There are some things that I currently cannot, and hopefully never will be able to, relate to or understand. I cannot understand what it is like to be discriminated against. I cannot understand what it would be like to lose the friends and family that I had known my entire life. I cannot understand what it would be like to be forced from my home into another country where I must spend my days in a refugee camp. I simply cannot understand what that would be like and the emotional toll that would take. Therefore, I am terrified to begin working with a family who has experienced all of those things when I clearly cannot understand the terrible experiences they have gone through.
I have spent my entire life living in the continental United States. The only cultures that I have experience outside of my own are the ones present in the city of Chicago. However, I have never been associated with a person who was from the Congo, nonetheless a refugee. I can remember how nervous I was when I went to a friends quinceañera because I didn’t know what to expect. That was a situation when I had been educated in the customs of the culture and at least I knew what a quinceañera was. I know little to nothing about the culture of the Congo, and therefore I don’t know what it will be like when I enter the home of my family. Will they speak any English? What will I talk to them about? Are there certain things that I may do which they would find offensive? Research is always useful, but how much can I really learn from a book or the Internet that will prepare me to become introduced to a completely different culture.
Aside from not having very much knowledge of their culture, I don’t know how I should act simply because they are refuges. I don’t necessarily know their own personal story, but I can imagine that whatever my family was forced to experience was fairly traumatic or in the least life changing. My goal is to help this family become assimilated into American society, but I don’t want to come off as if I think that Americans are better than them or that their customs are any less than mine. I want to be able to connect with them on a personal level, but I don’t know if they will be willing to let me. I fear that I won’t be able to help them as much as they expect me to, or that I will come off as overbearing and invasive. I have little to no training, and all the training I have had has been in a classroom. The real world is much more different than the world inside a classroom. Out here, there are real relationships and lives involved, and that just makes me incredibly nervous.
Despite the fact that I am absolutely terrified to meet my family, I am also extremely excited. All the potential bad that may come is the aspect of this experience that scares me, but all the good that can come from this is what makes me anxious to begin and willing to try and overcome my fears. This is the first time I will be involved in a class like this and I am excited to see what will come of my experiences. I hope to not only be a resource to this refugee family, but for them to be a resource to me. There are not many classes available like this where what is taught in the classroom directly applies to life experiences outside of the classroom. Therefore, I am excited to see how this new approach to learning will also affect my experiences outside. In addition to becoming a resource to this family, my goal for this experience is to really take what I learn in the classroom and apply it to my life experiences.

The first weeks of UNIV 190 have been very eye-opening for me. Prior to the class, I knew there were refugees around the world escaping various conflicts and persecution, but never have I been as informed of the hardships these refugees go through until now. To see video clips of them describing the difficulties they face in finding a country that will accept them, then dealing with the effects of culture shock and how minimal the assistance they receive by their host governments is has made me realize that this is a serious problem that needs attention from the world. The lack of financial aid our government gives to refugee families makes me feel very disappointed that our government would devote resources towards wars like Iraq and Afghanistan, that not only turned more people into refugees, but where funds that could have been used to better support the many Bhutanese and Sudanese families struggling here at home. Through these first few weeks, I have become very excited to work with a refugee family, and have learned a lot about the difficulties these refugees face through reading What is the What and in lecture.
The biggest thing I look forward to is working with a refugee family from Burma. I’ve known that the military junta has been oppressive towards the Karen people, so I think it will be very interesting to hear their stories about the government and how they were treated. Seeing the difficulties this family has to go through will also somewhat give me an idea of what my own parents went through when they immigrated to the U.S. Although my parents were not fleeing persecution, they arrived in Chicago just like this Karen family, knowing very little English and with little resources available to them. My father has always been critical of me and my brother for not being more appreciative of the things we have. He’s always said that a trip to Mexico just to see the kind of poverty that exists in places there would be good for us. Because travel to Mexico is dangerous now, I feel that working with this Karen family and seeing the hardships they face will be just as effective in exposing me to the problems people like them have to deal with, and give me an opportunity to be as helpful as can in making their transition to the U.S. smoother. I’m a very open and high spirited person, so I look forward to breaking the ice between me and the Karen family so as to build a good relationship between us.
What is the What has also been a huge shock for me. It’s very heart sinking to read about the horrors Valentino and the Lost Boys had to go through after fleeing their homes in hopes of making it to a refugee camp. To read about him seeing his friend Moses get slaughtered by the Murahaleen, then having to fear going to bed at night because lions would take you away, is very tough to read. What hurts even more is to hear the conditions these kids faced on a day to day basis. Most of them didn’t know when their next meal would be, or even if they would live to see the next day. To have to watch your close friends and family die right in front of you from helicopter raids or starvation must be terrible horrific to deal with, especially at such a young age. When I try to image my own family being killed by a gunship, it brings only a fraction of the pain these boys must have felt when it happened to them. The book has already made me more appreciative of how fortunate we are to not have to experience such traumatic events like those that Valentino and the Lost Boys had to face.
Lastly, the lectures have also helped me become more informed about the refugee crisis that exists today. Prior to UNIV, I did not know that there are between 12 to 16 million refugees worldwide, and that only 100,000 of them had been resettled in a third country in 2011. What shocked me was that the U.S. only took about 50,000 of these refugees in. I understand that there is a recession in the country, but there are many cuts, in particular military spending cuts, that can been made to accommodate more of these refugees. To see videos of the tough living conditions these refugee families deal with and the limited help they get from our government is a shame. I’ve also learned of the conditions in the refugee camp. Many of them are lawless with constant recruitment of children into armed groups and have a high percent of sexual and gender based violence.
Although it has only been a few weeks, UNIV 190 has really opened me to the reality of the refugee crisis that is ongoing throughout the world. The terrors these families face in their native countries is shocking. If they manage to reach a refugee or displaced person’s camp, the threats still do not subside, as kids have to fear being pressed into militias and women are victimized through rape. And if they manage to be resettled into a new country, the help they receive there might not always be enough for them to make an honest living and assimilate to the new culture they arrive in. These first weeks have been very intriguing to me and I am looking forward to meeting my refugee family and offering as much assistance to them as I can, while at the same time, continue to learn more about the refugees crisis in class and through the readings.

