Sorry for the delay with this blogpost, yesterday was an extremely busy day filled with lost luggage, no internet at the hotel, jet lag, but most importantly an incredible friendship visit.
The day began with Jay, Addison, and myself meeting up at Amsterdam International airport to catch our connection to Glasgow - Ethan was on another flight. we arrived with only one minor problem, Jay and Addison's bikes had failed to make the connection! Luckily, it arrived on a later flight, but nonetheless, we were definitely very worried. After checking in our hotel, picking up our rental car, and organising all of our stuff, we headed to our first friendship visit with Drumschapel Disabled Action.
The visit started with a tour of the facilities. Dumschapel Disabled Action (DDA2 as they call themselves) is a day center for people with disabilities. DDA2 offers every service imaginable to help people with disabilities from sensory room therapy to therapeutic baths to a sports room designed for adaptive exercise. It was interesting to tour the facilities and listen to the director explain how their facilities work. We learned a lot about how their funding works, and the general attitude towards people with disabilities in Scotland. It wasn't much different than the US, but there were indeed differences.
After our tour, the fun really began. We played an adaptive and indoor version of bocce ball. The four of us were definitely not very good at that game. However, the members of DDA2 were absolutely incredible. In fact, the best player was a man named Graham who had cerebral palsy. It was an excellent example of abilities, and why its so important that we focus on abilities instead of focusing on disabilities. Yes, Graham did have CP, but more importantly, Graham was also the best bocce ball player in the room.
The day ended with two wonderful surprises. The first was a sponsored meal of traditional Scottish dishes. The food included potato break, mashed potatoes, blood pudding, and haggis. For those who don't know, haggis is made from sheep organs cooked inside a sheep's stomach. Honestly, the haggis was the best part! It was a wonderufl meal, and we were grateful for it being sponsored, as well as allowing us to try something that was very new (and very strange). Our second surprise was 4 stained glass paintings made by the participants of DDA2 for us. After some pictures, we told the group what our plans were for the rest of the trip and informed them that they will be receiving 750 Pounds (1,250 Dollars). A big thanks to our sponsors for helping make that happen.
All in all, it was an incredible start to this new event. They can't wait to have us back next year, and we look forward to it as well.
Great post! Looks like an amazing experience.
ReplyDeleteHaggis and friendship all around!