To Table of Contents empowered to travel ( if they have the privilege to ), despite how the world is designed for abled community .
Q . You are a confident young lady , living an active life . To what do you attribute your confidence ? A . Thank you ! I ' m not always
quite confident , to be honest - but I do often try to be and continuously work and learn on the go . This is a real good question . I think it ' s really come down to my personal epiphany , " do I want to keep living in fear and died with regrets ? Or do I want to take a leap of faith and live with stories ?". It ' s also really empowering to meet or connect with other deaf women who love traveling , whether solo or not . It ' s really empowering to see that !
Q . What are some of the travel challenges you have faced as an individual who is deaf ? A . The world is universally
designed for the abled people , not for disabled communities . Thus , there are a lot of areas that need to work on its accessibility - such as having not having sign language tour for different attractions ( especially when the attractions require tours ) or even a closed captioning or transcript available . There is also transportation , such as bus or train . It ' s generally heavily audio-centric experience . They ' d make announcement verbally or through the speaker , so I always have to keep my eyes open and study the behaviors of the local people and ask them directly about my transportation .
Q . Have you ever faced discrimination as a person with an invisible disability ? If so , how has it affected your perspective of the world ? A . Yes , a couple of times
in different situations . I was rejected to volunteer a local wildlife conservation in another country , whereas other abled travelers were able to experience - despite having some experiences myself back in the states . Another memory that came to mind is having staying at host ' s place , and that host wasn ' t respectful with me . He kept saying never mind when I asked him to repeat , and he made fun of sign language by mimicking it and laughed right in my face . At some points , it can be annoying because their behaviors can be dehumanizing , but generally - what I see is the local cultural beliefs and lack of awareness are some of the main factors that I cannot expect every single person in the world to know about it . Traveling allows me to meet different people , show them that we , deaf people , exist too - and share some educational information about our communities .
Q . What advice can you give to other young people who are interested in traveling the world but are hesitant because of their disability ? A . The world may be designed
for the abled people - unsurprisingly , even your own region / state or country . Do take some steps that personally work for YOU , because you know what works for you best - such as starting to travel domestically / internationally with another friend , and research about other regions or countries to figure out the logistics to navigate the inaccessible world - but honestly , the world is worth seeing to face your fears and learn how to navigate it with your disability .
You can connect with your disabled community about traveling , even in other countries ! That ' s one of the ways I do , and I still do !
Do feel free to connect with me on Instagram , @ deafinitelywanderlust , to share your stories with me ! We need more disabled travelers to be seen and heard in the travel industry !