When I first heard about this project, I was instantly excited – I couldn’t believe that I could be a part of such an amazing opportunity like this where I could actually make a difference. As the reality settled in, however, so did the trepidation. How would I breech the language barrier? What would these people think of me? As we have been reading What is the What, I have come to realize that there are multiple facets to the stages refugees go through with respect to their relationship towards Americans.
For example, when Achak (Valentino) first arrived here, he was very grateful of all the help he was receiving, but at the same time he was very suspicious, or rather, just simply at a loss as to why these people would go out of their way (most times without compensation or pay) to help refugees. As we have continued reading this novel, it becomes apparent that relations between refugees and Americans can become very particular, and much more complex than they seem to need to be. For example, in Achak’s situation, when his friends (or even himself) were given luxuries by their American sponsors and others weren’t, it caused friction between the refugees.
All of these thoughts and more have been going around in my head as I remember that I have to be ever conscious of the different cultures and customs I will be interacting with on a personal level. In class we have learned about all the different people that interact with new refugees, and almost all of them are social workers or people that don’t really take the time to develop relationships with the family – they are a very impersonal presence that could be gone at any moment. It quickly becomes overwhelming to try and distinguish a boundary or a kind of distinct relationship while trying to communicate to our family that while we are there to help, we are not there to provide for them, but that we are there as potential friends. Especially when neither party speaks the same language, it is hard to communicate this while still coming off as being genuine about wanting to be of assistance to them.
At the same time, my peer mentor, Cody, said something to my partner Chelsea and I that was so true I was puzzled as to why I hadn’t seen it earlier. He said to “just remember that they’re people too.” Sure, this phrase sounds obvious enough, but it goes further than recognizing that we are all people. It sets a new mindset that basically says that you may not overcome all of the cultural and language barriers, but if you put yourself out there and are genuine, anyone will recognize the effort.
My partner Chelsea and I could not have been happier with our family. We knew that we wanted young children to help ease the tension, and as we both have experience with little kids (either through siblings, babysitting, or both), we felt it would be a good place to start. When we found out our family had two little girls (13 months and four years old), we couldn’t have been more excited. Our excitement just came naturally – these children weren’t any different than our siblings, than the girls we babysit. We began to brainstorm what we could do when we go to meet – we could bring coloring books and crayons, we could bake cookies, or bring magnetic letters for their fridge. Although we haven’t been able to meet with the family personally yet, Chelsea and I are very excited, if only a little nervous, to finally meet them.
Our peer mentor Cody demonstrated only too well what we have been discussing in class when he told us that the family may have been relocated to a different state, but that he wasn’t sure. It seems like such a strange concept to me. And not just in this situation – but for example, in my class there are many details, which are essential, but are just missing. This is the nature of refugee work we were told. Despite being told about this, it doesn’t make it any easier to accept. How can we not know where our family is? Well, going back to my trepidation, it’s not terribly difficult to see how refugees can sometimes fall between the cracks. Dealing and interacting with refugees requires effort and personal determination. The language barrier in itself is personally daunting – then throw in the fact that they know nothing of American culture, that they may have only just arrived from witnessing horrific events that no one should ever have to experience, and when you get right down to it, you realize that they just need a friend, or a guide. And that’s where we come in.
Being needed is a very persuasive motivator, in my opinion. This leads me to what I hope to get out of the experience. I hope to make a difference for someone, a real difference. Whether it be to solve a family crisis or to put a smile on their face for that day. I know now that whichever family Chelsea and I are placed with, I will be a little less nervous and much more willing to help them out – just as I would hope they would help me out if our positions were reversed.

Reflection Journal

Before starting the second term, I looked at my schedule and noticed that I am going to take UNIV 190 as an International Learning Community course.  At first, I was very reluctant about it; I did not have a good experience with the other learning community class I took last semester.  But then, as I read more about it, I became extremely interested since I can relate to what the class is about to a certain level as I am the granddaughter of Palestinian refugees.

When I went to the first class, I knew that this class is going to be extremely interesting.  It surely is.  The way the material is presented to us was an eye opener; when we played the refugee card game, I understood more about a refugee’s journey despite all the funny comments we made during the game.  The fact still remains that I am learning some of my past, and other peoples’ lives.  By doing so, it is widening my scope to respect refugees.

As for the service experience, I still have not met my family and I am very excited to meet them.  But on the other hand, I can expect myself to work as hard as I can to help my family live a better life.  In addition to that, my family is also going to teach me the Iraqi customs and traditions, and I really cannot wait!  As a result, I would love to learn more about the Iraqi culture and also get to eat their food too! Along with the exchange of my culture and beliefs, I will become more aware of what is going on with refugees nowadays and consequently become more rounded and then, I will be able to use my major as a tool to help refugees (mainly children) express their feelings through art: through drama, drawing, music playing …etc…

I am going to use this opportunity as a way to weave Theatre Arts into these children’s’ lives and as a result, they would just let out all their emotions intead of keeping it in.  We cannot deny the fact that being a refugee in a new country is difficult and very stressful both psychologically and physically.  By using the arts as a catalyst, it will help me get to know the children as well as allowing them to express what is going on inside their minds on a piece of paper, or whatever method of art I use.

By the end of this semester, I would learn more about the different refugees living in America and I would also experience the lives of Iraqi refugees.  I really cannot wait to start my journey to help people as well as to help myself.

My In-Experience

This Saturday, February 18, 2012, I will begin my interactions with a refugee family from the Congo. I am feeling a lot of emotions with this experience. I am feeling very nervous but I am also very excited to begin my work. I am scared that the family will not like me or that it will be very hard to communicate since they speak French. However, this exploration into a refugee family will be very enlightening. I will be able to view what a refugee family has to go through along with helping them get accustomed to the American culture and hopefully make lifelong friends. I feel that friends that are made through experiences like these are very close and stay lifelong. I hope that my family will not be afraid to contact me for anything they need from the sons to the parents.

I only have one experience with refugees and that is when I went with Dr. Amick to the Ukrainian village and visited the refugee museum. Going to the museum opened up my eyes and made me realize how much the refugees actually go through. The hardest part for me would have to be separation from your loved ones. I love my family and my fiancée to

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death. It would be so hard running from people and not getting split up and if you did get split up having no way to communicate with them or contacting them. It would be very frightening and scary. Reading about the lost boys only makes me sad for the people that had to flee, the boys while fleeing if didn’t get shot. They got eaten by the lions, it’s saddening that so few survived, but rejoice-full for the ones that did survive and made it to a safe haven.

I am very excited to work with my family and help them get accustomed to American culture, help them with their needs, and just to get to know them and hear their stories that are so inspiring. Just thinking about and even writing this paper gets me excited to help my family. I love helping people and an experience like this excites me. I hope to gain many qualities from this experience. I hope to gain respect for these families and the hardships that they have gone through, a passion for helping refugee families and helping them in the future, and a friendship that no one can understand unless they have gone and helped these families in their time of need.

I go meet my family this Saturday and I am very excited to not only meet them but hear their stories of struggle and relief in fleeing their country. The stories they tell can only be inspiring to have gone through so much hardship and still be strong and willing to fight for the little that they have. Only people who are tough, strong, and still have hope in

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their lives can make it through an experience like this and still have the will to go on. I look up to these families that fought their hardest to make it through and survive

Angie Blanco

Reflecting on the Refugee Experience

Packing up everything ever important in your life and escaping from violence going on in your country is evidently difficult; now on top of that add moving to a different country where the dominate language is completely foreign and the culture and standard of living is completely different from any reality you’ve ever been exposed to. These are the traumatic events that refugees experience everyday throughout the world. Working with people that have experienced traumatic events can be extremely difficult or greatly satisfying. The outcome of the overall experience will only be successful if enough time is dedicated to one’s refugees. By not only visiting them at least once a week, but also taking them out and about in the city, and having a true interest in their family and refugee past, the refugee family will learn to trust us and establish long lasting relationships that can potentially result in life-long friendships.

