jdiazmontes-blog

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Journal Entries - Volunteering @ Habitat for Humanity

Volunteering has always been a complicated topic for me since I did not have the best opinion of the action itself, the employees and volunteers, and the place in need of volunteers due to my own background in Cuba. Fortunately, I must say that my not so positive opinion has changed positively after seeing what Habitat for Humanity does for the American community and the safety of thousands of families. I must say that I am proud to have contributed, although in a small measure, with my little piece of sand so other families can have a place they can call “home.” In addition, this enriching experience allowed me to know another side of American society, a side more noble and concerned for the community needs, the opportunity to rediscover my classmates, and a chance to work with a great team. Even though I couldn’t work in the construction site, the Pinellas ReStore gave me the hope in a better world. Furthermore, the store is not only a great place to get items in all sort of conditions for a great price, but also a place where the few employees and fixed volunteers make you feel welcome and that all your effort is valuable. The love, dedication, and effort can be seen in the eyes and smile of the customers.

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Journal Entries - Permanently Online, Permanently Connected

I must admit that my phone is an extension of my body and my favorite entertainment. A few years ago, Facebook was literally the first thing I checked when I opened my eyes, it helped me to wake my eyes up while learning what my friends and family where doing. I've always been a passive user with very few posts and pictures published by myself, but always there, connected and online. I preferred to read and see what others were doing, while checking on them through their status. My friendships were enhanced by lots of interactive messages in their posts and very little face-to-face contact. Time has passed, and I do not use Facebook that much today to keep in touch with my friends, I text them now. With all the new emoji and interactive messages, it is so much fun now to text because I feel like I can express myself better.

But we should admit that cellphones are such a commodity today because everything is at our fingertips and stored in our pockets. I use my phone for everything, from checking my bank account, to buying airplane tickets, to sign my mortgage papers, or even research/type my homework. And whenever I'm in any kind line waiting nothing is more entertaining that to connect online with others, play a game, or check my beloved Pinterest. I'm almost permanent online connected to the world, searching and using online content while mixing in it with other activities

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Journal Entries - Intergenerational Program

What fascinates me the most about this class is the fact that every day I realize more and more how alienated I was of the different communities I’m/ I’ve been part of during my life and the important role communication plays in my daily routine to grow as a person. For the community service project my team decided to volunteer at the Habitat for Humanity organization, and I particularly have gone to one of the stores located in Pinellas County to do my hours. Maybe it was not planned to be consciously implemented, but at least in the store where I volunteer I saw how the intergenerational program help in the growth of this community. I learned that people volunteer for diverse reasons, and among it because they retire and want to feel that they are still useful to the community. For example, in the Pinellas ReStore there’s an old man, I can’t recall his name, who is the one in charge of repairing the broken furniture, assemble new fans, or even decide how to split different task. He patiently and with dedication exposes his knowledge to the service of the organization and of anyone who wants to learn. Knowledge that is rewarded by the desire of a couple youth volunteers to learn.

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Journal Entries - Place (House) Meaning

December last year my boyfriend and I bought our own house. At the beginning, I felt alienated with the house because the colors, the smells, and even the noises were so different from what I was used to live in, so I couldn’t feel at home. Therefore, we decided to make some changes, we painted the walls, bought some glade air freshener, and started to decorate the house to our likeness. At the same time, our relationship started to grow stronger and positive making the place we bought no longer a residence, but a place where to start our own family.

 This past weekend we went on a family trip out of state, which allowed me to realize how much I missed my house, my smells, my noises, my bed, and all of my comfort already. As soon as I open the door when we came back I was welcome by the feeling of being at “home”, at my place where I feel warmth, relaxed, and safe. My favorite place in the world.

The funniest part is that I didn't realize how my concept had changed from just walls and a roof to a “home” until I was away, but I guess that sometimes that's what people need to value what they really want. We've been living in the house for a little over two months and I already feel “at homeness.”

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Journal Entries - Community of Practice

I currently work for the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County which is a non-profit organization focused on early education. I particularly work in the VPK program which its purpose is to prepare 4 years old to get ready for kindergarten. Last year, the organization decided to bring the services in house, but they were not prepared. Thanks to this class I realized that what we all have been doing since the service was brought in house was creating a community of practice where each employee in the department was/is a key element. Together we have developed procedures, strategies, and ways to face different high peak seasons of applications, enrollments, and changes. Our work is a continue engagement establishing a procedure for collective learning while learning from each other due to each individual unique background and past experiences. For example: I worked before in the VPK program when it was contracted through the School District, Renae worked for over 10 years at a smaller Coalition in another county, and Kenya and Susie were directors at VPK centers. As expected, when we gather together to decide on strategies it is possible to get almost every angle and outcome of a situation while we learn together by establishing our own way to do it.

