Post - Service
I noticed how into their culture the family still was, and they don't seem interested in giving up their own culture to live here. Which I think is wonderful that they don't feel like they have to conform, and they are very willing to learn English, and things that 'typical' Americans do. They ask alot of questions and like to have fun which shows how willing and open they are to the American lifestyle. This experience has helped me to see how much effort it takes to uproot your entire family and move to a different country for your own safety. I have a lot of respect for them knowing that they left behind all their friends, and families to come to a place that they think is safer for them. It takes a lot of courage to do something like that, and even though they are still learning how to live here and how to speak English and become accustomed to the kind of lifestyle that has been created in America they are more than willing to do that which is something I don't know that I could do. I think it'll help me with my future intercultural interactions because I can sometimes be quick to judge when you see so many minorities and then there's that one family that doesn't speak English. It can be frustrating, but everyone has their own story and some people have only been here a short amount of time, it'll help me to remember to take a step back and realize that I don't know everyone's life story, and I don't know their situation so I shouldn't be so quick to judge.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Blog #4
The kids are becoming more and more fluent in English and are talking to us more. The girl is still fairly shy but gets excited when she has the right answer. They are spelling words without a problem and can say their ABCs perfectly fine. They count to 10 and want to keep going, they're not currently going to school but they are doing good for just learning on their own. I think the kids are still in the honeymoon stage of moving to America, they are very excited to be here and are happy to be learning all these new things. The father seems to be in the initial adjustment stage. He has a job that he seems to like, he is becoming fluent in English, and he's able to connect with friends and family back in their hometown. The mother is in the culture shock stage, she seems excited to be here and learn new things, but is easily frustrated at how far behind the rest of her family is and how much freedoms we have here as women compared to she does from their hometown, and culture. I think the kids need to start learning more difficult words and start to create sentences with those words, the girl especially, she is the oldest and her brother is learning the same things as her. She would be a 3rd grader if she were in school and he would only be in 1st yet they're learning the same things and are at the same level. I think the mom needs some more individual and guided help, maybe have her separate from the kids and husband for even 30 minutes a day to work on these things so she isn't focused on everything else and can get caught up to the rest of her family.
The kids are becoming more and more fluent in English and are talking to us more. The girl is still fairly shy but gets excited when she has the right answer. They are spelling words without a problem and can say their ABCs perfectly fine. They count to 10 and want to keep going, they're not currently going to school but they are doing good for just learning on their own. I think the kids are still in the honeymoon stage of moving to America, they are very excited to be here and are happy to be learning all these new things. The father seems to be in the initial adjustment stage. He has a job that he seems to like, he is becoming fluent in English, and he's able to connect with friends and family back in their hometown. The mother is in the culture shock stage, she seems excited to be here and learn new things, but is easily frustrated at how far behind the rest of her family is and how much freedoms we have here as women compared to she does from their hometown, and culture. I think the kids need to start learning more difficult words and start to create sentences with those words, the girl especially, she is the oldest and her brother is learning the same things as her. She would be a 3rd grader if she were in school and he would only be in 1st yet they're learning the same things and are at the same level. I think the mom needs some more individual and guided help, maybe have her separate from the kids and husband for even 30 minutes a day to work on these things so she isn't focused on everything else and can get caught up to the rest of her family.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
During Service #3
When we got to our families new house they had added some new furniture, like a tv and cell phones. They were very into watching curious george and the news. I helped the mom learn words relating to babies and children because she is 8 months pregnant, the kids colored, watched tv, and did food related words off a powerpoint that was made. They're all getting better at English, the dad is almost fluent and better at understanding us when we talk, the mom is getting better at mimicking our words when we say them. Both kids know their ABCs, can spell their names, and other words and they can read simple words in english. By the kids getting better and better at english we can start playing more games with them since they know all the words used in everyday life. The mom we can focus more help on so that she is caught up to pace when having to leave the house and encounter other Americas.
