Friday, July 30, 2010

Sharptop Cove, Week 3

So, it is now half-way through the session and everyone is really getting to know each other well. I'm having a great time with everyone and we are starting to know each other on a deeper level, not just things like, where are you from, whats your major, etc. I knew I would become close with people, but I didn't realize how close. In the third week I started to learn where people want to go in life and talked to them about what I want to accomplish. Everyone was saying that week three would be the hard week, but it wasn't for me. I think it was because week two was so tough and week three the camp was not too full, so we only had two morning rides scheduled. This gave me more time really think about why I was at camp and why I was serving.

This week was fun, especially because we had gotten good at our jobs and found that we had little more free time. Also, since we were used to the early morning schedule I decided to get up for and early morning mountain bike ride on Sunday, which is usually our sleep-in day. It was awesome. I had never been mountain biking and we decided to go on the hard trail. Going up was tough, but coming down was such a rush. You get to the point where you almost lose control as you come down the mountain. I also had a chance to go on the high ropes course. That was also a thrill, because you are about 5oft up in the air suspended on thin wires and walking across different obstacles. By the end of this week everyone was realizing that we were going to be there only one more week so we were all trying to cram in things we hadn't had a chance to do yet.
I'll leave you with some pictures of me at my job and the view from the tower:

This is my view of the camp from the top of the tower:
This is what it looks like when you are sitting on top looking down:
Here is me getting ready to come down after a long day:

Here is my tower team from left to right, Harris, Me, Mallory, and Blake:

My Life as an American Girl in the D.R.

Back in the U.S. ....

So because I am not so great with international technology, I kept a journal while I was in the Dominican Republic this summer. I will try to hit some highlights for each day. If one word could sum it all up though it might be: life-changing or humbling or awesome.... ok, so I need more words. You all will just have to read the whole thing. =)

Day 1
So far this trip has been AMAZING! I am working with a large group from Colorado and a small group from Indiana. I flew in to the DR by myself and took a cab to the hotel by myself. Let me tell you, I am so glad I am with a group now. I ordered a cheese burger and accidentally left a 70% tip. I haven't quite mastered the peso/U.S. dollar conversion yet. =(

Day 2
I feel as though I've been here much longer than one day. The D.R. is very beautiful. The guest house is nice too. Even though I feel like I am in a different country, I feel comfortable here. There is musica playing all night long outside, but I prefer it over the rooster. He brings in the morning at about 4 AM. =( Today was my first day at the clinic. I watched 3 surgeries and helped Dr. Valdez with consultations all morning. The first surgery was rough, but I recovered and the rest of the surgeries were fine. One of the patients was a young woman who was having a hysterectomy (they remove the ovaries). They don't put you under full anesthesia (the patient is awake, but can't feel anything) and she looked very scared at the beginning. I took her hand and just smiled at her reassuringly. I went to observe part of the procedure a few minutes into the surgery, but as I walked away I could feel her hand tighten. I took a quick look, but I stayed with her for the rest of the surgery. It was quite an empowering experience -knowing the language didn't matter. I feel as if, in a small way, I joined a small part of the Dominican community today. All I had to do was care.

Day 4

Everyday at the clinic is full of surprises! We had a busy day today. Most of our consultations were actually screening sessions for the U.S. surgical group coming next week. We saw some really interesting cases. It's so sad to see what these people have lived with: women with burns from men throwing acid on them, children with various deformities, men with missing limbs who must provide income for their families. Still, these people have such joy and gratitude. Instead of looking at me - someone so blessed, healthy, with shoes and clothing, etc- and thinking of me as a snobby American, they try to talk to me and kiss my cheeks. They thank me for my help as we tell them nothing can be done for them at this time. They thank God for the blessings in their life as they carry their pre-teen aged children out of the clinic because they can't walk and they can't afford a wheel chair. More than anything today, I feel humbled.



Sharptop Cover, Week 2, Tired Week

This was probably the hardest week for me all summer. The reason it was so difficult was because the camp was so full. This means that we had to schedule morning rides. Now, just to update you, the tower, the high ropes course, the quantum leap, and the mountain bikes are all scheduled rides. This means that cabins were assigned a slot of time to go on them. When the camp is really full we have to book morning rides at 7:00am. Now, in order for them to be set up and ready to go we had to get up at 5:45. This week was so booked that we had a morning ride every day. So, I would end up going to sleep around 12:30 or 1:00 and then get up at 5:40 for the entire week! It was crazy. I wish I could write some of the random things that happened that week, but honestly, it was such blur. By the end of the week if I sat down for more the 5 minutes I was asleep. This worried me because all the morning ride staff were getting pretty exhausted. It was inevitable, by the end of the week, we all got sick. It wasn't too bad, it was just an annoying cold, but lasted for the entire third week =/.

