snow, snow, and more snow! the cons: its cold, i havent left the house today, and it would have been nice to leave wisconsin for some warmer weather. the pros: not leaving the house has given me time to be pretty productive today and has even given me the time to update my blog :)
being home has been really great so far...tons of concrete, cars, pollution, and noise :) merry christmas to me! i have definitely missed my family and friends and i couldnt really imagine being anywhere else at christmas time than here. but i do miss working, and having a routine, and laughing hysterically at middle school kids!
theres not too much to report since i have really been using my time at home to visit with everyone and do nothing while i have the time to. snowpocalypse 2k10 is well underway and supposedly wont be over until tomorrow night. and i was worried about wisconsin winters!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
115 days down...172 days to go
115 days = 16 weeks and 3 days = 4 months = time i have lived in wisconsin! and after all this time i will finally be going home for 2 whole weeks on friday! i guess 4 months isnt really that much but i feel like i have been gone for soooo long even though the last 4 month have FLOWN by...
last weekend we were in memphis for our marathon fundraiser. it was really nice to be able to get to some warmer weather and see all the other volunteers, especially fellow jaspers! i can now say that i have officially completed my first 5K and i was even able to raise $5 more than my fundraising goals- not bad at all! thanks to everyone who donated!
other than that, things have been pretty much the same. the kids have been a little lazy with their hw lately, but i get it. the time between thanksgiving and christmas is always like that. i am with them- its time for a break! but they still have me cracking up on a daily basis and thats never a bad thing :)
i really just cant believe that half of my year is over. there are days when i feel like i just moved to wisconsin yesterday and there are other days when i feel like i have lived here forever. the dreaded question of whether or not i will back for year 2 has been coming up a lot more than usual lately, for better or for worse. the kids have asked me a bunch of times, and we have gotten the information about how to renew if we want to, and i have thought about it as well. and i still have mixed emotions about it. sometimes i think about how this has been a great experience and i am ready to do something else and sometimes i think that there is no way that i can do what i want to do here in 172 days and that i need more time.
the good thing is that i still have more time to make my decision and i really think having some time away will help me gain some clarity over the whole situation. no rushing any decisions for now- we all know how much i loveeeee to decide on things :)
nothing too earth shattering in other news. or maybe there is and i just forgot. oh well, if that is the case please accept my sincerest apologies!
i dont think i will have time to update again before i leave so i guess thats it. 5 more days of midwest life and then im back to the new york. yayyyy- see you soon east coast!
last weekend we were in memphis for our marathon fundraiser. it was really nice to be able to get to some warmer weather and see all the other volunteers, especially fellow jaspers! i can now say that i have officially completed my first 5K and i was even able to raise $5 more than my fundraising goals- not bad at all! thanks to everyone who donated!
other than that, things have been pretty much the same. the kids have been a little lazy with their hw lately, but i get it. the time between thanksgiving and christmas is always like that. i am with them- its time for a break! but they still have me cracking up on a daily basis and thats never a bad thing :)
i really just cant believe that half of my year is over. there are days when i feel like i just moved to wisconsin yesterday and there are other days when i feel like i have lived here forever. the dreaded question of whether or not i will back for year 2 has been coming up a lot more than usual lately, for better or for worse. the kids have asked me a bunch of times, and we have gotten the information about how to renew if we want to, and i have thought about it as well. and i still have mixed emotions about it. sometimes i think about how this has been a great experience and i am ready to do something else and sometimes i think that there is no way that i can do what i want to do here in 172 days and that i need more time.
the good thing is that i still have more time to make my decision and i really think having some time away will help me gain some clarity over the whole situation. no rushing any decisions for now- we all know how much i loveeeee to decide on things :)
nothing too earth shattering in other news. or maybe there is and i just forgot. oh well, if that is the case please accept my sincerest apologies!
i dont think i will have time to update again before i leave so i guess thats it. 5 more days of midwest life and then im back to the new york. yayyyy- see you soon east coast!
