A Day with Special Friends

We visited the Hyogo Prefectural School for Students with Special Visual Needs 兵庫県立視覚特別支援学校 on Wednesday.

http://www.hyogo-c.ed.jp/~kenritsu-svn/

It was a long bus ride. It took us about 50 minutes to get there.

When we arrived, the children commented that the concrete building looked old. After we got off the bus, we noticed that there were bumps on the ground that led to different parts of the school. We walked on the guide bumps and were shown to the school's multi-purpose hall.

Our new friends were waiting for us. We made a line and faced the students. They bowed and sang us a German song. We were touched and impressed. They then greeted us with a loud "Guten Tag"! Soon, it was our turn to sing. We presented them with "If You're Happy" in three langauges. They cheered and clapped loudly for us.

We broke up into three groups and were shown how to do a blindfold race. Our visually impaired friends usually do their P.E lessons with the help of ropes and other forms of aids. We were blind folded and ran along a rope. It was a competition and we joined in with enthusiasm.

It was hard to run without being able to see. We did not know when to stop and were fearful about running too fast. Some of us were hesitant and kept putting our hands out to check if we might be running into something.

After the race, we sat down and got to know some of our new friends better.

To introduce ourselves, we had to first make contact with our hands. Then our new friend would know that they were being talked to. Some of them needed to touch our faces so that they can imagine what we looked like. A few smelled us so that they can remember our scent and know that we are near.

Below are some comments from a few of our children about the experience :

"When I play with them, I feel sorry for them. One of them tried to smell me. That helped them to know who I am." Daisuke

"One of them looked scary but I still played with him and enjoyed the game with him. I feel bad for them because they cannot see. They might have an accident." Adam

"I was playing the game. When I was playing with blind children, I feel they are the same as me. If they are scared, I want to help them." Yuma

"The building looked creepy outside. There was a broken lamp post. However, when we went inside, it was like a normal school." Mia

"They are so nice! I think they can recognise our voice. Also, they have a line order to remember so they have to stay in line." Ryuki

Making contact with the school and arranging this trip took a few months. We appreciate the school making time for us. We understand that they did not want visitors to disrupt the children's learning. Some of the students might not be comfortable meeting new people. The DSK teachers felt that it was a good first trip and were happy with the outcome.

The Grade Two children however had a lot of unanswered questions. Perhaps we might find another opportunity to have them answered.

"How could they work? Is the braille machine in front of them? I want to find out if the classroom is full of Braille." Daisuke

"I wanted to see how they work." Adam

"We only saw the gym, not the classrooms." Sohum

"I wanted to know how they talk to one another. What if someone they don't want to talk to were to talk to them? Would they answer and then find out too late?" Gabriel

"I want to see a real Braille machine!" Yuma

We presented them with a bumpy picture book that we made. They were 'feeling' the pictures with their fingers.