I was a part of the group that planned the dance at Casa de Mañana so I arrived earlier to help set up. Wayne, Nina, and I got to decorate the photo booth. The decorations for the rock n’ roll theme definitely livened up the room. I also liked how we took the pictures with a polaroid camera because the seniors could take them home as a souvenir. I even got to take a picture with one elderly woman as she walked into the dance. She was so excited to wear the funny photo props. I think the photo booth turned out to be a hit during the night! Another hit of the night was the dancing. Although the band did not play the best music, we made the best of it. Most of the seniors just watched us dance, but everyone kept saying how they loved our energy and watching us dance. I felt a bit awkward when they were watching us, especially since I did not know how to dance to the music, but I still had so much fun! I loved how we would all get so excited if the seniors came up to the dance floor. I was surprised at their energy myself. For instance, there was one lady who said she was in her 90’s, but she was up dancing with us practically every song. It was so cute every time she happily switched between us to dance. One thing that I wondered during the dance is if the seniors thought we were weird for dancing solo instead of with a partner. I thought about this since I noticed how many of the seniors who would come up to dance would go in pairs and dance together. I tried dancing in a pair like them with Alisa, but the footwork was more difficult than I thought. At the end of the night, this lady had come in and ask me if the dance was over. It broke my heart to tell her that she missed it, but she stayed around anyways and seemed to enjoy talking to the remaining seniors as they were leaving.
We continued our presentations for class this week. First, we started off with the oral history project presentations. Wayne presented first and turned out to be my favorite EP project so far. His EP was his mom, who has Native American roots, so he had made three dream catchers to represent her memories. They were made so beautifully that I am sure he could sell them on Etsy. It was so sweet to see how close Wayne was already with his mom and how this project brought them even closer. After the EP presentations, we presented on the current events articles. My group presented on an article talking about the possibility of robots being able to care for seniors. The robots are meant to give caretakers more time to do other tasks, not completely replace them. This could additionally reduce loneliness for the elderly. One aspect of the article that I appreciated was the effort to make sure that the robots were culturally competent. I feel that this is one feature that is often left out of technological developments. The robots are currently being tested in Japan and the UK, which are two culturally different countries that would serve as a great model. I doubt that any robot could be completely culturally competent, but this is one step towards the right direction. One aspect of the article that I questioned was the affordability of these robots. This kind of technology is most likely expensive, which means that only high-income seniors would be able to afford a robot. Thus, this would further the gap between low and high-income seniors. I feel that there are other better ways to relieve a care taker and reduce loneliness rather than this option.
This week’s class had a lot of presentations involved. The first set of presentations was on the current events articles, which were similar to the ones last week. The second set of presentations was on Selling the Fountain of Youth. I was a part of this group, but I was not one of the presenters. I thought the book was a little too descriptive on the people within the beauty industry, which made it a bit more difficult to read. The author’s style was written like a play by play. However, I liked that it highlighted on growth hormones instead of beauty products because I have never thought of that side of the anti-aging industry before. It seemed to be something that one could have only if they were rich. The book also made me wonder how we should define ‘anti-aging’. I feel that there is no such thing as ‘anti-aging’, thus a product should not be marketed as such. The last set of presentations that we did was the EP presentations. I really enjoyed watching these presentations because I could see the new bond that was formed between the memoir partner and their EP. I really liked Shivani’s project because she put her grandma’s three memories in a jewelry box. It was a good representation of her grandma’s memoir. Everyone’s project was so uniquely different and interesting that I am excited to present mine next week. I hope that I will be able to present my EP in a way that makes him proud.
It felt weird being in a classroom this week since we have been going to site visits all quarter. I was a bit overwhelmed at the amount of projects that we covered, but I’m glad that the professors were able to break everything down. It was nice to be all together and talk about our experiences so far. Our first activity was the current events article presentation. I enjoyed the discussion that we had, especially about if older people should drive. It reminded me of my grandma and how she wanted to drive even after her license was taken away. Her car got taken away, but my family had to lie to her and say it was in the shop. I think after a while, she finally realized that she was never going to get her car back. I feel that this is a sad realization for many elders because a part of their independence is taken away. After the current events presentations, we went over our other projects, such as the book presentation, oral history project, HAP’s, and NAP’s. By the end of class, my head was spinning with mixed up acronyms. However, the project that I am excited to do is the NAP. My group chose to assess Encinitas, which I have never been to before. We decided to do a visit to Encinitas on Saturday and check out the local community center and library. Both of these places had pretty ocean views and were in good condition. My group even got to join in a jazzercise class at the community center. The class was open to everyone, but the majority were all women. They were all very sweet and welcoming to us. I am looking forward to our second visit to Encinitas next week.
I have to start out by saying that Casa de Manana was the most luxurious retirement home that I have ever been. Their location was right at La Jolla Cove so the view was simply spectacular. My favorite room at Casa was the library because there were large open windows that faced the ocean by these comfy-looking chairs where you could read peacefully. I wanted to live there now as a student, but it cost more than my tuition! I could not believe how much the monthly cost was to live there (about $3,500 to $12,000). I was told that a couple had bought two villas to make it a grand villa. My first thought was, “How much space do you need for two people?” Despite the price, I could tell that all the seniors there were really happy and felt spoiled. I loved how the residents were so eager to share their lives and how they ended up at Casa because they were all such interesting stories. I could not believe the age of some of the residents because everyone looked so young and healthy. There was one woman who was about to turn 100 years old next week and she did not look a day over 70. Another woman said she went skydiving for her 90th birthday. My jaw literally dropped when she said that because I am too scared to go now at my age, let alone at the age of 90! I really enjoyed my time here and it inspired me to want to make a living for myself where I will be able to afford to age in place in a home like Casa.
