Source: The Coloradoan
Today, Rhea McKinzie will wake up to a different alarm clock. As jaguars creep through the rainforest and parrots hold secret conversations, she will look outside and see a land of discovery and wonder.
The Fort Collins teen, along with a team of people from across the country, is part of a 10-day mission in the Amazon to erase the stigma associated with hearing loss.
The "Hear the World Expedition," is the first of its kind from Global Explorers, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educational travel experiences. Team members will participate in various activities involving sound to better understand how important hearing can be, said managing supervisor Mariana Rodrigues.
While some of the team members are hearing impaired, many of the team members - such as McKinzie - have never experienced hearing loss.
As part of the experience, the hearing members will be required to use ear plugs to simulate hearing loss.
"In the Amazon, sound is so important and it's always around you, whether it's animal sounds or different environmental ambient sounds," Rodrigues said. "What we're hoping is that by the students having the chance to make sound such an important part of that time while they're there, they'll be continuously aware of their hearing."
By becoming aware of the part hearing plays in their lives, Rodrigues said she hopes the students will spread hearing loss awareness throughout the United States and the world.
McKinzie, 18, said she applied for the trip with some reservations. As an active participant in her school's sign language classes, she said she had a strong opposition to hearing aids and their affect on deaf culture.
"From the deaf culture's perspective, it's very intrusive to their culture and it removes people from being directly involved in the deaf community because they're now in the hearing community," McKinzie said. "Coming in with that mindset, I wasn't really too sure what I thought about it."
After learning more about the trip and meeting other team members who use hearing aids and other tools, McKinzie said she began to see the beauty of the technology.
Now, she looks to the trip as the ability to live out her dreams and ideals.
"The trip pretty much encompasses everything I would like to stand for as a person in the community," McKinzie said. "They're trying to instill (a holistic mindset) in the younger generation, all while raising awareness for hearing loss and how it's not a disability but rather a different condition of life."
While McKinzie hopes the trip will be life-changing, she said she refuses to set any expectations for her experience.
"I'm just letting everything happen and interpreting it and trying to maintain a positive attitude," McKinzie said. "I want the trip to define itself."