The End.

As my time as a volunteer at World Relief has come to an end, I realize the importance of the experience I have had over the past few months. I was given the opportunity to enter a families life and make a change, even if it were small. With each interaction with the Ling family, there was progress not only within their skills we focused on, but with their willingness to open up to us. We did everything with them from; flash cards, math problems, counting money, reading books, filling out fake job applications, placing sticky notes in the proper places around the house, playing matching games with the kids, and watching Finding Nemo to taking funny pictures with Halloween fangs in. As much as I didn't want to admit it, I am actually going to miss spending time with the Ling family and watching them progress in the American ways of life.

In my experience at World Relief, I noticed a few different themes from class. Language is an obvious one, not only the written aspect but the perception and meanings attached to the words of the English language. Mr. and Mrs. Ling showed some struggle with the phonetics of the language, but this was minor compared to their semantic and pragmatic rule understandings. There is a difference between being able to read a sentence and knowing the meaning of the sentence read. They were very good at reading, but not comprehending what they had just read. This also applies not only to written language, but also spoken language. Throughout cultures we create jokes and idioms that are affective if you are proficient in that language, and even then, there can be misinterpretations. It was very encouraging to see Mrs. Ling occasionally catching on to English specific jokes. With language, comes the nonverbal aspect of communication. If they could not tell us the answer to a question, it was very easy to read their nonverbal cues, telling us they were confused or knew the answer but did not know how to communicate it. Similarly, we could tell if they were enjoying our activities or if they were bored by them by facial and even body expressions. Finally, I noticed where they fell in the cultural adaptation process. The Ling family practices the acculturation/integration process where they retain their culture but also accept aspects from our culture. Upon our arrival a mat was placed on the floor to sit on instead of using the furniture as we would in America which is one aspect of their culture they have held on to.

From this experience, I will take with me knowledge and empathy for those of different cultural backgrounds that I had previously lacked. Before my experience with the families of the World Relief program, I was unfortunately one who was less understanding of those who occupy themselves in this country who have not accepted and mastered the American lifestyle whether it be the language or our every day social practices. From working with the Ling family, I realize how challenging it is, not only to leave your home country, but to call a foreign country your new home with a completely different lifestyle and immerse yourself within it. They try so hard to fit in and learn everything there is to know about our culture. This process is very time consuming and frustrating, but can and will be very rewarding for all of the families at World Relief. Their willingness to learn is unbelievable, sometimes I wonder how they do it because of the amount of patience and motivation it entails. These people truly want to live in America to better themselves and I now have so much respect towards them.

Saying Goodbye.

Tonight was the last night meeting with the Ling Family. They were very excited to see us, as always. We decided to do a review of everything we have taught them over the past few weeks. We started with picture flash cards and it was very encouraging to see the speed in which they answered and only struggling with a hand full as opposed to every other card like before. We took the cards a step further and had them identify similar items in a few books we had. It was now time for the kids' favorite part of the lesson, placing sticky notes around the house. Again, they showed a vast improvement in the exercise. The kids discovered my phone, the snap chat app, and a matching game that kept them busy for the duration of the visit. It was now easier to focus on more challenging aspects with the parents. Telling time is still something that they continue to struggle with, as it is a hard concept to teach when they know limited English. Trying to describe the long and short hand concepts and how you know whether to use the actual number being pointed to or a multiple of five is difficult. We also challenged them with filling out a simple job application with their names, address, phone numbers, etc. which is something we take for granted. We rapped up by having them take turns reading from one of the books we brought. As they were reading, I noticed something in the corner of my eye. I looked over and saw a mouse scurrying across the floor, not just one, but two! Ironically as I was witnessing this, Leon had just read "tiptoeing across the floor like a mouse." It was a very comical moment. The way they have started interacting and joking with us shows me that they have hit the initial adjustment stage on the cultural shock spectrum. They are starting to adapt to our society through assimilation, feeling more comfortable with the language and every day social practices. It is so positive to see them wanting and willing to learn and progress practicing ethnorelativism. As they finished reading the book, it was unfortunately time for us to leave, for good. When I first started visiting the Ling's home, I did not think I would get attached to the family, I was so wrong. It is crazy to look back at the first meeting and how timid everyone was with each other, to this last time and how comfortable they are with us. Ram was even sitting on my lap, taking pictures with me at one point. It was one of the most heart breaking moments telling them we would no longer be visiting them on a regular basis. The look on their face was that of a lost puppy. Leon told us if we are ever in Rock Island we have to visit, and as we were walking down the stairs little Ram ran out of the room to say one last good bye. I don't think any of us realized how heart wrenching that moment was going to be. As we got in the car we already made a deal that we were going to order pizza and bring a movie to share sometime next semester with the family to catch up with them and see how much they have progressed from our last meeting tonight.

The Switch.