Friday, November 26, 2010
i'm a believer
i must begin with my apologies on not updating my faithful readers on my super exciting life in almost 3 weeks! november has been soooo busy and now that thanksgiving has given me some time off of work, i finally am able to take some time to update everyone on the last few weeks. so yes this will be long...but it will be worth it! :)
we have had a visitor at our house every weekend in november! my mom came for a weekend, court came to visit, and jolleen, the associate director of the lasallian volunteers was here right before thanksgiving. (all the volunteers get a visit from one of the programs administrators twice a year to check in and see how everything is going) it was nice to have different people around and spend some time with people from home. i cant believe that i have been in wisconsin for 3 whole months! time has definitely gone by quickly but it was nice to have some familiar faces around, especially right before thanksgiving.
work has been going well. i am busy, but not too busy :) and the kids are so great. they are hilarious and i constantly find myself entertained by them. i wish that i could pass of their jokes as my own but im not so sure they would be as funny coming from me as they are coming from them.
jolleen was the person was responsible for my whole interview process with the lasallian volunteers so i thought it was pretty fitting that she was also coming for our site visit. leading up to her visit i thought a lot about my whole interview process and how reluctant i was to agree to come to racine for my year of service so i decided that when she came to visit i was going to investigate the whole placement process which i prefer to think of as a draft :)
the only thing i really remember about the conversation i had with jolleen when she told me i was moving to wisconsin was me responding with "yea, no, i really dont see myself there". when i asked jolleen what she remembered she said that she was surprised that i asked her if there were cows there. HAHA yes, i probabaly did do that too! and i think it went something like "when i think of wisconsin, all i think of is cows. there is no way that racine is urban." jolleen also told me how surprised she was that i agreed to come to racine with so little persuasion on her part. she said that when i told her that i was going to agree to my placement she thought i was either really resilient and up for a challenge or completely crazy. i think its a little of both!
it was nice to have jolleen here to not only answer my burning questions about placement, but also to check in with and talk about how everything has been going this year so far. we talked about how this whole experience has surprisingly made me consider teaching in the future and how i really feel that i have learned just as much, if not more, from the students i work with as they have learned from me.
a big part of my experience that i shared with jolleen was the fact that i often think about the students i work with and how they have lived more life in their time up to middle or high school than i probably will live in my entire life. in the past 3 months, i have heard more stories about families that are struggling, brothers and sisters who are in jail, people who have been shot or killed, and the difficulties of having family in two countries at once than i have in my entire life. and the kids tell me like its nothing! it is so crazy for me to think that a lot of these situations are "normal" for them and i admire them for the adversity that they often face. the meaning of resiliency has never been so clear to me!
yesterday we spent the day in chicago at two different lasallian communities for the thanksgiving holiday. both of the communities have lasallian volunteers, but only one of the communities has brothers living with them. it was nice to see everyone again and spend time with a bigger group for thanksgiving. we were able to see how everyones service work was going and get a change of scenery for the day.
on our way home, desiree and i were talking about the hoidays, and our work, and our time at thanksgiving and we both agreed that...
DRUMROLLLL PLEASE (because you never thought that i would say this!)
we are so happy that we are in racine. i know! i was kind of surprised too! i mean, are there things i dont love about my experience so far? yes. do i miss living in new york? absolutely. do i sometimes wish that i was closer to my family and friends? of course. but its normal to feel those things and i have no regrets about taking part in this experience.
so yes, here is my shout out to jolleen, alissa, mari, and zac...i get it now. i'm a believer. and i know why you guys are in charge! :)
i think that pretty much sums it up for now. 2 more weeks until christmas break! yayyyyyyy :) and one more week until the marathon. i reached my fundraising goal! but that doesnt mean you still cant donate all that money you saved this morning on your black friday sales to yours truly :) heres the link...https://lasallianvolunteers.myetap.org/fundraiser/lvsrunninginmemphis/individual.do?participationRef=4586.0.2022467
we have had a visitor at our house every weekend in november! my mom came for a weekend, court came to visit, and jolleen, the associate director of the lasallian volunteers was here right before thanksgiving. (all the volunteers get a visit from one of the programs administrators twice a year to check in and see how everything is going) it was nice to have different people around and spend some time with people from home. i cant believe that i have been in wisconsin for 3 whole months! time has definitely gone by quickly but it was nice to have some familiar faces around, especially right before thanksgiving.
