Cultural Sharing/ awareness

Last week in Americorps:

Our meeting last Friday was a meeting of Study Circles. One of the Project Change non-profits. The objective of Study Circles is to raise awareness about differences between cultures and negative things that people think about other peoples backgrounds.

It started off easy. We went around sharing things from their families or their cultures and talked about what it meant to them and where they come from. the topics gradually got more intense though, one of the things the Study Circles instructors had us do was write down negative and positive things about our culture or what we identified our selves as. Then we went around the room and everyone listed what they wrote.

The day ended with "White Privilege". This is apparently a common thing to do in these workshops. But it was also without a doubt the most intense. We were all told to fill out this sheet of paper that asked about 20 questions about our every day life. "When you pick up a book do you feel certain that you will see someone that looks like you?" "Do you feel that your skin color has an effect on your getting into school?" and other things along those lines. We were asked to mark the questions with a 5 if they were true for us and a 0 if they were not. When we finished we were asked to line up in order from who scored the highest to who scored the lowest. With two exceptions, and no surprises all of the white members were on one end and all of the people of color ended up on the other.

Then we were given time to go around and talk about it and discuss the problems that people faced and the impact that color still has on society.

My only criticism of the day is that there wasn't enough time given for the most important conversation. A lot of people on the white side had things to say and a lot of women put in that there was no question or debate that  people of color still struggle in society and women do too though... It wasn't until the absolute last minute that a member on the opposite side said told everyone the group that he was upset by the fact that so many people with high scores on the "white privilege" worksheet were talking. He added that we (being white) have no idea what he goes through, and really can't talk.

This comment caused a big stirr with me and several members in my group both white and African American. We couldn't stop thinking about it and for days we talked about it and tried to understand why our fellow Americorps member, who is part of this non profit, was that offended. It wasn't until an alum offered some insight that the comment could have been fixed that it finally made sense.

He forced us to think about it for days and go over and over everything that happened and what he said and really think about what it meant to be in his position. Even though no one was trying to deny that nothing compares to the problems he or someone of color faces no matter what the gender, I realized from that exercise and the day how much I forget sometimes. Which is the point, to remember that there are still problems.

My only hope is that at the next meeting we talk about how to change.

Team Building

This week Project CHANGE 2010 went to the Smith Center in Rockville to do various team building exercises, which of course were related back to our respective work environments. 

The key element in all of the exercises that we did seemed to be communication. Which is not surprising I guess, given that it is key in any type of relationship with any amount of people, but the most difficult to conquer.

We started out with easy games. We got into a big circle, ( all 29 or 30 of us) held hands and at various points in the circle the Smith Center leader put hoola hoops over two people's hands. She told us, without letting go of our hands (breaking the circuit) to transfer all of the hoola hoops throughout the circle. Each hoola hoop had a different direction that it had to go in though so at various points in the game the hoops had to cross over each other. And that took some communication but we figured it out pretty quickly. 

The games continued throughout the morning each one a little more complicated and requiring a little bit more communication skills and patience with each other.

Our last exercise was on a big wooden board built to tip back and forth like a low see-saw. We were told that we had to all get on the board while constantly keeping it balanced. This was hard. We started out agreeing that we had to keep weight on the ends to get people on at first. But when more and more people got on the board it got harder to communicate and figure out what to do when there weren't enough people to keep weight on the end. 

This was the point where I realized how important clear and detailed communication is. No one could see everyone or hear everything that was going on and we all ended up doing different things or not reacting when we needed to. 

I am probably the only person who really loves learning things in the form of a game. Although I consider myself a people person and I think I work pretty well with other people things like this are always useful as a way to remind yourself exactly how important it is to constantly communicate and how easy it is for confusion and miscommunication to happen. 

Getting To Know You

For the last two weeks Project Change 2010 has been doing Orientation and learning about "How to work in your work environment." ... Basically. Last Monday we met for the first time at Montgomery Community College ( our site for Project CHANGE meetings) and in addition to doing a few ice breaker exercises we learned a simpler version of the various personality categories and were given index cards and a work sheet of characteristics to figure out what category we each fit into.
These categories were by colors.Blue, Green, Gold and Orange.  Blues were the people who feel that the most important thing is for everyone to get along and be happy. Greens are the ones who think and analyze problems and tasks in order to get through them. Golds are concerned with getting things done the way they are supposed to be done and following the rules that were given to them. Oranges not only have to follow the rules but they have to do everything perfectly.
The worksheet had us rank various adjectives based one what described us the best to what described us the least. At the end of it my main personality colors were equally split between Gold and Green.