However, I did have and awesome experience with one of the kids this week that I can't forget. His name was Mitchell and he was having trouble getting up the rock wall, so we sent him up the pole on the side that we use. On this particular day I was on the repel side. When a person goes down the repel rope, they are also attached to a safety belay rope that I have control over, so if they go too fast or let go of the repel rope, I can stop them from falling. So, I am attached to the kid going down with the belay rope and a post behind me so it the camper weighs more than me, I'm not thrown up the wall. Some kids are to scared to control the repel rope and end up just being belayed down by me. Mitchel was one of these kids. It took him all of the courage he could muster and a lot of trust to step over the edge. Now, just keep in mind he was a lot heavier than me, and I'm a girl, so am not quite as strong as the guys working with me on the tower, but being attached to a post and harnessed in, and with the equipment we use it isn't a problem. So when he finally went down the wall, his whole cabin was standing there watching me belay him down the wall and me getting lifted up about 3 ft in the air. When he made it to the ground he was so happy and thanked me so much. He even took a picture with me =) It was awesome that I could work with him and help him get over his fears. Here is the picture:

Sharptop Cove, Week 1

Sharptop Cove

Alrighty, so I haven't had access to a computer throughout my SoS. So I'm going to sum up my month at Sharptop Cove in four posts. I know its a little crazy posting them one after the other, but these are just some experiences pulled out of my journal from each week I was there.
Week 1:The first week at camp flew by because everything was so new. It started out on Sunday June 20. We woke up at 7:30 to be trained on our assigned jobs. I knew I was on the ropes team, but I didn't know what ride I would be working all month. So, that morning the team met in the gym and were assigned to or jobs. I found out I would be working the Tower. The Tower is a 55ft. climbing wall on one side and a repel wall on the other side with a small platform on top to transfer from one wall to the next. For the next couple of hours I learned how to belay someone up the rock wall, transfer them at the top of the tower, and repel them down the repel wall. It was pretty scary knowing that just the next day I would be working the Tower and have high school kid's lives in my hands. So, the next day I worked the top of the Tower. That's right, 55ft up for 6hrs straight. Working the top is awesome because you get a lot of kids who are really afraid of heights and you get to help them face their fears. One girl came up and started to cry because she was so happy that she made it. I was so proud of her. I've never worked so hard and had so much fun doing it in my life. Here is a quick overview of my schedule for one week:

Sunday: breakfast at 8:30, Chores (for me was collecting frisbees from around camp and out of the lake with a canoe), camp sweep (getting ready for a new camp week), lunch, making water balloons for the night event, free time, dinner, camp tour (showing the kids what the camp has), then the night event, which for Monday night is the obstacle course. This is a picture of me on the dining hall roof, showcasing the ropes team. I'm the middle person. Monday: Breakfast, chores, devotional, lunch, and then working the Tower (transfers on top), dinner. Then, Monday night's event is the hoe down and we pass out ice cream sundaes to the campers.

Tuesday: Breakfast, chores, devotional, lunch, and then working the Tower (repel side), dinner. Then, we don't work the event on Tuesday nights so we have a little bit of free time.

Wednesday: This day is called "the day that never ends". I do all the regular stuff (work the belay side). Then after dinner we do and event called Tableau. This is where we dress up in old western attire and act out a particular scene. For example, I was in the wedding scene, so my job was to get married:

Now, when the campers first see us in our scenes we are frozen, then a gunshot brings the scenes to life and we act it out for about 20 seconds. Then, the gunshot goes off again and we have to freeze wherever we are. It just so happens that in my scene, my groom picks me up in his arms to "take a picture". Well, on the the last week we ended up being frozen in that position for a while.
Now, after the campers see us all dressed up, they are told to get western outfits on for dinner. While they are eating dinner, us summer staffers are setting up and entire carnival in the gym, complete with games and food. This is why it is the day the never ends, because carnival doesn't start till late, and we end up finally getting everything cleaned up at 1:00am.

Thursday: This is day is a little more relaxed for me, because, like Tuesday we don't run the night event. Oh and I work on top of the tower again.

Friday: The beginning of my days are always the same, as you have probably noticed. The event for this night is Banquet. All of the campers get dressed up and eat a fancy dinner. We also get dressed up, just to go along with the camp. Then, that night is Work Crew night. Work Crew is all of the high school kids that come and work at camp. They work at the dining hall, the laundry, and they clean. On work crew night they are assigned to a camper cabin and they go and tell their life story to that cabin. So, our job is just to show our support for them through out the night, so one thing we do is clean the dining hall for them and set up for the next meal.

Saturday: This day is hectic. Camp rides close early and the campers have to pack and clean their cabins. We do and all camp sweep in which we do our chores for a second time that day and also help the campers get checked out of their cabin. They eat dinner and then leave around 7. After they are gone, we help clean the dining hall and then we get to break for the night and have the whole camp to ourselves =)

The next day is Sunday and we do it all over again. So yes, I was married 4 times in 4 weeks.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Last weeks in Germany *tear*

So the last week or so have been full of goodbyes... and cleaning. Lots and lots of cleaning. It has been really weird these last few days. Sometimes I'll be doing something and it'll hit me that I'm leaving soon and going back to 'normality'. Of course, being here so long has sort of distorted what I consider normal but I'm sure I'll readjust.

