Amazing Race

Hello, my name is Megumi Kawakami. I am in Antigua, Guatemala. We, 15
delegates from Guatemala and U.S.A, have socialized since this Monday. We
have shared our languages, cultures and experience in the deaf community.

Today, we had a workshop. The workshop was to compare/discuss problems
between U.S.A and Guatemala. I realized that we, deaf people have one thing
in common such as oppression from the hearing society with sign language,
lack of interpreters, etc. Through the workshop, I felt that deaf people in
Guatemala and U.S.A have the same feelings in that we shared true “deaf”
experience.

After the workshop, we participated in a game called “Amazing Race”. We went
to different places in Antigua in 2 hours. It was fun! We learned how to
communicate with Guatemala delegates and got to know each other more and
more. I had a good experience and learned new things today. I realized that
Deaf people around the world have problems in the society such as
oppression, and discrimination. In addition, developing countries have
problems with poverty and economic. Those factors impact the deaf community
with great effect.

Finally, the stories I read about of the issues in the deaf community
doesn’t compare to the real experiences I got in Guatemala.