Well...I've almost been here a month. My time is almost up. I wish I could say how sad I will be to leave this place--but it's not true. The curbs and cobblestones, negotiating tram tracks, rude and uncaring tram drivers, buildings with endless stairs I will not miss. These have been some of the things that have made my journey difficult. It's been a real test for me. I always thought I was so sure and confident but I found out here, I wasn't always. At times I really felt vulnerable--something I'm not really comfortable with. I was sometimes dependent and I didn't like that either. These felt uncomfortable yet I was able to get through it.
One of the things I will truly miss are the people I've met here. Some of the women I have met have worked their way into my heart with their passion for writing, ability to have fun and quirky-ness. We've shared our stories and our secrets with one another and have become a sort of family. I treasure these new friendships and hope they carry on long after I leave here.
I wanted to get out one last time today so Kate came to my dorm so we could take an excursion on the Metro. We had picked out a place that had a beautiful park in Vysehrad. It required that me make a change of lines at the metro. It seemed like it should be simple but it turned out it wasn't. We couldn't find the handicapped entrance to the other line--you'd think it would be right next to the other line. Kate went off in search while I waited. She returned with no good news--she couldn't find it. I said I see a guy in a wheelchair so maybe he knows where it is--if he speaks english, that is.
Well, it happened that he and his friend that was with him did speak english--very well. He told us that it was a little complicated to get to the other metro stop but told us the general direction. We began to talk and I found out that he was a teacher of social studies. His name was Radek and his friend was Erik. They were both actually waiting to meet with a director for a documentary they were making about the accessibility of Prague. I couldn't believe it! I told him I had a few things to say about it and that I had written and editorial that I hoped to send to the Prague Post. I shared about my frustrations with the trams, and the transportation schedule--everything that I have been sharing on this blog. Erik was the director for a group that helped the disabled get jobs. They said if I could wait around a bit that we should go with them to be interviewed. There would be about five other disabled people there also. We went trekking down the street quite a ways to where this new elevator had been put in near a school. Radek said that they had to get 10,000 signatures to get the money to have it built. It's the first one since 2006 that had been constructed. There I met two girls in power wheelchairs. They had been past students of Radek's. One had just graduated from college and was going to teach elementary school.
It turned out the the director did not want to do any interviews there because it was noisey and not a good backdrop anyway. I agreed to come back to Vysehrad (that's where their office is--and Radek's school where he teaches) tomorrow afternoon for an interview. So, I may be on some Czech documentary about accessiblity--if I don't end up on the cutting room floor. I'm looking forward to seeing the school. It was just serendipity that our paths would cross. I felt I had wanted to try to make a difference here--maybe this was my chance. I wish I would have met them sooner as I think I would have learned a lot about the city and how to get around in it. Radek did say that it was much better than 20 years ago. I told him I hated to think what it was like back then. I told him about the ADA in America and how we just celebrated the 20th anniversary. He said " so you see, it is possible to live here." But I thought--it's not living if you are excluded with countless barriers. I wish them luck with tearing down those barriers.
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