David D

I found that volunteering at Simpson and Lyngblomsten was a positive experience. The most valuable aspect for me, from a selfish point of view was the opportunity to interact with multiple people that I would have otherwise likely never spoken with. Although the semester is coming to an end, I will continue to volunteer at both organizations. I have not yet had a chance to start the billiards program at Lyngblomsten, but I believe I will do this within the next two weeks. Also, I am looking forward very much to spending another night at Simpson. I must say that my first night there passed by very quickly considering it was fourteen hours long. I found that in addition to being positively received by the residents of Lyngblomsten and the men at Simpson, that the staff people at both organizations were very friendly and eager to help me. I am glad that I registered for a class with a service learning component, because if I had not I would have never had a chance to have such interesting experiences.

Posted by David Dufort at 4:17 AM | Permalink

The next activity I participated in at lyngblomsten was a concert put on by the Mary and Martha Choir. For the most part, my job consisted of asking residents if they wanted to attend the concert, and if they did I would bring them to the chapel. Again, many of the residents preferred to stay in their rooms. However several residents did desire to attend, and were cheerful and excited about the show. While I was bringing people up and down the elevators I had to remember to back them into the elevator so they would be facing the front. This was a technique described to me at the original orientation. During the concert the women of the choir sang mostly songs about chuch and god. They also sang several popular songs from decades past, including a bycicle built for two. During the concert I went to one of the hallways in the building and helped take down decorations honoring volunteers who had put in many hours at the organization. After the show was over I spent awhile talking with one woman in particular. She told me about her past, her time at the university of Minnesota, and her family. She told me that both or her parents had lived at Lyngblomsten, and told me of their deaths and when her sister died. I felt like the conversation I had with her was the most meaningful interaction I have had at Lyngblomsten.

Posted by David Dufort at 3:37 AM | Permalink

Playing checkers at Lyngblomsten was probably the most challenging activity I have participated in so far at the organization. There were originally two men that I was scheduled to play with, however one of them did not attend. When I sat down I introduced myself to the man that I would be playing checkers with. In the beginning, and throughout the game I could not tell if he really wanted to be playing. This made me feel somewhat awkward, because I began to wonder if he was doing this for my benefit and would have preferred to watch tv. I didn't know what to do however, so I just kept playing and talking with him. During this game I had to excercise some patience, the man was somewhat slow to respond to me in conversation, and he took a great deal of time between his moves. During our game several staff people came over to talk to us, and said that this was the first time they had seen this man engaged in an activity for a long time. they seemed to think what was happening was quite positive and this made me feel better. Later his wife came and spoke with us briefly. She told us that they would soon be celebrating their sixty fifth wedding anniversary. I thought this was great, especially in light of contemporary marriage being quite devalued. His wife was also excited about his particiaption in the game, so in the end I felt that it had been a positive experience. We were not able to finish our game, as the table we were playing on was reserved for residents to eat lunch at a specific time. However I told him that I hoped we would be able to play again, he said he thought we should as well.

Posted by David Dufort at 3:23 AM | Permalink

The next opportunity I had to work directly with many of the residents at Lyngblomsten was at a function called Waffle Wednesday. I began by preparing coffee and making batter with a woman who is a staff person at the organization. She said that Waffle Wednesday is always very busy and she was very happy to have an extra pair of hands to help her. She told me that this is a very popular event. Soon after we had completed the first of the waffles the residents began coming in. Again I found everyone to be very pleasant and kind. I smiled at the people when they came up to get the waffles, and nearly everyone smiled and spoke kindly to me. I felt like I was contributing positively to what seemed to be a very nice morning for many of the residents at Lyngblomsten. We kept putting out coffee and making waffles as the residents continued to come in. It was somewhat busy, but not overwhelming. The steady amount of work was a fun and exciting way of passing the time. After all of the residents had been served I ate one of the waffles myself. The waffle was great, and I could see why the event was so popular among the residents.

Posted by David Dufort at 2:58 AM | Permalink