My body is going to hate me tomorrow.
Today was our last full day in the area, and we could do what ever we wanted, all day long. We chose to go the state park and then to a skyline pedestrian bridge in nearby Pennsylvania. I think it was a perfect way to culminate our experience. We spent the day together laughing and being outdoors, two of my favorite things.
This morning started around 10 when we went over to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. It's been a real treat having DD so close, I know I'll miss it when we get back to Ithaca. After that we went over to the Seneca Nation of Indians Library so Devon could return the books he checked out and read earlier this week. It was really awesome because the library had two Native's come in with their traditional crafts. The two brothers made really beautiful dream catchers- it's their side business so they came down from a different territory about 40 minutes away to sell to us. After we finished buying souvenirs we stopped at subway to pick up sandwiches for the afternoon. From Salamanca we took off to the Allegany State Park.
The Allegany State Park is massive and beautiful. I hope to come back one day to camp and hike for a few days. We spent our time in one area of the park. I believe it was called something with Red Lake in it (it was an area around a lake, which was really pretty). Anyways, Nikki, Devon, and I decided to go for a hike. Niki and I were looking at the map and saw a 6.5 mile one that we wanted to try but it would've taken us way too long so we settled for the 2.5 mile, black diamond, Osgood Trail. We had to walk a ways around the lake to get to the entrance of the trail. The hike was a lot of fun, I haven't hiked in a long time and decided that I'm going to more often from now on. The trail was uphill on our way to the peak and it was over 2.5 miles without a doubt. We found ourselves in the middle of some really awesome scenery. There was an area with rocks that looked like the setting to a fairy movie or Midsummer nights dream. The temperature was just right and our walking sticks were legit. Once we got to the top of the trail we sat down and took it all in in silence. It was a really beautiful moment and feeling. You know when you physically exert yourself and you accomplish a goal, that's an great feeling. Now combine that with the beauty of the natural surrounding environment and you have a damn near perfect day. The climb down was a lot easier than the climb up. We'd walk from rock to rock and end up off the trail a little, having to search for the little blue men that marked it. One we got down we stopped along the lake to look at the view and feel some cool water. We ended up hiking for over 2 hours.When we finally got back to the picnic area Kathy, Kelly, and Olivia were no where to be found. We contemplated breaking into the van for our food, but decided against it. Kathy came back in a few minutes and unlocked the van for us. I enjoyed every bite of that sandwich.
When Olivia and Kelly returned we headed off to the Kinzua Bridge in PA. The Kinzua bridge used to be a railroad bridge that was used to transport coal or something like that. It was destroyed by a tornado. You can still clearly see the places where the tornado hit, there's not much vegetation. They restored half of the bridge and made it a place for people to go and see instead of functional. The view is spectacular. At the end of the bridge theres glass under you where you can see through to the bottom. Devon struggled with it the entire. It was funny, but I felt bad...kinda. We spent a lot of time there taking pictures and soaking in the view.
After we finished we went into Olean (also known as the squirrel town) for dinner. Nikki spotted this awesome Lebanese/Italian/Something else restuarant for us to eat dinner at. I ate a gyro and it was delicious.
We spent a lot of time at dinner tonight laughing. In fact, we spent a lot of time all day long laughing. With each other, at each other, it was all in good fun. We also started to sing in the car. While we have a music major with us, we are not the best singers (myself being the worst). I really appreciate the group dynamic that we have, I know that the trip wouldn't have been the same with any other people, and any other adviser.
I have so much more to say but again am too tired. I'll be sure to write a nice long one tomorrow with all the things I've missed talking about during the week. We're leaving tomorrow morning :(
-Bree
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
Last day at the youth center...
This morning began with an 11:45 lunch at Cafe La Verna on St. Bonaventure's campus. It was a top-notch sandwich, let me tell you.