When we got to our families new house they had added some new furniture, like a tv and cell phones. They were very into watching curious george and the news. I helped the mom learn words relating to babies and children because she is 8 months pregnant, the kids colored, watched tv, and did food related words off a powerpoint that was made. They're all getting better at English, the dad is almost fluent and better at understanding us when we talk, the mom is getting better at mimicking our words when we say them. Both kids know their ABCs, can spell their names, and other words and they can read simple words in english. By the kids getting better and better at english we can start playing more games with them since they know all the words used in everyday life. The mom we can focus more help on so that she is caught up to pace when having to leave the house and encounter other Americas.
Friday, February 14, 2014
During Service
This past Tuesday was the first time I met the family I'm volunteering for, it's a husband, wife, and two kids. They are very happy, funny people but none of them speak very clear English, and they have a translator that comes to there house when they have visitors. I was helping the mom learn how to count American money, what the coins were called, and how much they were worth. I then tried having her put together different amounts. After that we helped the kids make Valentine cards and the mom made us muffins and tea. I think it must be a scary concept for all of the family to move to a whole new country, away from your family, and try to learn our language, and our ways of life. You could tell when the mom got frustrated because she couldn't remember the amounts of coins, or our names. Also their cultural background is much different than ours, the father gets the final say on what everyone does in the house and they're expected to be on their best behavior when guests are around. I think the mom making muffins and tea is a cultural thing that she feels the need to do if there is ever any amount of guests in their house. However, even though it is a scary thing for the family to move to a different country they were all very gracious and acted thankful for our presence. We asked the father if there was any place in the house we weren't allowed to go and he said "You are helping my family, my house is your house, go anywhere you like." That really blew me away that a family who has a lot of learning to do about being in America and are refugees from their own country, is that trustworthy in us to open their home to us after meeting us for the first time. Now after having met the family for the first time, I'm better prepared on how to talk to them and the kinds of activities to bring with to help them learn everything that is necessary for them to begin to grow their lives here in America.
This past Tuesday was the first time I met the family I'm volunteering for, it's a husband, wife, and two kids. They are very happy, funny people but none of them speak very clear English, and they have a translator that comes to there house when they have visitors. I was helping the mom learn how to count American money, what the coins were called, and how much they were worth. I then tried having her put together different amounts. After that we helped the kids make Valentine cards and the mom made us muffins and tea. I think it must be a scary concept for all of the family to move to a whole new country, away from your family, and try to learn our language, and our ways of life. You could tell when the mom got frustrated because she couldn't remember the amounts of coins, or our names. Also their cultural background is much different than ours, the father gets the final say on what everyone does in the house and they're expected to be on their best behavior when guests are around. I think the mom making muffins and tea is a cultural thing that she feels the need to do if there is ever any amount of guests in their house. However, even though it is a scary thing for the family to move to a different country they were all very gracious and acted thankful for our presence. We asked the father if there was any place in the house we weren't allowed to go and he said "You are helping my family, my house is your house, go anywhere you like." That really blew me away that a family who has a lot of learning to do about being in America and are refugees from their own country, is that trustworthy in us to open their home to us after meeting us for the first time. Now after having met the family for the first time, I'm better prepared on how to talk to them and the kinds of activities to bring with to help them learn everything that is necessary for them to begin to grow their lives here in America.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Blog #2
Pre-Service
My hopes for the service - learning project is to learn more about other cultures and expand my own views on the world and other cultures. My assumptions about the service-learning site is that it will be very different from what I'm used to. The house will be set up differently and they will use the electronics and appliances in different ways then we do. I don't know about the population they serve, I think the family that we're going to is from Afghanistan which is going to be interesting to see how they feel about being in America. I think that I'd ask them a lot of questions about their culture and try to relate some of their traditions back to the way things are in America.
My hopes for the service - learning project is to learn more about other cultures and expand my own views on the world and other cultures. My assumptions about the service-learning site is that it will be very different from what I'm used to. The house will be set up differently and they will use the electronics and appliances in different ways then we do. I don't know about the population they serve, I think the family that we're going to is from Afghanistan which is going to be interesting to see how they feel about being in America. I think that I'd ask them a lot of questions about their culture and try to relate some of their traditions back to the way things are in America.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
How does service relate to learning?
Service relates to learning by giving us real world experiences. It's one thing to hear about what is happening around the world on the news but it's totally different to interact with people who have lived through it and experienced it themselves. I think it will be an eye opening experience to realize how different other countries are from the United States.
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