I wanted to study abroad during my junior year in college but was not sure how to arrange accommodations or learn another spoken language. I was, in general, not confident in my ability to live in another country on my own. So I dropped the idea as unrealistic for awhile.

Then in the spring of my junior year, a friend saw a small classified ad in a newsletter of an independent living center in Rhode Island and sent it to me. It announced an exchange program to Russia for people with and without disabilities. For me, it was a perfect opportunity because it provided a sense of security as I would be traveling in a larger group with others who were also facing challenges with accessibility in traveling abroad. Little did I know that I was embarking on a new path for my life.

That five-week Mobility International USA (MIUSA) Russia exchange was my first international experience, except for a one-week long trip to Mexico as a high school student. After the Russia exchange, I became an intern with MIUSA in Eugene, Oregon.  That summer, we hosted a group of people with and without disabilities from Mexico. Without a doubt, these two experiences encouraged me to develop the confidence, enthusiasm and passion to pursue my dreams and make a positive difference in the world.

Before my experiences with MIUSA, I was daunted by what I perceived as obstacles to my ability to work and travel internationally. Afterwards, I understood what poet Rae Dalven wrote in "The Complete Poems of Cavafy," expressing that we often carry the “Lestrygonians,” or obstacles, within ourselves. It was actually my own perceptions that had created the obstacles. Once my own heart and mind underwent a paradigm shift and perceived the “obstacles” as opportunities to challenge myself, I could use my passion and confidence to make a difference. In Russia, I learned to perceive language as a chance to make friends in a new way; the 50 steps into an official building became a team-relay effort; the art museum became a visually described event, the musical performances were translated into a visual language. The differences were not such a big deal after all no matter if the difference was race, gender, ability, or nationality. The differences became our pathways to a better understanding of the world around us.

After my summer in Russia and Oregon, I returned to college for my senior year.  I resolved to work outside of the United States after graduation and I wanted to do it alone. The same obstacles I had feared the summer before I now perceived as challenges that could be met. I received a fellowship from the Echoing Green Foundation and worked in Malaysia with the Deaf community for a year and a half. In Malaysia I learned that people themselves must be the agents of change; otherwise it is not actually an empowering change. The Deaf community in Malaysia taught me a great deal about how change is created and how a community can overcome barriers with innovation and persistence.

While living in Malaysia, I also traveled in the Borneo rainforest, throughout Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and briefly in Japan. While I was living in Malaysia, a friend whom I had met on the Russia exchange came to visit me. We traveled for five weeks in Thailand and Malaysia; we hopped trains and ferries, rented jeeps on islands, saw the sights in Bangkok, and met wonderful people along the way. My friend is paraplegic; I am Deaf. In our travels, we met challenges such as the three steps up each time we boarded the train in Thailand and the heavily accented English that she interpreted for me. But what I remember is laughing in the sleeper car of the train, enjoying the peace of a quiet river as we drifted on a bamboo raft, lying on a beach, riding waverunners on Ko Samui, and ocean kayaking in Malaysia.

After my return from Malaysia, I began working for the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing as the assistant director. I was also a fellow with the Kellogg International Leadership Program (KILP). KILP was a program which strives to build community capacity and foster leadership opportunities for those who would not normally receive them. As a part of this program, I traveled in the United States, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Zimbabwe and South Africa. Being a Kellogg Fellow reinforced some of the lessons I learned from MIUSA and Malaysia: that when people are committed to common goals, work together to accomplish them, and ensure continuity by passing on leadership to others, they will experience positive change in their community. Prior to my work experiences in Malaysia, Kentucky and through KILP, I felt that change was all about institutions, policies and government. Now, I understand that change is about ourselves and the people around us whether we are in government, the nonprofit sector, our families, or even at a neighborhood barbecue.

During and since the MIUSA exchanges, Malaysia and KILP, I have learned to enjoy the journey, including the challenges. In fact, it is often the challenges which become the more memorable moments of my international experiences. I have memories of canoeing in rural Russia, white-water rafting in Oregon while practicing my Spanish vocabulary for “water fight,” sitting around a campfire discussing the challenges Mexican women face in their country, riding on an elephant with a friend in Thailand, working with a youth camp in Malaysia, visiting a public health project in a rural community in Haiti, learning about the neighborhood organizations of the Dominican Republic, and navigating the busy streets of Bangkok, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur while exploring the sights and wonders of these Asian cities.

Oh, have I neglected to mention that in every one of those memories there are people with disabilities? You see, I forget that. What I remember are the adventures, the ports, the cities, the learning from others and the people I have met who are also making a difference. And that is how it should be with any international experience. Participating in an international exchange program of any kind is a wonderful gateway to that exciting world of Ithaka as the poet Rae Dalven wrote -- the journey of life.

My goals for what I want in life remain simple: to have a sense of inner peace as to who I am, to work toward making a difference for others and to stay involved in the international arena. There is “good work” that needs to be done everywhere in the world. A disabled student in an international exchange program can make a difference simply by educating nondisabled colleagues that it is possible for a person with a disability to participate. A volunteer in an international workcamp makes a difference in the lives of those who are affected by her work. A policy maker advocating accessible telecommunications is making a difference. A community worker in the United States makes a difference by changing the attitudes of community members toward people with disabilities. Life is a journey and our goal should be to enjoy it, but also to give something back to those who follow after us.