Blog #5

I have now completed my required amount of service at Cafe on the Vine. I still plan on continuing my volunteer work even though the requirements for the class have been filled. I have learned and gained so much during this time and I think there are still ways in which I can grow. Common themes that consistently appeared were perception, nonverbal communication, and listening.

It did not take me long to realize that the perceptions I had about poverty before beginning my service was effecting my judgement and prevented me from benefitting from the experience. At first it was difficult to shed these stereotypes, but it was not long before I got a better perspective of the guests of Cafe on the Vine. Mindful listening really helped that change of perspective. I began listening to the people and conversing with some of them and I think that is really when I started genuinely enjoying my volunteer work. Seeing the gratitude and happiness on the faces of some of the guests felt very rewarding. Though I could tell that many of the no-so-happy guests were going through very tough times, it did give me some peace of mind knowing that a simple bowl of soup could help ease that trouble just a little bit. I think I have also become more aware of and better developed my use of nonverbal communication. We have learned about these skills in class, but this is the first time I thought about these lessons and applied them to real life. You can tell a lot about somebody's emotions based on their nonverbal cues. This really came in handy because the people who came in did not tell me exactly what they were feeling. For the most part, we were complete strangers and it is not socially acceptable to spill your emotions to someone you hardly know. So to better understand them, I would try to get hints from the look on their face or the tone of their voice. Once I did that I could give them a response to either try to cheer them up, or laugh along with them. Themes like these that I have learned in my interpersonal communications class have really helped me get the most of my service-learning experience.

This experience will definitely stay with me and have a positive effect on my future interpersonal relationships. Working around people who are much less fortunate than I am has provided me with a new insight on a world completely different than the one I grew up in. It is one thing to learn something in a classroom, but something completely different to go out and apply those lessons in my life while interacting with others. I know that the things I have learned through this experience will cause me to become more skilled at communicating and understanding others through the themes I mentioned above. This has truly been a learning experience that I will always be grateful for.