Lame Travels: To New York and Back Part I (days 1-8)

About a month ago, my mom, dad, sister and I all piled into our minivan with the destination of New York City in our minds. The first stretch of driving was simple and easy; we have traveled from Bellingham to Spokane many times. In Spokane, we stopped for the night; we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. We try to stay at a Holiday Inn Express as many times as we could since  Holiday Inn Express tends to have a standard and we know what we are going to get. However, Holiday Inn Express, along with the majority of other hotels, do not have handicap rooms with two beds. We as a family of four have learned to adapt to this and we just get a room with two queen beds instead of a handicap room with a single bed. I have never stayed in a Holiday Inn Express that does not have an elevator and the majority of them have an adequate amount of room for me to maneuver my chair. It also could be that they serve cinnamon rolls for breakfast. I think this is the real reason.

My dad's yummy breakfast

On our next chunk of millage, we drove for thirteen hours though all of Idaho, the majority of Montana, and a corner of Wyoming in order to get to Rapid City, South Dakota. On the way there, we used three different rest stops, which all had handicap door openers. I only have seen this out of state; never in Washington!
When we arrived at the Holiday Inn Express in Rapid City, to my surprise, there were automatic door openers there too! I have never seen door openers at a hotel before! That was not the only thing that was super amazing about this Holiday Inn Express. They had a handicap room (and yes it actually was accessible) that had two queen beds! And they did not stop there! In this hotel, I found the best handicap accessible bathroom ever. It is the bathroom located in the lobby. This handicap bathroom was larger than a typical handicap stall; I had enough room to turn around in front of the toilet and exit the bathroom forward (a luxury)! But what made this bathroom even more extraordinary was that the stall was big enough for the door to open in. This is so convenient as it is extremely difficult to shut the stall door when using a wheel chair and the door swings out. When I still had the ability to take myself to the bathroom, I had to have someone shut the door in order for me to lock the door (or if this person was a friend, they would just hold the door). Now whoever assists me, shuts the door. However, in this bathroom in the Rapid City Holiday Inn Express, I could shut the door by myself!

The best bathroom stall ever!

We stayed in Rapid City, North Dakota as Mount Rushmore stands nearby. I was so excited to see Mount Rushmore and when I finally arrived, I was not disappointed! The location of this amazing national memorial is so beautiful and on top of the natural beauty, the artistic ability of the men who chiseled the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln into the side of a granite mountain is spectacular! Gutzon Borglum had a spectacular idea and I am so glad that the majority of it was carried out and that I had the opportunity to see this spectacular sight in person. What made this place even more special to me is how accessible the grounds are. First of all, there were so many handicap spots to choose from! There were spots to CHOOSE from, and I do not mean like two or three! There is an elevator from the parking garage right up to beginning of the walkway to the memorial and a ramp located right next to the stairs; not way off somewhere else that specified that it is only for those who need it. The trek to the face of the mountain was smoothy paved and easy to navigate. I noticed many other people in wheelchairs roaming around the grounds of Mount Rushmore as well. I thought this was pretty neat, as I almost never see more than a couple people in wheelchairs in one place at the she time.   

Dad, Mom, Gina and I at Mount Rushmore!

After our time at Mount Rushmore, we decided to stop at a dinosaur park that was created by the WPA during the time of FDR's presidency. I enjoyed stopping at a piece of history that was unknown to me. Even though it is not handicap accessible (there are handicap parking spots, but stairs up to the dinosaurs), it was still a great experience. Gina, my sister, carried me up all the stairs so I was able to have the opportunity to see the stoned dinosaurs. I would love for this park to be updated, so therefore it would be made handicap accessible. However, this park is so old and not a "mainstream" tourist site. So, if someone complained about the unfriendly access and demanded a remodeling of the park, this cool piece of history would probably just be torn up so it would be equally fair for no one to see. It is just easier that way.

 Gina has been training for this all year!

Mom, Gina and I posing with the T-Rex

When we completed our historical site seeing in South Dakota, we jetted up to North Dakota; we stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Bismarck. This hotel was pretty nice, but did not meet the standards that I had created from our stay the night before in Rapid City. Even though there was not a handicap room with two beds, this hotel did have pretty big rooms (I had plenty of space to turn my chair around in front of the beds)! While we were in Bismarck, I experienced on of the most intense storms I have ever witnessed. The lighting was ridiculously awesome; continuous flashing and sporadic bolts that would streak across the sky! On top of the amazing lighting, the storm also brought a downpour. The window was not dotted with rain drops nor had many little individual steams running down it, but it looked as if one large single stream was running down it. To me, it looked as if someone was washing the window. Not only was the lightning and the rain crazy, but the wind was crazy as well. The wind was so strong that the window was moving! I heard on the news that there were gusts of wind up to 75 miles per hour. There was also hail at one point. Fortunately it never got too large. There were warnings of potential golf ball sized hail, which can be destructive. Since we were at a hotel, there was not a spot to park our van under shelter in order to protect it, so my dad ended up parking the front half under a bank drive through until the worst of the storm was over (other people had the same idea, as there were a couple cars parked there as well). Parking our car under a bank drive through is not the only cleaver idea that was carried out while we were on our trip. My mom and sister ate Bismarcks in Bismarck! 