When meeting someone for the first time you get nervous, there is no knowing what to expect; meeting a refugee family can be slightly more intense. When I visited my refugee family for the first time I can’t say I wasn’t nervous. The whole walk to their home I kept thinking to myself, “will they speak english?” and “what if I make a rude gesture on accident?” Refugee’s come from all over the world and have gone through some tough obstacles, who know‘s how they will react to strangers coming into their home.

When I walked into the house of our refugee family I was very pleased to see that this family had made a lot of progress since first moving to America. They have lived in the United States for about two years now and they are doing pretty good; their house looked very nice and they owned a TV and computer. We walked in with Rob, a senior that has been visiting the family for almost two years now, and even though Rob has been going for nearly two years the looks on their faces when they saw Rob was remarkable. These people aren’t looking for anything more than a friend, a person they can trust to consistently visit them and help them emerge from their refugee status in the United States. Even the mom, who is an older women that doesn’t speak English, was happy to see Rob and us there because she knows her family is getting the help they deserve to gain a prosperous life in America.

Our family consists of two daughters, their parents, and some extended family as well. We helped the two daughters with their homework that night and I can’t say I’ve ever seen such motivation to get all the answers correctly and truly understand the meaning behide all the problems as for these two girls. They asked questions and weren’t afraid to say they didn’t understand a concept, even if it had already been explained to them. For them it wasn’t important how many times you had to explain something but that they comprehended it, the fact that now they understood and could go to class the next day with full knowledge of that concept. It’ll be going every week to help these girls and watching them achieve something great that will be truly remarkable, but just helping them with a simple concept, like counting money, can make all the difference for this family as well.

It doesn’t just have to be at home work that we do with the family, taking them out and about would be great for them as well. One of the reasons that refugee’s don’t go out often is because of money, lack of trust, and lack of knowledge. There are many cheap things to do throughout the city though and we can take them. A simple visit to the zoo is something they wouldn’t know how to make because you must organize the trip to the zoo, then the cost on entry, and finally there’s that communication barrier with everyone else living in such a huge city like Chicago; all of this can get extremely intimidating. By letting them know that they have us to go out with and we can protect them and help them communicate, this sense of protection and friendliness will not only make our refugee’s more of our friends, but it will also help them branch out into this amazing city they are living in.

Having weekly consistency and showing the family that this isn’t just some college volunteer opportunity much needed, will make this “beyond the classroom experience” a much more satisfying one. Knowing that we are helping a family who at one point may have been starving or living in dangerous/high crime war zones is not only an experience that will forever be rewarding, but an experience I think every college student should embark on because the refugee experience is one that must be shared with the world.

Coming from an ethnically diverse town, I have been subjected to a global way of thinking since I was born. The town I grew up in is proof that globalization is prominent no matter where one looks; whether it is where toys made in China or shoes made in Honduras. Since we live in such a globalized world, it is our duty as human beings to offer asylum when unspeakable crimes against a group of people are committed. Having prior knowledge of the UNHCR, the subject of refugees has always been an interest of mine. Refugees often never truly find social justice, and too few do not have the resources necessary to make a good life for themselves and their family elsewhere. Often times the situation goes unsolved for years, which we especially see in the case of the Palestinians. Although I have little knowledge on how I can actually assist these refugees, this class has given me a great opportunity to learn more and finally take action.

A great place to start in dealing with a topic as sensitive as this is by studying the history of refugees. That is why going to the Ukrainian national museum was such a good place to visit for the beginning of the semester. Not only did they provided great visual aids depicting what a refugee goes though, but although a little outdated, they provided a center for those who suffered in the displaced persons camps, which is crucial for every refugee when they are adapting to the cultural of a new country. Because of this visit, the one sentence that now defines me as person is “I support the Ukraine National Museum…” but I digress. What happened to the people of Ukraine happens in too many places in today’s world. Hearing stories from people descended from refugees infers to me that the suffering of a refugee transcends generations. It comes as no surprise that these people need help. The unfortunate and unfair disadvantage they have from the begging of their suffering does not completely disappear in the United States.

Forming a relationship with foreign people who come to the USA for asylum is one of the most important things one can do to assist these people. They come to this country out of chance and luck, with little to no knowledge of what life is like in the USA. Even worse, their English skills are often times quite shoddy. Having experience in tutoring underprivileged kids, I would be more than happy to assist a family that has come to the United States in whatever schoolwork they have. In order to provide for the family and raise their kids in a relatively safe environment, they must know the new dangers they face in America, and especially a city like Chicago. Although this may sound quite ominous, lions in Sudan become thieves and murders in the US. The relationship I am expecting to form with my family is that of close companionship and I will be more than willing to assist in whatever way I can, no matter how challenging the task may be. However, if the family requests something I am incapable of doing, I am not afraid to say “no.”

Refugees are people too, and a personal relationship with a native of the country is important in assisting their adaptation to America. That is what I hope to do with my family. It can be tough living in an environment that is strange to you, but it is even worse if you cannot speak the language of the native people. I hope to close that cultural gap, and assist the family’s immersion in the English language. Although we may be students, providing social justice to people who have been deprived of it for the majority of their lives is the greatest thing one can give back to their community, which consists of people from all over the world.

Karina Bucio
February 14th, 2012
Univ 190
Reflection Paper 1

Although it has only been four weeks into the semester, this class is probably one of the most interesting of the ones I am taking. Up until now, I was never aware of refuges. I was completely oblivious to this topic, but learning about it now, has opened my eyes to a whole new world. Simply by just reading “What is the What” I have learned about the lives of those individuals who are less fortunate and have to go through terrible situations in order to live. Also, I really like the idea of helping refugee families adjust to their new life. I have never had the opportunity to participate in something like this and I could only imagine how difficult it might be adjusting to a completely different lifestyle; Im sure if I were in their position, I would accept all the help I could get.
Like I said before, up until now, I was never aware of refugees. I had heard about it but I didn’t think it existed to this day. I thought it was a thing of the past and it could not happen again. I was completely wrong. I am extremely surprised at the things refugees must do to survive, or even just going through in  the process of relocating. I can only relate to these individuals to a certain extent: Culture shock. Throughout my life, I’ve spend  summer vacations in Mexico. At first its exciting, seeing relatives and enjoying the different lifestyles people from other countries have, even if it is my own. However, after about a month, it gets to the point where I want to go home. At that point in time, I decide that I’ve had enough of the different lifestyle and just want to return to my home. There has even been times where I get really sick, and once I get home, I’m better. How ironic. Now that I look back at my personal experiences, I could only imagine how difficult it must be to want to return home, but not being able to. Leaving everything behind and fleeing from my country is not something I ever want to go through.
The book we are currently reading is beyond amazing. It’s one of the best books I have ever read. I have seemed to grown attached to Valentino. Everything he has experienced thus far, is absolutely heartbreaking. There was even a moment where I found my self tearing up because there is just so much emotion set forth in the book. Moreover, I am really looking forward to learning what will become of the characters. I really like the fact that the book is written as a narrative. It makes it easier to put ourselves in the shoes of Valentino and the other characters undergoing such harsh treatment.
As of now, we have not visited our family. We do however, have set a date for this coming Wednesday, and I’m really excited in meeting them. I am also a bit nervous because I honestly don’t know what to expect. I’ve never had a experience like this, so it is all very nerve wrecking. I don’t want to unknowingly disrespect the family in any way. Especially with food. I’m a very picky eater so I am a bit afraid of what they might offer us. Other than that, I am really looking forward to Wednesday and hopefully we can establish a well connection with the family in the long run.