After we finished we went over to the Youth Center to pick up Sandy for a windshield tour of Salamanca. A windshield tour is basically when you drive around and someone (in this case, Sandy) tells you what's out the window. It was really interesting to get to see some of the places that we had been talking about all weekend. I also learned a lot more about the town and the circumstances under which a lot of the kids lived. We found out that there used to be a "factory" a few years back that was accidentally burned to the ground by a few kids that got high. Sandy said a few of them did restitution at the Youth Center and also went to the Youth Center. We found out about a few of the local industries and the influence that the Seneca Nation has on them. I'm really glad we got to go on the tour. It definitely helped me better understand the social, historical, and economic issues that shape Salamanca.
We got back to the youth center at 2:30, right in time for the kids to start rolling in. The weather in Salamanca was crazy last night. It was pouring with thunder and lightning like nobody's business. Luckily, I'm not scared by all the storming. So anyways, because of all of that the playground and grass were a little bit wet butttt throughout the afternoon everything dried up and made for a beautiful day. Swings to start the day (obviously) then I played a new game called jackpot, soccer, basketball, jumprope, and a bunch of other things. Jackpot is a game that I could compare to a bride throwing a bouquet- except the bride is facing forwards, the bouquet is a football, and each time its thrown it has a numerical value attached to it. The way to win is to catch the 'jackpot' throw or to get enough money/points to reach the cap set by the thrower. It was a game for all ages and didn't require half of the energy it took to play tag (which I did later in the night).
There was a pool tournament at the center today. Devon made it to the finals and lost to Marc. Marc's a really good kid. I'm pretty sure he's in middle school. He told us to come back in the summer and every break because it was awesome. I hope I can come back. We were in and out during the pool tournament. After we ended up staying outside until we legitimately couldn't see the football we were throwing around (about 7:45). We came inside and started to play a modified dodgeball that you can shoot baskets during. Which was cool, but the game still confused me. There were a bunch of funny moments with Niki and Devon during the game. Well, actually, the entire night has been funny.
As the kids started to head home we started to have to say our goodbyes. That flat out sucked. What are you supposed to say to a 3rd or 4th grader that asks you when you are going to come back, and tells you that they hope it's soon, when you have no idea when you can come back. They were all such good kids too that really enjoyed having us around and it made it more difficult. Knowing that they wont get the individual attention that each child deserves really makes me think about my life. I always had plenty of individual attention, my parents gave that to me and built my self esteem and self- efficacy. I'm worried that some of these kids will never get that opportunity, but I think that the group being there this week was a step in the right direction.
Like I had said yesterday, one of the first questions I ask people about is how their day at school was. I asked that question today and received this answer. "I didn't go to school today." I asked why. "I had to stay home and watch the kids, my mom had to work. I know its a lame excuse but I had too." The thing is, I don't think its a lame excuse. A lame excuse is the one that I used in high school..."I'm sick cough cough"... mental health day. I believe that education is crucial to an individuals future. But when it comes down to survival (of the family I suppose) or education, education loses. My question is why does it have to be like that? What changes need to be made in the system to fix that. Why does someones education have to suffer so his family can make a living?
I talked to a junior high school junior today too. She said that next year she can't take physics or calculus because the schools cutting the courses. Its only going to get worse. Apparently the year after next the athletic and after school clubs are on the chopping block. She worries that eliminating the honor societies will discourage students from trying to preform at a high level in class. The drop out rate is ridiculous. Her freshman class started with about 120 kids, she thinks they're down to about 90. I asked how many she expected to graduate with and she said "I honestly won't know till the end of senior year. They said they'd be happy with us if over 75 graduate." The lack of importance of education is astonishing. I wonder how many kids feel that there's no reward for succeeding, and how many think that dropping out is going to help them.
Some highlights of my day:
Playing with Joshy: Joshy is Phil's little 4 year old cousin. The kid is adorable, smart, and can throw a football. I'll be sure to post pictures of us later.
Hanging out with my fellow ASBer's at dinner and tonight. They put a smile on my face and make me laugh.
