This week I did not go to class because it was a really hard week for me overall. I've been going through it this quarter with my mental health and just getting more and more homesick as the quarter goes on. I love this class but it has gotten me to reflect a lot about my family and in particular my relationship with my parents that I treasure and just things that I have not fully talked to them about like the possibility of life without them. I live half way across the world from them and it gets harder and harder each day and when I don't get a chance to call them, I feel like a bad daughter at times. They gave up so much for me to be here, to be a first gen student and to let go of their first child, who they have had to protect for a long time both sides of our extended family who didn't approve of them being together. Having everyone talk about their parents and their grandparents was a lot for me to handle on that day in particular and I just felt like I couldn't be in class that day. Leena and Shivani were superstars that day as well because I told them about my situation and they were more than understanding about it and who covered for me during our scheduled current event presentation. I had worked on the material with them leading up to the day but with all of the emotional turbulence building, I just couldn't come in that day. I think I'm going to just spend the weekend talking to my parents and going out to eat food from home and hanging out with my brother to curb my homesickness in preparation for the next rounds of presentations and my own.
This week was our first time back in class after back to back excursions with a weekend trip and a retreat sprinkled in there too. It felt really weird being back in the classroom because I personally had gotten so used to the class being a hands on way to get involved in the community, almost like a field placement class, rather than a traditional sit down class. However, it was also nice to be back in class and to listen to our classmates presenting their current events and just keeping up with that is going on with the world today. I feel like in a lot of classes, we forget to analyze real world contextual examples and how these big picture concepts are currently manifesting themselves.
We then talked about all of the assignments coming up and although my group was presenting our book presentation in two weeks, my oral history project was due next week but so was Islam Awareness week which is an event that I was helping to plan for over a quarter and everything just seemed to collide all at once. Now that we are back in the classroom, we have the oral history projects and then the book presentation, HAP, NAP, current event and making sure than both senior citizen proms run smoothly, wish us luck!! This week was my favorite week by far. This seems to be quite redundant in my reflections but it is true nonetheless. I feel like this week was the best mix of learning, interacting with the elderly population and service work. We had a presentation where we were told that that the federal poverty line was created by estimating what one uses for food and triple in 1955 and is still used to this day. Those who visit the center fall below the poverty line and although most receive their federal benefits and food from the center, housing is still an issue and many are on waiting lists with hindered ahead of them, deeming the voucher system useless to a large extent. The clinic was a large help for those wishing to be tested and the dental facilities are some of the most advanced and some of the only free ones in the nation, which was surprising to see but delightful as well. The location of the facility was really adequate for its needs and population in my opinion since there is a large homeless population in downtown and being so central allows them to help a large group of people easily.
The food was great and free if they use their services, but the only downfall was that it is standardized meaning that it is not adjusted to those with dietary restrictions, albeit due to religious reasons or due to allergies. The food is also under seasoned as to fit the pallets of most and basic seasoning is offered to those if wanted. Tea and coffee is offered at 75cents and the elderly lady serving it was one of my favorites there. She knew how most of the people liked there drinks, with the exact measurements of sugar and creamer, down to the type of sweetener. She wore a red hat with a red jacket and red lipsticks and smiled throughout her shift. She was a great conversationalists and was a joy to work alongside whilst serving food. Interacting with the elders was rewarding as well. A small group of us was talking to a gentleman that was the brother of one of the elders that was a director of the center. He was originally from Louisiana but was transient at the moment in order to see all of his children. He kept joking with us and the staff, but always made sure to greet anyone that walked in and out and even had nicknames for them to make sure that they felt special which is something I want to start implementing and keep doing. I didn't know what to expect going into this week. All I knew was that we were going straight in and were going to start strong. We showed up a little early which meant that we got a chance to talk to the people who worked at the center a but and learned about the importance of the center to the community. A group of us also talked to one of the elders afterwards and he was telling us how they have been going to the center before it moved to this location and how it has been such an institution in the community that they have been visiting for years and plan to visit for years to come. We dove straight in to the Zumba and I personally thought it would not be much of a workout and the songs would be a tad outdated but it was not like that at all. The event was amazing and challenging and inclusive and I loved every part of the class. I loved the interactivity of the conga line and how the elders were enjoying our company. I was worried that by being in their space, we would take up space but we all bonded a little by dancing and then having the opportunity to talk to the after was so much easier because of it. We talked to one of the only men that attended the class and he was telling us how he was in the Navy and a proud resident of the area. He told us about the cruise he went on with his wife last year and bragged about his grandchildren. He was so happy to connect with all of our different backgrounds because he had visited over 30 countries and had stories or relatives in each of the areas we were from. He was telling us that he enjoyed retirement because he has family over all the time and finally had the tome to travel the world and how taking these classes at the center were some of his favorite things to do because it was fun and helped with their his and his wife's health as they were worried about staying fit and their balance and falling as they were getting older. It was nice to see how committed they were to their health and their community and how beneficial community centers are to people.
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AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
May 2019
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