Learning Reflection Paper

Stepping into class on the first day of the semester, I did not know what to expect or to even anticipate. The course title, “Understanding Service-Learning and Social Justice”, did not mean anything to me. I had no idea that we would be given the opportunity to step into the lives of a refuge family and experience their situation first hand.  I have not yet meet with my family but we have heard former students’ experiences. Every individual that came into class was impacted in some aspect of their life. Whether their encounter was awkward, exciting, or refreshing, all of their eyes were opened and able to see life through a different light.

Our society has taught us that we need to look out for number one and do anything and everything that it takes to achieve success. We are raised to not have the time or the energy to think about anyone but ourselves. However, it is time to stop being selfish. We do have the time and the energy, it is just a matter of giving it to someone other than ourselves. The service-learning and social justice class forces us to step out of our comfort zone and view life form a different prospective. I was too involved with my own busy schedule that I had no idea what a refugee was. It was not until the reading, that I realized how much of a problem this situation is for many individuals. It was not a lack of sympathy before, but rather a lack of knowledge. Now that my eyes are opened to  this awful dilemma occurring in our home country, I am eager to fulfill my role in helping the refuges’ living situations.

Since my partner and I have not been assigned to a family, our main source of service-learning lies with the readings. The novel, “What is the What”, by Dave Eggers, helped me understand the “what”. The “what” refereed to in the novel, talks about the refugee experience. The tragic story of The Lost Boys was described through an autobiographical style of writing, giving the text a strong sense of credence. Reading the text and knowing that an actual human being had to endure these circumstances is unfathomable. The prior living conditions were tragic enough, but coming to the United States was not everything these refugees expected. Moving to America with no prior english, knowledge of customs, family, or a sense of community is very detrimental to the refugees’ emotional state. Egger really helped me understand the problem that refugees are facing. However, I was still lost on how to directly connect to service within the refugee homes.

After reading the additional articles, I was able to understand the value of service learning and how I could get involved. In the past, I have always helped issues that are important to me through financial support. I would rather work an extra hour at my job and donate the money, than to work an hour with the issue directly. Although finances are a good contribution, it is not enough. I have now realized that I need to interact with the issue directly in order to reap the full benefits. Giving money does not change the problem, it simply prolongs it. Social service, on the other hand, takes steps toward solving the problem and bridges the cap in inequalities. Not only does direct connection with the issue help the beneficiary, but it helps the benefactor. By dealing with the family first hand, I will receive the emotional component and grow as an individual. Seeing families struggling is not an easy encounter, and thus, I will grow as an individual because of it. I will be able to relate to these families on a personal level. I am extremely excited to meet with my family and see where this experience takes me. I can only hope that I will connect with the family and help support them and ease their transition into America.

I’ve never been one to get involved in service. I say this honestly, but I feel like I should backtrack and state the fact that I’ve always wanted to help others, to contribute back to society. However, the fact of life is that time constraints, academic responsibility, and a few apathetic teenage years have kept me from being as involved as I should have been. Which brings me to this class, which I hope can be somewhat of a gateway, a redeeming factor in my less than impressive track record when it comes to “service.” The idea of helping a family caught in a certain “limbo” between what they once knew and what they now face, sounds like a good way to spend my time.
That being said, warming up to the idea of what this entails has not been a quick process. I consider myself an extremely open person who loves to help others, but my initial fear of awkwardness does have me a little stressed out about the ordeal. However, it is something I’m getting over, especially with the idea of a peer mentor joining us. Cody seems like a great mentor, genuinely interested in helping his family and making a difference in these people’s lives. Kelly and I came into this believing we had a Bhutanese family with two young girls and, while there is still a question as to whether on not the family is still living here, we are continuing to prepare. We’re coming in with many ideas: we hope to bring coloring books for the girls as an initial gift to ease the transition, bring them library books and eventually get them their own library cards, as well as help the mother learn English while we help with the children. I am extremely excited to learn about the Bhutanese people and their language and culture, something that I know very little about.
This course has already started to open my eyes to something I have previously not been exposed to: the general plight of refugees and their prevalence in America. Starting from the simple fact of learning that immigrant and refugee are not synonymous, I have come to the realization that these people are much more abundant than I believed and that their way of life is barely assisted by the government during the rough transition. The shocking accounts of each unique journey these refugees have gone through has begun to give me a greater perspective on what I take for granted in life, as well as what is truly important. I feel like there is a lot to learn from these people and that the greatest gift might not be the service I give to them, but the knowledge and humbleness they might show me.
Overall, I hope to help the family as best as I can, to help improve or at least aid their life in America. I want to gain knowledge about my family’s culture and language and hopefully get to experience the delicious food I’ve heard many good things about. The weeks to come aren’t bringing as much nervousness as they used to, instead it is replaced with excitement. I want to find out what I can do to get the most out of this experience and how I can share my knowledge to help benefit more refugees and the people who come in contact with them daily. There has been a common feeling of unfairness that rushes over me while listening to some of the refugees’ stories. These injustices can only begin to be resolved through awareness. If anything, I hope to be able to spread knowledge on this topic that is widely misunderstood and give a face and story to the issues facing the refugee community in the U.S. today.

Cyryl Jakubik

2/13/2012

UNIV 190

Reflection 1

After visiting the Ukrainian museum for displaced people, I realized that the reasoning behind forcing people out of their homes varies and is not always the same. However there is one thing in common and that is that the reasoning is always unfair. It’s not fair for innocent people to have to go through such horrifying situations in life and face unnecessary challenges.

I am of Polish decent and both my parents were immigrants and met each other here in America. My mom was an immigrant but my dad was a refugee running away from communism. Then after the Ukrainian museum, it made me realize that refugees come from all over the world and there are a lot of different unwanted situations. I knew the Ukrainian was similar to Polish culture through personal knowledge and experiences and so when we ate at the restaurant and enjoyed the museum, there weren’t too many surprises. I did not know however that they also paint eggs and growing up I always saw colorfully designed eggs at an aunts house or at my grandmother’s, but now I know that Ukrainians do it too.

I still didn’t visit my family yet so I can’t really compare anything to that. I also did not learn much about the Congolese culture yet so I do not know what to expect. It will be an interesting and fun surprise when I go to visit for the first time. I will be able to compare their culture to my European-American culture. One of the biggest barriers will be language because I believe I am friendly and easy to get along with. After traveling to many parts of the world such as multiple countries in Europe, Central America, and even Egypt, I always find myself getting along with all the people. I’m sure though that as I visit more often, the language barrier will decrease and our form of communication will only improve. Hopefully their English will improve more so that adapting to America will be easier but I also hope to learn a little bit of a new Language. I think French is a really interesting language to learn. However I am sure that a lot of communicating will come through hand gestures and plenty of smiles but that is something that we will have to work through.

