Now you can see. Now you can't
Juan Vázquez Menlle, Presidente de la Federación Madrileña de Deportes para Discapacitados Intelectuales y Profesor de Actividad Física Adaptada de UEM was here to show us what it is like to be blind and how to be a guide for a blind person. He's collaborated with me in this activity at the LANGUAGE CENTER for 4 years now, and passers-by always stop to see what's going on.
. .Being blind! What a challenge! All we really had to do was walk around the basement
hall of Building A, first defining the perimeter with our canes and then ....moving the cane back and forth as we walked about. We found that just moving around with our goggles on and a cane in hand to be exhausting. It wasn't too bad when we were holding onto a partner we could trust. It became harder when we were on your own, with just a white cane and just a nearby voice
speaking in a foreign language. We learned some techniques and then...
Then came sports: circle games and goalball. 
. Could you play a ball game when you can't see the ball? These people could. If you look up "goalball" you'll find out how.
Recommendation for the adventurous:
When you get to New York City, which you will of course some day, and you have a few couple of hours, go to "Dialog in the Dark". You walk around in rooms that are pitch black, following the voice and instructions of a blind person, your guide. What an incredible experience. Ask for Frank Senior. He's a guide but he's also a jazz musician! Tell him Wendy sent you.
P.S. The day after posting this. Frank Senior wrote back, twice. "Dialog in the Dark" is closed because of damage from the storm "Sandy." Hopefully it will reopen before you get to New York.
He also said "Nice!!!!!!!!! just read your thing. thank you!! I play goalball, it's a fantastic game.
Music is my life, singing is my love!! please, Check out my music, videos and calendar for exciting up coming events at www.franksenior.com
Listen to Frank Senior talk to you about what it's like to be blind in New York City. http://www.franksenior.com/media/
Vocabulary:
blind: ciego
challenge: desafio
basement: planta sótano
canes: bastones
back and forth: de un lado al otro
building: edificio
goggles: gafas protectoras
exhausting: agotador
holding onto: sujetándose a
trust: confiar, fiar
nearby:cercano
voice: voz
foreign language: idioma extranjero
look up: buscar online o en un libro de referencia
find out: enterarse
pitch black: completamente oscuro, como el alquitrán
twice: dos veces
damage: destrozos
storm: tormenta
events: acontecimientos
"International" 
Thursday, January 17th, 2013 14:30-16:00 Basement Hall Building A 
Have you ever played Baseball or Four Square?
As you see in this photo, so far few of the water balloons have hit the ground.
The Free Throw Champs !
Tossing water balloons. Catch them if you can!
After the class was over....
The playground we pretty wet.......
If you'd lived in San Francisco in the 1950's and early 60's, you'd remember a great little toy store on Post Street, two doors down from Union Square. It was local. It was well-loved by San Franciscans of that era. It was considered a big treat to get to go to Ambers Toy Store to pick out a birthday present. Adults went because every kid wanted a "Bring-me from Ambers" from those "Four floors of toys for girls and boys". Occasionally a TV personality like Captain Fortune or Pogo the Clown was there to talk to YOU. What a fun shop! Toys and bikes, 
Wouldn't you rather go check out the toys for yourself and for your kids?
Remember when you had summer homework, year after year? Your teachers had told you that the exercises would be fun, that you'd enjoy doing them, but you weren't so sure. Summer finally came. You were desperate to get outside with your friends, but found yourself, most likely, at the kitchen table under your mother's watchful eye, doing those "fun exercises". The first and second lessons were OK, but you were soon shouting "NO quiero hacer mis deberes de verano!" Your bike, your friends, your dog were impatiently waiting for you outside. "Hurry up! Just do it!" The swimming pool or the beach were also just out of reach. And your teacher's words were ringing in your ears. " This will help you remember what we've done in class and get you ready for next year." Deep down you knew you had to get those workbooks done. Your parents and the teacher were in agreement. You had to take this task seriously. "No arguments!" YOU definitely didn't want to do homework IN THE SUMMER! Nevertheless there you sat, stalling, daydreaming, wishing you had already finished and were free to do whatever you wanted to do. 
Do you like games? In this case a computer game? 
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