Steph's Blog

There is a group of about 4 girls in early middle school that come to campfire every week. Most of the time I look forward to the girls coming…I can only handle sounding out C-A-T so many times. They are very eager to learn and hard working. There is this one girl, though, who is so loud and obnoxious; she definitely suffers from ADHD. It’s sad because she annoys a lot of the kids and it’s so hard to get her to just sit down and concentrate. However, the other girls are very fun to be around. One girl was showing me her birthday present, an MP3 player of The Quran. She was so excited, which I thought was really cool. If I was her age and I had gotten The Bible on tape I would have been kinda disappointed. It’s hard for me to understand, I guess, how religion can be so important. I think that’s a very admirable quality. These girls are one of the reasons this volunteering experience has been so worthwhile. I’m looking forward to continuing into the summer and again next fall.

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I figured I should change the name for confidentiality’s sake.

This little boy is 6 years old. He’s super quiet and very cute. I work with him every week on various math and handwriting exercises. Sometimes it’s difficult to work with him because he doesn’t pick up on concepts very well. I’m not sure if this is because his English isn’t the best, personal learning abilities, or educational resources. Week after week we do the same thing. I nanny a 7 year-old boy and he seems way ahead of Johnny. I really hope that Johnny will catch on soon.

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Every year Seward towers puts together a little “thank you� event to show their appreciation for the volunteers. When I first got the invitation, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go because I didn’t know what all they had planned. Later, I was talking to some of the staff and they seemed really excited about it, so I decided I would go. There were all sorts of food and decorations. I had some of the best humus I have ever eaten and the cookies were pretty good too! We went around in a circle and shared a little bit about what we do. The different positions included meals-on-wheels, computer help, adult tutors, and after-school tutors. Then some of the staff got up and spoke about how valuable our time is to the organization; they shared some really surprising information. The average hour volunteering (anywhere) is worth over $18! That’s huge! I knew that time spent there was valuable, but seeing the numbers really shows how important and easy it is to make a difference. The event ended with a raffle drawing and small gifts, which was really fun. I won a gift card to Perkins. I can’t wait to use it! I also got to take home a balloon. I was surprised that they gave away so much stuff. It was cool to see how passionate everyone was there; their positive attitudes have made this a better experience than I expected. I left feeling extremely appreciated for the work I have done.

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About two weeks ago I went to the orientation for my organization. I thought it was going to be super long and boring, but they actually had some interesting information. Before we got started they handed us a citizenship test…it was a lot harder than I thought. Sadly I only scored 10 out of 20. How am I supposed to know who becomes President if both the President and the vice-president should die?!?! (In case you were wondering it’s the Speaker of the House of Representatives) After that they informed us more about affordable housing. Housing is considered “affordable� when no more than 30% of a person’s income is spent on housing. On average, the residents can only afford $338 per month for rent. In order for a taxi driver to own their own 3-bedroom house they would have to pay 89% of their income! From now on I’m going to start tipping a lot better. Not only do immigrants have a hard time adjusting financially, there are also a lot of cultural differences. For example, East Africans aren’t accustomed to shaking hands and some kids wont look adults in the eyes because it’s a sign of respect. Also, time isn’t as stressed in their culture, so the kids are always late. However, that’s something I can totally relate to because I’m always late! I really can’t believe how much of an eye opening experience this is. I’m so glad I chose to take this class because I’m learning so much.

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Today was my first day volunteering at Seward towers. It was pretty close to what I expected. Our group met in a colorful room with lots of art projects taped up to the walls. We worked with kids grades k-7. They all seemed so happy and energetic. Today I helped a 10-year-old girl with her writing homework. Usually there is a group art project, we but we didn’t have enough people to participate. I met another volunteer named Shameen who is also a freshman at the U. I had a great time even though I have been having a bad day up until then. Little kids always put a smile on my face; they are funny to watch. The thing I love about kids is that they’re so brutally honest. One little girl shouted to one of the staff members “You have big thighs! Why are women’s thighs so big? Is it so you can have babies?� I also hear this one a lot: “What’s that on your face?� (referring to my lip ring) “Why do you have that?� “I don’t like it.� Ahh they make me laugh. Also, kids are very quick to trust people. I got 3 hugs before I left. This is definitely the kind of community service I was hoping to be involved with. I know there are a few people in the class who are unsure about where they are volunteering. I would definitely recommend switching to CommonBond Communities. It’s a quick application process and you get to see first hand your impact on the community.

