Having Ears You Do Not Hear

When you are an alien living as stranger in a strange land, you tend to associate your new experiences with ones you've had before.  You do this to try to better understand your past, the present and how you might make your way through the days that lie ahead of you.  This week, I realized that my current experiences can deepened my appreciation of others I've come to know in the past.

One of the most interesting experiences in my past has been the opportunity I've been given to learn from those who are deaf.  Over the last 15 years, I've come to understand the Deaf culture better through spending time with them. My wife is a sign-language interpreter, among many other things, and together with her I've met and become good friends with many Deaf, and through my wife’s assistance, I’ve learned much from them. 

I recall vividly my first real insight into Deaf culture. It came through a story teller who explained the drastically different reactions he received when as a young boy he had been taught to voice words. When he attempted to voice the simple sentence "I like baseball," those who heard his halting expressions of sounds reacted as if, according to his account, he was mentally impaired.

When, however, later in this story teller's life, he entered into groups of hearing people and began to express himself with sign language, the reactions he received showed that those who observed his signing acknowledged him to be a very intelligent person. They realized that he knew a language that they did not know.

For the first time, I realized that signing is a distinct language in itself, and those who use it to communicate are just like any other person who might speak German, French or even Korean. I realized that a person’s intelligence is not impaired by a disability, but rather their intelligence is demonstrated by their ability to overcome a perceived limitation through new forms of communication.

Now, for me here in Korea, amongst a majority of people whose language I do not understand nor speak (and have to this point made very little progress in learning), I am the one with the disability. I am the one at the disadvantage. And just this past Thursday evening, it finally dawned upon me that I am the one who, in a certain, small way, is deaf in this culture. I hear sounds but I understand nothing or nearly nothing.

Thursday evening was the annual university Christmas concert. While some of the songs where performed in English, all of the spoken introductions and explanations were in Korean. I thought to myself, “I’m sure those who organized this concert realized that at least a few people in the audience would not be Korean-speakers. Why didn’t they provide a translator?”

When teaching in the States at Fontbonne University, I noted that every university event provided sign-language interpretation. This is most likely because Fontbonne is known for its outstanding Deaf Education department and often deaf or hearing-impaired are among those attending the events. The University consciously seeks to provide the means for communicating understanding to all who attend.

So, as I sat there at the Christmas concert and listened to the emcee introduce acts and to performers explaining whatever it was they were explaining, I acquired a deeper understanding of what it means to have ears but still not hear.  But if that is all I learned, I'm not listening very well.  My failure to hear, to understand cannot be blamed on the failure or deficiency of others.  I bear the responsibility for seeking to understand.  I may not now have the ability, in and of myself, to gain the understanding, but I bear the responsibility to ask for it.

No one is alone sufficient to achieve understanding. We will always need others.  Though I have ears, I always need others to help me hear.