work has been going well. i am busy, but not too busy :) and the kids are so great. they are hilarious and i constantly find myself entertained by them. i wish that i could pass of their jokes as my own but im not so sure they would be as funny coming from me as they are coming from them.
jolleen was the person was responsible for my whole interview process with the lasallian volunteers so i thought it was pretty fitting that she was also coming for our site visit. leading up to her visit i thought a lot about my whole interview process and how reluctant i was to agree to come to racine for my year of service so i decided that when she came to visit i was going to investigate the whole placement process which i prefer to think of as a draft :)
the only thing i really remember about the conversation i had with jolleen when she told me i was moving to wisconsin was me responding with "yea, no, i really dont see myself there". when i asked jolleen what she remembered she said that she was surprised that i asked her if there were cows there. HAHA yes, i probabaly did do that too! and i think it went something like "when i think of wisconsin, all i think of is cows. there is no way that racine is urban." jolleen also told me how surprised she was that i agreed to come to racine with so little persuasion on her part. she said that when i told her that i was going to agree to my placement she thought i was either really resilient and up for a challenge or completely crazy. i think its a little of both!
it was nice to have jolleen here to not only answer my burning questions about placement, but also to check in with and talk about how everything has been going this year so far. we talked about how this whole experience has surprisingly made me consider teaching in the future and how i really feel that i have learned just as much, if not more, from the students i work with as they have learned from me.
a big part of my experience that i shared with jolleen was the fact that i often think about the students i work with and how they have lived more life in their time up to middle or high school than i probably will live in my entire life. in the past 3 months, i have heard more stories about families that are struggling, brothers and sisters who are in jail, people who have been shot or killed, and the difficulties of having family in two countries at once than i have in my entire life. and the kids tell me like its nothing! it is so crazy for me to think that a lot of these situations are "normal" for them and i admire them for the adversity that they often face. the meaning of resiliency has never been so clear to me!
yesterday we spent the day in chicago at two different lasallian communities for the thanksgiving holiday. both of the communities have lasallian volunteers, but only one of the communities has brothers living with them. it was nice to see everyone again and spend time with a bigger group for thanksgiving. we were able to see how everyones service work was going and get a change of scenery for the day.
on our way home, desiree and i were talking about the hoidays, and our work, and our time at thanksgiving and we both agreed that...
DRUMROLLLL PLEASE (because you never thought that i would say this!)
we are so happy that we are in racine. i know! i was kind of surprised too! i mean, are there things i dont love about my experience so far? yes. do i miss living in new york? absolutely. do i sometimes wish that i was closer to my family and friends? of course. but its normal to feel those things and i have no regrets about taking part in this experience.
so yes, here is my shout out to jolleen, alissa, mari, and zac...i get it now. i'm a believer. and i know why you guys are in charge! :)
i think that pretty much sums it up for now. 2 more weeks until christmas break! yayyyyyyy :) and one more week until the marathon. i reached my fundraising goal! but that doesnt mean you still cant donate all that money you saved this morning on your black friday sales to yours truly :) heres the link...https://lasallianvolunteers.myetap.org/fundraiser/lvsrunninginmemphis/individual.do?participationRef=4586.0.2022467
Sunday, November 7, 2010
buddha says it best!
so this is my postsecret postcard that i made and mailed in last year. for those of you who dont know about postsecret, you should really check it out! its a blog that asks people to anonymously send in their secrets and each week many of the secrets received are posted. and they have books. and i love love love it!
but anywayyyy- i have been thinking A LOT lately about my time here and the work i have been doing and even about next year. the lasallian volunteers allow each us to choose to renew our time at our sites for a second year if we want to. we can also choose to renew for a second year and request to switch which site we work at. and for whatever reason, the idea of deciding what i want to do next year has been in my head. and although it is a while before i have to make a decision, i still think about it often.