At last Sunday's church service my congregation said goodbye and my bosses gifted me with a funny gift. A bear shaped backpack. The bear wearing, naturally, a sweatshirt with the USA flag embroidered on it. They said the reason it was a backpack was because I'm always travelling. Well they're right with that I guess.

I've recently found an Aupair family. In December, through April, I will be in Germany AGAIN to be an Aupair for a really nice family.

I don't think the idea of leaving has really sunk in yet. When it does, I'll write another blog about how it feels and about my reflections on the past 12 weeks.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Monday

This is my last week in New Jersey. I walked by Cornel West today in Princeton. Check it out:
http://northsoutheastcoast.blogspot.com/

Friday, July 23, 2010

Weeks 4 & 5 at Girls Inc.

These past couple of weeks have been both really fun and really tiring. The girls have been doing awesome. We have done a ton of interesting projects. A few examples: we made purses out of old blue jeans, we made different stuffed brown paper bag animals, we had a walk-a-thon, and we had a huge slumber party. One thing is for sure, there is never a dull moment here. These girls keep me on my toes all day everyday. Today we are having a luau here at Girls Inc and then the girls are going bowling. I think the best activity we have done in the past two week was the slumber party we had last Friday. The staff, the volunteers, and the girls wore their pajamas all day. We had different things going on in the different classrooms and the girls rotated among the rooms. In one room we had them making sleeping masks and decorating them, in another we were doing nails, they made tie pillows in another, and then in the gym they watched movies. The girls and the staff all had a great time. I'm not sure what all we have going on next week but I do know that the talent show is coming up. Girls have been practicing their singing and dance routines every chance they get. They try to go hide in classrooms and in corners of the gym so that nobody sees their "secret" routines. It's really cute to watch and I can't wait to see them all perform.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

HoundHaven Week 5

"What ever you do may seem insignificant to you, but it is most important that you do it" ~ Mohandas Gandhi



This quote has touched me so much and made me think about all the community service I do. Sometimes the smallest thing that we do may seem insignificant at the time but in the long run it is very important that we did it. I think about this everyday. I do not always know if helping to clean kennels and walking dogs is helping the animal shelter in the long run but I can sometimes see it. The dogs that get attention have gotten healthier and they are responding well to learning their commands. I hope that by the time our dogs get adopted they will be good at training and it will be a good start for them for when they go to their forever home. Recently I have been working with some of our more difficult dogs to learn their commands. Our puppies are learning how to sit on command now. The other dogs are learning to not jump up on us. One of our dogs, Deke, liked to put his mouth on our arms or hands while we were trying to put his leash on but after extensive discipline and control Deke has stopped nipping as much. I feel like I was supposed to go to this organization. I believe God sent me to this place to learn a few lessons of my own. I have never felt more loved by dogs and more appreciated by individuals. I have been told many times from the other volunteers that I will be sorely missed when school starts back up and I won't be working anymore. I really don't want to leave this group but hopefully I will be able to come back some weekends and work the Petsmart day and meet some of the new dogs that come in.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Final Week :(

This past week, I completed my SoS. I have to admit, I was pretty excited to not have to wake up at 6am or spend my entire day filing but at the same time I was sad to say goodbye to all of the wonderful people I worked with. I was also sad because this was my second and final year working with Meadowbrook. Volunteering there has become something that I look forward to as a part of my summer but since I will be graduating this spring a summer spent at Meadowbrook is most likely not in my future. Over the past two summers that I have spent at Meadowbrook I have learned so many things that I would have never expected to discover. Here are a few things that the past two SoS's have taught me:

1. Sometimes the impact is more important than the action.
-Ok so I have to be honest, when I sat in the SoS meeting towards the end of the school year I wasn't exactly super super excited about my site. As I listened to other Bonners' plans for their summers I felt like volunteering at a school wasn't as interesting or "out of the box" as it could be and because of that I felt like I may not be able to make a true impact on the community that composes Meadowbrook. By the end of the first week I was proven wrong. The principal of the school as well as the other office workers continually told me how grateful they were for my help. Although I often did things that don't seem important like filing or organizing a closet, the impact it made on the school was great and greatly appreciated. Judging by the constant thanks that I received I was completely wrong about not being able to make an impact.

2. Don't forget where you come from.
-As I may have mentioned before, I graduated from Meadowbrook Academy. I was home schooled my first two years and from 2nd grade through my senior year I was a Meadowbrook student. Needless to say, coming back to volunteer was a completely new experience. I was no longer under the authority of the staff but more like a co-worker. Even though I had a new "position" at Meadowbrook it was a great way to reflect on how much the school has shaped who I am as a person. Going away to college was probably the best decision I have made in my life so far because it helped me to discover new things about myself. Even though this change was good going back to Meadowbrook really helped to remind me how I got to where I am today.