On Saturday, we went all around downtown to look at different affordable housing options. The first stop was at Potiker Family Senior Residence. A woman named Irene allowed us to see inside her unit. It reminded me of the one my grandma had stayed in when she was in a care facility. My grandma did not like staying at a care facility, but Irene seemed happy and positively-spirited. One thing that I noticed at Potiker was how the outdoor area’s sunlight was blocked by a large apartment complex building. It seemed to darken the area and discourage any activity outside. During our visit to Potiker, we also stopped by Sara Francis Hometel. This residence was meant to be transition housing. The hometel did not seem like a good place to live since the living spaces were so small, smelly, and dirty. Even one resident had walked by during our tour and told us not to rent at Sara Francis because it was ‘disgusting’. The place did not seem to be age-friendly at all. The next stops after Sara Francis were brief. I mainly noticed how well all of them blended into the community so well. I would have never known that these places were affordable housing if no one had told me. Our last stop, North Park Seniors, was the best one. The building itself was kept in great condition and was built thoughtfully to accommodate seniors. For example, each floor was color-coded differently to allow seniors with dementia to be able to remember the location of their apartment. There was also plenty of outdoor space that allowed for socializing and looking at the pretty view of North Park. I would definitely feel the most comfortable living in North Park Seniors if I was an elder person because of the small details that made the place more comfortable. It was funny how each place we stopped at was progressively better than the last, but it was nice to see the wide spectrum of affordable housing options in San Diego.
This week we went to the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center in downtown. This center caters to low-income seniors who are on the brink of homelessness. Our class was given a tour of the center so we were able to see the services that were provided for the seniors. One aspect of the tour that stuck out to me was the dental services. There was a dental office that had a full range of services from check-ups to surgeries all for free. Unfortunately, there are only a few dental offices like this in the country. The office was surprisingly well kept and seemed to have the latest technology. After the tour, we were able to mingle with some of the seniors. I went into the game room and talked with a man who was doing a 1000-piece puzzle. I loved how open he was when I asked him questions about his life. He told me that he immigrated to the U.S. from Greece after Germany had attacked during WWII. He had described living through WWII as fearful and hungry, for there was no crops growing during the time. He had also mentioned how he had enlisted in the military, but was left with many health issues afterwards. Thus, he never married or had any children. Now, he lives a couple blocks away from the West Center and walks there every day to socialize and eat the provided meals. It was very fascinating to learn about this man’s life that I wish I had asked for his name.
Additionally, we had the opportunity to serve lunch to the seniors in the dining hall. It was nicely decorated for the Lunar New Year. We served whole-wheat pasta with meatballs and broccoli. I was glad to see that the center works with a dietitian to create healthy meals. I thought it was interesting how we were to serve women first at every table before men. Overall, the atmosphere of the West Center seemed positive and resourceful for low-income seniors. This week we went to Bayside Community Center for a Zumba class. I have only done Zumba one other time, but I love to dance so I was excited to go. Let me just say, Zumba kicked my butt! The moves were pretty simple and easy to follow; it was just the pace that was hard to keep up with. I think the seniors that were in front of me were doing a better job at keeping up than me. Nonetheless, I had a blast and was happy to see active seniors in the community. It was nice to see that the seniors knew their limits because some would take a rest for a bit and then hop back in like it was nothing. The seniors were very friendly as well. During one of the dances where we had to have a partner, I had switched between my partner and one senior woman. She had caught me off guard because she just grabbed my arm and began to dance. She was definitely sociable for she was switching to a different partner each time. I had ended up talking with her afterwards. I wish I had gotten her name because she was so adorable! I found out that she is originally from Argentina, but now lives close to Bayside so it is easy for her to drive to the community center. Bayside is one of her main sources for socializing with others and keeps her busy since she has children who are grown now. Besides Zumba, she mentioned that she also comes to Bayside for the many cultural events that they host and for a knitting club. She is definitely an example of how I want to stay active in my community in my elder years.
On Saturday, we had our program retreat at the Martin Johnson House at SIO. It was supposed to rain, but luckily the weather turned out to be so nice because the house had an amazing view. It overlooked La Jolla Shores and Scripps Pier. I enjoyed getting to know my classmates and playing games with each other. The game that resembled the Game of Life was fun to play and informative since it gave another perspective to the outcomes of different life circumstances. I also enjoyed the lecture given by Patricia Benesh on her book about memoirs. She had showed us some memoirs that she co-wrote with her friend and how special they were to her. It made me excited to work on my project because I knew it was something that was going to bring me and my EP closer. My favorite part of the day was walking the path around the house. We were able to enjoy the beautiful view and also analyze if the path was accessible to everyone. Most of it was an uphill climb, with no places to rest, thus, it was not the best path for everyone. However, it made us reflect on the type of environment we wanted to age in place. In my journal reflection, I wrote about what I imagined my life to be like when I was 80. I wrote that I wanted to spend half my time traveling and the other half with my family. I would hope to live with my husband and that we would be able to play with our grandchildren. I want to continue being active in my elder years as well and want to live in a place where I feel safe enough to go outside and be involved with others. It was an overall fun retreat and a good introduction to what the rest of the year will be like.
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Deanna fongWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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