Talking to the residents of Case de Mañana during this past week’s lecture was really fun and eye-opening. I had the chance to be in a breakout room with Susan and Malcolm and it was interesting to hear their experiences about living here. Something that struck out to me was hearing Susan talk about how she chose to move here out of her and husband’s decisions. I had always just thought that many of these people move when they are forced to whether it by their children or out of sickness and not being able to live in their own private property. She mentioned how it was a good decision to be able to go when she was ready and I could see how the helps greatly with making this transition more positive and uplifting. Many times when seniors are forced to live here, they are not ready, mentally, therefore having a negative attitude about it and not being able to make the most out of the experience. it definitely opened up my eyes to what I would do once I got older. It was also interesting to hear how living with their children would not be an option they would like to consider for them because of the differences of lifestyles. This is interesting because growing up in an Asian household, we are taught to continuously take care of our elders and that when they are old, we have this responsibility to be their caregivers. Many of my older family members live with their children and their families so it was surprising to hear a different perspective to this. I understand why they would not want to live with their children and their families because I have seen how living with one’s children as a senior could have an impact on their sense of independence which has been something they have been practicing longer than their children have been alive so it would be weird to live with their kids and be dependent on them. Overall, hearing stories from a couple of these residents was very lovely and I hope we get the chance to hear from them again and hopefully one day, in person!
1 Comment
Ann Piermatteo
3/13/2021 03:54:39 pm
Hi Kiela! I loved the conversation we had with Susan and Malcolm during our Casa de Mañana lecture. While they both had different experiences being put into a retirement community (Susan choosing to move there with her husband while Malcolm was put there by his daughter), it goes to show how important the community you retire in really is. Although the residents are very fortunate to be in the position to live at Casa de Mañana considering it is extremely expensive, I did feel as if Susan and Malcolm acknowledged that. I do wish that retirement communities were more accessible to everyone, not just those with enough money.
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Ma Kiela OrtineroMa Kiela is a Global Health and Urban Studies & Planning double major from Corona, CA. A fun fact about her is that she has lived in 8 different cities (in 2 different continents) in the past 20 years! Archives
April 2021
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