The Casa de Manana dance was super cute and adorable. I went with the later group because Jackie got off work at 6, but I think we made it just in time. The seniors were dressed up so nicely, and the two person band was amazing. The man played so many different instruments and it was amazing to see how he used each one to bring a new moment into the music. Though most of the seniors sat down, a couple of them danced and wanted to dance with us. I loved watching them dance, and I thought it was so cute that when they wanted to dance with us they would all hold our hands. I was also really amazed by Chase, who really put himself out there dancing with the elders. John and I were admiring his courage. At the end of the dance, we held a raffle and gave out many prizes. We gave the elders blankets, gift cards, and orchids. They loved it much more than I thought they would. They seemed to really appreciate all the gifts, and seeing their faces light up when so many of them won was very heartwarming. There were also brownies being served as a snack, and they were really good. At first, the elders did not want to touch the food, but after we started to pass some around, then they stopped feeling shy and came to get the snacks and drinks. I was tired by the end of the night, but it was very fun.
The class session for Week 8 was only about an hour long. We just checked in to make sure we were ready for the dance at Casa de Manana on Saturday, and spoke about our NAPs and HAPs. I was a bit confused about the NAPs because there weren’t clear instructions on what we should do, but since examples of past projects were posted, I have a better idea of what to do for my own project now. My group has visited our area twice and we feel comfortable enough to start working on the presentation now. We hope that we can use the online resources to help us find things that we couldn’t see for ourselves. For my own HAP for next quarter, I am planning to work with Jessica and John at a dementia center and form a choir there. We started to talk about our plans at the end of class. John will email dementia centers around here, and from there we can choose where we want to go. Since we have a small budget to use, we were planning on buying music books so that I don’t have to write music myself for the choir. I’m not exactly sure about how our project will work though, for example how often would we go to the center, would they have a performance at the end of the quarter, or should we just sing to sing. As we continue we the project, I will find the answer to these questions later.
During yesterday’s class session, my group presented our book, This Chair Rocks. Though the book was very eye opening and had lots of information and evidence, I felt that some of its claims were a bit far-fetched. For example, one argument that the author makes is that being anti-aging means to be anti-living and thus also anti-breathing. I understood the correlation between these words, but I felt that the author was making the issues of anti-aging to generalized. But other than that, the book helped me be more conscious of my actions and the things that I say when it comes to age. At the end of class, the other half of the class presented their Oral History Project, and each one was very touching. It was shocking to see that almost every single EP has endured such difficult hardships. Usually, people don’t think that it is normal for others to experience such rough obstacles in life, but all of the EPs faced these difficulties and came out on top. It was inspiring to see how each EP handled their situation and learn from that experience. It was also really adorable to see how touched Trish felt after witnessing everyone’s projects. She seemed really happy and impressed with what she saw, and I can only imagine how fulfilled she felt seeing people read her book and then implementing its ideas on their own. After the presentations, I was reminded of how much I love my family and the whole time I just wanted to call my mom to make sure her and the rest of my family were okay.
Today we visited Bayside Community Center and the executive director was another very inspiring man. When he first received the job, the center was bankrupt. He did not know what to do because firstly he was new, and he knew how much the center meant to the people, but he had no money to fund it. Then suddenly, a real estate agent came and offered to buy his property in order to build a school, which lined up perfectly with the mission of the community center. The way in which he spoke was so genuine and inspiring, and you could really tell that he loved his community. Afterwards, we participated in a Zumba class with the other seniors who were there. The class was really fun and I expected it to be minimal movement, but we were all sweating. At the end of the class, one of the seniors came up to me and told me that I was a good dancer. She said that she was watching me and that I “really knew how to move my feet”. She also said that I should be a Zumba instructor someday which I found to be really cute. The seniors there were very active, lively, and so kind. In the future, I want to go back and either volunteer or visit that center because its mission and values struck a chord with me. I want to be able to help out there because I like to work with children and the elderly.
In yesterday’s class session, the first book group shared their presentation and it was interesting to see how they critiqued the book even though it was a best seller. I felt that they took a lot of time to delve into the book and truly analyze it for what it was. We also got into our committees for the senior dances, and I am in the activities committee. We plan to bring in either the Ballroom Dance Club or Swing Dance Club to do a performance and maybe teach a small section of a simple song, or do line dancing with us teaching the moves instead. After that, we then met up in our groups for the NAP’s. My group was having a difficult time figuring out a time to go to the neighborhood, since I am going home this weekend and Jackie is going home the weekend after. The weekdays do not work either, but we decided to go two separate times to accommodate for whoever cannot make the other time. Those who did not present the book presented their oral history projects, and it was eye-opening to see how every EP lived such intense lives with stories that taught life lessons. At the end of class, two representatives from the new student organization Get a Cane presented to us. I loved the idea of what they do and I thought it was extremely thoughtful for them to give medical devices to those in need. They inspired me to try to do more to give back to the community.
