Being Blind for an Hour

Have you ever imagined what your life would be like if you were blind?

This past summer I spent five weeks backpacking around Israel. Everyday was packed with unique activities, but one activity really stood out to me. One afternoon, I went to the Holon Children Museum located in Holon, Israel. The museum was huge, with many rare exhibits, such as getting a glimpse as to what life is like when you are old, blind, or deaf. The exhibit I spent the majority of my time in was called “Dialogue in the Dark”.

I went into my tour not really knowing what I was going to be doing or what to expect. While there was a brief introduction, we were not told what we would be doing, where we would be going, or how long this tour would take. We did not know why we were even going on this tour or what the purpose of it was. The only piece of useful information relayed to us was that the tour guide was legally blind and that we could not wear or bring anything on the tour that glows in the dark.

The tour finally began. We were brought into the first room. It was pitch black. In addition to the chaos and confusion of my group members, I could hear different animal noises and the sound of rain. I began to get nervous and uncomfortable as I truly did not know what was going on. I was holding onto my friend, who was trying to navigate us around the room. She led us to a wall that happened to be covered in bamboo. After a few minutes of wandering around this room, we discovered that we were in the rainforest. Our tour guide told us that we would be proceeding into the second room. In this room I heard the sound of cars and horns. While I was trying to maneuver my way around this room, I had to prevent myself from running into trashcans, tripping over curbs, and running into the other people. The tour guide told us that we were in a noisy, pedestrian crossing zone. The third room happened to be my favorite room. When I first walked in, I heard the sound of crashing waves and seagulls. Our tour guide advised us to hold onto each other, walk in a single file line, and guide each other. In a matter of a few short seconds, I felt myself standing on a platform. I sat down in a puddle of water. This platform then started to move, and I quickly figured out that I was on a boat. After a short boat ride, we moved into the final room. Unlike the other rooms, this room was both dark and silent. I began to move around the room and I suddenly felt myself touching squishy, real-life objects. I had to use my sense of touch and smell to understand what I was actually touching, a variety of fruits and vegetables. I realized that I was in a grocery store. Before I knew it, the tour guide told us that the tour was almost over, but before we could leave we were going to have a discussion to reflect on our experience.

The tour guide explained that the purpose of this exhibit was to change mindsets on disability and diversity and to increase tolerance for others. Often, people get frustrated with and judge those who are disabled and have a harder time completing certain activities. However, we don't truly understand what life is like living with a disability. Even though the "Dialogue in the Dark" activity gave me a small glimpse as to what life is like being blind and introduced just some of the challenges one who is blind must face on a daily basis, I still don't completely know what living with a disability is life. However, the "Dialogue in the Dark" activity completely changed the way I view those that are disabled.