Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007 - (Page 35)
B “Is he going to help with the wells?” “Define help,” I said. Jere laughed. “How much did he make you drink?” I’d tried to find that place beyond deafness and hearing before. In junior high and high school, I had tuned out most lessons, reading Nietzsche, Ayn Rand, e Happy Hooker Goes to Washington, or whatever book currently had my interest during class. My teachers, ill at ease with my disability and my skill at asking difficult questions when they forced me to pay attention, usually let me be. My spoken English still had a lot of rough spots. I thought that zealots were zeeelots, racists were rahsis, and for the longest time had been tricked by my father into believing that the bridge to Jersey was named after George Washingmachine (Me: “Who’s he?” Dad: “ e father of our laundry.” But with the help of a few cues written on the blackboard I could figure out what my teachers wanted and give it to them. ey didn’t have much cause to complain. But outside of the classroom, hearing was one unending struggle of fast talkers and loud scenes. After the frustrating experiences of childhood, I thought college might be a place to start afresh, past the limitations imposed by my ears. At 17, I applied to Yale. In my admissions interview, for the first time ever, I played the deaf card, and I played it, I have to say, like B. B. King plays Lucille. Interviewer: “What makes you different?” Me: “Excuse me?” Interviewer: “What makes you different from all the other candidates?” Me: (Takes out hearing aids, places them on desk. Nods, looks out window.) ut far from being a place where deafness was less important, at Yale it was much more of a problem than ever before. Classes were brutal; most of them were large lectures with instructors who spoke, in thick accents or while facing the board. No matter how many times I asked them not to, they kept doing so. Great academics, in my experience, are usually shockingly lacking in Consider a gift that lasts… NPCA has been the grateful beneficiary of a number of planned gifts. If you wish to discuss how you can make a lasting gift that will help us connect, inform and engage the Peace Corps community, please contact Kevin Quigley at kevin@ rpcv.org or 202-293-7728, ext.19. $45,637 - $72,592 WorldView 35
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007
Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007
Contents
President's Note
Lafayette Park
Note to Readers
Commentary
Letter from India
Commentary
Letter from Botswana
Letter from Ha Teboho
Letter from Jumbi Valley
Letter from Mununga
Letter from Medellin
Giving Back
Community News
Worldview Magazine - Winter 2007
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/worldview/fall09
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/worldview/spring08
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/worldview/winter07
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/worldview/fall07
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