Today, I saw the most mind-blowing sight thus far on my trip: nothing at all.
I will explain: half of Bob’s class went to Terazin, a concentration camp, today. The rest of us showed up for lecture at the usual time. Bob said we would walk a short distance to see something, but didn’t say specify the destination.
We followed him as he weaved through the crowds in the city, and stopped in front of a small, black trailer-like building in the middle of the square. There were tourists lined up at the door. Bob went to find someone who spoke English, and returned with a middle-aged woman who explained that the building was part of an effort to raise funds and awareness for the blind. She explained that we would momentarily be led into the building by a blind guide, and there would be no light inside the building. She asked us to turn off any phones and to pocket any watches that glow.
I prepared myself for darkness, but realized there was no way to fully do so upon entering with my hands placed on the shoulders of the student in front of me.
It felt like my eyes were closed in a very dark room, but they were open. I thought they would adjust so that I could at least see my hands in front of my face, but no luck.
Our blind guide led us to chairs at four-person tables. How, I have no idea. Soon, a blind waiter came to ask if we would like coffee, black or green tea, or water. We ordered in the darkness. Within minutes, he returned with small ceramic mugs and placed our drinks in front of us, remembering exactly what each of us had ordered and where we were sitting.
We were amazed. How did our blind water 1. pour our drinks, 2. find our table, 3. remember where we were sitting?
Then, he asked if we wanted milk and sugar. Three of us did. He brought us small creamers, spoons and sugar packets and pressed them into our open hands. It took me several minutes to mix everything in for fear of spilling.
We drank our coffees, all the while marveling at the experience. All in all, we were in the dark cafe for 45 minutes. It was very unsettling. My eyes kept darting around, looking for light, but whenever I thought I saw something, I realized it was just a spot produced by my brain.
I can’t really describe how dark it was, because I don’t think anyone could visualize the blackness. I thought back to times of power outages, or sitting in dark rooms, or in closets during games of hide-and-seek, but nothing compared to this. I realized that even when we think we are in the dark, there is some sort of exit sign, digital clock, cell phone, or natural light source.
I cannot imagine living in total darkness.
