First Service Learning Experience

This past Sunday I completed my first three service learning hours at Kahl Home. My partner and I helped with a wine and cheese event that was going on that afternoon for the residents of Kahl Home and any family members that wanted to attend as well. When we first got there the Sister in charge had us set up plates, napkins, and dishes of candy on each table. Once the residents of Kahl Home arrived at the event we served the wine, cheese, crackers, and any other extra goodies that they had to them. Once the main serving was done we were able to interact with the residents. It was great to be able to communicate face to face and meet all the different people, because I do not get a chance to be around the elderly often. I found it was hard to keep conversion with certain people, because it was clear that they were disinterested in the conversation based off their body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions. The sister in charge gave my partner and I the instructions to engage in conversation with the residents even if they seem disinterested, so when they did appear to be disinterested, it was hard to decide if I should walk away or try to get them to engage in the conversation despite their efforts to end it. I also had the privilege of encountering other people that I could tell were really engaged in conversation from the beginning and were really pleased to have my partner and I there helping out. This was easy to tell because they would show their gratitude by saying thank you, smiling, laughing, and keeping the conversation going.

Going into my service learning, I knew I had to prepare myself for the different types of people and personalities I would encounter. It is safe to say that this proved to be a wise idea on my part, because I really did encounter many different types of people. Now that I have been to Kahl Home once and have gotten a feel for what to expect in my future visits, I know I can handle all the multiple personalities and types of people. For future interactions with the residents of Kahl Home, I would like to try to get some of the people that did not seem too excited about my partner and I visiting to be excited about it and sit down and talk with us. I am sure some of them did not want to warm up to my partner and I because they assumed that would be the only time they would see us. I hope once they see us return again, they will see that we will not be one time visitors and will hopefully warm up to us and engage in conversation.