Gina and Mom eating Bismarcks in Bismarck!

After experiencing crazy storms and donuts, it was time to venture on to minnesota to visit my uncle, aunt and cousins. They live in Grand Rapids, so that is where we stayed for two nights. In Grand Rapids, Minnesota, there is not a Holiday Inn Express. Therefore, we stayed at an AmericInn. This hotel was a little older and did not have an elevator. On the bright side, the hotel did put us on the ground floor and the rooms were huge; I could easily maneuver around the room, all except for the bathroom. It was really nice to visit my uncle, aunt and cousins. On the first night, we went to my aunt's parent's house to see them and to have dinner. Later that night, my mom, dad and sister all played pool in the pool room back at the hotel.

Dad playing pool in the pool room

The next day, we all went to one of the thousand lakes in Minnesota. The park we went to had multiple handicap spots (which it did not need to legally) and the area was pretty accessible. It was also a beautiful day to spend outside; the sun was shining and the sky was so blue. We all had a picnic lunch and my cousins cooled of by going for a swim. I am so glad we got to spend time with them and soak up some sun!

My mom, uncle, cousin and dad eating lunch.

After hanging at the park, Mom, Dad, Gina and I went back to the hotel. Mom and Dad went out for a bit, while Gina and I relaxed at the hotel. When Mom and Dad returned, Gina and I decided to explore the town of Grand Rapids. Earlier we had driven by some cool looking old buildings that had been turned into many little shops and we thought it would be fun to check them out. However, we were disappointed when we found out that I could not get in. The buildings are old and probably have not been recently remodeled, so they do not have to be accessible. It was still sad that I could not get in. Instead, we took our business elsewhere. We went to Grand Rapid's actual mall and my cousin was not kidding when she said there are very few stores there. After our quick walkthrough, we went to the new part of town. There we went to Maurices, a store that is not new to us, but is new to Grand Rapids.  We found an interesting sight at this Mauricas: the handicap parking symbol. The head is huge!

Did someone make a mistake or are they trying to say something?

Look at that big head...

Gina and I browsed around the store until we ran out of time. We drove back to the hotel to pick up Mom and Dad. We met my uncle, aunt, cousins and my aunt's parents at Cedars for dinner. The building is accessible and the handicapped spots are right in front of the building. The drive was pretty wide; other cars had plenty of room to get by. When pulling into the parking lot, the drive loops in front of the building then down and around below the building. Another section of the parking lot sits about five feet below the building.

At dinner with the fam 

When we were all finished eating, we went to my uncle's house to say goodbye. We then went back to the hotel to go to bed. The next morning, we got up and drove to Madison, Wisconsin. Here we ate dinner at a fun little shop where everything on the ceiling moves and there is a carousel outside! I had a delicious salad and mom and I split a yummy ice cream cone.

Hot air balloons just floating around 

Dad, Mom and I in front of the carousel with some ice cream!

We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express in Madison. This hotel was pretty nice, but was the squishiest hotel that we stayed at; the room was small and it was hard for me to maneuver around the room. However, at this hotel, they gave every guest two free drinks before 7:00 P.M., along with the continental breakfast! And they also had fresh lemon ice water in the entry upon arrival; a refreshing treat after a hot days ride.

When we got up the next morning, we ate breakfast and then we were on our way to Sandusky, Ohio, via Kalamazoo, Michigan. Here we met up with Gina's best friend and her family for lunch! It was so fun to see her across the county and to meet her mom and little brother. We then continued on to the Holiday Inn Express in Vermillion, Ohio (right outside of Sandusky). This hotel room was pretty tight as well, but that is the toss up we have to deal with when we rather have two beds. On a positive note, being in Sandusky meant that we were now on the home stretch for reaching New York!

Lame Travels: To Kentucky and Back

Exactly one year ago, I traveled to Richmond, Kentucky. There, I visited my friend Danika and her family. My mom went with me to simplify the traveling process, and to help take care of me when we reached our destination. We flew Delta, which was amazing; the stewardesses were so helpful, and we had a number of unexpected bonuses that made our flying experiences that much more special.  