I got the names of a few of the older kids so we could keep in contact. I hope they feel comfortable talking to me when they need someone to be there for them.
I wish today wasn't our last day with the kids although I'm glad we ended the way we did. It was reminiscent of a summer night when I was 8 or 9. We stayed out till we couldn't see and got called inside, we played every game imaginable, and enjoyed each others company. I'm going to miss the kids, the center, and the entire atmosphere.
There's a lot more to write about the day but i just don't have the energy. I'm off to bed, we're hiking tomorrow!
-Bree
After we finished we went over to the Youth Center to pick up Sandy for a windshield tour of Salamanca. A windshield tour is basically when you drive around and someone (in this case, Sandy) tells you what's out the window. It was really interesting to get to see some of the places that we had been talking about all weekend. I also learned a lot more about the town and the circumstances under which a lot of the kids lived. We found out that there used to be a "factory" a few years back that was accidentally burned to the ground by a few kids that got high. Sandy said a few of them did restitution at the Youth Center and also went to the Youth Center. We found out about a few of the local industries and the influence that the Seneca Nation has on them. I'm really glad we got to go on the tour. It definitely helped me better understand the social, historical, and economic issues that shape Salamanca.
We got back to the youth center at 2:30, right in time for the kids to start rolling in. The weather in Salamanca was crazy last night. It was pouring with thunder and lightning like nobody's business. Luckily, I'm not scared by all the storming. So anyways, because of all of that the playground and grass were a little bit wet butttt throughout the afternoon everything dried up and made for a beautiful day. Swings to start the day (obviously) then I played a new game called jackpot, soccer, basketball, jumprope, and a bunch of other things. Jackpot is a game that I could compare to a bride throwing a bouquet- except the bride is facing forwards, the bouquet is a football, and each time its thrown it has a numerical value attached to it. The way to win is to catch the 'jackpot' throw or to get enough money/points to reach the cap set by the thrower. It was a game for all ages and didn't require half of the energy it took to play tag (which I did later in the night).
There was a pool tournament at the center today. Devon made it to the finals and lost to Marc. Marc's a really good kid. I'm pretty sure he's in middle school. He told us to come back in the summer and every break because it was awesome. I hope I can come back. We were in and out during the pool tournament. After we ended up staying outside until we legitimately couldn't see the football we were throwing around (about 7:45). We came inside and started to play a modified dodgeball that you can shoot baskets during. Which was cool, but the game still confused me. There were a bunch of funny moments with Niki and Devon during the game. Well, actually, the entire night has been funny.
As the kids started to head home we started to have to say our goodbyes. That flat out sucked. What are you supposed to say to a 3rd or 4th grader that asks you when you are going to come back, and tells you that they hope it's soon, when you have no idea when you can come back. They were all such good kids too that really enjoyed having us around and it made it more difficult. Knowing that they wont get the individual attention that each child deserves really makes me think about my life. I always had plenty of individual attention, my parents gave that to me and built my self esteem and self- efficacy. I'm worried that some of these kids will never get that opportunity, but I think that the group being there this week was a step in the right direction.
Like I had said yesterday, one of the first questions I ask people about is how their day at school was. I asked that question today and received this answer. "I didn't go to school today." I asked why. "I had to stay home and watch the kids, my mom had to work. I know its a lame excuse but I had too." The thing is, I don't think its a lame excuse. A lame excuse is the one that I used in high school..."I'm sick cough cough"... mental health day. I believe that education is crucial to an individuals future. But when it comes down to survival (of the family I suppose) or education, education loses. My question is why does it have to be like that? What changes need to be made in the system to fix that. Why does someones education have to suffer so his family can make a living?