Overall, this SoS was great! I went into it knowing what to expect but I was still amazed by how much I learned. Although sometimes the work wasn't the most exciting, I was truly miss Meadowbrook and all of the people that have taught me so much about what it truly means to be a servant.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Agro, Bro

So, as much fun as it to work here most of the time, it comes with it's annoying times. We had a big meeting earlier today to flesh out what were doing with our social media and the boss basically set us back to square -57. Goal setting. So today I've spent around 6 hours goal setting. I would show you the page, but it's intranet..classified information, ya know? Regardless, it ends with us having a cool blog, an active Facebook and Twitter and a strong PolicyOptions website. So really I came on here to say that you all should create a Twitter and follow us at http://twitter.com/bonnernetwork. Now, I resisted forever before jumping on this Twitter wagon, but it's actually pretty cool. We're going to be sending out job opportunities and such and we already had one person sign up for IMPACT because of an update we sent through it. Also, we created a new Facebook profile called "Bonner Love" which is a personal profile and a Bonner Fan Page called Bonner Network (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bonner-Network/142428915769333) so we can connect and update everyone more. I'm not sure if they will stay alive, but I sure hope so. Hope all is well everywhere.
-Jack

Weeks 5 & 6 SOS

Hi everyone!

So for weeks 5 & 6 of my summer of service I was working in the Human Resources Department of City Hall. My big task for the week (and i'm still working on it) is to write the Rules and Regulations document for the City. When my boss for the week, Mark Hayword, told me this I was thinking, "Oh, ok I am going to be proof reading...this should be fun" but it turns out that he gave me a copy of Lake Mary's Rules and Reg. and a file folder full of emails, comments, ect. and said, "have fun and get started". He really ment that I was writing the Rules and Regs. It took me to whole two weeks of non-stop work and I am still not done, but on my last day in his department he called me into his office and told me that when I get the project done he is going to let me present it to the City Commission and when it is adopted it will have my name on it!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Posty Mcposterson

Hey everyone! So I figured I should come on here and actually update with what I'm doing right now for this SoS. So, ya know how we do CLAs and positions and all that? Remember how sometimes it's not "good enough" and we have to rewrite them? Well, I'm currently doing Bonner national reviews. This means that all of us in the office have a list of schools and have to review the Summer period of Bonner work. Also, we have to go back to the Fall of 2008 and review eeevveerryyy position, CLA, and training and enrichment that a school has done. Exciting. Actually, it kind of is. it's really interesting to see what's going on at the other schools. Also, The Foundation is really good at giving us a bunch of projects at once, so I'm currently working with two other people to bring all Bonner's social media into the "useful" state. It should be pretty cool. The vision we're working with is going to be an activist blog, a lot like this one, that also posts to Twitter and Facebook..but it's not going to be dumb, boring stuff - it'll actually be interesting. Also, this PolicyOptions.org thing is shaping up. I think we're talking about making some algorithm (or adapting one) that will take all the service news and import it to one big feed. Or something. I dunno. If you're really interested in what I'm on about go to http://techmeme.com/.....this site is one of the first to do this, but it's for technology.
Anyway, have fun all!

HoundHaven week 4

Week 4
~~ This past week has been crazy. With all the new dogs and the crazy things happening during the evening shifts that the morning shifts have to endure. I work every morning and sometimes I work the afternoon and/or the night shifts. The times that I have not worked the night shifts there have been problems that have made it hard on the morning shift. I love working the morning shift because you can get close to the dogs and love on them. We do have to do a lot of cleaning but as long as the dogs are happy and in a healthy, clean environment then I don't mind cleaning their kennels. A lot of times we clean to allow new dogs to come into the shelter with a clean environment. It also allows us to disinfect the kennel because the dogs get sick easily. Thankfully this past week we have had two dogs go to a home. Everyone was so happy that they were able to go to a good home because they were such good puppies and needed to get out of the shelter. Thankfully that has also given us some more room and we have been able to move our dogs around so that they are in the proper places. We try to keep the dogs that the sick are quarantined away from the rest of the dogs that are healthy and are going to adoption events. Although a new dog arrived today but this dog was at the shelter once before but apparently that home did not work out for her.
I hate it when people adopt a dog and after a few months they give the dog back because they don't like something about the dog. I wish that more people would take a dog for all the good and the bad. Animals are not perfect and they are bad just as much as they are good. These dogs have such a great temperment and are so lovable as long as they have a good home. It's amazing how the bigger dogs that seem to look intimidating are the most sweetest dogs. One of our biggest dogs, Bear, is a black lab and he will attack you face with kisses and topple you over just to give you even more kisses. I love these dogs so much. They are so adorable and all they really want is love and a permanant home. If you or your parents or someone you know is looking for a a beautiful dog with Lab in his geneology then please send them to HoundHaven.