After my group and I get to a personal level with our family, I would like to play soccer with them, especially since they are all boys that are around our age. Of course I will have to wait till the weather gets better but I feel that it would be a great way to connect. Also, I heard that they are very musical and so sharing some type of musical experience would also be very great. I have played the drums since 5^th grade and use to be in a band so hopefully I will be able to jam out with them. I wonder how their musical taste might differ from mine. Musical taste is often influenced by where people are from and their culture and since they are from a totally different part of the world and have a very different culture I believe their taste in music will be different too. Through personal experience, I noticed when I travel that musical taste is associated with culture especially when the media is also slightly different. Since the family is so big, it might be a possibility that they have their own personal family band because according to the email they are all very interested in music. Other families may have little kids and so they might be helping with homework but the boys in our family are older and are all working except for one. There is only one boy in high school so we could help him with homework. But for the others, we will probably be answering questions about everyday American ‘stuff’ and teaching a little English along the way.

My emotions are very mixed for this experience because I don’t really know what to expect because I have not been exposed to Congolese type culture. I did similar volunteer work in Panama expect we went with a goal and a specific purpose with translators and I also speak Spanish so that language barrier was minimal. In this situation we don’t have a specific goal so that will be a little difficult but I also allows us to help in many different ways. I am excited and very happy to be doing this. I am very anxious to meet my family and can’t wait any longer.

As part of my participation in the International Learning Community this semester, I am enrolled in the class UNIV 190 “Service and Social Justice, The Refugee Experience”. This class fulfills the civic engagement requirement for Loyola University’s undergraduate core, which means there is a service portion of the class apart from what is done in the classroom. In my specific case, I will serve as a “cultural broker” to a family of refugees from the Congo who are currently living in Rogers Park. This means that I will pay the family visits on a weekly basis and get to know them, understand how I can assist them, and ultimately offer a welcoming hand of friendship to a group of people in need of our help.

From what I have gathered from our discussions in class and the readings that I have done to prepare for it, few groups of people in the world today face a situation as complex and strenuous as refugees who have been displaced from their place of origin. Although each situation that refugees are in is different, we can find commonalities in the issues they must deal with once they arrive in America. Refugees come from very dissimilar political situations that forced them to leave their countries. For the most part, however, these were violent conflicts that obliged them to go to places like refugee camps, where their destinies were put in the hands of organizations like the UNHCR and the IRCO, who relocated them to places all over the world.

In this class we focus specifically on the refugees that have been relocated to the United States. Although relocating to America seems like the happy ending to a grueling expedition, there are many hardships that accompany the adaptation to a new life here. As a class, we have been reading a book by Dave Eggers, “What Is The What?”, that exemplifies how hard it was for one Sudanese “Lost Boy” refugee in particular to relocate to Atlanta, Georgia.

Although the family that I will be engaged with is from Congo, and probably comes from a different situation than Valentino, the main character in “What is The What?”, it is interesting to read his story in order to get a feel for the types of things they might be going through. In class, we have talked about culture shock and learning to adapt to social norms and customs and how this can be extremely difficult for families. If the family I will be working with has gone through or is now going through these things, I will be sure to try to help them out. They are a family of seven, with five sons, the youngest of which is in high school, and they have been here in Chicago since October. All of this I know only from an email I received from my peer mentor, because I have yet to meet the family in person.

I am very excited to start this “cultural broker” work because service learning opportunities are one of the main reasons that I had for coming to a Jesuit University. I have always had much faith in the notion that many times one gains much more by helping others than the receivers of the service do themselves. In this case, I hope I will learn about new people and their cultures, the hardships they have suffered, and how they have dealt with them. I am sure that in working with this family and hearing about my peer’s experiences with their own refugee families, I will gain these qualities and much more.

I am not sure if I feel prepared to begin or not. We have certainly covered a wide array of topics as it pertains to the general concept of refugees, but I do not know of the specifics of what I will do to help the family once I see them. I suppose it is a case-specific scenario, and there is not really much that can be taught in a classroom, which is why we dive into the service. This makes sense to me, and I am excited to begin as soon as possible.

All in all, I think I will fair well, not only because I believe that everyone, especially people new to a culture, are in need of a friend, but also because of a confidence in that I myself have great social skills. Because I know that I am good with people, all the doubts and fears that I have about embarking on this journey are overshadowed by positivism and confidence in the success of this project.

Although we are only into our fifth week of our “Service and Social Justice” class, I’m very excited to finally start working with our refugee families. I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this course, but so far the classroom discussions and readings have really sparked my interest. I’ve always loved to do community service types of work, and going to a Jesuit high school for four years has really made me think about what social justice means. Reading Dave Eggers, “What is the What,” brings up a huge social justice issue that unfortunately, many people don’t even know about. I was part of the “Invisible Children’s” club, where classmates and I would fundraise money to help those children in Africa who were being abducted and used as child soldiers in the Lord’s Resistance Army. While the class has been great so far, I wish we would study more history or political issues as to why these people feel the need to flee their homes. “What is the What” has done a great job of explaining the dangers in Africa, but I’m curious as to how the government let things get so bad there. Also, I’d like to study about other cultures to like Burma and the history behind their country as well as other places. Even though I knew a little bit about Africa’s poor government and war-torn countries, reading, “What is the What” was a more personal approach to understanding the reasons that so many refugees are trying to flee elsewhere. Making the story personal makes it seem more realistic and tragic.

While reading this book I find that I have to sometimes put it down and step back from it. Although it’s an easy read, the context is really shocking. From the time when Valentino, the main character, sees his best friend get murdered, to him walking days without food or water in the dessert as boys died around him, I wonder how things for him can get worse. To really get into the book I need to be completely alone and know I won’t be interrupted. The horrible events that happen to this young man almost don’t seem realistic to me at times so I try to immerse myself in it to make it seem more plausible. As I continue reading this book I can’t help but feel a little more nervous about meeting my family. I do not know who my family is yet but “What is the What” makes me wonder what they had to go through.

Although I’m excited to meet my refugee family, I’m also very nervous. They have worked so hard to get into America, I would hate to say or do something that may insult them or their culture. I understand that many of them are probably feeling culture shock so the last thing I want to do is make them feel even more stressed about adapting to life here. I’m also nervous about them not wanting to open up to my partner or I. I know that each refugee goes through many different things to get into the United States so I could understand why the family may be hard to warm up to us in the beginning. Even though I’m nervous about meeting my family, I’m also really excited.

When I signed up for this class all I knew was that I wanted to incorporate my studying outside of the classroom. Going to a Jesuit college means being “men and women with and for others.” This course not only teaches us about some of the world’s biggest issues, but it requires us to go out and do something about it. I really value this way of learning because I don’t think there would be a better way to understand what refugees go through other than befriending them.