I have decided that flying may be a good way to pick up my husband, since I am always the first to enter the plane and I am always sitting in a normal plane seat like any other girl would my wheelchair is not the first thing others see. I actually had a guy check me out; this was somewhat embarrassing, but exciting at the same time, as this had never happened to me before by an able bodied guy who was not drunk or high. I have noticed that young guys tend to act differently around me when I am in my wheelchair than when I am not, and I also have witnessed the difference with able bodied girls as well. It seems easier for people to talk to me when I am in a plane seat versus when I am in my wheelchair. I find this interesting, as in both cases I am sitting down!

The landing in Kentucky was incredible; I could tell that we were declining in altitude, but the weather was amazing and the pilot had such great control that the touch down was so smooth, and we just glided  right onto the runway. When landing, the sky was so blue and there were lush green fields all around with white fences that encompassed neat patches of brown. When we exited the plane, the setting sun glowed red in the sky, and the air was thick and warm. I fell in love with Kentucky for a second time. Danika, her sister Ellie, and her dad were waiting for us in the terminal; I was so excited to see her, and I am pretty sure she topped my excitement. We went to her house and just talked for a while, then went to bed.
The next day, we all went shopping in Lexington. Danika, Ellie and I went to Victoria Secret. As Danika and I were browsing through the store, this lady came up to my mom and asked if we were sisters. My mom told her that we were really great friends out shopping, just like any other two girls would do. The lady replied with "How ferocious!" How ferocious? What type of response is that? That lady also seemed to not be able to get it through her head that Danika and I were not sisters, but Ellie and Danika were sisters. I love Danika so much; I love her as a sister, but just because we are both in wheelchairs does not qualify us as sisters.

Danika and I out shopping

During that same shopping trip, we decided to get some pizza. Washington is not alone when it comes to "separate but equal" entrances. We all found a place to eat and the main door had a one step up to the entrance; fortunately, there was another door around the corner so Danika and I could enter this building!

Danika enjoying her pizza

For the next two days, we all hung out at Danika's house. She lives in a beautiful area, and the weather was super nice, so we did a lot of hanging out outside and taking pictures. We hung out by the pool, and one night, we made s'mores (this reminded me of MDA camp, where Danika and I met and made many wonderful memories together)!

Hanging out on the patio

Twinning

So beautiful

Making memories together

Exploring the neighborhood 

Ellie braided my hair!

S'mores!

Gorgeous sunset to go with a lovely evening 

On my last full day in Kentucky, we went shopping in Richmond. We explored around the mall, and then went to lunch at a favorite sandwich shop of Danika's.

At Panera Bread

During our exploring, I only found one thing that was not accessibly safe at this mall; there was not a curb cut out at one of the crosswalks in the parking lot. This meant that Danika and I both had to exit the sidewalk early, drive in the parking lot with cars driving toward and past us, and then enter back onto the sidewalk beyond the crosswalk. In contrast to the Richmond mall, I found that at the Lexington mall many of the curb cut outs were amazing, and I would love to see all curb cut outs constructed like these; they are super easy to navigate!

Amazing curb cut out at Lexington Mall

With regards to accessibility, Lexington is more accessible than Bellingham to my knowledge. I have not done as extensive of adventuring around there as I have here. None the less, there were two things that I did notice that were a plus. We were always able to find a handicap parking spot (AMAZING!) and so many people went out of their way to open the door for us. There is definitely an awareness that I do not see very often here in Western Washington.

After we were finished shopping in Richmond, we went home and hung out as late as we could, spending as much time together as we could! I am so glad that I had the opportunity to travel to Kentucky, and create a week of memories with Danika and her family.

On our return home, we had to fly from Kentucky to Minnesota, and then from Minnesota to Washington. The night before our departure, my mom checked our flight schedule. She found out that we had been bumped to an earlier flight. When we arrived at the airport, we found out that our flights had been messed up, in that we were bumped back to our later flight from Kentucky to Minnesota, but not Minnesota to Washington. Therefore, we would be sitting in the Kentucky airport when our airplane in Minnesota was taking off. My mom went to the information desk to talk to someone about our tickets. She asked if they could please change our flight back to the earlier flight so that we could catch our connecting flight from Minnesota to Washington, and they did. We went through customs and went to wait for our flight. After about twenty minutes of waiting, we were informed that there may be a slight delay as there was a mess-up in the pilot's paperwork (it had not arrived, so the pilot could not fly). Another hour went by before we were able to board the plane. We had ironically missed our connecting flight (in Minnesota), and for all the trouble, Delta bumped us to first class. So, when we arrived in Minnesota, we walked through the airport, and boarded our next flight.