Salvation Army Convention, 24 Hour Charity Run, Church In The Forest^

Alot of exciting things have happened over here in Germany since the last time I posted. Well and one big disappointing thing (we didn't make it to the Finale WAAAAAAAH!)

About two weeks ago, the Salvation Armies from the South-West of Germany got together in a nearby city for a day of workshops and friendship/contact making. It was really interesting seeing the different people that the Salvation Army attracts and was even more interesting to find out that one of the highest administrators of the Salvation Army is from Canada... 0.o weird, huh? There were three different workshops and, not really paying attention, I ended up in the Spiritual Healing one. I know one was a workshop about children but I forget the name and the topic of the other one. The workshop I sat through was... interesting and was led by a German woman who now lives in New Zealand. She told stories and showed photographs of people who have been healed through her by God. If you're reading this you already know, from my previous posts, that I'm not exaclty religious. I am always skeptical of stuff like that and didn't know how to react to her workshop.

All in all, it was a great day where I made new friends and got to see a bit of the hiarchey of the Salvation Army in Germany.

Last weekend was the 24 Hour Charity Run for childrens' rights. The Salvation Army is somewhat teamed with this organization called PAIS here in Freiburg. My boss from the Salvation Army basically sublets me and the other volunteers at the Salvation Army to this program and we help where is needed. They needed people to count the chips (which were used to count how many laps a person did) and to run a few laps to help support our team. Which I guess I should explain. There were numerous teams, let's say 30, who came to compete for money for their organization. I'm going to assume that every organization had something to do with youth empowerment, based on the name of the event. Each team is given a stack of poker chips with a specifc color and number on them. They are also given a transponder that, when passed over the reciever after every lap, recognizes how many laps a team has run. (way high tech). Needless to say, the team who had run the most laps received the most money. Our job as volunteers for this event was to count the chips every hour, on the hour, and to seperate them and return them to the appropriate teams. I ran a few laps for our team but slept a lot of the time haha, I'm not an all nighter person.
Our Salvation Army had church in the forest yesterday. The weather was beautiful and we had so much fun. The service was mostly a skit that I only partly understood and the rest of the day was a bbq and a huge water fight. It was so nice to be in the forest with nice weather and all of my friends from the SA having a nice BBQ. After the BBQ, the kids started water fighting and, well after I was ambushed by my boss and the rest of the SA and dunked into the baptism tub we brough along, I joined in.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

SoS Blog 3

So into week three I never realized how hard it would be to put structure to an organization. I’m sure initially it’s probably more of a trial and error approach, but I really was hoping to alleviate as much possible chances of failure as possible! Unfortunately there isn’t really much you can do when you get to a certain point in the planning.

I can establish offices and their roles. I can suggest plans for finances, and suggest a suitable election process. I can develop a system for handling business and events, but in the end of the day it’s only a rough plan with many loop holes for students to fill in. For the most part that’s actually the easy part to digest.
Now what if there isn’t support for the group? Yes a group like this is necessary. Yes it can offer a good deal to the student body and community. However, was it requested by the student body or the community?…. Not really. Which fuels the scary question, will the organization even take off? I guess that’s something we’ll just have to test out.

The New Music Machine was very successful in many regards last year, but they never really had as much structure to their organization or any really need to hold meetings aside from office meetings. Will this GLBT music organization arrive at promising conclusions as well under the same format? Would I be diminishing multiple benefits that attach themselves to organizations by limiting the interactivity?
I can’t really say just yet. I do have my predictions though. I suppose all I can do is prepare for the worse, and try to get as many people involved as possible when the time comes

SoS Blog 2

There’s much to be said about the gay liberation movement, specifically on the impact it had on the public psychologically. Since Stonewall there was a need for exposure. The main purpose of any GLBT event was to establish grounds. We needed to at least be able to put our names on the table before we could actually begin any plan of attack for change. In the early 1970s (even late 1960s), there was a great need for pride parades and protests. It was a dangerous time to be gay and out.
Not only was the public unforgiving, but they were even violent. Reported crimes rates relating to sexual orientation disagreements were not as high as they are now, but that was largely because they were unreported. That of course is probably a result of a number of factors other than the corruption of the police force.
As we moved past the assignation of Harvey Milk there was still a need for the riots. The public needed to know we were “queer and here.”

In the social climate of today there is a new struggle which for the most part is an internal problem in the community. Through all the degradation we tried to resist we inevitably internalized way too much of the stereotypes in hope of devaluing them and formed a frame of mind that would inevitably cause somewhat of a social chasm in our community. The GLBT community was separated between those who reinforced the model of the gay image and those who deliberately tried not to. Both groups were wrong in their own ways.

