Friday, September 12, 2008

Discover the Darkness

There is an exhibit going on at Atlantic Station called Dialogue in the Dark in which you experience "a day in the life of a blind person". You get a walking stick and go thru the exhibit with a group. You're led by a visually impaired person and its completely pitch black. You cant see your hand in front of you. It was scary at first cause you're going thru these large open rooms of total darkness. Each room is setup like a familiar place. You have to feel your way around to find out where you are. There are also sounds and smells to help you. Everything is real so it makes the experience real. For instance, there was one room we went in and people were yelling out what they were finding. I found a store freezer and when i opened it and felt around, I found milk, cheese, eggs, and juice. People were finding pots and pans, magazines, shopping carts, pasta, rice, coffee beans (you can smell them), a cash register and conveyor belt. Yeah, we were in a grocery store (one guy joked that we were in the Publix downstairs). It was fun and exciting but also kinda scary as we went from room to room. You meet a couple of people as you go, all of whom are visually impaired. At the end, there is a cafe where you can order non-alcoholic drinks (still in the dark) and the bartender was visually impaired as well. Our guide was named Roxanne. She was alot of fun. She lost her sight in 2002 from a disease. She's from Virginia and she says that Atlanta is more "blind-friendly" than VA. When she lost her sight, she said she only cried for about an hour and then got over it. I'd be crying for days. See, just closing your eyes and walking around isnt like what they go thru. When you close your eyes, you can still see light thru your eyelids. When you lose your sight, its complete darkness. You cant see the sunlight but you can feel the warmth on your face. It really makes you appreciate your own sight and respect those who dont fully have it. I recommend this exhibit to everyone. I plan to go back again myself.

For more info check out http://www.dialogue-in-the-dark.com/

No comments:

Post a Comment

In the words of Travis McCoy, "Bitches post anonymous" so leave a name