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Journal Entries - Storytelling

I remember that what I used to hate the most when I was a child in Cuba was a hot August night without electricity. Cuba is a poor country were multiple blackouts are scheduled every week in order to save money due to the expensive cost of electricity. Even though only a few people had air conditioning in their houses, at least everyone have a fan. Can you imagine what is to sleep all sweaty because of the hot weather without a fan at least? Or actually not sleep at all?

This past Thursday I flew to Vegas with my family, and as the plane approached the city and I saw all those lights turned on, the first thing that came to my mind was "if Fidel (former president) had come here, this city will have blackouts every day!" As I walked through the city I was dazzled by the spectacular hotels and their lights, however I could not stop thinking at the same time “what a waste of energy.”

Later, when I shared that story with family and friends, memories of our own blackout experiences turned into the storytelling that allowed me to understand and realize the importance electricity have in our life. Through the stories I realized how valuable it is for me to be able to drink cold water, sleep fresh and comfortable, or even watch TV. But the most fascinated thing was to witness how an image of lights unleashed storytelling of blackout that make us come together.

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Journal Entries - Brainstorming

At work I’m part of the Activities Committee, which is how we named our activities group. The purpose is to gather together and plan the different organization activities in terms of cost, food, decoration, games, and employees’ rewards, among others. The group consist of a minimum of one employee for each department meeting at least once a month. Because there are multiple departments and not all employees are in the building at the same time, the CEO decided to do monthly staff meetings to keep us all updated. Therefore, the staff meeting is our main event in a monthly basis most of the time. This past Thursday, February 16 we gather all in the Creation Station room to finalize all the details for February’s staff meeting and to propose new ideas for March. We all took our notepads out and started to brainstorm ideas collectively and out loud. I love these brainstorming session because so many great ideas come out building upon each other. We begin with basic concepts such as a theme for the month and how to apply that theme to decorations, food, entertainment, etc. For example, in March people celebrate St Patrick’s Day, so we decided on green and luck as the theme. We decided to order spinach wraps and salads for the food, and raffle a shamrock full of lottery scratchcards as part of the entertainment. The greatest part is that the brainstorming session does not end when we leave the room, it continues by email. All I have to say is that it’s extremely successful in my company because we got the opportunity to see different perspectives and restrictions.

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Journal Entries - Third Place

         The third place I chose is Yogurtology, a self-serve frozen yogurt shop, located in Gunn Hwy. The place is not very big, and is in the middle of the plaza between a Greek restaurant and a Papa John’s pizza. The front is completely made of glass, so from outside it is possible to see inwards and vice versa. As soon as you open the door an extreme cleanliness welcomes you since all the furniture (tables, chairs, and sofa) is completely white with some stainless steel details. At the same time, the girls working there smile and greet you with a “Welcome to Yogurtology” acknowledging your presence. The way the place is organized make the experience different from what we all are used to when buying ice-cream being self-explanatory at the same time. The dispensing machines with the different flavors are located at the end, to the left the tables and sofa, and to the right the counter with the huge variety of toppings (fruits, crackers, chocolates, cereals, candies, gummy, etc.).

           I'm a big fan of ice cream and yogurt, so how not to love this place. I believe what captivates people about it is the variety of options to choose from to enhance your yogurt ice cream. In my case what I love the most is that I can go at my own pace, no rush. I can taste different flavors, and create my own combinations for the same price! This place is very special for me. When I came to this country I had a hard time adapting myself to a new culture, new people, to be away from my parents, and not having my friends close. Therefore, every time I felt frustrated or lonely I went to Yogurtology and sat in a corner with my cup. For some reason that I still do not know, this place have the ability to make me feel relax and happy.

          I don’t go as often as I used to, so it was a pleasure to have an excuse to be there. During my time at Yogurtology, I noticed a couple of regular clients, easily identifiable due to the familiarity between client and employee (both parties refer to each other by names). What fascinated me the most was the variety of clients, which reflects Oldenburg’s lager beer third places. I saw families with babies and bigger children, teenagers, adults, an elderly couple, and even dogs. I also noticed that teenagers and adults do not interact with people outside of their group, but at least they all eat their yogurt ice cream in the store actually talking to each other, no cell phones. This was very refreshing, nowadays everywhere I look at people are in their phones instead of talking to each other face to face. The children (especially the little ones), on the other hand, were very outgoing trying to make new friends. In fact, two cute little boys approached my table and started to show me their ice cream, they wanted to share, their parents as expected immediately came after them, excusing the child behavior. I have a three years old niece, so we engaged in a small talk about similar experiences. The environment in general was very positive, lots of laugh and happy faces