This quest for self-identity has led us into what I now consider to be the age of gay social enlightenment.

This Is basically a little snipit of what I am defending in my research paper. Let’s see where it goes next!

SoS Blog 1

Hey everyone. I know I’m posting these blogs late, but I am at least posting them! However, since I’m posting these blogs late I decided to edit all of them and begin all of the posts from the perspective of having finished my service. So instead of a blog this is probably going to be more like a series of chapters.

At the beginning it was quite interesting. I had a rough plan for what I was going to do, and took it (for the most part) and then ran a whole different direction unexpectedly.

My main purpose was to do something somewhat intensive and long-lasting in regards to the gay liberation movement. So my proposal contained a three part plan to fulfill that goal.

The first part was I wanted to make a research paper that would focus on the psychological progression behind the movement and suggest its flaws and solutions. To do that of course requires that labor intensive job that is ACTUALLY RESEARCHING. The only way this paper can actually get any attention is if I make it credible through statistical analysis. At this point in the summer I had NO IDEA how to do that. I didn’t even know where to begin. There are so many articles and novels on the subject it would take years to be an expert. Well, luckily I don’t have to be an expert; I just had to prove my point.

I went to Dupont Library and checked out a few books I thought might be of use, printed almost every article and pdf file on the Human Rights Campaign website, and actually started reading the newspaper regularly! This is of course way in the future, but as of July 8th 2010 the New York Times published an article on the unconstitutional act of banning gay marriage. This was pretty big in the state of Massachusetts and sent a shockwave through the nation. Side anecdote over…

We’ll talk more about the paper later in another post, but for the sake of laying out the rest of my proposal, I’ll continue. The second part was to begin building what would be the first gay music organization at Stetson. This was probably less ambitious than the first part, but much harder to facilitate. The first question anyone should ever ask when starting an organization is WHY? To say it plainly I find some GLBT composers to be under represented. I wanted an organization that would foster the performance and presentation of music by GLBT composers. In the current climax of the movement it is most evident there is a need for role models. This is something I’ll continue to talk about in my paper, but role models like these composers would reinforce the inclusive state of mind in the general public. There are of course many other reasons for having an organization that are probably more generic than anything; however, that’s the gist of it.

Finally the third portion of the service is of course the nitty-gritty-get-your-hands-dirty hands-on service! In my opinion this is the most exciting part, because this involves the planning with my community partner. This includes workshops for the public, speaking to the elderly and the younglings, and speaking up to our businesses in Deland. Ideally the goal was to educate, but as you’ll read later, it turned out to be much more than that. I was immersing myself in the minds of others. It was almost the most thrilling thing I’ve done in a long time. I got a chance to understand the minds of my community and how they arrived at their conclusions and opinions. Of course you can imagine the hardest part of hands-on service is communication and planning. I officially know how to reserve rooms at Stetson! A tool I plan to utilize again and again during my last two years here. I can also talk in front of a crowd without stumbling on my words not nearly as much as I use to!

I think after week one I was pretty certain no matter what I did, even after my hours were completed, I wasn’t going to really finish anything. Most of this service is carrying on into the fall semester. I won’t spoil anything just yet, but things are looking really exciting for the fall!!!

Completely Delayed - Week 8 (the last!) at CSL

So it has been far too long of an amount of time between my last week and this blog post. Since then I've been up in Connecticut, enjoying the cool(er) weather, working at the food pantry and researching for my town hall's website to make up for all the hours I didn't do while I was at Oxford. Anyway.

During my last week at the CSL, I interviewed a few more people for my "CBR" project, became even more frustrated with the state of the food assistance programs, and decided that food assistance is not enough. It's not helping the problem, it's only patching it. There is no antibacterial cream, no stitches, no plaster cast, no plucking out the glass shards embedded in the wound ... just a splash of water and a band-aid. NOT ENOUGH. Rah. It's frustrating to see so much water pouring into such a big, desperate, empty bucket with a big hole in the bottom. OK. Enough metaphors. But does that make sense? And I want to do something about it, but just working at the food pantry or volunteering at the SNAP (food stamps) office ISN'T ENOUGH. It's not fixing anything. I mean, it's good to be helping people in the meantime, because hey, if they need food they need food and they obviously must be provided for. BUT. What about in a week, when the food from the pantry runs out or the EBT card has no more benefits on it? What about after six months, when they have to reapply because nothing has changed? So frustrating. It's just another instance of the issues that are so clear, but yet again the solutions are so ... nebulous (love that word :D). Something I've been confronted with a lot this summer through my work at the CSL and the interviews with the community partners. So much need, not enough solutions.

Anyway, other than that, we also finalized the new First-Year Bonner Experience (I think we should call it FYBE, rhyming with "vibe" because FYBE, as in "fib" is ... not really a good association!), called the partners, and they were all SUPER excited about everything, which I think I've mentioned before, but it was still really reassuring. Um ... what else? Our last day, we went to this place called Sweet Melissas for lunch which had quite delicious food, though it was completely sketch and boiling hot. But I loved it anyways.

