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Final Thoughts On Service Learning

November 9th, 2009 by salzmans | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The fact that this blog is titled final thoughts on service learning is very sad. It just proves how little time we have left, and how soon we will be back in the States. I have come to love London. Not in the Honeymoon stage, but in the way that I feel a part of this country. Because I felt so connected to London and the United Kingdom, doing service work here was so rewarding. I felt that I was helping something that meant a lot to me. By going and cleaning the Thames River, helping at the local Oxfam bookstore, volunteering in Hyde Park, and cleaning a park, I felt that I was helping my community. That part about my community is important, because I say that only because I feel like this is a home away from home. I feel immersed in the culture, and if I had a British accent I think I would fit right in. So with working with members of the community in these service events I learned so much. Just by having conversations with the citizens I heard their opinions on government and environment. All of it was interesting. This weekend I went the Remembrance Day Parade and it was at that point when I truly felt like I belonged here. I stood out in the cold for three and a half hours to watch the precession. I got to see the Queen, Princes Harry and William, the Prime Minister, and all the war veterans. When everyone was singing God Save the Queen it was an amazing sight to see. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in London, and the service learning I did here. I will be very sad to leave, and I will take what I have learned here and apply it at home. Thank you London for all that you have taught me.

Re-entries, thoughts, concerns, and excitments

November 9th, 2009 by salzmans | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

In two weeks, I will be packing to leave for Boston. From Boston I will be taking a connecting flight home to Pittsburgh. I will no longer be living in the amazing Kensington, but back my rooms at my parents’ houses. While i will be independent, i will not have the independence i had here. I will no longer be able to get a plane and fly to a new country on a whim. I find this so upsetting. While I can’t wait to see my parents, siblings, and friends, i will miss it here beyond belief. When my eight-year-old sister calls and tells me how excited she is about my return home, i can’t help but feel overwhelmed with excitement to see everyone. But then i also think of how sad it will be to not have London at my fingertips. It is a bitter sweet return home for me. For me, these next two weeks are going to be filled with exploring everywhere i haven’t gotten to see yet, and having as much fun as possible. I have a checklist of things I need to get done, and I plan on accomplishing this list. While doing this I also have to continue staying focused on the work we have here for finals.

When i think back, I can remember the day we arrived here so vividly! I remember getting the airport and being so excited to see everyone again after PDP, but also being so nervous. I was terrified of being homesick and not taking full advantage of this amazing opportunity. Now I can’t even imagine why i thought that. Of course I had my moments when I missed home. I’m sure everyone did at one point or another. If it wasn’t family and friends, it was the everyday comforts such as the bagel place on the corner from my home. But now I think of this from the opposite perspective. I’m going to miss eating at Da Mario’s and Med Kitchen. Or just waking up and going for a run in Hyde Park. These things will not be there when I get home. I have had a once in a lifetime opportunity. It has changed my whole perspective on life, in the sense that I want to explore the world so much more. I want to see all of Europe, and Asia, and South America. Before I questioned whether I was a Global Citizen or not, but I think that this experience has for sure answered this question, and cleared up that I am.

Global Citizen

November 4th, 2009 by salzmans | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Defining a Globe Citizen is a tough call. After our discussion in class, I think a Global Citizen is someone who cares about the globe. I base my definition of a Global Citizen off the question do I think I am a Global Citizen. The answer is yes. I do consider myself a Global Citizen. While I cannot say I have traveled the world, and experienced everything the globe has to offer, I think I play my own role. I think that just because I care about the world makes me a citizen of it. I live on this planet, and while I would always call myself an American before a citizen of the world, the world is important to me. I care what happens in the Middle East, or anywhere else in the world. I feel sorry when an earthquake hits Japan or anywhere, and I feel that even though it doesn’t immediately affect me it has a minor effect on me. We are all interconnected through economies and multiculturalism. I an updated on information about the world constantly, which also makes me feel like a citizen of the globe. Even though I am a young adult that has a lot more to experience I find myself as a global citizen.

Exercise 10.4

November 4th, 2009 by salzmans | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

In every aspect, from my family to the globe, I would like to see more appreciation for our planet earth. In simple terms, I want to see more respect for Mother Nature. The going green fad is the prefect start, but it needs to be more widespread. I want to see the environmental issues of the world have a solution. On a minor scale it would help me, because areas around me would have less pollution and cleaner air. For the entire world, it would help the ecosystem. If people stop cutting down the rainforests, then we would stop losing animals to extinction. We have recently talked about how the cod population is dwindling; well this is something that needs to be stopped by more environmental awareness. In order to help the cause I need to be more conscious of my actions. I need to donate time and money to foundations that care about the globe. This goes for everyone. The possibilities would be amazing if everyone donated a small amount of time, and whatever money they could afford to give. I’ve realized the kind of things people can do to help the environment through my service-learning experiences. When I went to Thames 21 and BTCV, I helped clean up the litter. This just showed me how awful it is for people to litter, and the effects it has. The skills I have gained would be the ability to work with strangers and probably the muscle I gained from hacking at weeds. I can conserve energy by turning the light switch off when I am done, throwing away my garbage, and picking up litter on the street. They are minor things that can go a long way.

