB made something for the meal. I made
banana pudding. I cooked the banana gelatin on the gas stove. Had a few
panic attacks, as gas stoves make me nervous. But I got through it all
right. Not as bad as the stove in our trailer, which is propane, and
which you have to light, and which I won't touch!
It was a busy week in the kitchen everyone making different dishes: at
least three turkeys, a ham, a pig, countless bowls of stuffing, casseroles
and many desserts.
Because everyone is blind, we always say out loud when we are opening the
oven, or when we are carrying hot water or a hot pan through the kitchen.
The boys and Jeff came o the big Thanks Giving meal. I don't remember the
last time I ate so much food. The food was set up on the counter and we
all served ourselves.
Funny because the next day, we went to Rhys's school for his special
Thanks Giving dinner. Parents were invited to eat in the cafeteria and
visit with the children in their class room. Rhys was very proud to show
us his school an introduce us to his friend Nicolas.
Enjoyed travel class this week. I made great strides. Pardon the pun! I
walked in shades to the apartments and back and only veered onto the road
a few times, but each time I knew what I had done and managed to correct
myself.
Another trick I learned is when I cross a road and get to the other side
of the road and am trying to find the sidewalk. I learned to always turn
towards the parallel road and shore line the side of the road I jut
crossed until I find the sidewalk. It works almost every time.
I am also learning to tell when I am close to something like a building by
the sound. It has to do with the air being cut off by the building, and
then when I ass the building, I can hear the air around me open up and I
can hear the space around me. I am sure there is a more technical way of
describing this.
I am also learning to line myself in the direction I want to go jut by
listening to the traffic sounds.
The model of travel we are learning here is called "structured discovery,
which differs from the traditional rout method of travel, where the blind
person memorizes specific routes and doesn't deviate from these.
Structured Discovery allows the blind person to learn to travel anywhere
through problem solving and figuring things out as you go.
I am nearly ready to try independent routes on my own. I will go to the
apartments on my own next week, and then eventually my instructor will
give me address, which I will have to find on my own. I will go there and
bring back something to show I was there, like a business card etc.
I am working my way through he grade two contractions in Braille class. I
learned them in high school , but have forgotten them. They are slowly
coming up from my subconscious to the surface. I am reading and slating
Braille everyday. I am determined to be able to read and read at least 80
words a minute by the time I leave here.
We had apartment instruction this week; this is when the staff come to the
apartments to check on the apartments and make sure students are keeping
them clean. If there is a problem, staff will teach the students
techniques to improve. Staff will work more intensely on these skills for
those students who might need this help.
On Friday, one of the students at LCB graduated from her nine-month
training program. It was neat to see someone finishing what I am just
beginning.
Her ceremony was an hour or so in the centre library. Students, friends
and family attended either by conference call or in person to talk about
her accomplishments and to watch her get the freedom bell. The
freedom bell is rung here anytime a blind person does something
independently. All graduating students receive a freedom bell to keep
always as a symbol of their time here.
Love to all.
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