The first sweet factor about first class was that the stewardesses allowed my mom to just push me right onto the plane in my manual chair; no need for a squishy ride through the plane in an isle chair! After we got situated in first class, the stewardess brought us drinks. Unlike in coach, where a person only gets a drink every so often, in first class, one can ask for a drink any time. After boarding the plane, we were informed that due to the weather, we would be stuck on the runway until the thunderstorm passed. That was fine with us; we got to sit in first class for an hour longer, and we were not in a hurry. Another thing that separates first class from coach is, we were given lunch. On all the domestic flights I have been on, I have never been fed anything more than peanuts!

I had an amazing time flying cross country, and hanging out with Danika and her family. Thank you Ellie for all your help while I was there, and thank you Danika and your family for opening your house to both my mom and I! I miss you, Danika, and cannot wait until we meet again!

Oh, and next time we should go out to coffee! Maybe we can do that when we meet in Portland!     

A Time of Growth: A Spring Quarter Review

I love springtime so much. Spring is probably my favorite season closely followed by Summer and Fall.     Springtime is when the ornamental cherry trees are in full bloom and the deciduous trees are green once again. The garden is now baring veggies and herbs, and the sun is finally making warm appearances. I also love the watercolored skies and the scattered thunder showers that show up every now and again.
As I type this, the weather is spectacular; it is 70 degrees and sunny. Today is the first day of the quarter that I have actually been able to spend the entire day soaking up the sun as well as having an enjoyable Saturday. The first five weeks of this quarter have been emotionally exhausting. I signed up for a history class that I wish I would have never got myself into. Due to this one class, I would have to say that this Spring quarter has been my least favorite quarter at Western.
To start off, the reason for my disgruntled attitude started at the very beginning. The DRS provided me with an ebook of every textbook that I needed for this quarter except for the one I needed for Modern Japanese History. Another problem that occurred before the class even begun is the professor of the class sent us an email recommending that we buy our needed textbook on Amazon, rather than from the bookstore. However, she failed to inform us that she would not be ordering the needed textbook through the bookstore at all. So, as a student who gets books paid for on scholarship, I showed up at the bookstore the day before classes started to receive my books. This is when I found out that the bookstore did not have the textbook required for Modern Japanese History. This meant that I then had to order my copy of the textbook a day before class started. This did not make me too thrilled. On the second day of class, I took my paperwork (which I was able to get on the first day of classes because I was finally able to get the DRS secretary to make me an appointment before we left for spring break), to this history professor. When I handed the paperwork to her, she filled it out in a very huffy manner while scratching the pen across the page. I also informed her that I was legally blind and had a concern about the movies we were going to be watching. I asked about subtitles and she said that all the movies we watched were going to have subtitles, but that the ones showed in class would be read by a narrator on the film. However, she did not seem interested in my accommodations, so I said I would just figure it out. The majority of movies that were required for the class were old and extremely difficult or impossible to find on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon or any provider that is similar. However, there is one copy of each reserved in the Western Library. Now, the movies are old, which means the tapes are old (yes, I said tapes). These tapes had to stay in the library, so they had to be watched on a library monitor that plays VHS. They are super tiny and for a legally blind person, I have not been able to "watch" the movies that I could not find legally on the internet. On a side note, the professor told the class that we needed to watch the movies and if we needed to pirate the movies, then do so. Ok, back to watching the videos; I needed someone to read the subtitles to me and when watching the movie in the library, I could not see the picture. So, for two and a half hours, I listened to my mom read the dialog to me. Thank you, Mom, for reading the subtitles to me while watching an extremely long and slowly plotted movie. For each of the movies watched, a reflection essay/synopsis was required. A primary source (something like a letter, document, article or poem, written during the actual time, not a textbook or someone writing about the past) was also needed to be tied into the paper. The teacher's instructions for the assignment were vague and it was not clear how she wanted us to cite our source. So, one day after class, I asked her how she wanted the information cited. She told me to cite it however. I also asked what she meant by "one page" when talking about the primary source. I asked if that meant we needed to complete a separate write up on the primary source itself and she said no. During this conversation, nor in her directions, nor in class did she mention that the directions for "one page" meant to bring a copy of the primary source that was used. When she handed back our first paper, she informed us that we all did a terrible job and that we were not to come talk to her about it until our second assignment was returned to us. She had marked up my entire paper, but instead of explaining how I did not follow her expectation (directions that were not clearly stated in her instructions, or orally when asked questions in class), she changed my words and gave her opinion about my interpretation of the movie (a movie that was not easy to see in the first place). She also marked up my citation of the primary source that I used; even after she said it didn't matter how I completed it.
Another thing that happened in this class was we had maps to study for the tests. The map of Japan that ended up on the test was warped (scrunched up unlike the map provided to study with - this is very difficult for a legally blind person to deal with). Also, the maps that were provided online to study with were not of good quality either. So, when they were blown up, they became fuzzy; the words were not legible.
To top it all off, my professor had posted an introduction slide on Blackboard of a picture of a cat with evil eyes and claws drawn that says, "I don't do touchy-feely. I do scratchy-bleedy."
I have talked to a lady from the President's office as well as taking a meeting scheduled for this Monday with a lady from WWU's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) office. This class has been the last straw. And now that I have finally found who I need to talk to after two years, I am relieved! I am hoping that these problems will be straightened out, not only for myself, but for other students dealing with similar experiences as well.