Culture Topic: Environmentalism

October 27th, 2009 by salzmans | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Go Green! Well, since I have been here I have noticed how prominent keeping the environment clean is. Everywhere in London, they have recycling bins, and are constantly cleaning the streets. It has become a trend to “go green”. All the celebrities, both in the United States and here, are going green to make a statement. So throughout both countries it has become a bigger deal, and a major political issue. The environment has become the hot topic, and both countries are trying to solve the issue. Through more recycling bins, fines for littering, and power saving. London does a good job of making slight adjustments for the bigger picture. They turn off lights, use less power, and more cautious about saving energy. Although the movement of “going green” is a major fad in both countries the United Kingdom appears to be more efficient at solving the problem. It may be that I have just noticed it more since I have been here, but I find that everywhere I go there is an advertisement about it, or some kind of notice discussing the environment. It has made an impact on me, because I am personally more aware of the environment. I now always turn my lights off if i’m leaving a room, unplug my electronics, and never leave the water running just because of how much I see other people doing it.

Privilege/ Identity Reflection of Service Learning

October 27th, 2009 by salzmans | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

The fact that I am in London right now, is the biggest privilege I could have. I am one of the luckiest freshmen entering fall semester. Not only do i get to live in London, but in the nicest area of it. I have realized this privilege through service learning. Through service learning i have learned a lot about myself, the community, and been able to identify with my fellow Londoners. At Thames 21, i got into cleaning up an important area of London with lots of people, and saw there appreciation for the city. Then I went to the UK Cancer Research run and saw thousands of people come together for a cause. After that I became more immersed in the culture by working at Oxfam and interacting with the people. And my last thing was working on weeding in Alexandria Park, which was hard work with other people who were concerned for their area. These projects showed that I am very privileged to be where I am right now, and gave me the privilege of being a part of something special. I have enjoyed everything I have done here, and have learned a lot.

My Changing Perspective Of London Through Service

October 20th, 2009 by salzmans | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Well, I love London. It’s as simple as that, and it is because of everything I have experienced here through both service and just living here. In my service activities I have met people and talked with which has given my in sight in to London. It starts with the Thames 21 which I really did not interact with locals much, but witnessed the good deeds they were doing. Then Cancer Research Cheering was cool because we saw the thousands of people who participated in the walk, and all the people just there to give support. Next was working at Oxfam. This job showed me a lot because I got to interact with locals on a regular basis. Whether they were rude or nice I got to see all different people. It showed how nice people in the area are because they would donate hundreds of books everyday. Sometimes I had conversations with people who were working there or just customers and this gave me insight into how cool London is. This just made me love it even more. And the last project is BTCV where i met a group of people with all different backgrounds. We talked a one of them about politics. This gave me some insight into different perspectives on the queen and the government in London. Basically, all my service projects did, was make me like London even more than I already did.

Exercise 9.6

October 20th, 2009 by salzmans | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

1. My name is Sarah Salzman, I’m nineteen years old, and I am from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I am a student in this Global Experience class. My role in the class is to attend class every wednesday for an hour and a half, to participate in class, do my homework, and accomplish at least 30 hours of service activity throughout my time here in London.

2. Well I have just finished my hours, and I think that was because of how motivating the class and everyone in it can be. I think we learned to work as a team. For example anytime I or someone else found a volunteering event we would let everyone know and we would do it as a group. This showed caring towards our peers, and I think it showed we can work well together. It is a bonding thing to class up the woods together or cheer on runners at a marathon. We did it together, and then at the end we felt accomplished together. I think that the evidence of this success is that I and many others have finished their hours, and if they haven’t finished then they are very close.

3. An obstacle I encountered during this class was getting sick. I found this BTCV project to clean up an area in Richmond, and on the Sunday I planned to go I was too sick to get out of bed. Because of this i missed an opportunity to get seven hours of volunteering. There really is nothing that could have been done to prevent this, seeing as the cold goes around a lot. But when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. So i went and did a different project with BTCV a few weeks later and made up for missing those hours.

4. I do think I accomplished my personal goals through service learning. While in London, I wanted to EXPERIENCE London, and even kind of feel a part of it. I think that through going and cheering on runners in Hyde Park where I run everyday, and going to clean up a park in the area, and even working at the local secondhand bookstore is a part of experiencing London. So there is a huge goal accomplished.