Due to schedule conflicts, I was no longer able to meet with the three men from Burma, therefore I made a switch to the Ling family. Not to say that I did not enjoy working with the men from Burma but I was extremely excited to get the opportunity to work with an entire family and be able to see the differences between the two groups, not only taking into consideration their relational roles but their geographical variation as well. The Ling family recently moved to America from Malaysia. Their family consists of the father Lion, Mother Ester, Daughter Cindy and Son Ram. At first everyone thought Cindy and I had the same name because of the closeness in pronunciation which I thought was super cool, even after realizing our names aren't quit the same, it was interesting to see the similarity coming from different parts of the world. A cultural difference I noticed right away was the fact that they took their shoes off and left them in the hallway of the apartment, displaying a trust in others they lived with, where in America we would not feel comfortable leaving our shoes in a semi-public area. They also retrieved a mat from the closet, upon our arrival made from a bamboo type material, and placed it on the floor for everyone to sit on rather than sitting directly on the carpet or on the furniture. Upon my first arrival to the Ling families' apartment, they were very timid towards me at first because they had worked with Andie and Liz prior to my first visit, but as time has passed they have warmed up to me. On my last visit, we watched the movie Finding Nemo. Before playing the movie, we described what the movie entailed and if they had any questions about what was happening through out they could feel free to ask. We discussed the movie at the end as well. It was interesting seeing the reaction of each of the family members throughout the of the movie. I hadn't noticed before watching this film the other night, the amount of jokes related to language and stereotypes there were within the film. These jokes are comparable to idioms, they are only funny if you understand and have knowledge of the language. With this in mind, it was terrific to see Ester laughing at different jokes throughout the movie. She especially liked "he touched the butt" rather than he touched the boat. With this though, no one, except for we girls, caught on to the suffer, care free stereotype given to the turtles some of the characters come in contact with which is normal because that is something the family has yet to learn or come in contact with. I feel as though Ester was the most understanding of the film because she showed the most emotion; laughing, smiling, gasping, etc. Cindy is exceptionally good at English and was very content and engaged in the movie. Her body language told me she understood the film because I know I personally could never be that content watching a film in another language not being able to understand it. Ram is young and as many children his age, he gets bored quickly, and played with toys instead. Lion was happy at the thought that we were all enjoying ourselves, looking at us and our reactions almost more than the movie. This shows that across cultures, for the most part the father ultimately wants to see his family happy.

First Go Around.

To be completely honest; upon my arrival at the apartment complex in Moline my first Saturday working with the World Relief organization, I was very nervous and was not sure what to expect. I had all sorts of thoughts running through my mind; was the family going to be friendly, welcoming, speak any English, would they be willing to learn to learn from someone younger than themselves, like myself, without feeling discouraged or distant? I was about to find out. As Kelly, Cody and myself made our way to the families room, I was finding myself excited for what lie ahead. Kelly informed us that we would not be working with a family, but rather a group of three men who had recently moved to America from Burma. It took a few minutes and hard knocks to the door before they answered, we learned they were still in bed although it was already 10 in the morning. Each of us worked one on one with the men. I started off having my man read a couples books to me, we then went through flash card pictures. I also quizzed him on a book with pictures and descriptions of items and daily activity scenarios around the house and public places such as the bank or grocery store. Finally we worked on math skills, going through addition and subtraction flash cards, and showing him different coins allowing him to tell me how much I had or how much I needed in order to make a dollar. I realize that two hours is a long time to focus and work on a task in general, but I could tell he was getting frustrated with himself. When he forgot what something meant that we had just discussed, he would cover his eyes and shake his head which tells me he is in the culture shock stage. It was hard to know when to give him the answer or how long I should let him search his brain for the answer. He knew how to read words very well, but knowing the meaning behind them was a different story. When reading the books, he could easily read to me, but upon asking him what it was he had read about, he could not explain. He had the phonological and syntactic aspect of language down, but had not yet mastered the semantic and pragmatic aspects. Language is more differentiated and interpretive than numbers across cultures which is part of the reason he picked up on math quicker than the language itself. Knowing this, next time I meet with the guys, I am going to emphasize meaning and focusing on whether they know what they are saying or if they are just unconsciously reading what is in front of them.

Before The Fact.

Through this service learning project I hope to have my eyes opened, become more patient and understanding of others in less fortunate situations than myself and realize I have so much to be thankful for. Last year for Urban Plunge, my site happened to be World Relief which is where I will be completing my service-learning project. Before Urban Plunge I knew absolutely nothing about the organization or what they stood for. I assumed any organization like World Relief took in any immigrant no matter what their reasoning for leaving their own country. World Relief is a organization that takes in refugee families from all over the world (those who must flee their country to avoid death or other serious consequences), gives them a place to live, helps them get on their feet and teaches the families the American ways of life. While visiting for Urban Plunge I had the opportunity to bundle packages for families and help with the organization of their warehouse. Through this experience I did not have any interaction with the families in which they assist as I will this time. The population that World Relief serves is that of a wide variety. Some cannot speak English, and know close to nothing upon their arrival in the United States, not to say they were not very qualified in their home country. Others know the language of the United States and adapt to our lifestyle very well. Most do not have the best financial stance which is why World Relief helps them out for a few months upon arrival. I am very interested to hear stories of the population World Relief helps. I have always lived in the same house, never had to worry about whether or not I was going to have clean clothes or a hot meal three times a day. I am very interested in hearing the hardships they have over come to come to the United States and to learn a little about where they come from from a first hand perspective. I am very excited to meet with the family I have been assigned to for the first time in a few days. 

Service & Learning.

Service and learning go hand in hand. No matter where the service is provided, whether it be raking leaves in someones yard or helping young kids in a classroom, we can all learn something from it. When we help others, we learn their story, where they come from, where they have been, and where they are going. It helps us learn to be thankful for all that we have and our ability to carry out simple, every day tasks. We learn to be helpful and sometimes find out it is something we can learn to love and take part in for the rest of our lives.

Chapter 2. Effects of Communication