Before going abroad, my overall goal for the program was to learn a new language and meet new people from other cultures. I had no idea how small these goals were, as this program went beyond my wildest expectations. 

I met people from cultures I did not even know existed. In New Zealand, we met with members from the Deaf Maori community and learned about their language and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL). I will never forget when we went to a Deaf Maori school and watched the students perform a song in NZSL. We reciprocated with a signed song and performed a Hongi. During the Hongi, everyone lined up, and we all touched foreheads. This greeting symbolized the sharing of breath and life-force. Then, we socialized with the students and ate a meal together. It felt incredibly special to be a part of this very unique experience.

In Australia, we learned about Aboriginal culture and Australian Sign Language (Auslan). We were lucky enough to visit the Victorian College for the Deaf in Melbourne and see how their language policies influenced educational practices. The classes were taught in three separate ways. One classroom was entirely in English, another classroom was completely in Auslan, and the third classroom was a mixture of English and Auslan. I remember sitting in an English classroom and having a conversation with a young student. She was so excited to sign with my group and asked for everyone's name in both Auslan and ASL. She joked that our one-handed fingerspelling was weird, and it was fun to return the opinion about Auslan's two-handed manual alphabet.  

In addition to meeting incredible people, I couldn't help but notice a recurring theme of sign language oppression and perseverance in both New Zealand and Australia. At every site, we attended lectures on how people and companies are fighting for greater language access. 

After going through the study abroad program, my goals have shifted. I am now hyper-aware of language policy and am a steadfast advocate for language access, the signing community, and empowering the Deaf community. I have gained a new goal of being an advocate and an ally.

From this study abroad program, I have expanded my perspectives to include the stories of great struggles and triumphs in other Deaf communities beyond those I have studied at Clemson. One notable cultural point of this trip was raised at the Wellington and Auckland Deaf Societies, Polytechnic in Melbourne, and Deaf Connect in Sydney. There were presentations about the idea of language access and creating a signing community. This requires expanding the Deaf community to include people who sign, thereby creating a stronger base of support for enabling greater change.  

It was particularly interesting to compare the United States with New Zealand and Australia in relation to Deaf education. After the Milan Conference in 1880, the USA, New Zealand, and Australia all experienced a period of heavy oralism. With Deaf schools slowly dying off all over the world, there is a pressing call to action. With the proliferation of sign language, universal design, and efforts to challenge the assumption that spoken language is superior to sign language, there is still an opportunity to create lasting change in Deaf education and language access. 

The goal of this trip was not to compare and contrast the countries negatively. The goal was to foster community connection and support the sign language community. In this way, New Zealand, Australia, and the USA serve as role models for one another in different aspects of language policy. There is something valuable to be learned from each country.

One meaningful experience from this trip was living through the entire program while only using sign language. The program consisted of a mix of hearing students and Deaf adults. Many people we met assumed that everyone in our group was Deaf. While we never pretended to be Deaf, the students preferred to use only sign language because it was the most accessible language to the entire group. By signing all the time, this led to two very notable experiences about people’s willingness to accommodate others.

In Rotorua, New Zealand, we went on a boat tour of Lake Taupo. The boat captain saw everyone signing and assumed we were all Deaf. He began the trip by using gestures and writing down his safety briefing so that everyone could understand. However, he later found out that most people were hearing and promptly abandoned any attempts to communicate with our Deaf professor and tour guide. The captain spoke only with the students for the rest of the trip and expressed frustration with us for trying to “trick” him into believing we were Deaf. 

It was disheartening and frustrating to see how people’s attitudes shifted once they found out I was hearing. There was a sense of relief and also anger because they were ultimately uncomfortable communicating with Deaf people. Often, people would stop any of their attempts at communicating with the Deaf adults and try to talk only to me. They would ask me about the group’s plans, and I would tell them to ask our tour guide or our professor because I was just a student and did not know these things. 

On the other hand, some places were beyond prepared for accessibility. At a hotel in Melbourne, Australia, a hostess saw our room number and assumed we were both Deaf because of our program. She instantly got out a small notepad with instructions on it. She had written on a page instructions for us to follow her to our table, and she gestured with us as well. Once we sat down, she flipped to another page that outlined how to order our coffee and omelets. Compared to the other hotels we have stayed at on this trip, I thought it was amazing to see how well-prepared she was and how willing she was to try different ways of communicating.

It was impactful to notice the different treatment I received based on what language I used. Since I also started off signing, many people just assumed I was Deaf and treated me differently. It was almost like they were scared to interact with me. This experience made me more aware of just a fraction of what it is like for Deaf people every day.

Furthermore, the program placed a strong emphasis on language access and accessibility. Even now, I view all my classes at Clemson through the worldview I gained from this program. I will take all of these lessons with me in my future pursuits and strive to be an ally to the Deaf community.