Traveling Between Worlds

Fulbright student Franz Knupfer created his blog Deaf Nepal in 2008 as an outlet for weaving two life-long aspects of himself, deafness and creative writing, with yet another passion, Nepali culture.

In his first blog post, he shares that having already served in AmeriCorps and completed his graduate education at Johns Hopkins in the United States, he ultimately decided to apply for a Fulbright in Nepal because there is a "thriving deaf community. I also formed a special relationship with this place after studying abroad in Mysore, India, as an undergraduate at the University of Iowa."

Once in Nepal, Franz found that he would not be alone in his efforts to learn Nepali Sign Language. He writes, "One of the things that most intrigues me is this gap between generations of deaf here in Nepal. The experiences of this older generation resonates with me...It's a moving experience to meet a seventy year old man who is learning NSL for the first time, as I did during my first few weeks in Kathmandu. He'd been a tailor, and when I was told that he'd started learning sign language in August, a month before, I thought I was misunderstanding. I can only imagine what it must be like to finally be able to communicate after all that time." Franz, who was mainstreamed growing up and was the only deaf student in his school, can empathize with those who transition between a "Deaf world" and a "hearing world."

A lifelong writer, Franz expertly describes treks through mountains in the Everest region with a deaf Sherpa guide, visiting the children at deaf schools, and snapshots of people he has met over the course of his journey. You can follow his blog, "Deaf Nepal," here.

Read further stories from Franz: Discovering the Blessings of Being Deaf in Nepal