Spring Class #6, Blog 5

What were your top three important issues? Did these change throughout the evening? What did you learn in the videos? Did you agree or disagree with them? What do you think is the point of the Alternative Breaks class?

Blog posts must be 200-400 words, proofread, and void of common grammatical errors.

Your blog posts are due before the start of class next week.

Please email kualbreaks@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Spring Class # 5, Blog 4

What was your favorite activity from class on Thursday? Why was this meaningful? What did you learn about your group members? Feel free to share any other relevant reflections.

Blog posts must be 200-400 words, proofread, and void of common grammatical errors.

Your blog posts are due before the start of class next week.

Please email kualbreaks@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Spring Break Class 4, Blog #3

What did you learn about the potentially helpful and potentially harmful nature of community service? What do you think separates the two? How can you apply this to your break? What is social justice and how does this apply?

Blog posts must be 200-400 words, proofread, and void of common grammatical errors.

Your blog posts are due before the start of class next week.

Please email kualbreaks@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Spring Class 3, Blog #2

Reflect on what you learned, observed and/ or felt during the activities with Dr. Blane Harding. Was there any part that was particularly easy or challenging? How did this activity build on what we learned last week? What did you learn from our discussion as a group? What was your biggest take-away from the evening? Feel free to share any other relevant thoughts or reflections.

Blog posts must be 200-400 words, proofread, and void of common grammatical errors.

Your blog posts are due before the start of class next week.

Please email kualbreaks@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Spring Class 2, Blog #1

Reflect on what you learned from the identity wheel activity. How do our identities effect the way we interact with the world around us? Be sure to reference the discussions in your group as well as the full class.

Blog posts must be 200-400 words, proofread, and void of common grammatical errors.

Your blog posts are due before the start of class next week.

If you have any questions, please email kualbreaks@gmail.com.

Misericordia 5

While I was expecting to experience different cultures at Misericordia, I was not expecting them at our hostel. It's just not something I thought about. Being at the hostel was a new experience for me because of how international the culture there is. We met people from Germany, France, Australia, Minneapolis, Madison, India, and some east asian countries all in one week! You would think that all these different culture would result in a mish-mosh of distinct cultures. But in reality, it seems that because most everyone was there for the same reason the hostel itself had its own single culture. We were all there to experience Chicago/traveling in some form. So aside from most of the small talk, almost every conversation ended in what each person was doing in Chicago and how they were planning on getting around the city.

In terms of getting to know Chicago, we learned that the popular tourism points are Millennium Park, the Willis Tower (aka the Sears Tower), and the museum district. We got several tips on places to go for night life, and we actually went to an 18+ comedy show. In terms of travels, we heard about why people like to travel and what they like to do while they are traveling. In the hostel, a lot of people were there to experience the Chicago night life. This made sharing a room with 11 other girls interesting because our group was getting up at about 6 or 7 am every day while the other girls would just be getting back at 5 or 6 am. Surprisingly, there weren't any major issues regarding the opposite sleep schedules. But given that the population of people staying at the hostel was mostly college students, this emphasis on night life makes a lot of sense. Between all of us travelers though, the common denominator was our desire to experience the culture of Chicago. I think this common denominator is what helped the people at the hostel get along so well; there was a basic understanding of why each of us was there.

Misericordia 4

Today included what I'm sure is going to be the most difficult portion of our volunteer work. Today was our day to go play a game with the residents in the severe/profound area of campus. Having already been through 3 full days of working with mild/moderate residents, I think we were all humbled when we entered the severe/profound area. We were used to being with residents who could easily talk and could, for the most part, carry out the tasks that they had been given. Some could do their job so well that they enjoyed talking with us while we worked. However, the severe/profound ward was definitely not at this level.

When we walked into the severe/profound area, we found that this region is more of a hospital setting than anything else. Even though the stereotypical white walls and tile floors were missing, it still seemed like a hospital because of the nurses/physicians areas in the front of each hallway and because of the extensive amount of medical equipment kept within easy access. But what really made this seem like a hospital were the residents living there. I'm sure we've all seen at least one severe/profound disabled person in our lifetime. But here at Misericordia, there are at least 20 in each hallway. Every single resident we saw was non-ambulatory and only the least handicapped could say a sentence or two at a time. When we saw all of them together in their living room, I think we were all a little shocked to see so much imprisonment in one place. (I say imprisonment because every single resident still has the ability to think and feel. Their body, however, doesn't allow them to function at full capacity. This obstacle towards realizing your full potential is what makes me think of imprisonment.) I think that if I were to see any of these residents in everyday life, I would probably be uncomfortable being around them because I have no idea how to treat them. But now that I think about it, I was probably uncomfortable because I had no idea how I needed to treat these people.

After listening to the recreational trainer explain the best way to work with these residents, and after watching them play for a few minutes, I started gaining enough confidence to join the game. In the game, we had to throw bean bags to knock down cones that were set up in front of each of the residents. But since none of the residents could throw a bean bag on their own, we got to help them throw it. Honestly it was interesting to play with them because I didn't know what characteristics I should expect from each of the residents. But after playing with one of them, I actually noticed that when I seemed happier and more excited to play his arm got looser and it was easier for us to throw the bean bag. Also, when I went to throw a bean bag with another resident, I noticed that when I said "Do you wanna throw the bean bag??" in an excited tone she immediately picked up her arm like she really really wanted to play. These incidents prove to me that both having a friend and feeling like you're included is important across the mental spectra because the residents were excited to be there. This desire for friendship is something that we have in common and, like I mentioned earlier, this point of similarity is incredibly important because it helps society at large understand what this population needs. It is only through understanding the population and learning from them that society at large can best serve them.