I talked to a junior high school junior today too. She said that next year she can't take physics or calculus because the schools cutting the courses. Its only going to get worse. Apparently the year after next the athletic and after school clubs are on the chopping block. She worries that eliminating the honor societies will discourage students from trying to preform at a high level in class. The drop out rate is ridiculous. Her freshman class started with about 120 kids, she thinks they're down to about 90. I asked how many she expected to graduate with and she said "I honestly won't know till the end of senior year. They said they'd be happy with us if over 75 graduate." The lack of importance of education is astonishing. I wonder how many kids feel that there's no reward for succeeding, and how many think that dropping out is going to help them.
Some highlights of my day:
Playing with Joshy: Joshy is Phil's little 4 year old cousin. The kid is adorable, smart, and can throw a football. I'll be sure to post pictures of us later.
Hanging out with my fellow ASBer's at dinner and tonight. They put a smile on my face and make me laugh.
I got the names of a few of the older kids so we could keep in contact. I hope they feel comfortable talking to me when they need someone to be there for them.
I wish today wasn't our last day with the kids although I'm glad we ended the way we did. It was reminiscent of a summer night when I was 8 or 9. We stayed out till we couldn't see and got called inside, we played every game imaginable, and enjoyed each others company. I'm going to miss the kids, the center, and the entire atmosphere.
There's a lot more to write about the day but i just don't have the energy. I'm off to bed, we're hiking tomorrow!
-Bree
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Each day is better than the last.
Each day I post about how amazing the day has been. It's no different today. Some people might question how that's possible. My answer: I'm lucky that I get to spend time with young kids who want to spend time with me, and anything's possible.
We had the morning free to do with what we pleased. I had hoped to go for a run but decided to sleep instead. For lunch we went to the subway a little down the road and then made a stop at Walmart before returning to campus to pick up whoever decided to forgo lunch and sleep.
It was raining from the morning into the early afternoon so on the drive over we mentally prepared ourselves for every board game imaginable. Luckily the sky cleared up for another beautiful day to spend outside with the kids.
Today I met a freshman named Carol. Carol is actually twins with one of the boys that I've met a few times. It was nice talking to another female teen that really needed someone to listen. We talked about high school, relationships, and how hard it is when your friends move away. I enjoyed her company.
I spent a large part of the day with a little boy named Sean. Sean is five years old and has stolen my heart with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and passion. He's also one of the smartest five year-olds I've ever met, he can count to upwards of 40, and pays attention to every little detail. We started by playing dominoes (which were really jenga blocks) and making a bunch of really awesome designed blocks falling patterns things. Then we got bored with that so we moved into building with the jenga blocks. We made all sorts of weird creations. Sean actually started to spell words with the blocks. It was awesome. After awhile he decided that we were tired of blocks and wanted to play a different game. Bingo! Now apparently Sean is known as the bingo master. After playing three rounds with him I understand why. The kid remembers every number that's been spun in the game, and he may have won all three rounds. After that we moved to Chutes and Ladders: Dora Edition. He killed me in that game too. I must've gone down 5 chutes. After that debauchery of board games we went outside to play hopscotch. Only thing is, we had to draw the board. I thought I would have to draw the boxes and number them all but I was wrong. Sean and I worked as a team; I drew the boxes, he wrote the numbers. We went all the way up to 25. Sean was always pleasant and excited, he never threw a fit or got upset, he always played by the rules. He is a real gem.
I also met a new little girl named Maeva. This girl was full of energy and excitement. She talked a mile a minute. We talked about everything from girl scouts to favorite colors. She drew her mom a heart with a lot of colors in chalk and on top of it wrote "Love you Mommy." That reminded me of things I do for my mom. She was so excited to show her mom the chalk drawing. After she showed her mom she asked me how to spell my name. The kids call me Bree (really, anyone calls me Bree) so she asked me how to spell it. I told her and before I knew it I had my very own drawing. A strawberry with 'Bree' written above it and my initials about that.