Okay, so I wrote the information above in the middle of Spring quarter and now the quarter is coming to a close. Two days after I wrote the previous paragraph, I met with the lady from Western's OCR office. She seemed pretty nice and she gave me the opportunity to tell her all my concerns about everything I had experienced with regards to certain things that have happened with the DRS and different professors. As I was talking, she took notes and tried to document everything that I said. I asked if I could come back and read everything she typed and she said that I could.
In that meeting, I also had the chance to meet the head of the DRS, who happens to be the head of the Admissions office as well, so he is never actually in the DRS. I did not get a good first impression of him; he told me exactly what he thought I wanted to hear, but at the same time, he gave the same excuses that I have heard from the other DRS workers many times (i.e. We have over 600 students that we accommodate, we are short staffed, we are doing the best we can...). That meeting ended and I left. Within a couple hours, I received an e-mail from my DRS counselor, "Just checking in." She was offering to help me plan out my schedule and just wanted to make sure my quarter was going well. What? She wants to help me? In my two years at Western I had never received an e-mail like this ever! Was it a coincidence?
The next week, I returned to read over the notes that the lady from the OCR office had typed; I only found one minor mistake and she fixed it so the sentence would make more sense. After she fixed the mistake, we started talking. She told me that she had personally taken a trip down to the DRS and talked the lady in charge of proctoring the tests, about the mishap with the room for nursing mothers. The OCR lady questioned the lady in the DRS about the table incident (see last post for background information); the lady from the OCR made it sound like it was the DRS lady's fault. The DRS lady started making all sorts of excuses (i.e. I thought her chair could fit under the table in the large testing room, I did not know...). However, the lady in the DRS, who the lady from the OCR talked to, was not even there when the mishap happened! So why did she feel as if she had to make up excuses? The OCR lady also told the DRS lady that she needed to start allowing me to use the room with the higher table again. However, the lady from the OCR office got this wrong! I specifically told her that the lady from the DRS, who has the responsibility of proctoring tests, had nothing to do with the table and room incident. I also told the OCR lady that every test since the mishap, the DRS testing lady had been there, gave me my test and allowed me to use the lactation room for mothers, as it was always vacant when I went to test. In the OCR lady's notes, all this information is written down in CAPITAL letters! How in the world did she get the information wrong when she went to talk to the DRS? Why did the OCR lady talk to the testing lady when it was not her fault? Why did the ADA lady not talk to the two counselors who were involved? And why did the OCR lady not pay close enough attention to her own notes to make sure she got the story right before she went and talked with the DRS? When I called the OCR lady on taking the wrong information to the DRS, she seemed shocked. The correct information was at her fingertips, and she missed it.

Another occurrence that happened at the very beginning of this quarter is I went to my DRS counselor and talked to her about my classroom on the fifth floor of Old Main. This building is the oldest one on campus and has beautiful staircases. However, this means that if a fire was to occur, there would not be a safe place for a person to sit, as the staircases are open with no ventilation system like in newer buildings. I asked my counselor what the best plan would be in case of a fire. She did not know and told me she would talk to Health Services and get back to me; she sent me a link to their website. A couple days later, I was talking to a lady who works in the President's Office. She explained to me that there is a special chair (located on the fourth floor of Old Main) that is specifically for evacuating disabled people from a burning building. Now, can you tell me why a counselor from Disability Resources for Students would not know about an evacuation system for students with disabilities? Due to this questioning of miscommunication, there is now a committee being formed and they are going to discus the plan of action that needs to be taken for making set evacuation plans for students with mobility loss.
If you read my last post, you may remember that I talked about how the room that I had always taken my tests in was turned into a lactation room for mothers. Here is an update on that situation. During the meeting in which I addressed the fire safety issue with my counselor, I noticed that the table that I had always tested at in the now lactation room was sitting in her office. At first, I was not sure if it was the same table, but when I began taking my tests in the lactation room, my table (the one high enough for me to fit under) was no longer there. Instead, I had to test at a table that was a good height, but had such a big lip underneath that I could not fit under it. I continued to test in this situation, as is was the lesser of the two "painfuls". By the way, there are still no new tables for the large testing room.

