Change for the good

Yesterday we went book shopping. Before we go on our hols, we felt we needed a basic Italian phrasebook & dictionary. It was with some amazement & much appreciation we discovered that at last disability is being noticed in compiling these books.

The Fox's greatest anxiety visiting non-English speaking countries is that he might need help. Although I tend to grasp languages fairly easily, he does not. I am often not able to get inside, or up steps, to do the asking. Often wheelchair access isn't obvious, so the Fox needs to be able to ask & understand the response. A lot of the time, gesture & good will have ended up being the only means of communication in such circumstances. This is part of the reason why our travel has tended to be to either French (which we both speak reasonably well) or English speaking countries. The only real exception was when we went to the Netherlands, but there, fortunately for us, there is so much US & British TV that most people have at least a smattering of English.

This is the first time we've ever found a phrasebook with phrases such as "Is there access for the disabled?", "Is there a wheelchair ramp?" or even "Is there a wheelchair accessible toilet?" It will make life so much easier for him. Even if he can't pronounce the words correctly, he can always just point out the question in the book to the other person. Similarly they will be able to point out the answer.

I'm glad someone has finally realised that the fact you are disabled doesn't mean you don't want the opportunity to travel, & not just to the obvious tourist centres. We enjoy getting off the beaten track a bit & exploring by ourselves, which sometimes means meeting people who do not speak English. People working in village bars & shops often do not.

We prefer staying in smaller quieter places, so this time we're staying in a 26 room hotel in Pompei rather than one of the numerous hotels in Sorrento, Naples or on the Amalfi coast where most British & American tourists stay. Similarly when we went to the Netherlands we stayed in a very small hotel in Gouda rather than a big one in Amsterdam or the Hague, the usual holiday destinations there. The highlight of our first Australian trip was undoubtedly staying in an ecolodge near Blackheath in the Blue Mountains, surrounded by forest & wildlife. We find this way we can get more of the feel of the country we're visiting rather than somewhere anonymously international.

English may be the almost ubiquitous second language, but if nothing else it is only courteous to try to learn a few words such as please & thank you. This time we may even manage more.