I shall conclude my final SoS 2010 blog on a happy note: I LOVE BONNER (insert heart here). B-love to all Stetson Bonners, and to everyone else out there in cyberspace. There's plenty to go around :)

Tea Parties and Princess Dresses...

This past week was my third week at Girls Inc. The week flew by so fast since we were doing so many things. Monday and Tuesday I helped the girls make tiaras out of recycled cardboard. We decorated them using markers, glitter, beads, feathers, and anything else we could find. The girls got really into it and ended up making some really fantastic tiaras. These tiaras were for the tea party that we were going to have on Friday. The girls were super excited all week. Wednesday and Thursday we made fancy gloves out of old tights or panty hose. Since the theme of this summer is Girls Inc. Goes Green we try to make sure we are recycling and reusing with all of our arts and crafts projects.
Friday was the day of the big tea party. The girls all came dressed in their princess dresses wearing their tiaras and gloves that they had made. They were all soooo cute! We made cucumber sandwiches and tea and gave the girls a chance to practice their etiquette skills that Ms. Marcia had been teaching them all summer. All in all the tea party was a success. I'm not sure what we have coming up this week but I'm sure no matter what it is the girls will make it fun. Talk to you guys in a week!

The Heavy Lifting

I have to say this week was perhaps the hardest week yet of my SoS but also the most enjoyable. Instead of spending time in the office filing or making copies, I worked with a two other ladies (one who works in the office and a teacher) to organize and move textbooks. I know it sounds simple right? Well, it sounds simple but in reality sorting over 280 boxes of textbooks and then hauling them all over campus to their correct classrooms can get really tiring. By Wednesday morning, we were definitely ready for a break. Although it was hard work, we really enjoyed ourselves. We laughed when the carts of books went flying down ramps and when we thought we lost the only master key to all of the teachers closets! I also enjoyed taking a walk down memory lane with my fourth grade teacher, who was one of the volunteers. Thursday we completed this huge task and started on another one. Friday morning we started boxing up books from the school's library in preparation for the move to a different (and bigger) location!

After a very tiring week, I was so glad to be able to have the weekend to relax. This upcoming week will be my last at Meadowbrook so I'm hoping to get as much done as possible!

Friday, July 9, 2010

Not in real time

These first few entries are not in real time because I've been totally slacking on my blogging.
I'm doing fitness related things at Noah's Ark Baptist in Naples

Week 1
My first week was the last week of May. The kids were putting on a mother's day show for Haitian mother's day which is the last Sunday of May and they really needed help. The show being a last minute thing really was lacking some stuff. So that's how i ended up "choreographing" a dance and helping put up the show in one week.
It was definitely stressful but it was fun because the kids are hilarious and take their shows seriously.
I have a video of one of the dances I taught some girls but it's taking forever to upload so I will have to put that up later. I think it ended up very good considering the time some of the kids had to practice was not much.

Week 2
Totally diferent from week 1. I've been researching and doing office work this week.
The only fun thing I did was help 2 friends from the church come up with workout plans and I also went with them to the gym Mon, Wed and  Fri. They are now officially my workout buddies.
I'm making my plans on how to go about starting my awareness campaign because i've got lots of information to share. They want me to do presentations for different groups at the church. Like one day the women ministry, the men, the youth, and then do general presentations. I'm excited about
I've also started studying for my group fitness certification. I'm kinda confused about which one to take because there are so many different ones. All in all it was an ok week

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Long Time No Post!

So my apartment doesn't have internet and I can't use the internet at work for personal use and getting up at 6 and home by 6 is a pretty long day, longer than I'm used to. SO. For an update: my internship at the Supervisor of Elections Office has been UH-MAZE-ING. I seriously had no idea that I would be learning so much so quickly. May 24 through May 27 the Outreach Team held events all over Polk County. I learned my way around backroads that I never knew existed!
The most exciting event of the week wad the Auburndale 2nd Annual Ladies Expo and Luncheon. We offered registration services to quite a few ladies at the Expo as well as sample the best cupcakes in town (courtesy of It's a Piece of Cake by Maggie, aslo home of the best cakes in town). Sometimes I feel like my internship is more about food than it is about voter services.
At this point, I am looking forward to learning more about the process of arranging Early Voting and the ins and outs of getting ready for a major election.
I can safely say that I know how to work a high-tech copy machine as well as how to transfer a call to a different line, but I am anxious to learn more about the elections office.
This weeks most unique experience was visiting the Rohr Home, an assisted living facility. It was a very small building, so Victoria and I went room to room with our clipboards and American Flags to offer Absentee Ballot requests to the residents. I met a few folks that were nearly 100 years old. What a life!
Well, that's all for now folks!