Going to Casa de Manana was a different kind of eye opening experience. The retirement home did not look like one at all, it was a beautiful resort with a wide ocean view and great amenities for all the residents. Payment though was clearly much more than most elderly could afford. I felt like even if I were at that age I would not have been able to afford it. Though it was clear that the residents there were more privileged than most elderly, the senior that I spoke to was one of the most inspirational women I’ve ever met. Her name was Alice and she was 98 years old, but she did not look like it at all. She had stopped playing tennis only 2 years ago, because she was injured, which also amazed me. She explained to us the importance of fitness, knowing about our history, and taking control of our lives. She said that even though she was old, her life was not over. She said that she wasn’t like those elderly who weren’t present after a certain period of time. It was also interesting to learn that she went to the recent women’s march and inspired other elderly residents to go with her as well. Alice made me feel very hopeful for the future and inspired me to continue to move forward with my future. I would love to go back to Casa de Manana and speak to other residents as well because I’m sure each one of them has their own unique story and way of inspiring the younger generation.
Last class session, we learned more about what to do for our healthy aging project and split up into three different neighborhoods to do our neighborhood assessment project on. Many of the alumni came to speak about their own projects, and I thought it was interesting to learn that most of them took part in more than one project. The one spoken about most was the senior prom, since we will be doing that this quarter. We split into three committees: decoration, food, and activities, for that specific event. Learning from the alumni is interesting because they experience obstacles that we otherwise never would have thought of. For instance, some of them had very ambitious projects, which was not bad, but they were also difficult and improbable. When making timelines for our projects, we must be mindful of our own schedule and make sure to include down time to account for school. For my project, I want to do something related to music. Because I personally am in an a cappella group and I also teach fellow student proper singing techniques, I feel that I can do something similar with the elders. I learned that some centers have a choir already, so I can try to use that to my advantage. Jackie also said that she wanted to do an open mic, which interested me. At the end of the class, we all added each other on Facebook and created a group page so that we can contact each other quickly
Visiting a senior home for the first time was an exciting experience for me. I was a bit scared because I did not know what to do or what to talk about, but it ended up being really fun and heartwarming. When we first arrived, Paul explained to us in great detail the many difficulties that the elderly face. I knew that many seniors lived in poverty, but I was unaware of the vicious cycle of not being able to get money or housing. It shocked me to learn that it takes 11 years to get a voucher that allows a senior to live somewhere, but even that voucher does not guarantee housing. Before we served lunch to the seniors, we spoke in our respective languages to show the elderly which of us they can communicate with comfortably. I do not speak Tagalog fluently, I only understand it well. However, I tried my best to talk to a few Filipino women and they were understanding. They could tell that I was trying hard to speak in Tagalog, so they spoke half Tagalog and half English. Being in that setting made me realize how important it is for me to actually learn how to speak Tagalog. It was okay because the women knew English as well, but if they didn’t the situation would have been different. Serving lunches was also fun, the elderly appreciated us helping out. While waiting in line to serve lunch, I was able to talk to my fellow classmates and get to know a few of them better.
The retreat on Saturday was fun and not what I expected. We did many activities that helped us learn more about each other, and they also helped us understand the big picture of the LCS program. I was able to get to know my classmates better and get a feel for most of the different personalities in the cohort. It was inspiring to witness Trish talk about her book and have her show us up close how much information can be held in one picture. I shared with my partner a picture of my friend group and I from back home, and how we always take pictures of us in a polaroid picture, with a number 6 somewhere in the picture. From that picture, I told my partner more about my friends and the story of how we became friends and how we split, but then came back together. Trish was able to conclude from that picture that I am a leader. I thought it was amazing to see that from that small glimpse of my life, Trish could tell what kind of person I am. At the end of the retreat, everyone shared what they would be doing when they turn 80. I liked listening to everyone’s perspectives and taking a bit from each person’s and adding it to my own. I realized that the class is full of people who all truly care about other people, whether it be their family or people that they just want to help. Everyone is very inspiring and I hope to grow and mature while taking this class with them.
I was not able to attend the housing tour, but I joined LCS because I wanted to see the world from a different perspective. I feel that the majority of the public tends to forget about our elders and neglect their needs. Because I aspire to become a pharmacist, I want to be able to understand seniors on a level where I can sympathize with their hardships and use this knowledge to help when it comes to discerning what medication they need. I hope that my eyes can be opened to the various struggles that the elderly face and the factors that cause these problems. I also want to grow in my social skills with seniors and learn from their past experiences. As of now, I see the aging experience as something that depends greatly on the family of the senior. In my family, we took care of my grandparents until they decided to go back to the Philippines because they did not like it in the United States. I know that other families however just send their grandparents to nursing homes or do not take care of them because it is inconvenient for them. Some other seniors do not have family or became distant from them. I also am aware that once seniors retire, they rely mainly on money from the government, which can be tough. Some feel useless because they no longer contribute to society. I do not know many details of the aging experience however, just a few generalizations such as these.
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Micah BanawisArchives
June 2018
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