Warm Hearts Triumph the Cold: A Winter Quarter Review

Overall, I had a pretty good winter quarter. I really only had one mishap with the Disability Resources for Students (DRS), and I would have to say that it was my favorite quarter so far at Western. I had an amazing professor for Macroeconomics whose passion for teaching made the class so enjoyable. My professor wanted us all to do well and I really liked his class; for the first time at Western, I was a little sad when the quarter ended. I want to thank my professor, John Hayfron, for giving me a better appreciation for economics and for helping me, as well as others, to succeed in your class. Another amazing part about Macroeconomics was that I had the most spectacular note taker that I have ever had! Kate you are awesome; thank you so much for your incredible notes and I enjoyed studying with you! I hope we will be in another class together in the future.
Unfortunately, the one mishap with the DRS turned my sweet quarter a little sour. It occurred towards the end of the quarter. I was informed that the college decided to make one of the rooms in the DRS the designated spot for mothers to nurse their babies. Why the college decided to do this is beyond me; I am for the campus to have a designated room for nursing mothers, but there are many other rooms that are more appropriate to choose from to accommodate mothers. This room that has been designated for mothers in the DRS happens to be the room that I take all my tests in. When being informed of this new decision, one of the ladies from the DRS told me that I could still take my test in that room, as long as it was not occupied nor going to be occupied by a mother. She said she could do nothing about it and had raised the question of why that room had been given priority to mothers to nurse, as the room IS in the DRS. The next week I went to take another test. The lady who informed me about the room was at lunch, so one of the counselors gave me my test. I went into the room, like I always have, and started taking my test. I saw one of the other counselors walk past the room and then walk back past the other way. Shortly after this, the counselor who walked passed the room started talking to the counselor who gave me my test. The counselor who gave me my test then came into the room, while I was in the middle of my test, and told me that I could no longer test in the room I was in, as it was a lactation room for mothers. I followed her to the large testing room and I explained to both the counselors that if I could no longer test in the room that I had always tested in, then I needed a higher table to be placed in the large testing room. This room is filled with desks and does have a table; however, this table is so low that my wheelchair cannot fit under it, and because I am legally blind, the paper is so far away from my face, it is difficult for me to see the writing unless I lean way over. This is not comfortable, as my back is fused, and who wants to be physically uncomfortable while taking a test? I have taken two tests since this occurrence, and an accommodating desk has still not been placed into the large testing room. Since the incident, I have taken my tests in the lactating room because I have asked the lady who proctors the tests, and she has approved this. The lack of communication that caused the interruption of my testing is frustrating.
Even though there was this frustrating bump in the road, I still would have to say that Winter quarter has been my favorite so far at Western! Thanks again to my Macroeconomics professor, I really enjoyed your class! And, thanks again to Kate for being an amazing note taker!

Finally Leafing the Autumn Maize: A Fall Quarter Review

This past fall quarter (2012) was filled with many adventures and trials; there seemed to be so many twists and turns and sometimes I felt like I was approaching a dead end. However, with a ton of prayer, perseverance as well as a great deal of support from my parents, I survived this past challenging quarter.
To start off with, the Disability Resources for Students (DRS) at Western Washington University (WWU), has yet again let me down. I know I have talked about the DRS before, but until a resolution has come about, they are going to be able to find them selves a reoccurring topic here in my blog.
Fall quarter started out a little rocky as I did not receive my ebooks until three weeks into the quarter. I
e-mailed my counselor at the end of summer break asking her when I could come in and get my paper work, as well as explaining to her which textbooks I needed in an alternate text form. We sent a couple of e-mails back and forth and then in the middle of our conversation, I received a "bounce back" e-mail stating that my counselor would be out of the building. I went to the DRS office and asked when my counselor would be back so I was able to schedule an appointment with her for the following week. I received my paperwork to distribute to my professors and she told me that my books would be on their way. I waited until the end of that week (the second week of school), no books. I thought maybe because my counselor was out of the building, the right person did not get my book request until after a large number of other requests so, I waited through the weekend, no books! I finally decided to send another e-mail to my counselor (at the beginning of week three), asking her if she knew where my books were. The next day, I received an e-mail directly from the lady who gets the e-books (I finally knew who to directly send my book list to)! However, this changed at the end of the quarter; the DRS hired a new person just to distribute alternative texts). I did not, however, receive an e-mail from my counselor. In the e-mail from the lady who was distributing the alternative texts, I received one ebook as well as a request for me to come in and have her put the rest of my ebooks on my flash drive. So after almost three weeks of waiting, one more day did not do much more damage. Catching up on the readings was a strenuous task, as I had to read three weeks worth of text, as well as keep up with the new reading that kept coming; therefore, I do not feel as if I ever really "caught up".
Remember how I mentioned earlier that I received my paperwork for my professors on the fourth day of classes? Well, this was the third day that my Spanish 301 class met and in the Syllabus it clearly stated that my professor wanted to have documentation of any accommodations by the second day of class otherwise, he said he would not provide accommodations. I do not think a professor could actually get away with this, but to read this made me a little uneasy. I had to approach this professor and explain to him that even though I had tried to make an appointment before classes had began, that I was not able to get my accommodation paperwork until after our third meeting of class. Fortunately, he was okay with this.
I know this post may have been a little harsh, but it needs to be said. It has only been quite recently in history that people with disabilities have started going to college and breaking down the barriers and ignorance that we face every day; those of us who are disabled are no less important to society than an able-bodied person, and we should not be treated as so. I feel as if I am a pioneer, adventuring into an unknown world, making tracks behind me for others to follow. If someone does not stand up for what is right and break down the walls of ignorance and discrimination, then the attitude towards the disabled will not change for the better.

