Hello Spring Breakers!
For your final blog post, please write about anything important you feel that you have learned through your break. Please also feel free to reflect on the valuable relationships you have made through this experience.
Thanks!
I went to the KU Alternative Breaks during Spring Break and the GLBTQ Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico was the organization that we went to. They wanted us to draw a mural for them on the wall, so more people would come and visit. I did not have any ideas about non-profit organizations before I went Las Cruces. I could not figure out how the site paid people to work for them if it is non-profit. When I got in the site, I was kind shocked about what people did there. There were several people working at the site and none of them were actually paid by the site. There were also volunteers in the center. They came to the site everyday and checked to make sure everything was going well. Volunteers tried their best to help the organization and they donated money to the site to help it operate and to help others. During this trip, I met several people from the homosexual community and talked to them about the difficulties that they had to face, such as pressure from their families and society. I had a great experience there and learnt a lot of information about the community that I was not familiar with before. Due to my experience, I think that the society should be more tolerant to homosexuals and help them get the rights that they deserved.
ReplyDeleteI learned so much on my alternative break about so many different things. I learned about getting along with other people, being a better leader, how to be the best volunteer, and a lot about Native American ideals and culture.
ReplyDeleteWe spent our week on the Cheyenne River Reservation volunteering at the Cheyenne River Youth Project. Not only did we get to spend some quality time with some amazing kids, we also got the chance to meet and interact with many of the locals.
One question that a few of us had when we arrived on the reservation was how the people there felt about the term “Native American” versus “Indian”. I found more often than not, on the rare occasions when they did talk about all Native Americans, they used the term “Indian” more than “Native American”. However, they are very proud of the fact that they are the Lakota people. They have their own language and their own beliefs and prefer to be referred to as the Lakota people, like many other tribes have different peoples within their tribe with their own name and language as well.
I also believe that I was able to understand better how awful it was when the Europeans pushed the natives out of their land. We learn in school about how “horrible” and “terrible” it was, and that the government is trying to fix their mistakes today by giving them their own land and other benefits, etc. The truth is, until you truly get to know and understand these people, and see how beautiful their culture is, only then can you understand fully the horrors of them being taken over by the Europeans. All they want now is for the government to leave them alone, and not for outsiders to come in and try and “fix” them, but to come in an learn and appreciate their culture and ideals and spread it to others.
I had an incredible experience during my time on the reservation and hope to return again some day.
I learned a few important things on my trip to the Guidance center in Detroit. The first thing I realized was that a career in a non-profitable organizations is very intriguing as you have the opportunity to make a difference and get paid for it. I originally thought that non-profit organizations were volunteer only and did not realize that these organizations employed people.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I learned on the trip was the generosity of strangers. When we got to the church we were staying at we were greeted to an array of food and was given pizza the next day. The reverend we stayed with gave us money to help pay for food, so we would be able to eat out. Over the course of the week at some of the places we volunteered, we were given food for lunch by the employees. It was refreshing to see this type of selfless generosity.
There were two major things that I noticed during our day exploring Detroit. One is the issue of pollution as I did not know how much trash accumulated on the sidewalks of Detriot. I wish I was able to help with that issue. The next thing I noticed that day was the issue of homelessness. There were a very large amount of homeless people in the downtown area we visited. I felt disappointed that I was not able to help them in my time there, and I hope that I can make a difference in their lives in the Lawrence homeless shelter.