Reflections of a Deaf Scholar 187
closed-captioning on television, and access for people with disabilities at public lectures
(sometimes presented by scholars or activists who themselves have disabilities) are some
of the other experiences that contributed to a deep feeling of freedom and equality.
The practice of American individualism in a community-oriented deaf place
provided an interesting answer to the dynamics of the deaf community’s collective
organization and room for personal growth. Although Gallaudet and the United
States are not perfect worlds and arriving as an international deaf person in another
country is quite a challenge, diversity issues were often discussed among the inter-
national deaf people at Gallaudet. The practice of “yes, we can”; the experience
of equality; and working in a barrier-free environment provided a strong founda-
tion for positive identity constructions. I had the opportunity to participate in all
activities on campus, to experience the empowering idea of deaf people as learners
(which is also described in Chapter 4 and is a theme throughout the book), and to
grow professionally as a researcher.
Encounters with deaf people from the United States and other countries all over
the world enriched my life. The world got under my skin. I arrived at Gallaudet in
August 2003, right before the start of the fall term, and lived on campus as a visiting
scholar in the International Internship program. Because it was summer, there were
few students on campus, and on my first day I was curious to look around, see new
faces, and learn ASL. I started talking with a black deaf student who asked me where
I came from. When I said I was from Belgium, he replied, “I know you from history.”
He was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I directly responded with
an apology for Belgium’s half century of colonial rule of his country. I was for-
tunate that my new conversation partner had experience in teaching ASL, which
was helpful for the beginning of a long conversation, from which a new friendship
developed. This meeting is illustrative of many encounters that provided food for
thought and reflection and have contributed much to my own worldview and my
outlook on human lives across the world. It was a Friday morning, and a couple of
hours later I met a Flemish deaf student who invited me to come to dinner with
some international students that night. It felt great to send pictures to my family of
my first week at Gallaudet.
These first-day experiences with international students were often repeated
during my time at Gallaudet: developing friendships through sharing apartments,
watching films, or going to a party or the Irish pub. We spent hours discussing
our lives in our home countries, exchanging experiences, and comparing different
approaches and stages of awareness and advocacy. If something happens now—an
earthquake in Chile, political debates in Italy, an economic crisis in Greece, or a
radiation leak in Japan—I still think of deaf friends who are living in that country
and wonder if they are well.
At Gallaudet, I found a lot of opportunities for involvement in research activities.
As a visiting scholar, I benefited from being able to drop in on courses and attend
presentations of U.S. and international scholars from diverse fields of research,
both on campus and in Washington. I remember being surprised to learn from the
International Internship program that professionals at Gallaudet would be happy to
meet me and learn more about my research. The philosophy was that Gallaudet has