It Has Been Way Too Long: An Overdue Update

Since my last post, Summer break and football season have ended. Fall quarter has started and ended, Winter quarter has also started and ended, and now track season as well as Spring quarter are in full swing. I have quickly summarized what has happened in the past six months of my absence from blogging for the reason as I plan on posting something from each of these time periods in the near future. I also wrote in the way that I did as I am starting to realize how fast time goes. From one day to the next which leads into one quarter to the next, and then before we realize it, one year to the next. Time is precious and should not be taken for granted; live life to the fullest and appreciate even the small things in life.
Something small in my life that I am super excited to share about is (which is the main reason for writing this post), I am now able to walk (well, yes, roll) all the way from campus to Chestnut via Indian Street! I did just write Indian Street. In one of my first posts, I mentioned that I was unable to safely travel down Indian Street as there were not curb cut outs all the way down the sidewalk. When the city was questioned, I was told to go a different way. I explained in this previous piece that one, taking a different street would increase my travel time, but on top of this, it is just the fact that I was told to use a DIFFERENT route. This would be considered "separate but equal". I do not need to continue writing about this specific issue as I am thrilled to announce that there are curb cut outs all the way down one side of the street and I have been able to safely walk to Fred Meyer on the same path that any able bodied person has the ability travel! I was so excited when I was able to accomplish this. Indian Street is now one more road that I can maneuver without any extra worry. Thank you to whoever updated this street!

Lame Travels: Adventures Through Europe - Part III

Our next adventure involved driving to the English Channel, pulling onto the Chunnel, riding the Chunnel under the channel, then popping out into England! We drove all the way to London on the left side of the road.
When we reached London, we went straight to our hotel, the Royal Air Force Hotel and unpacked. The room was amazing, and the bathroom was almost as big as our room! I am so glad that my uncle booked us a handicap room, as in his room, the bathroom was long, skinny and up two steps.
The first day that we were in London it just so happened to be Canadian Day. Thousands of people were there to celebrate this day, so the area near the Canadian Embassy was packed with a plethora of bodies. I was in my manual chair, so I was not able to control my whereabouts. I hated being pushed through so many people, definitely since my eyes are at butt level. I got overwhelmed, and soon after leaving the hotel to explore the city, all I wanted to do was return to my room.
We did make our way back to the hotel, but not before a man cut me off and my uncle accidentally clipped the man's heals. This man was so rude; he turned around and started to chew me out. He told me that I needed to watch where I was going. My uncle and my mom returned the earful, he quickly retreated and we kept on walking.
When we reached the block our hotel was on, we could see the flickering glow of fire licking a building. While we were out exploring, the Hilton (the hotel one block behind ours) had caught on fire. At this point I honestly felt like crying; tired, overwhelmed, and hungry, all I wanted at that moment was to be in a quiet, still place, and eat something.
We thought it would be a good idea to eat dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, which happened to be next door to our hotel. However, there was a swarm of people outside the cafe as well; everyone in London had the same idea as us. So, we just decided to eat in the restaurant on the first floor of our hotel. This was totally fine in my opinion, as there where way too many people at the Hard Rock Cafe for my liking, and we could eat there the next night.
While we were eating dinner at the Royal Air Force Hotel restaurant, I overheard an older gentleman order three glasses of champagne. I thought "that's weird, why not just order a bottle," but then to our surprise, the three glasses of bubbly wine showed up at our table. I had never tasted champagne before; it was so smooth and I loved it.
We thanked the man who gifted us with the champagne, and then we continued to talk with him. He told us that every time he had traveled to America, he always felt welcome. He wanted to return the  favor and welcome us to England. He went on to say that he had a desk job in Afghanistan, and every month he would return to London for a weekend. He asked me how I liked Europe, and was curious/impressed about my traveling. When this man was finished with his meal, I watched him walk off, and it was obvious that he was an amputee. We had a great conversation, and I am so thankful that I met that generous man. He totally made my day!
The next day, we walked a lot. It was Gay Pride Day, and there were thousands more people celebrating this day. Many of the main streets were blocked off due to a parade, so it was not worth it to pay the 20 some pounds a person to ride a tour bus that was only able to travel a couple of blocks. Needless to say, we walked all day and still did not make it to the famous London Bridge.