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Last week I had my interview with CommonBond Communities to be an after school tutor at Seward Towers. She asked me questions like “What kind of experience do you have working with children/different cultures/community service?� “What do you see yourself doing in 5 years?� and “What skills will you bring to our program?� It was really laid back and comfortable. So, starting next week, I will be helping lead the campfire program. I’m not sure exactly what this is, but I’m excited to find out. I’m hoping that we get to do fun art projects and read stories. If not, I’m sure I will be doing something rewarding and beneficial to others as well as myself. It was really cool to get to talk to the director of the programs because she seemed really passionate about her work. During the interview she also explained more about their facilities. The Seward Towers are mostly populated by immigrants from east Africa. At first I was worried that this might be problem because of a language barrier, but all of the kids can speak English. In their facilities they also have resources to help people find jobs. From my first impression, Seward Towers seems like a very positive environment. I can’t wait to get started!

I just realized that I never went to those service-learning workshops. Hopefully that won’t be too much of a problem and I’ll be able to fit something into my busy schedule. Has everyone else gone to the workshops?

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I took the weight test and I found it very interesting. According to the test, I have a “strong automatic preference for thin people compared to fat people.� This didn’t really surprise me. 25% of people who took this assessment got the same results as me, so I don’t feel too bad. I think this has to do with society’s obsession with being fit; thinness is associated with beauty. Although it may cause excessive pressure, I don’t think all of that pressure is necessarily bad. In the United States, obesity is a growing epidemic. Over 65% of Americans are overweight and 78% of Americans don’t meet basic activity levels. I understand that body types vary upon genetics and physiological factors, but the most influential factor is the lifestyle one leads. For this reason, I have a hard time feeling bad for overweight people. There are many little things you can do to stay active such as climbing stairs instead of the elevator that will make a huge difference in your life. More people are starting to see what a crisis our country is in. It’s important to realize that the reason many people got the same results I did is because it is known that it is unhealthy to be fat, which is then, obviously, referred to as a negative. Can you really blame me for thinking this way? I think most people would agree that they would rather see Gisele Bundchen in a bikini than Rosie O’Donnell. Honestly, I don’t think I am at fault for thinking this way; it’s just the unfortunate reality.

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Right now I am still trying to finalize a place to volunteer. It looks like I’ll be helping out at CommonBond Communities as an after school tutor. I will be really excited if this works out. Like I’ve mentioned in my previous blogs, I tutored at Jefferson elementary school in high school through our Spanish program. It was so much fun! (Anna also volunteered here and set up a camp for the kids. What a great idea!) The school was in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in Minneapolis, so the kids would need help with English homework since most of their parents only spoke Spanish. This also gave me a chance to practice my Spanish with the kids. I would look forward to going every week and the kids were always so excited. One memory that sticks out to me is playing hangman with a little girl who was learning to speak English. I can’t imagine growing up without being able to communicate with certain people. It was times like this that I really felt like I was making a difference in someone’s life and the community. Eventually the program was canceled due to “No Child Left Behind� which made me really sad. Instead they brought in professional tutors. Even though we didn’t have much experience tutoring, I think the kids learned a lot more from us. We were able to create a fun learning environment and get the children involved. Hopefully, the work I do this semester will be as enjoyable and rewarding as Jefferson Elementary.

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Like most people in the class, I haven’t started volunteering yet. I’m starting to get impatient about the whole application process. Originally, I was approved to apply at Children’s hospital; however, it requires a lot more effort than I thought. Not that I’m lazy or anything, but it just seems really unnecessary and time consuming. Part of the application is getting tested for TB. I went in last Friday to get the injection and it actually went better than I was expecting. I was supposed to go back in on Monday morning to get the test read, but it was so early and I didn’t feel like getting up. Later that day I called to see when I could come in, but the lady said I would have to do the whole test again because the 72 hours had expired. Great. As much as I love getting poked with needles, I don’t think I’ll be going back. Another thing that turned me off from going to Children’s was that it sounds really strict. I didn’t go to the orientation, but people were saying that you have to dress up really nicely. Also, you could get sued for touching the kids or mentioning their illnesses. I guess it makes sense, but it just seems a little too hardcore for me. So the quest begins for finding a new place to volunteer. In high school, I tutored kids after school and I had a lot of fun with that. I just talked to the lady in charge of service learning and there are a few places around the metro where I could work. So I guess we'll see what happens.

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I like the idea of learning outside of the classroom. In high school I volunteered with Hispanic elementary school students by helping them with their english homework. I felt like I made a difference and i really enjoyed it.

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