there is a big part of me that is so ready for the next step. i have had my time away from school and am ready to be in a classroom learning again. i want to be back in the city and pursuing a master's degree. the idea of this is exciting to me and i am eager to get going on it. but this would mean that i would have to take the gre over christmas break and start on my applications and whatnot like yesterday. so while it is possible, i would definitely be cutting it a little close.
the other big part of me feels that it would be so unfair for me to leave here after only one year. a year sounds like a longggg time, but its not! i cant believe that its already november and that i have been living in wisconsin for almost 4 months! i have started to get really close with a lot of the kids and when they ask me if i am coming back next year, i almost feel bad telling them that i dont know.
the kids that we work with experience change and inconsistency more often than not. some of them have moved 4 or 5 times in a year, changed schools numerous times, and live in homes where they are promised things that never come to fruition. only 20% of teens perceive that adults in the racine county community value youth. only 23% of young people in racine county report having positive and responsible role models. and only 25% of racine county youth report having useful role models in the community.
i would just feel so guilty "abandoning" these kids and reinforcing the idea that adults here dont value the youth of the community. i know that i am not technically responsible for sustaining the development of all the kids i work with, but i cant help but feel at least a little responsible.
i know that i cant base my decision off of guilt or feeling bad or not wanting to disappoint anyone. and i also know that i have plenty of more time to make a final decision about what i want to do. for now, its not fair to live in the future and not focus on the present. i am here now and regardless of whether or not i will be back in the future shouldnt take away from what i am doing right now.
i think buddha sums it up pretty well- “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.”
Monday, November 1, 2010
5 simple rules to happiness
i found this and wanted to share!
5 simple rules to happiness:
1. free your heart of hatred
2. free your mind of worries
3. live simply
4. give more
5. expect less
5 simple rules to happiness:
1. free your heart of hatred
2. free your mind of worries
3. live simply
4. give more
5. expect less
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
never have i ever...
never have i ever...
1. run
my 5k training has been going well so far. i am proud of the fact that i have actually been able to stick with it and am surprised that it is not as bad as i thought it would be! (insert shameless plug for money) i am about half way to my fundraising goal and you can still help me out! heres the link :) https://lasallianvolunteers.myetap.org/fundraiser/lvsrunninginmemphis/individual.do?participationRef=4586.0.2022467
2. been an esl teacher
each wednesday, i spend time with a middle school student named kim. he is a native of thailand and still struggles with the english language. and by struggle, i mean struggleee. he is supposed to be a freshman in high school this year but it was decided that he would stay in middle school for an extra year because he is not comfortable with english.
when they had first asked me to help kim with esl, i figured that i would helping him working on his reading and maybe some writing skills. easy enough- i do both of those things everyday with the kids at the center. what i found out when i arrived was that this was not the case. we are working on the alphabet, letter recognition, phonics, and vocabulary. and it is hard! i think it is safe to say that this is probably one of the most, if not the most, challenging task i have taken on in a longggg time. i often ask myself "whats the best way to teach a 15 year old the alphabet without using materials that are designed for a 3 year old?" it is definitely difficult at times, but i think i have a good plan of action for the time being and hope that it will work. keep your fingers crossed!
3. argued with middle school students so much, even when i was in middle school!
