In France, Braille may refer to the tactile reading system, the surname of its inventor, or the call of a strange and gorgeous bird!
Thank you to artist and teacher Gabrielle Sauvillers and the Collège André Malraux in Amboise for expanding my understanding of Braille during my visit to France for the Braille Bicentennial. #BrailleFestival #Braille200
Descriptive Transcript
In the foreground, Haben Girma speaks with a mic clipped to her coat. She’s a woman with dancing hazel eyes, medium dark skin, long black hair, and an American accent. Behind her, a line of trees frame the Eiffel Tower rising into the cloudy sky.
Haben: Bonjour, everyone! We are here for French, Braille, and a pun. In France, Braille is pronounced Braille. It carries the sound of the eye.
She points to her right eye.
Haben: Br-eye.
Inside a classroom, Haben sits at a table reading a card in Braille. She sounds utterly amazed by what she is reading.
Haben: A peacock’s feather. Because a peacock lives in our school.
She stops reading and smiles around the room.
Haben: Wow!
(Laughter erupts around the room.)
The video cuts to Haben in front of the tower.
Haben: Braille has multiple meanings. One meaning is the tactile reading system used by blind people all over the world. But another meaning is one I learned in Amboise.
Photo: A brilliant peacock, mostly blue and green, balances on one leg on a grassy field beside a lake.
Haben (voiceover): Braille means a harsh cry.
(Peacock shrieks).
Standing in a park, Haben reads Braille on a large sign slanted for comfortable Braille reading.
Haben (voiceover): The inscription for this fountain, in print and in Braille, salutes the genius, the odd ones, and the spitters!
Frogs, turtles, and other creatures in a surrealist style spray water around a circular basin. A humanoid bird figure stands in the center of the fountain.
The scene changes to Haben speaking by the tower.
Haben: Reading the Braille, I could only understand a few of the French words. It’s okay to be brilliant in one area and a beginner in the other area. We’re all both!