“Do You Need Dancing?” or: One Blind Person’s Thoughts On International Travel

Jamie Pauls

In the fall of 2018, our church announced that our pastor and his wife would lead a nine-day trip to Israel. In the 20 years that my wife and I have been married, a trip to the Holy Land is the only thing that has been consistently on my bucket list. The cost was not insignificant, but we decided to make it work and promptly signed up for the trip.

Our tour was booked through Maranatha Tours. All arrangements were handled through our church, so I didn’t really need to use Maranatha’s website. When I did visit the site, I found it not to be as screen reader friendly as I would like. There were quite a few unlabeled links to deal with. Fortunately, all calls I made to the company were dealt with by friendly, professional staff who accommodated any needs I had and answered all my questions promptly.

Since my sighted wife and I would be traveling together, I didn’t ask for any special assistance from either of the two airlines I would be flying with or from anyone in Israel. Also, I was not responsible for booking flights either with American Airlines or Turkish Airlines. Since I don’t fly a lot, I tend to pick up the phone and place a call to the airline I will be flying with. I find many of the websites associated with the various companies I’ve flown with to be difficult to use with a screen reader. They all have apps that might be of assistance to the blind traveler, but I still prefer a phone call. I am aware that online ticket purchases can be less expensive than calling, so I generally make an effort to purchase online before calling.

All of our travel information was provided on paper, and some of these documents were large enough to make it difficult for me to fit them on my flatbed scanner for optical character recognition. There are lots of photos with these brochures, so I would imagine that is a reason for the larger size of these documents. I understand that PDF versions of these documents are available online, but I did not successfully locate them. Fortunately, my pastor’s wife provided frequent emails to the 50 of us who were traveling on the trip, so all of my questions were answered satisfactorily.

My wife Stacie and I consider ourselves pros when it comes to packing for a trip. She travels with me when we go to blindness conventions, and we manage to take only two backpacks, making it unnecessary to check bags. For our Israel trip, we packed for nine days using only one suitcase and our two backpacks.

I always remove everything from my pockets when going through airport security, and my wife keeps both of our passports so that she can show them both at the same time. Sometimes agents took my cane from me and scanned it while it was unfolded, and at other times I was asked to fold it up and place it with our other belongings. One American Airlines agent offered me a replacement cane while I went through security. Unfortunately, it was a cane used to support someone who had difficulty walking. The agent mentioned a couple times that she was not familiar with how to assist a blind person and asked for help from a colleague. I had no issues in Istanbul, Turkey, or Tel Aviv.

One interesting incident regarding checking our passports was when we approached a kiosk that required us to scan our passports and then stand in front of a camera. The picture from the camera was used to match the scanned photo on our passport. I can’t imagine trying to do that without sighted assistance.

On our international flight from Chicago to Istanbul and Istanbul to Tel Aviv, Turkish airlines provided me with a braille safety card—a braille book, actuallythat had tactile drawings of the plane’s exits along with uncontracted braille in several languages. The in-flight entertainment system mentioned a safety video for those with disabilities, but I didn’t attempt to make use of the entertainment system nor did I ask my wife to help me access the video. I have since tried to locate the video online, but unfortunately I have been unable to do so. Turkish Airlines does, however, offer a Frequently Asked Questions page on their website for customers with disabilities.

The flight attendants on my international flights were all friendly, but their training in assisting a blind person seemed to go only as far as handing me the safety card. They frequently waved menus in front of me and pointed rather than providing verbal feedback. Fortunately, my wife was either next to me or close by on all the flights we took with Turkish airlines. There was a significant language barrier for me as well on the international flights. At one point, the attendant who gave me the safety card to look at asked, “Do you need dancing?” I was taken aback as to what she was asking. Finally, my wife realized that what she was in fact asking was, “Do you need anything?” We both had a good chuckle about that later. At 56 years old, my hearing may not be as good as it once was. Combined with a soft-spoken attendant who was speaking to me in a language that was not her native tongue, it isn’t surprising that I would have an encounter like that. I actually consider it one of my fonder memories of the trip.

In Israel, elevators did not have braille on the buttons, but floors were generally announced in Hebrew and English in three of the four hotels we stayed in. Our morning and evening meals were furnished buffet style at our hotels, so I had no need to inquire about the existence of braille menus.

If I had language barrier issues outside of Israel, I had none while in the country. I was always with my group, but I was surprised by how many people seemed to not notice or care that a blind person with a long white cane was present. People frequently jostled me and even tripped over my cane. There are many tourists in Israel, so any of the comments in the previous sentences are not in any way directed specifically at the people of that country, but only regarding travel in general.

Walking on our daily tours was strenuous. There were many uneven steps, and places where the limestone was so worn that it was a slippery as ice. I made much use of my cane, and walked with my wife or other members of our group at all times.

It really is true that you can float in the Dead Sea with almost no effort. I simply raised my feet up under me as though I were sitting in a chair. It is a myth that you can’t drown in the Dead Sea, however. Once you are in one position, it can be hard to switch positions so turning yourself over on your stomach might make it hard to right yourself again. The chemicals in the water are potent, and you don’t want it anywhere near your mouth or face. At one point, I floated farther out than I intended and couldn’t touch bottom. Fortunately, I was able to listen to the voices of my companions and easily get back to shallower water.

Except for a quick day trip across the border into Mexico when I was young, I have never traveled outside the United States. My trip to Israel was the trip of a lifetime, and I would gladly do it again. I was with my wife and friends the entire time, so I can’t speak to traveling independently outside the US. Perhaps those of you reading this article who have had experiences with international travel can leave a comment and share some of your more memorable moments.

Turkish Airlines provides assistance for passengers with disabilities. American Airlines also provides information regarding assistance for travelers with disabilities.

This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.

Comment on this article.