I’m really hoping that this experience will give me a better insight on what’s going on around the world instead of the petty worries in my life. I don’t want to take my privileged American life for granted and I hope that helping these people will make me realize just how hard it is to become assimilated in this cutthroat society.  I want to be a positive impact on this family’s life and I’m hoping that they will leave a huge impact on mine as well.

Reflection Paper #1

During my senior year in high school, I was looking at many different Universities, there were many things that set the various Universities apart. Some of the things that specifically set Loyola University apart from other Universities was the location and its commitment to service to others. I believe that by taking this class I will be able to incorporate both the University’s core values as well as my own personal values into real action that will be able to positively affect a new refugee family.

My family is that of immigrants from Italy, Germany, and Ireland. When my grandparents came from their respective countries they hoped to find a better life in America. Although this was an idea in which seemed to be a realistic goal, it was indeed quite a process to achieve.  A process which required hard work, dedication,and determination. My grandparents taught me many core values that make me the person I am today. They taught me that through hard work, perseverance, respect for others, and responsibility, that one will be able to accomplish their goals. I took these core values vary seriously during my high school years. I was awarded the Rank of Eagle Scout after completing a very lengthy service project for my city which helped many people. I would also try to find time to volunteer at a center called, “ Feed My Starving Children”, whenever I could. This organization allows for volunteers to pack food for children and families in third world countries that would otherwise not have the means to eat. After choosing Loyola University I wanted to continue my dedication to serving others, so after the first week of school I found an organization at the Jonquil Hotel, tutoring underprivileged children. Although this can be difficult at times it, in the end it is  very much worth the time put in.

During my first semester at the Jonquil Hotel, I spent most of my time teaching young children (ranging from the first grade to seventh grade) how to read, write, and preform basic mathematical functions. As an older brother, I often help my younger sister with her homework. Interacting and teaching those younger than me is not something new or different, I have had plenty of experience helping younger adults and children. Over time I have gained an appreciation for my previous teachers as well as my parents and how much patience that they must have had in order to deal with me.

I realize that although I have many experiences with volunteering, this experience will be different for me for various reasons. One reason will be that although I have volunteered many times, I have always volunteered with Americans, and have had no real world experience with a refugee family so it will be difficult to imagine what they have had to go through to get to this stage in their life. Another way in which this experience will be different from my previous

experiences is that when I have volunteered in the past I have always been able to communicate with whom I volunteer with and have never had to deal with a language barrier. Although I speak Spanish as well as English, I have only on occasion needed to use my Spanish speaking skills in order to better my volunteer experience.

Overall I look forward to the experience of working with a refugee family and learning about the process of refugees in America is to experience growth on a personal level in order to share my experience with others. I would like to learn more about core values of other cultures in order to understand the difficulties that they may face and to compare and contrast their culture with my own. I wish to learn more about how the family life and social life interact between the family and then between the family and myself (and Ben).

When I first signed up for the class, I had expected that I would be working with refugee families who reside in Chicago.  I did know that Chicago contained refugees, but I did not know that there were so many of them and that they come from such a diverse group of nationalities, such as Bhutanese, Cuban, Iraqi, Ugandans, Congolese, Bosnians, and Palestinians.  I look forward to the service and social justice projects of this class because of three reasons: First, I want to broaden my knowledge about the circumstances and conditions that forced these groups of people to migrate overseas to seek for shelter.  Second, I want to learn about the many difficulties, including but not limited to financial, legal, and social, in America that these refugees have to face as they have almost no rights and cannot be employed in higher-level jobs although they may have the necessary skills.  Last, I want to have more information on the different policies that the United States government has right now on refugee admission and support as these are affecting and will continue affecting refugees’ lives after they have settled in America.

I come from Vietnam, a country that has experienced internal conflict not long ago and is one of the countries that once had one of the highest numbers of refugees and displaced people.  There are a few close family friends whom I know are overseas in America or Europe right now because they were forced to flee after the Vietnam War ended.  I am no stranger to refugees, but the refugee population in Chicago is something else altogether.  I am not familiar with any of the groups as well as the main causes that forced them to seek refuge in the United States.  I have learned that I will be working with a Congolese family.  I hope to be able to find out from them a first-hand account of the conflict they had to live in as well as how they found their way to America.  I am excited to know that I will be working with a refugee family, but at the same time, I feel a little sad because I know that the family has gone through lots of hardships, some of which I will never able to understand.  Other than increasing knowledge, the experience will perhaps it will change my perceptions on refugees as well as my own life.

During the process of working with the Congolese family, I hope to be able to help them with the things that they may have trouble doing by themselves, such as learning English or just having a good knowledge of the neighborhood that they are living in.  Knowing English is necessary because without it, they would be at a great disadvantage when communicating with locals or government officials.  Helping them English is one big step towards them becoming self-sufficient in the future.  I would also like to help them get accustomed to the neighborhood that they are living in so that they can utilize and maximize usage all of the facilities given to them.  If they know that there is Salvation Army or Goodwill store nearby, they will definitely be able to make use of those resources to get warmer clothes for the winter.  I know that the Congolese family with whom I am working will be experiencing their second or third winter, but this does not mean that they have enough warm clothing available.  Helping them find out more of the available services and resources around them can definitely increase their chances of having a better experience while staying in Chicago.

Aside from the service and social justice that I will be achieving in this help project, I also expect to learn more about the culture of the Congolese people.  I have never had friends from Africa so I am expecting the first few weeks to be full of new things as well as communication problems as it may be difficult to get certain messages across.  Ultimately, I hope that this project provides me with more information on the international issue of seeking refugee so that I am even more aware of the issue and can hopefully act in the future towards the benefits of these less-privileged individuals, regardless of which government or corporation I am working for.

My first thought about working with refugees was bittersweet. I really like helping out people and I already have some experience in helping people. I used to volunteer at my local hospital and part of the experience was to meet with patients of all different races. Yes, most of them knew how to speak English and knew what was going on but there were some who had trouble to speaking English. Patients who didn’t know much English were Hispanic and there kids would help them translate for them. So working with refugees, I can relate to the situation at the hospital. I am excited to work with refugees because I feel like my experience will benefit me. When we started talking about helping refugees in class, I started to become a little nervous. When the peer mentors were talking about how some families might take awhile to open and build a relationship, I was worrying that what if my family doesn’t open up to us? Or they try not to contact us? Which did happen, the family we were supposed to be with didn’t make a contact so we were assigned a different family. As our professor has mentioned in class that this particular family has already been given help and they are greatly accepting for more volunteers. This was a sign of relief; I’m already going there and knowing that the family wants our help. My prior knowledge of refugees is that I knew that refugees weren’t treated as well as they should be. I know that they have a difficult time getting situated in the United States and some experience culture shock. I know that they don’t get much help from the agency and they are left to do things on their own. When we learned more about this in class, I feel like refugees shouldn’t be allowed in the United States if we can’t afford to help them out all the way because most of these families have kids and most of the parents are struggling to find jobs or getting settled in. Especially when watching the movie clips in class, most of the refugees said that the agency don’t do much to help them out after certain number of months and they don’t help them find jobs. Most refugees feel very lonely here because no one knows them and back in their country everyone knows them, so a lot of refugees become depressed. Not everyone views refugees as needing help. When I first told my family about this class and how we are helping out refugee families, they were concerned about my safety and were wondering why are we helping refugees instead of poor people. It hard for my family to understand this because they haven’t done any research to know about the refugee situation here in the U.S., if they did know I think their opinions might change. I told my family that I’m not going alone; I’m doing this with a partner and an experienced peer mentor. I am really excited about the project we are doing with Guz Amer camp in Chad. Especially because Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world, I like that we are helping one of the camps out. I feel like I’m making a difference by helping out refugees and becoming aware of this problem that is currently going on around the world. So I am looking forward working with my refugee family and learning more about refugees around the world and their struggle in other countries.

