Subtitles section Play video
-
Hello, everyone.
-
My name is Robin Shaw.
-
And I am here today with a very special guest.
-
My dear friend, Stephen.
-
He's also my personal hero.
-
Hello, Stephen.
-
Hey, Robin.
-
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
-
I am 33.
-
I am deaf.
-
I can communicate with you right now through lip-reading and listening through my hearing aids.
-
Alright so, yes, he is deaf.
-
And he can understand me because he can hear a little bit through his hearing aids and
-
he has to read my lips.
-
Yes.
-
Where did we meet?
-
We met in North Korea 5 years ago.
-
That's right.
-
I was traveling in North Korea for a few weeks, and we had to stay in the same room for about
-
a week or two.
-
And we met each other.
-
And I was very surprised because he was traveling alone in North Korea.
-
And, well, you know, just to be in North Korea, Yes,
-
… is such an adventure.
-
But he was there alone.
-
He didn't need anybody's help.
-
Yeah.
-
And he's quite an independent person.
-
There are a lot of misconceptions about deaf people.
-
A lot of people believe that deaf people cannot do much.
-
But I'm a good example of why that is so wrong.
-
Why don't you tell us about your childhood, like, how did you learn English?
-
It started with a deaf school.
-
So I'm with other children who are also deaf.
-
We learned English through the hands, so it's not sign language.
-
But a representation of English with the hands.
-
So through that medium, we learn the structure of English.
-
And also…
-
My family are all hearing.
-
So I was isolated from the conversation.
-
So I spent a lot of time reading.
-
So I learned more English through books.
-
Through books, yes…
-
That is amazing.
-
You must've read a lot of books.
-
A lot, yes.
-
A lot of books.
-
As I said, or he said, we met in North Korea.
-
He loves to travel.
-
I do.
-
So, how many countries and territories have you been to?
-
I have been to, now, over 90.
-
Over 90, yes.
-
I have not traveled that much.
-
And I don't think many of you have traveled that much,
-
so he is amazing.
-
He can travel the world alone.
-
You know…
-
No problem.
-
There's no problem.
-
Can you tell us what kind of problems you may have when traveling?
-
I have been to a lot of poor countries.
-
And in poor countries, a lot of people cannot read and write.
-
So, a lot of the time, when I communicate, I have to use pen and paper.
-
So when I go up to someone in a poor country to ask for something,
-
I write it down.
-
But they cannot read it.
-
So, I've had to adapt to that by miming for example, or drawing a picture.
-
So that's a good example.
-
Okay, and what country are planning to travel in the near future?
-
There's so much more of the world that I want to see.
-
I'm thinking of going to Mongolia.
-
It's very beautiful.
-
Yes.
-
Yes, alright.
-
You have been.
-
I've been to Mongolia.
-
It's very beautiful.
-
And, yes, we have traveled...
-
after we met in North Korea.
-
We have traveled to other countries.
-
We've traveled to Sri Lanka and Maldives together.
-
Yes.
-
And in the future we will travel to more countries.
-
Alright, thank you very much, Stephen.
-
You're welcome.
-
I'm very happy you did this.
-
And you shared a part of your life with our viewers.
-
And your struggles traveling around the world.
-
And learning and speaking English.
-
So thank you very much.
-
Yeah.
-
Alright, thank you everyone for watching.
-
And I'll see you next time.