Then we split off into our respective color groups and discussed how we function in a work environment and what traits in others make it difficult for us. Then we talked about it as a whole Project CHANGE unit.

On Wednesday the personality discussion continued except this time we talked with our respective supervisors( who had also taken done the same worksheet) about our differences and how we could use our personalities to accomplish things at work.

All in all it was interesting. Although, it is hard to not question yourself after so much self analysis....

More to Come!

Project CHANGE Induction

On Friday I was inducted as a Project CHANGE member. Throughout the morning, after several members of the school board and the Montgomery County community congratulated Judy, the Americorps coordinator, and described bits and pieces of how the project started, graduating members went up to the podium and shared their experiences throughout their service.

I thought I would be prepared for what I would hear, I was completely wrong though. members from the different non-profits connected to Project CHANGE went up to the podium one group at a time. Each person had an entirely different experience. There were members that had moved to the country or were looking for ways to learn more about the US and the community. They talked about the people that they met and how they grew by all of the new experiences they had.

I was a little surprised that there weren't more people like me. more regular college kids looking for a start in their career.

My work is disconnected from actually helping the community. Which is how it would be in future jobs too. But everyone else's experiences were of the people that they helped at their sites and how they learned by teaching and coaching others...

What I think I'm going to like the most about this experience is having the opportunity to experience a little bit of what the other sites do too through field trips in addition to gaining the work experience I was looking for.

Transportation

Even though I have a car that I could use to get from my house in Alexandria to work in Rockville, MD ( which is over an hour long commute -- On a good day.) I chose to save gas money, and my car by taking the metro. When I was asked by my future employers and people involved in Americorps, about my method of transportation I got the same response every time. The Metro? But how long will that take?  Each time I responded with the same, "about 2 hours." And each time the only response was a loud gasp.


Here is the resolution I came to about my long commute:
Yes, it is a very long ride. But it is a much calmer ride, on most days, than sitting in Northern Va/ DC/ Southern MD traffic. Taking the metro saves gas money, and the cost of car maintenance.


So I took up reading. Even before I started my Americorps service I was taking the metro into DC every day for an internship. I read more than 6 books over the summer. I also noticed the possibilities of things that can be accomplished while on the metro over driving in a car. I could do things for work on the metro, If I had the capabilities, I could check email and play on the internet. And of course I could also catch up on sleep.


So, in conclusion, whenever possible public transportation is always the way to go.

Week one

I got through my first week at my host site as an Americorps member.


Since this is my first job post college I had no idea going into it what to expect. I went from one person's office to the next with my co-Americorps member and each person explained a different part of the organization to us. It helped that our supervisor had been waiting for us, and as a result putting a lot of work aside for the two of us to start on when we got there.


Personally, I liked that I could dive right into my work and not go through this long "getting-to know-you" period where I would be given assignments that didn't matter but were good introductory jobs.


At the end of my first week, my very first proposal was finished and in the email boxes of my supervisors to be edited. I wrote a quote for a press release about a woman who will be honored at an up-coming event, started a second grant proposal and in-put donations to the organization into our database.


Even though I'm still a little unsure of how my Americorps duties will go, I can tell that this is going to be a very good experience.

Finding the right "fit"

I spent months looking hopelessly for any type of job, until I ended up on the Americorps.gov Web site and started searching through the different explanations of the Americorps benefits and programs. When I finally decided that I wanted to apply for Americorps, I searched for positions where I could use my degree and gain experience in my field in addition to the experience of being an Americorps member. 


When I received an email one day from Project CHANGE in MD. only about an hour away from where I was living it seemed like fate. The Americorps Coordinator emailed me with various information about informational sessions and other information about working for Americorps and Project CHANGE, an organization that works with a group of non-profits in MD to help improve the community. It was about a month later when I finally went to a session and spoke with the coordinator who agreed to send my resume to the Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, who was looking for a communications assistant. 


The director of communications called me that day and had me come in to interview for him. The next thing I  knew I got the call. "We think you would be a great fit in our organization, do you want to work with us?"


"Yes! I would love to!" was my response. 


After a few more meetings and emails to complete paper work and an introductory meeting about the position and working with Americorps here I am. I have successfully completed my first day as a communications and development associate through Americorps. 


I will be posting updates regularly about what its like to be an Americorps member. 


so stay tuned. . .