Reflection paper

So here we are at the relative beginning of the semester and we are starting to visit refuge families for our social injustice class. I have to say I’m excited about learning more about the family dynamic of another culture. I am however somewhat concerned about not knowing anything about their culture. Also I’m not sure how many of their cultural norms we are supposed to follow I mean we are supposed to be helping them adjust to American life right. So I don’t really want to offend anyone, but I also don’t want to not be doing what I’m supposed to. Well, I know we are supposed to help them learn English but I’m not exactly sure how we are going to communicate.

I’m trying not to form any sort of plan because I know the likely hood of being able to stick to that plan is very low. On the other hand I think that it’s going to be very important to figure out how much English they speak.  I have large concerns about that I mean I have never been very good at charades which I think will make things somewhat difficult. I hope that we can find a way to communicate quickly. I really won’t care about making a fool of myself as long as it gets the point across. Maybe I should bring a sketch book or something perhaps drawing will work better then jumping up and down and what not.

Another thing that was discussed in class as being very important in class was setting boundaries. I don’t really know what those are going to be for me. I know it’s important to not make promises that you can’t keep. So, I’m thinking that it’s going to be very important to watch what I say because I don’t want to accidentally make a promise I can’t keep, that and I don’t really know how much I’m going to be able to do. I want to help I just don’t want to be too helpful.  It’s just that they have been through so much already I don’t want them to suffer or struggle any more but I think that it’s important to not help too  much I mean after all they have to learn to live on their own too. I don’t know what should be too far. I think that’s going to have to be something I figure out along the way but to start I think that I should try to provide a minimum amount of help; I feel like it will be better to give more help if needed then to take away help.

I believe that another thing that is going to be important to think about, what is to happen when the semester is over?  An Important question to ask is going to be when the semester ends what will I do? Will I keep going to see the family? Will I have time?  Well I know that at the end of this semester I’m going to have to go home for the summer. So at very least I will have to take a three mouth break from visiting after all I will be in a different state. But when I get back then what will I have time in the new semester to visit with the family? I mean I guess that will be largely dependent on how I feel about the family not that I think I won’t like them or anything, It’s just that I fully recognize about myself that I’m unlikely to continue going if I don’t feel all that attached to the family. I also recognize however that it might not be the best idea to get too attached to them. I suppose that I will have to cross the bridge when I come to it.

Another thing that I have been thinking about is my partner. Not anything bad mind you just that I don’t really know anything about him I hope that he will be organized and we can make our first visit soon. However over all I am very excited to start this experience I have always been involved in volunteering  It has been something that I have enjoyed ever since I was little and I think that with will be another thing that Is going to be a lot of fun and allow me to grow as a person.

I knew that both Intro to Hinduism and Univ 190 would provide good learning experiences for me because I do not have a background with either Hinduism or refugees. But, I am glad that I switched into Univ 190 because I will be helping people outside of the university, which is one of the main reasons why I came to this school. However, as the day where Claire and I actually start working with our Congolese family is getting closer (we are still in the process of finding a day), I am getting more and more nervous. This will be my first experience working, hands-on, not just with a refugee family, but with any economically challenged family.

When I was in high school, my confirmation group and I volunteered at our local PADS once or twice for two hours. We prepared mattresses and food that we later served. After we served the food, the coordinators of the PADS told us to go out and mingle with the clients. I did not feel very comfortable doing that because I felt like everything that I could talk about would be a touchy subject. For example, it was either around Thanksgiving or Christmas one time we volunteered, and I asked one woman what she was doing for the holiday. I regretted that question the moment I asked it because there most likely is some sort of familial strain or abandonment or death if a person is homeless. But, I could not think of any other generic question to ask at the time.

I know that PADS is very different from working with a refugee family, but I have the same fears and more. I am afraid that I will say something or ask a question to offend one of my family members on accident by trying to make conversation. My awkwardness, language barriers, and differences in culture all combined could end in a disaster. However, Claire is one of the closest friends I have made so far in college, and she knows that I do not do well in social situations with new people; she will help me out. Also, just having her there will make me feel more comfortable.

I hope that our family has little kids because they are usually fun to be around. They are so free of inhibitions and probably do not know/understand the extent of their living situation. Also, I think that Claire and I both would be able to handle small children better than older children. The family that I thought that we were going to work with had teenage kids, and I was not looking forward to that experience because I am a moody teenager; I know how difficult I can be to be around, and I do not want to have to deal with that. However, if our family has teenagers, we will adjust and make the most of the situation. I always try to take the most out of a situation and try to learn something.

One characteristic that I have noticed about myself is that I do not like to do anything if I cannot be fully emotionally invested in it. So, I am excited to be working hands-on with our family. All of the kids who have come to speak to our class have said that they are “a part of the family.” I know that this might not happen to us, or it might take a while for this to happen, but I am really looking forward to learning about a completely foreign culture to me and accepted as “one of them,” even though I technically am not one of them. Since there will be a language barrier, I know that we will not communicate the way that I do with people who speak English, but I think that finding a way to communicate will be half of the fun and excitement of the experience. I know that the first few weeks will be a little rocky, but if we can get over that hump, I think that I will really enjoy spending time with the family and learning something new every visit.

I am glad that we are preparing for this experience by reading What is the What, learning about refugee’s journeys, and basic tips when working with them. As I said before, I had no knowledge of the refugee experience before the semester, and What is the What has really opened my eyes to what refugees go through in search of a better life. Also, the tips that we read about in The Middle of Everywhere and in our class lectures appear to be common sense, but I can see myself talking too quickly or getting overwhelmed easily and freaking out when something goes wrong if I do not prepare myself for the possibility of miscommunication or sudden emergencies. I can also see myself getting too involved and wanting to help too much. I am glad that we addressed that topic in class. I will mentally prepare myself with “crossing the line” while helping my family and laying down ground rules for myself about getting too attached.

Obviously I want to see if this works out with our family and if I like the experience before making long term plans or commitments. But, if it does work out, and I like it, I would like to stay in the Loyola Refugee Outreach club with the remains of my Loyola career. If I stay on campus over the summers, I could even continue to work with my family or other families. I have a feeling that this is going to be very challenging for me in all ways imaginable, but it will be worth it because I will come out a different person. I am not sure how, but I have a feeling that I will be transformed for the better forever.