5. Next time I would maybe find a better variety of events. I wanted to work with animals, and I didn’t get to do that. I also wanted to possibly work with children, and didn’t do that either. So I think if I did this over again, I would plan way in advance and apply for more diverse activities.

6. I think Northeastern did a great job with this program. The only thing I can think of them doing differently is in the beginning the Thames 21 project was great, but maybe I would throw in another opportunity to get the ball rolling and kids will start finding activities for themselves. I think in the beginning a little more a push would have helped people out, and then leaving us to do it ourselves would be more successful.

7. COMMUNICATION. One thing I have noticed about the local Londoners, is that they are not very good with directions. If they were more clear with where they wanted us and when then I think that things would go more smoothly. But other than that, I think they are very welcoming towards us, and do a very nice job.

8. I would describe this service-learning as very rewarding. That is what I would emphasis as well. Volunteering has a good effect on the community, but it also makes you feel the same way. At the end of the day, when you see progress it feels good. I think that looking back it was just a good experience for me to be a part of while being in London.

Wildlife Perservation

October 12th, 2009 by salzmans | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

This past Sunday I just finished my out of zone 1 requirement. I went to Alexandra Park in zone 3. When I signed up, I had no clue what I was getting myself in to. We met at the BCTV headquarters early in the morning by Kings Cross station. Then a mini bus took us to our destination of the park. There were fourteen of us in the bus, and then when we arrived four or five more were there. A man met us there, and explained that the mission was to clear up this area, which thorny weeds have taken over. By doing this it will allow the birds to nest, and for the people to create a butterfly meadow. The first step is the task was getting a tool talk for a man named Pip. He showed us the correct way to use the tools, and how to prevent accidents. My favorite tool was the slasher, but we had to be very careful with it so we didn’t hit anyone. So once he explained which areas needed to be cleared, and how to did this we began our endeavor. I used a lopper, and trimmed at the branches for the most part. It was a tedious job, because compared to the big slashers it looked like nothing was being accomplished. As time went on though, we saw massive progress. The project was so cool because you saw an immediate effect. Seeing an instant improvement made me want to work harder to see even more, therefore I had strong motivation throughout the whole thing. By the end of the day, we had cleared more than anyone had expected us to. Instead of walking down a skinny little path in the woods, we had a huge clearing. Throughout the task we met so many different people. There was a woman named Joan working next to us, and when we asked her why she was there she said it was because she lived in the area and enjoyed helping. We met another guy who was doing it because he liked being in the park because it reminded him of the country instead of the big city. Then there were the regulars who just enjoyed helping people. It was amazing that these people were so interested in helping out. That was motivation to continue volunteering. By the end of the day, I had battle scars on my legs from the thorns and I was exhausted, but I had a good feeling from how much I helped other people.

D-U-E

September 29th, 2009 by salzmans | Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

All right, so the D-U-E process. Let’s begin…

I am a volunteer at Oxfam bookstore, along with many other NUin students. Basically to summarize my job, I did whatever the manager wanted of me. If he wanted me to carry books for the day then i did, and if he wanted me to work the till i did that too. I was around to do whatever he needed done. Most of the time I was partnered with Robyn so she would do one task and I would do the other. On this particular day we were both working the till (aka the cash register). As we were sitting on our stools readings books from the store, an american girl comes into the store, and asks for a specific book. I can’t remember the exact name, but it was something about a princess. Then I explained to her that we are a second hand book store and don’t get in a supply of specific books, but only take what we can get from people donating to the store. She got very upset and said something along the lines of “well i can take me business elsewhere”

Describe:

I thought that it was awfully rude of them to walk into an Oxfam, which is a donations only store and demand a book, and then once we are kind enough to look and see if it is there, she talks about taking leaving and not shopping in this store. I thought her tone was ignorant to what Oxfam stands for, and that she was disrespecting the idea of not having a second hand book store. I thought i had a pleasant tone, but was still dumbfounded by her remark.

Understand:

For all I know, this was the tenth place they had visited to find this specific book, and they could have been very frustrated. But that was just one of the possibilities. They could have been told Oxfam was the location to get the book, or they could have had no idea what Oxfam was and thought it was a real bookstore. I probably should not have judged at first site, because they might have had no clue how rude the remark was.

Encourage Communication:

I could have made suggestions of bookstores to go to such as Daunt books or made sure they understood why we do not have the book. I could have discussed more about where they are from in America and what they are doing here. I could have explained that they could look online for the book, or to even try Amazon. There were so many different possibilities, but I just let them leave.