i mostly work with middle school students. some elementary. and some high school. so i now know exactly why my mother was not such a fan of me during grades 6, 7, and 8. some of the middle school kids are so great and well behaved one day and the next day will fight me to do their homework and argue about everythinggggg. i dont get it. good thing i had plenty of practice dealing with college students who behaved like middle schoolers during my time as an RA! but i suppose that i too was just like this at one point in my life so i am willing to be patient and hope that there are more great and well behaved days than fighting and arguing days. please pray for this as well :)
4. felt like such a mom/kid all at the same time
on wednesday, thursday, and friday this week the center was closed. so there were no kids :( but i did get a lot of work done :) we took a group of kids to chuck e. cheese for a reward from our incentive program on thursday afternoon and another group of kids to racine's factory of fear haunted house on friday night for their reward. chuck e. cheese was so completely overstimulating- i felt like i was about to seizure from all the noise and lights. i hadnt been to chuck e. cheese since i was about 7 years old so it was fun. i almost didnt go in the haunted house because i hate scary things but i figured i kind of had to because it was for the kids and everything. verdict- it wasnt that scary. i actually found the whole thing somewhat hilarious minus the creepy monster guy who followed me through the haunted house breathing in my ear the whole time. grosssss
that was the kid part. it was nice to see the kids outside of an academic setting and allow them to participate in something that they might not get to do on their own. and pretending i was in middle school again :) the mom part is pretty much a lot of my other time at work. i email teachers, go to teacher conferences, and make sure that the kid's finish their homework.
i guess for where i am at in my life its pretty fitting. i get to pretend im actually an adult but still get to have fun. the best of both worlds? i think so! :)
1. run
my 5k training has been going well so far. i am proud of the fact that i have actually been able to stick with it and am surprised that it is not as bad as i thought it would be! (insert shameless plug for money) i am about half way to my fundraising goal and you can still help me out! heres the link :) https://lasallianvolunteers.myetap.org/fundraiser/lvsrunninginmemphis/individual.do?participationRef=4586.0.2022467
2. been an esl teacher
each wednesday, i spend time with a middle school student named kim. he is a native of thailand and still struggles with the english language. and by struggle, i mean struggleee. he is supposed to be a freshman in high school this year but it was decided that he would stay in middle school for an extra year because he is not comfortable with english.
when they had first asked me to help kim with esl, i figured that i would helping him working on his reading and maybe some writing skills. easy enough- i do both of those things everyday with the kids at the center. what i found out when i arrived was that this was not the case. we are working on the alphabet, letter recognition, phonics, and vocabulary. and it is hard! i think it is safe to say that this is probably one of the most, if not the most, challenging task i have taken on in a longggg time. i often ask myself "whats the best way to teach a 15 year old the alphabet without using materials that are designed for a 3 year old?" it is definitely difficult at times, but i think i have a good plan of action for the time being and hope that it will work. keep your fingers crossed!
3. argued with middle school students so much, even when i was in middle school!
i mostly work with middle school students. some elementary. and some high school. so i now know exactly why my mother was not such a fan of me during grades 6, 7, and 8. some of the middle school kids are so great and well behaved one day and the next day will fight me to do their homework and argue about everythinggggg. i dont get it. good thing i had plenty of practice dealing with college students who behaved like middle schoolers during my time as an RA! but i suppose that i too was just like this at one point in my life so i am willing to be patient and hope that there are more great and well behaved days than fighting and arguing days. please pray for this as well :)
4. felt like such a mom/kid all at the same time
on wednesday, thursday, and friday this week the center was closed. so there were no kids :( but i did get a lot of work done :) we took a group of kids to chuck e. cheese for a reward from our incentive program on thursday afternoon and another group of kids to racine's factory of fear haunted house on friday night for their reward. chuck e. cheese was so completely overstimulating- i felt like i was about to seizure from all the noise and lights. i hadnt been to chuck e. cheese since i was about 7 years old so it was fun. i almost didnt go in the haunted house because i hate scary things but i figured i kind of had to because it was for the kids and everything. verdict- it wasnt that scary. i actually found the whole thing somewhat hilarious minus the creepy monster guy who followed me through the haunted house breathing in my ear the whole time. grosssss
that was the kid part. it was nice to see the kids outside of an academic setting and allow them to participate in something that they might not get to do on their own. and pretending i was in middle school again :) the mom part is pretty much a lot of my other time at work. i email teachers, go to teacher conferences, and make sure that the kid's finish their homework.
i guess for where i am at in my life its pretty fitting. i get to pretend im actually an adult but still get to have fun. the best of both worlds? i think so! :)
Friday, October 22, 2010
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