Mom and I walking down the middle of the street

Mom infront of a London bus that we did not ride

We did however stride through Green Park to Buckingham Palace and watched the changing of the guard, Big Ben, West Minster, and the London Eye. The next day, we walked through Hyde Park to Princess Diana's house. On the way there, we saw the memorial for all the people that died in the 2005 London Subway bombing, the gates to Notting Hill, as well as, an area where people can stand on their "soap box" and talk about anything they wish.

Mom and I infront of Big Ben

Mom and I with the London Eye behind us (to the left) 

Me infront of the garden at Princess Diana's house

I liked exploring London the latter days of the trip, it was more fun and less overwhelming. I wish we would have been able to ride the London Eye but it was super expensive. Well, come to think of it, everything in London (to my knowledge), is super expensive! When we were venturing through London, we finally found a Starbucks that was not in an airport! Us Western Washingtonians love our coffee and definitely our Starbucks! So when we finally found one (like three days before we were to come home), we were thrilled. So of course we bought one; but come to find out, it was going to cost us about seven dollars for my green tea and about 12 dollars for my mom's foofy coffee drink. Now, it actually was three pounds and 6 pounds, but then double to covert pounds to US dollars.

Starbucks in London

Starbucks was not the only place I found overpriced tea. We went to High Tea: filled up on tea and scones smothered in clotted cream. The best way I can describe clotted cream is a sweet butter-like spread that is even more creamy and smooth. The next morning, my mom found herself in an embarrassing situation when she asked for clotted cream for her toast. Our waiter obviously offended, sophisticatedly told us that they only serve clotted cream with scones at High Tea.

Me at High Tea

For the most part, London was pretty accessible (not including the sea of butts that continuously got in the way). I found a couple places that would be impossible to enter in a power chair, one of which includes a Starbucks, that has stairs up from the street, and then back down to the main sitting area. Something that I did notice is at the "indoor" malls (shops that line an indoor hall way that stretches from on parallel street to the other); at the entrances there would be a step up. Most of the time, a wedge would be shoved up against the stair, so a wheelchair user can access the shops a little easier.
When we were by the London Eye, we came across an upside- down purple cow. A children's play area with oversized blocks and a giant connect four game surrounded the cow. The bathrooms for this area was located on the backside of the cow. We learned that many of the handicap bathrooms in London (including the cow bathroom) are locked and if you live there, a key is available for easy access. As we do not live in London, we were not able to utilize the handicap bathroom and the able bodied bathrooms were located up a couple skinny steps, through a narrow door and on top of that, the bathroom was super tiny. Fortunately for us, a lady went and searched out a worker to open the bathroom for us.

The upside-down purple cow

Later that night, we did get to eat at the Hark Rock Cafe; the original I might add. I had my first mojito and boy was it good. The waitress did not even card me (and I never was except once on the base). The funny thing about this is (well more of just a culture difference) the next day when I returned home to America, I went to Applebee's with my family and I was asked if I wanted a kids menu!
After our adventurous time in England, we drove all the way back to Brussels, packed up all our cloths and everything else acquired along our journey (including Belgium Chocolate and snow globes from all four countries), and then went to bed. Early the next morning, we got up and climbed right back into my uncle's car. We made the mistake of thinking that we could easily fly in and out of Frankfort, Germany. We did not realize how far Brussels to Frankfort really is. So thank you to those of you who drove us back to the Frankfort airport. And thank you to our "going away party". I love that you all showed up at the air port; it was such a nice surprise! I love my awesome family. 

Including the England and Frankfort road trips, we did a lot of driving while we were in Europe. We did travel on the Autobahn through Germany and come to find out, there is a speed limit posted for some sections of express way. Another piece of information that I found out while traveling on the Autobahn and other routes throughout Europe is the rest stops do NOT have toilet seats. So, if you are unable to squat over the metal hole, do not use the rest stops. However, there are handicap bathrooms in all the gas stations (at least all the ones we stopped at). We did have to ask for a key, but there were two bonuses to using the handicap bathroom; my mom and I did not have to pay, and the bathrooms were way cleaner than the rest stops.
I had a splendid time in Europe; trials and all! I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to go on such a wonderful trip. I learned so much about culture, history, and about accessibility throughout North Western Europe. As a Political Science/Social Studies nerd and Disabilities Advocate, I was totally in my element! Thank you to my mom, uncle and to everyone else who made this trip possible.