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Also on today's agenda was basketball. I swear I'm getting better each day! I got to play in a few 3 on 3 games with Niki and a few of the kids. What I noticed is that when we play little games we don't keep score. I think it's more fun that way- there's less pressure and competition which creates a safer and better environment. I also got to play one on one a little later with Nassim. Kid was good, but the ball was a little to heavy for him to get up to the rim, so I'd let him steal the ball from me and bring it back to his side to shoot.
We had the morning free to do with what we pleased. I had hoped to go for a run but decided to sleep instead. For lunch we went to the subway a little down the road and then made a stop at Walmart before returning to campus to pick up whoever decided to forgo lunch and sleep.
It was raining from the morning into the early afternoon so on the drive over we mentally prepared ourselves for every board game imaginable. Luckily the sky cleared up for another beautiful day to spend outside with the kids.
Today I met a freshman named Carol. Carol is actually twins with one of the boys that I've met a few times. It was nice talking to another female teen that really needed someone to listen. We talked about high school, relationships, and how hard it is when your friends move away. I enjoyed her company.
I spent a large part of the day with a little boy named Sean. Sean is five years old and has stolen my heart with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and passion. He's also one of the smartest five year-olds I've ever met, he can count to upwards of 40, and pays attention to every little detail. We started by playing dominoes (which were really jenga blocks) and making a bunch of really awesome designed blocks falling patterns things. Then we got bored with that so we moved into building with the jenga blocks. We made all sorts of weird creations. Sean actually started to spell words with the blocks. It was awesome. After awhile he decided that we were tired of blocks and wanted to play a different game. Bingo! Now apparently Sean is known as the bingo master. After playing three rounds with him I understand why. The kid remembers every number that's been spun in the game, and he may have won all three rounds. After that we moved to Chutes and Ladders: Dora Edition. He killed me in that game too. I must've gone down 5 chutes. After that debauchery of board games we went outside to play hopscotch. Only thing is, we had to draw the board. I thought I would have to draw the boxes and number them all but I was wrong. Sean and I worked as a team; I drew the boxes, he wrote the numbers. We went all the way up to 25. Sean was always pleasant and excited, he never threw a fit or got upset, he always played by the rules. He is a real gem.
I also met a new little girl named Maeva. This girl was full of energy and excitement. She talked a mile a minute. We talked about everything from girl scouts to favorite colors. She drew her mom a heart with a lot of colors in chalk and on top of it wrote "Love you Mommy." That reminded me of things I do for my mom. She was so excited to show her mom the chalk drawing. After she showed her mom she asked me how to spell my name. The kids call me Bree (really, anyone calls me Bree) so she asked me how to spell it. I told her and before I knew it I had my very own drawing. A strawberry with 'Bree' written above it and my initials about that.
.JPG)
Also on today's agenda was basketball. I swear I'm getting better each day! I got to play in a few 3 on 3 games with Niki and a few of the kids. What I noticed is that when we play little games we don't keep score. I think it's more fun that way- there's less pressure and competition which creates a safer and better environment. I also got to play one on one a little later with Nassim. Kid was good, but the ball was a little to heavy for him to get up to the rim, so I'd let him steal the ball from me and bring it back to his side to shoot.
I probably chanted "Cinderella dressed in yellow went upstairs to kiss a fella made a mistake kissed a snake how many doctors will it take" about 100 times today while turning the jump rope. It's definitely given the ol' shoulder a good workout but the girls seem to love it. Jerica and Fern are probably the best at it and its awesome to watch them go.
I can't believe I have to leave these kids tomorrow. I'm just getting to really know them and have conversations that I think can really make an impact. I might be selfish, but I just don't want to have to say goodbye to them tomorrow. I hope I can give them my email and keep in touch that way.
We finished our day at the Youth Center around 7 and came back to St. Bonnies to get dinner. I did some laundry, watched some tv with my fellow ASB-er's and skyped with my family (Mike made it back from Cancun alive) and someone who I've known for a really long time.
It's time for me to go to sleep, the thunder and lightning should help. :)
- Bree
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