ZUMBA! Once again for our 2nd time the Life Course Scholars had a visit to bayside community center && had the privilege to enjoy some Zumba workouts with the seniors. I have been trying to go to the gym these past two quarters and it can get so boring (Cardio and weights) but Zumba on the other hand is a different story. Not only is it fun but it actually gets you sweating. In my case I was sweating so much! I love sweating because I know I am getting some type of workout in and it benefits my health. I also really enjoy working out with the seniors of this community, they are so fun to work out with and also very humble and admiring people to talk to.
After Zumba, there was a potluck and the opportunity to sit down with some of the seniors of whom we worked out with and talk about intergeneration. As discussed in class, maybe this was a little difficult for them to understand what it meant because the seniors in my community just wanted to tell stories. It was funny because one of the seniors in our table seemed to be getting upset because the others were going on a different topic. Although it wasn’t completely the topic of intergeneration, it was really nice to hear what they had to say. For instance, the only man in our table spoke about affordable housing. He believes that Linda Vista is a beautiful community but it is difficult to live there for lower income individuals. He also went on to discuss how he own some apartment or condos and he rents them so cheap compared to others in the same area which is great to his renters because they are very big like a pent house. He goes on to say he would never take advantage of others by simply making them pay more rent. But after discussing this some of the topics the seniors wanted to speak about was having more time at the stop lights to cross because it is so short that sometimes seniors who are crossing are half way when the light starts to show the stop image. They also wish that there were more benches in the community but overall it is a lovely community to live in. Everything is close by and walking distance but they also enjoy going to bayside or the library and seeing different age ranges to engage with.
After Zumba, there was a potluck and the opportunity to sit down with some of the seniors of whom we worked out with and talk about intergeneration. As discussed in class, maybe this was a little difficult for them to understand what it meant because the seniors in my community just wanted to tell stories. It was funny because one of the seniors in our table seemed to be getting upset because the others were going on a different topic. Although it wasn’t completely the topic of intergeneration, it was really nice to hear what they had to say. For instance, the only man in our table spoke about affordable housing. He believes that Linda Vista is a beautiful community but it is difficult to live there for lower income individuals. He also went on to discuss how he own some apartment or condos and he rents them so cheap compared to others in the same area which is great to his renters because they are very big like a pent house. He goes on to say he would never take advantage of others by simply making them pay more rent. But after discussing this some of the topics the seniors wanted to speak about was having more time at the stop lights to cross because it is so short that sometimes seniors who are crossing are half way when the light starts to show the stop image. They also wish that there were more benches in the community but overall it is a lovely community to live in. Everything is close by and walking distance but they also enjoy going to bayside or the library and seeing different age ranges to engage with.
During this same week, on Friday May 4th my group and I had our painting event. The aim of this event (Art from the Heart) was to gear elders towards expressing their art while a painting (bird) was facilitated step by step. The instructor facilitating this painting was Ms. Kristin, a very amazing and talented individual who we had the pleasure to have and assist in this amazing event. We wanted to provide a fun and social atmosphere with elders as they painted and interacted with younger college students (us).
As someone who sees art as something so stressful it actually wasn’t so much. Ms. Kristin facilitated everything so simple and added shaped to make it even easier to paint. At first I was like omg how am I even going to do this but little by little it was not only fun but I actually really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much that I am willing to do this again, I might even go for a bigger canvas to paint on next time. As we painted I also looked around and would over hear some conversations, it seemed that everyone was having a great time. I think this is an amazing event that if possible should be an option for next years LCS because everyone seemed to really enjoy it. After the painting session was over, several seniors went up to Ms. Kristin and asked her when she was going to have this session again or if they could have her card. That was so nice to hear because it showed that they really enjoyed this event my group and I put together for them. I am happy to say that this was an amazing event, I wished maybe more seniors attended but I think overall it was a great turnout and I am thankful to everyone who came and supported this event put by LCS, Elizabeth, Kyle, Monique and I (:
As someone who sees art as something so stressful it actually wasn’t so much. Ms. Kristin facilitated everything so simple and added shaped to make it even easier to paint. At first I was like omg how am I even going to do this but little by little it was not only fun but I actually really enjoyed it. I enjoyed it so much that I am willing to do this again, I might even go for a bigger canvas to paint on next time. As we painted I also looked around and would over hear some conversations, it seemed that everyone was having a great time. I think this is an amazing event that if possible should be an option for next years LCS because everyone seemed to really enjoy it. After the painting session was over, several seniors went up to Ms. Kristin and asked her when she was going to have this session again or if they could have her card. That was so nice to hear because it showed that they really enjoyed this event my group and I put together for them. I am happy to say that this was an amazing event, I wished maybe more seniors attended but I think overall it was a great turnout and I am thankful to everyone who came and supported this event put by LCS, Elizabeth, Kyle, Monique and I (: