Don't Leave Home Without It | The Odyssey

Don't Leave Home Without It | The Odyssey



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8 Types of Fraternity Guys You Should Not Go On A Date With | The Odyssey

8 Types of Fraternity Guys You Should Not Go On A Date With | The Odyssey

blog post 9

Wow.  I have absolutely no clue what to write about since I finished my volunteer hours a couple weeks ago.  For those out there who still read these things (which I know is like everybody in the class haha) I unfortunately haven’t met with my conversation partner in the past few weeks.  It’s unfortunate because I truly considered her to be a friend of mine and, like a normal person, I enjoy spending time with my friends.  Since I’m staying here over the summer I will hopefully get to see her then. 

I just thought, what if my community service somehow influenced someone else’s decision to volunteer at a location of their choosing.  Wouldn’t that be cool?  And then the same effect may take hold on someone else in a sort of chain reaction.  I guess that is what is meant by the phrase [One person can change the world]…or something like that.

The more I think about this volunteering stuff the more I think that it takes person to person interaction to effect a change somewhere somehow.  You can’t do it through a computer game or simulation or through gamification or some other made up technique.  You just need plain human interaction.  Face to face contact is the best way to let your personality come out and it is the best way for you to express your thoughts and feelings.  If you are giving a presentation is it better over skype or in person?  If you ask a girl out is it better over text or in person?  Which is more likely to produce a favorable response?  Now do I think some of what society can do with technology is neat?  Yes and no.  Some of it is neat but then again some of it is weird and unnecessary.  Cody talked to us about internet groups who fight to keep information free on the internet and participate in illegal acts of vandalism, and maybe terrorism (depending on how you look at it), and a picture he showed us that day stuck out in my head.  It was a picture of people in suits and Guy Faux masks holding up a sign that said “Don’t worry we are from the internet.”  At first I thought it was funny but I also thought it was stupid.  And the more I thought about the kinds of activities they did I came to think of that as stupid also.  If they want to accomplish something they should be going out into their local communities and persuading the people around them, face to face, to take their side and then they will see the change they want.

blog post 8

I’m going to keep it real.  Volunteering sucks sometimes.  A couple of Fridays ago I spent four hours helping out the international center set up for its annual fundraiser (the International Food Bazaar).  Immediately after I got out of class I headed for the international center.  Me and a few other volunteers then began loading up a few trucks with all the supplies we would need to set up at Saint Toms.  This didn’t take long at all, and mislead some of us to think that putting it all up would be a breeze.  About three hours later I left, it was 7pm, and they still weren’t done setting up.  On the walk home from Saint Toms it began to rain and I was headed to the other side of campus (hence my saying “Volunteering sucks”).  While I was working I spoke with a couple of guys who looked like they were in their mid to late twenties.  They told me that they were taking a communications class and that they were volunteering because it was also a service learning course.  Much like our blogs they had to write essays or journals each week.  So when I heard that I was thankful that I wasn’t taking that course.

After all that work I put into helping set up for the event I didn’t get to go because I had work.  Then this week I got an email from the people who run global café saying that it was going to be a chill event where we could just come and relax and hang out.  There was going to be free food which sounded pretty good but I didn’t end up going because I had homework.  I felt kind of bad too because I told myself that I would keep going to the events even if I didn’t need the hours.  However, I guess that is what next year is for.  So on the other hand Volunteering doesn’t suck sometimes.  In fact, it can be fun and exciting and the majority of my volunteering this year had taught me this.  I shouldn’t let a bad experience discourage me.  I guess next time I won’t volunteer to help setup something of that magnitude or I can just start my volunteering earlier so I don’t have to cram at the end of the semester if it’s for a class or something.

blog post 7

Unfortunately I did not get to meet with my conversation partner this week due to some pregnancy issues.  But I did get to volunteer at the international center on Friday.  Since it was the last “global café” it was a chill week.  Instead of having a student organization come to present we just hosted a karaoke knight.  Since not as many people as usual showed up we, the volunteers, had to provide most of the entertainment.  I saw it coming earlier that day when I had read the email that told us what we were going to be doing that night.  After a lot of coaxing by my peers I finally got up on the mic and sang smooth criminal by Michael Jackson.  Being the amazing singer that I am I had no problem hitting the high notes and after my performance I received a thunderous round of applause.  Actually I don’t think I sang that well but I had fun doing it with the other volunteers and even though I didn’t want to do it at first I ended up singing a few more songs.  Soon after I was finished a guy named James walked in.  Next thing I knew he had a guitar in his hand and he was playing “never say never,” not by Justin Beiber but rather by the fray.  He was surprisingly talented and everyone was impressed by his performance.  However, before that, the student who runs global café, Ashwin, also played us a song.  I was shocked that he knew how to play because I had seen him play a guitar before and I didn’t think he was very good.  He told us afterwards that he taught himself how to play which, to a musician such as me, was very impressive.  We even had one of the student volunteers play a song on the piano.  Sadly, no one else knew how to play an instrument or how to do anything else so we ended the final global café of the year.  I will definitely miss global café because it has been so much fun.  I think I might even attend in the future years to see the presentations, if not to catch up with the acquaintances I made there.

blog post 6

Ughhhhh.  This community service stuff is taking forever.  I’m the kind of person that likes immediate results.  I know that when the time comes for me to turn my hours in at the end of the semester; I will have enough to fill the class requirement.  However if I could just get them all done in a weekend I would gladly take that option.  I don’t like deadlines hanging over my head.  I especially want to get this part of class over with because I just picked up a job at Five guys last weekend and I’m getting a new job at the knight spot today.  So needless to say I won’t be getting a lot of rest and I won’t have as much time to do my community service, my homework, and whatever else I need to get done.

The other day I got an email from someone asking me if I wanted to help out with the international food Bazar during the month of April.  I told them I would be available to help out for a total of four hours and I guess I will be loading trucks with food to take over to the Union (or wherever they are having the event).  I hope I get a chance to at least look at all they have to offer if not sample the food.  From my understanding the event is a chance for each of the foreign student associations to showcase everything their country has to offer in a tiny little booth.

The interesting part about all this volunteering is that the more I help out the less I think I will stop doing it by the time I reach my 30 hours.  I must say that I’m enjoying my time at each activity and they have had a positive impact on my life.  These activities keeps me busy and focused because on days that I volunteer I have to give my best to whomever I’m helping out and to myself.  And in order to do that I need to take care of myself and get my work done which means going to bed at a decent time and doing homework ahead of time.  Had I chosen to be in English 106 this semester I would probably slack of a lot more during the week than what I already do.  In short, I’m grateful for the chance to volunteer.

blog post 5

This week I wasn’t feeling too well so when I met with my conversation partner we didn’t do much of anything.  We ended up sitting on a bench in front of PMU and we talked and enjoyed the weather.  I truly feel like I am gaining a friend that I will stay in touch with even after the semester ends.  It’s pretty interesting to me because going into this I had the mindset that I would meet once a week to get my hours and “get in and get out.”  But it hasn’t turned out that way at all.  In summary I am definitely pleased with my decision to volunteer to have a conversation partner and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who likes to volunteer and who also is a people person.

At the international center the Colombian student association came to present this week and boy did people have a great time.  There was a great turnout, which was not surprising, and lots of questions were asked.  They emphasized heavily on the fact that Colombia is very diverse in terms of not only people but also biologically and in the terrain of the country.  The people in that region are a mix of the white Spaniards that colonized the area, the Africans that were brought over as slaves and the indigenous people that lived in that region.  And as far as nature goes, the country is home to thousands of species of plants and a plethora of bird species.  Colombia is also one of the world’s top producers of flowers.  At the end of the presentation they served everyone “Colombian” food.  They prepared fried plantain and guacamole and cheese a papaya, both of which were delicious.  And afterwards they gave us a taste of their version of the salsa.