Advancing disability rights and leadership globally®

“Being Included in the Group Made the Trip Memorable”

Dome of the Rock and Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Israel
Dome of the Rock and Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, Israel

Sarah Leslie and her friends watched history unfold before them as they attempted to study in a region amid revolution.

MIUSA: Were you nervous about traveling to the Middle East?

Sarah: My biggest concern as I prepared to travel was asking myself if I could really study Arabic. I have never studied an oral language before, besides working hard at English, so this was a big concern for me.

In light of this, I signed up for a summer community college Arabic course in order to figure out what would be challenging and to get a head start, even though I hadn’t been accepted yet for Middle East Studies Program (MESP), which is run by BestSemester/Council for Christian Colleges & Universities.

My other concern was communication in the “classroom” settings which I addressed with my bi-lateral hearing aids and FM system and discussing some of my concerns with the leaders and directors of the program. It was not in a traditional university classroom. Instead, our group of 27 students learned in different settings. We studied Arabic, Islamic thoughts and practices, conflict and change in the Middle East, and the people and culture of the Middle East. We also had service projects once a week.

The FM was especially helpful when taking tours with the group and in Arabic class. I also brought along an electronic dryer box for my hearing aids, which caused a lot of suspicion whenever I traveled in and out of Israel with it.

MIUSA: What was your experience living in the host country?

Sarah: My experience was nothing like I had prepared myself for. We arrived in Egypt three weeks before the revolution, which meant that just as we were settling in and learning a pattern to living in Egypt, we had to leave for Turkey.

From my three weeks in Egypt, my director expressed his concerns for me about my safety as I walked around Cairo due to the dangerous lack of traffic laws. He was concerned that I would not be able to hear a bike or car come up behind me. When bicyclists come up behind people who are walking, they make a soft hissing sound which would be difficult for me to pick up on.

My impression is that the cultural attitudes towards people with disabilities in Egypt are to either treat the individual “specially” or to institutionalize them. I had the privilege of working at the Deaf school in Cairo for the short time I was there. I was responsible for sharing the American Sign Language alphabet and writing words in English. At the same time I picked up Arabic sign and generally can understand what the teachers were saying to their class.

In Istanbul, Turkey, where we spent ten days, there was more order to traffic, but the curbs were very high off the ground in order to discourage cars from parking on the sidewalks like in Cairo. That would be difficult to navigate in Turkey for an individual with a physical disability. Transportation in Istanbul and Cairo was great in that you could get almost anywhere you needed to go, even though transportation was very crowded and hectic at times.

West Jerusalem, Israel was where we ended up staying for the rest of our exchange. I found Israel to be the easiest to navigate. Practically everyone in Israel/Palestine spoke English, which was not only frustrating for our Arabic studies, but it sent me back into a comfort zone that I wouldn’t have experienced if our exchange had continued in Egypt. Although Israel/Palestine is a culturally diverse region, I thought it was similar to the United States in terms cultural attitudes towards disability.

MIUSA: What was one of your favorite memories?

Sarah: Of course I have many memories but I have to say the best one I came away with was on my birthday. The day of my birthday, we had dialogues with students at Bethlehem University and were divided into small groups. In my group of MESPers (Middle East Studies Program students), there were a couple of people who knew sign language. One of them went around to everyone in my group and taught them how to sign the “Happy Birthday” song.

That evening when I went into the room to celebrate my birthday with the group I was surprised by a birthday sung in both English and in sign language.

My group’s inclusion of me really made the trip memorable.

The benefits of the experience are having a group of people I consider a family, witnessing a revolution in Egypt, and lots of other memories and lessons. My international experience has informed me that I would not be comfortable living alone internationally, though I hope to travel more in the future.

Prior to this exchange experience, Sarah, who is from Oregon, traveled with MIUSA to Bahrain in 2008 and to Italy with a school program in 2005. The experience of traveling to Italy lit her passion for travel. Traveling to Bahrain only furthered her desire to learn more about the Middle East, which in some ways led her to major in Reconciliation Studies at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a minor in political science.

 

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