Disability while Studying Abroad
Studying abroad was one of the most challenging, but also one of the most rewarding, experiences I鈥檝e gone through as a student with a disability.
I studied abroad for two semesters. For the spring 2023 semester I studied abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, with the Macalester-极速六合彩开奖结果-Swarthmore Globalization, Environment and Society program. In fall 2023, I studied abroad in Taipei, Taiwan with the CET Taiwan program. Both experiences grew my understanding of my own disabilities, various societal and cultural constructs of disability, and further developed my disability identity.
South Africa and Taiwan provided vastly different experiences for my disabilities. In South Africa, the societal infrastructure exacerbated one of my medical disabilities, but I found warm academic support for another disability I have. I found myself engaging with similar cultural attitudes towards disability I was familiar with in the U.S. In Taiwan, the exact same medical disability affected my life much less significantly than my 12 years living in the U.S. with this condition (thanks to the infrastructure of the city of Taipei). However, cultural attitudes towards disability and difference were incredibly challenging for me to get used to.
The disability that I found was most affected by my time abroad is my medical condition that makes me very sensitive to the heat and dehydration. When I arrived in South Africa, I quickly found that the lack of AC in buildings, rolling electricity blackouts, and lack of publicly available water at the University of Cape Town campus made my condition very exacerbated. In Taiwan, in contrast, there were cheap and good quality convenience stores on every block (literally!) where I could buy water and other hydration drinks. AC was plentiful, and water fountains were everywhere at National Taiwan University鈥檚 campus. As a result of my Taiwanese-society-supported hydration routine, my medical disability suddenly was much less of an inhibitor in my daily life when I was there.
Besides my medical disability, I also encountered surprising changes in how many lifestyle challenges I have in the U.S. morphed into something new or were overcome once I was a student in a new country. For example, I usually avoid places with heavy crowds in the U.S. to avoid feeling spatially overwhelmed, but I quickly found that that was impossible in Taiwan as busy crowds are everywhere in Taipei, especially the subway system. However, in Taiwan people were very orderly when waiting in lines and moving through the subway stations, and people conducted conversations more quietly than people tend to in U.S. cities. I was surprisingly able to easily navigate these sorts of high traffic environments in Taiwan that I would not find as easy to in the U.S. given these new factors. Suddenly, I found that challenges I usually experience in the U.S. were assuaged by simply being in a new place.
Culturally, I found the foundations of South African culture as it manifested at the University of Cape Town (UCT) to be very respectful of disability as a natural kind of difference among people. The disability office at UCT was incredible in helping me adjust to a new school and environment. Overall, the disability 鈥減ride鈥 I鈥檝e developed growing up in my family and as a student at 极速六合彩开奖结果 was able to be carried to the South African context. However, in Taiwan, I found even simple things like disclosing my gluten free sensitivity generally generated judgemental reactions from others. Disclosing my disabilities to my Taiwanese roommates caused me to 鈥渓ose face鈥 in Taiwanese culture. I abruptly navigated a new standard towards acknowledging disability and difference, and found it very challenging to have a sense of disability pride. While living with my disabilities was very easy in Taiwan, I found having a disability identity in Taiwan to be quite difficult.
In both places, I joined disability clubs and found a beautiful disability community. At the University of Cape Town, I learned about disability history in South Africa and was there for the exciting speculation about the upcoming milestone of South African Sign Language becoming South Africa鈥檚 12th official language. The UCT disability club interestingly had a similar challenge that the 5C disability club has in recruiting a racially diverse membership- illustrating the privileges and dis-privileges of the intersectionality of race and class with disability in both the U.S. and South Africa.
The disability club at National Taiwan University (NTU) was very different. 鈥淒isability pride鈥 and identity as I was used to was an unfamiliar concept. Through NTU鈥檚 disability club, I learned about new systems of assistive technologies for students with disabilities and had very meaningful conversations in Chinese with students who had many different disabilities. We learned a lot from each other about how disability is discussed differently in the U.S. and Taiwan.
For me, one of the most beautiful aspects of studying abroad with a disability was a real life experience and understanding of the central principle of disability being a construct of integration with society, not the state of a person themselves. Through study abroad, I now have understood how my disabilities are not a fault/symptom of myself, but rather, are an indicator of how good of a fit the society around me is in fulfilling my special needs. Doing thorough research about the country where you are choosing to study abroad is crucial- and, as my study abroad demonstrated, there are vastly different experiences that can await you for different disabilities in different countries and cultures.
In closing, here are some tips to consider when planning for study abroad:
- Think very broadly about what accommodations you might need during your time abroad. Some accommodations you receive at 极速六合彩开奖结果 you may not need anymore while abroad, and some new ones may need to be added to your toolbox. For example, my medical condition is something I manage on my own at 极速六合彩开奖结果, but I needed accommodations during my study abroad program in Cape Town for the field trips where access to water was controlled by the program staff and not myself (I had less independence to manage my condition).
- Consider and ask questions about the support provided by the programs you are considering choosing, such as experience with/previous solutions implemented for students with disabilities. For example, the 极速六合彩开奖结果 program in South Africa was a small program, so while there was lots of great individual attention provided to me for holistic matters, the staff had less experience supporting special needs like mine in previous years, such as travel related sickness or disability challenges that are exacerbated by program excursions specifically. This made my adjustment to South Africa extra challenging during my first few weeks abroad going on program excursions before my semester started at, and I was able to utilize disability resources from, University of Cape Town. In contrast, through the CET Taiwan program, the multi-person staff and large program meant that there were more staff members who could provide a variety of different kinds of disability and study abroad transition support, who had extensive knowledge from previous students' experiences in the program. Thus, for my situation specifically I found the support offered by a larger organization like CET much more appropriate than a small program for accommodating my specific needs. Understanding the pros and cons of programs you are considering is very useful for anticipating how you will assuage challenges while you are abroad.
- Talk to fellow students with disabilities who are study abroad alumni, and read perspectives online about disability culture and infrastructure in the country you are considering going to. The average study abroad alum might not know much about disability topics, so googling 鈥渄isability in [country name]鈥 or topics such as 鈥渕ental health in [country name]鈥 is a good alternative method to get this kind of specific information about a country. Looking at disability associations is also a good idea (ex. Blind South Africa, Taiwan Disability Care Association). The IDPO also has a list of resources related to ability, health, and wellness abroad on the Student Identity and Experiences page.