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Cut and Glue

I'm down to my last couple of weeks at the CSL. Where has the time gone?? I've been cutting and gluing for the past couple of days so I thought I'd take a break and blog...(I know! I'm making excuses!) But in my defense, I need to cut 100 pages into five sections and then glue them on to brown paper lunch bags. When I finish I should have 500. And I probably have to do it again when I glue on the stories.I'm pretty sure I don't want to cut nor glue for a very long time after this. All I can say is that the freshmen better like it! We have been working on projects in order to get ready for the Hunger Banquet, which is on August 17, 2010 at 5:30p.m. in the Rinker Field House. These bags are advertising initiatives giving freshmen information on how they can get involved. Sometime along the way, we also have to ask for food donations, make a banner, and finish planning. I think asking for food donations will be the hardest part for me. For some reason, I don't really like it when they say no. haha.
Well, last week I think I had mentioned something about the Pepsi Refresh Project. I logged on at 7am on July 1st thinking I would submit my already written project. But nope...there are already 1000 entries. The lesson learned: submit the project at midnight on August 1st. You guys will have to stay tuned for when I bug you with thirty days of reminder e-mails! :)
Otherwise, Stetson is just cruising along summertime. Florida doesn't quite beat Jack Kelly's 111 degree weather in NJ. But it has been raining almost everyday. Surprising, huh?

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Heat Waves

Hey Everyone! I hope you all had an awesome 4th of July..even those out of country! This Reflections blog rocks, and by the way...no other school has one this strong. Woo! So, my car told me it was 111 DEGREES here in NJ today. Yeah. WHAT!? Well, I just put a substantial post on my bloogg so check it out!:

http://northsoutheastcoast.blogspot.com/

Also, so you don't think I'm totally slacking off here..check out some of the new Bonner Training videos I've been working on:



There's some more, but all of these are kind of still secret..so you never saw these, right? ;)

SoS Weeks 4 and 5...Avoiding Pink Eye and New Training

Week 4 has definitely been a challenge to get through. Its the last week of FAU's Mid-Summer session, so we have to make sure that students who receive extended time on exams have turned in all of their paperwork, check to see if the exams have been received my professors (regular font, large print for vision-impaired students, audio recording for physically impaired students or blind students, etc.), double check that the students accomodations have been approved, and finally, once the student finishes the exam, we have sure be 100% positive that each and every exam is delivered to the correct office to the correct professor. Needless to say, there was PLENTY of work to be done during Week 4, but it was all worth it for all of our appreciative students. One memory in particular that was very touching to me was one I met a graduate student who was physically impaired in a wheelchair. I had worked with him before but never realized that extent of his physical impairment. As I was leading him to his personal testing room where he would receive 2.5x's extra time on his final exam, I opened up the audio recording program on the computer since he is unable to use his hands. I thought he was only unable to write, but it turns out that he can't use his hand at all except for the joystick on his electric wheel chair. When we were in the testing room, he asked me to put the headphones on his head and then had me adjust them about three or four times until they were comfortable. This made me appreciate every little movement that I am able to make with my hands.

Later that week, I learned about Asperger's Syndrome which is also known as High-Functioning Autism. I was told that Asperger's students are extremely bright and are often the most intelligent students in a course. They absorb material like sponges, and retain large amounts of information. There disability is seen in social situations...they literally have no regard for how to act in social settings. They don't know what is appropriate or not and have a hard time communicating at all with others let alone communicating effectively. Most Asperger's students are male and their speech is often about random topics that have nothing to do with the task at hand. I witnessed the struggle that Asperger's students go through when on of our Asperger's students used our computer lab for two hours before informing us that he was infected with Pink Eye. Because of his disability, he didn't realize that it is innapropriate to be in public settings with conjuctivitis. We kindly asked him to return only when he had a Doctor's note and quickly went to work disinfecting the lab and the rest of the office. I really felt bad for him, though.

Week 5 has been the most challenging week thus far. Our Coordinator of Notetaking Services is taking off for vacation in England until July 20th and I have been chosen to learn her position and fill in for her. I never realized how much paperwork, computer records, and filing had to be done in order to pair one of our disabled students with a volunteer notetaker. There were literally moments during my training when I wanted to quick, because I was so incredibly frustrated with all of the crazy details to remember. Thankfully, our Coordinator is one of the most patient women I've ever met. I was finally getting the hang of things by Thursday, and by Friday, I was barley asking her questions on how to put the data in the system, match the student with a notetaker, file the paperwork, inform the volunteer that they have a volunteer position, while simultaneously contacting professors who are being stubborn about informing the class that a volunteer notetaker is needed. I am learning to balance all of the tasks at hand, and realize that all of my work pays off when I see that relief on a disabled student's face when they are informed that they have been matched with a volunteer notetaker for one of their courses. Let's see how this week goes...I'm on my own without help! Bring on the challenges!!! hehehe