I come from a country that continues to host 1.7 million refugees from many countries, Afghanistan being one of them. However, I have never had the experience of working with them or meeting them. If I may have come across them I probably would not notice.

As I was assigned to this class through the learning community, my first thought was, “How hard can it be?” Especially when meeting with a bunch of people from other countries’ but as the class started we were briefed about the families we might be working with.  I was excited to explore the different backgrounds that they were coming from but at the same time a little hesitant.

The mentor’s, who came and spoke to us about how most of the families they worked with and helped, had been in the U.S. for a while and still had quite a few problems. They spoke of how they had been working with the families for quite some time and how some of their families would not open up to them. They did not allow them to help much.  Others spoke of how their families were so welcoming and made them feel like they were a part of their family as they fed them and invited them to their family events. One of the mentors who came and spoke to us talked about how he got assigned to all these responsibilities such as taking the children out for trips to the park and the beach which made the experience sound fun and an easy task at the most. Another mentor spoke of how she first went to this family where to little girls answered the door and their father was taken by surprise as he was not aware of them and they had to leave and they never went back to the family again and were reassigned.

I am going into this service with mixed feelings, on one hand I am excited to meet my family as they are from Nepal and probably speak some Hindi, which I am fluent in.  I feel that I would really be able to help them, therefore, I do not feel like the language barrier would be much of an issue. On the other hand, I feel that since they just arrived last month I would probably have my hands full in helping them as they would probably need our help with everything and it would take them some time to adjust to their life here. Since it will also be the first time for my mentor I hope they do not express hostility towards us and allow us into their homes and let us help them.

As we saw some videos of the refugees that had come to the U.S. for a better future and were taken a back with their situation here, I am a little afraid because my family will be new to this and they might suffer from depression, stress and they might even be scared and not trust others.

Keeping all these things in mind I hope I do not get too attached and involved in the family as this can not only prove to be hard on me but it may not be good for the family as they would rely on us and not actually learn. I feel like it would be really hard to see them struggle as I can only imagine where they are coming from and what they are coming too.

However, as I have not had such an experience before. Compared to all the different community service programs I have volunteered at back home I am sure this experience will be like no other.  I really hope I learn something from this experience and the refugee family I am assigned to.

As I prepare to start working with my assigned family, I reflect on service that I have done in the past.  I have done many hours of community service in high school and here at Loyola. I have done service at many different organizations, which included different activities. I have worked at schools and numerous organizations like Misericordia, the Chicago Food Depository, Share your Soles, and recently at a soup kitchen. All these organizations and institutions are great volunteer places but I notice that the type of volunteering I will be doing now is different. Instead of working with a group for to accomplish a bigger goal, I will be working directly with a person in need. The type of volunteering is different and requires more of me than other experiences I have had. With this, I have a variety of emotions.

First and foremost, I am excited to be working with a refugee family but there are other emotions, too. I have to admit that I am a little scared of not being able to help them with what they need. I try to imagine sometimes what it will be like meeting them and how things will turn out. I play out different scenarios in my head some good, some bad. There are many “what if” at this point because I am anxious.  I think that is normal and part of the process because as someone enters different situation, he or she thinks about every possible thing that can go right or wrong. It is also relieving that the speakers in class have had good experiences with the families. Overall, I am more excited and ready to meet with them and get the process started than I am nervous or scared.

Going into volunteer projects, it is important to have the right mentality. One has to be prepared for what could happen. It is also important for to go in with a positive attitude.  Dealing with others is tough but with the right mentality and having my heart in the right place, everything should be fine. This is something that should be taken seriously, with respect, and at the same time with enthusiasm, because it deals with people’s life. Even though the hours of service are required, one shouldn’t deal with things as if were a hassle. The families really need help and it is up to volunteers to make their life easier. I know that with what we learned class we are better suited to help out these families. In class, we have learned a lot about refugee’s life experiences but each individual will have their own story but I will be better prepared.

This experience is unique and I feel ready. I think this will be a growth experience for me. Although, it is something I have never experienced before, I feel this will take the next step to a new type of service. It will open my perspective on a certain injustice going on in the world.  I want to feel like I am part of something bigger in this world and I believe that participating in this experience will help me feel that need of belonging to something bigger on this world. This experience will halpe me grow as an individual and also help me learn about the reality of others in this country.

My meeting with my assigned family will be later this week and I am looking forward to a great relationship with them. I am committed to helping them and leaning from them as well.

When I found out that I was going to take Univ 190: Service and Learning, I have to admit, I was not thrilled because I thought it would consist of doing service at a soup kitchen or a retirement home and trying to learn something from our services. I had that mentality because in some occasion during grammar school and High school I would do simple service such as helping clean a kindergarten classroom then write a reflection on what I learned from doing service. I would have to make anything up because what was there to learn from helping a teacher clean a classroom? However, the first day of class was a pleasant surprise. I learned that we would not be helping at a soup kitchen or anything of that sort, but instead we would be helping refugees adjust to their life in America. I was thrilled because not only will I be helping people adjust to American life I will also be able to form a connection with them, something that I had not done before while doing service.

Through the rush of excitement I had experienced the first few days, I had forgotten about all the things that can possibly go wrong. I thought to myself, “how am I going to go in a home full of strangers and pretend to not be nervous, scared, frightened? What if they are dangerous people? What if they don’t like me or vice versa what if I don’t like them? What if they take advantage of my willingness to help and I cannot find it in my heart to say No? What if I never form a connection with these families? Will I be letting them down? Will I have not done my job as a service leader and try to make their life a bit easier?” I finally started to realize that not everything was going to be rainbows and butterflies.

In the next few days in class, I would learn something new about the refugee’s about the challenges they faced coming America, the heart breaks they endured time after time just to achieve a better life for their families since they were being persecuted in their home countries. All this new information made me realize that I should not be worried and be intimidated by these people because they have came in contact with people who have rejected them, turn their backs on them when they were in desperate need and for me to do the same, I would just not have felt right. I understood that I had to be strong and not let my worries get the best of me because if I do then I would not be able to help these people out with all my effort.

I recently was assigned to a family that I would be helping and I am so mixture of both excited and nervous. I am excited to finally interact with refugees and help them out, but I am nervous because I do not know what to expect for the first day. I am still wondering how am I going to introduce myself, with a handshake? Just saying my name? With a smile and nodding of the head? All these questions I hope to figure out before my first visit. I am excited because I have heard some stories about students who form an amazing connection with their assigned families and they get invited to weddings birthdays parties and I am really hoping and wanting to form that connection to experience all those events.  I want to form these connections, but I also understand that it takes time for the family to open up to a complete stranger and that I should not force myself to have a connection with them because then it will not seem genuine.

With my knowledge of their past experiences and knowing how much they suffer, I plan to take things slow get to know them little by little and not be pushy because I know if I were in their place I would not like someone to come in my house and demand to know everything about me and my family. I am just beyond excited and a bit nervous to interact with my family and see what new adventures I will experience with them.