my internship- the end

I really can't believe that my internship is now over.  It seems just like yesterday that I was packing up for my internship, touring the NNH facilities, and meeting all the staff and kids at NNH.  It really was a wonderful summer and I learned so much about myself as a researcher and as a worker at NNH.  Yes, there were some challenges I faced over the summer, but none of them were so hard that God could not pull me through.  I saw staff leave from NNH after I got close to them, I experienced the difficulties of having to adjust without having an Educational Director, and I also had to learn how to handle disobedient kids (which is not one of my strengths).  All these things did in some ways push me out of my comfort zone.  However, the positives over the summer far exceeded the negatives.  Not only was I able to grow as a person over the summer, but I gained so many friendships that I will always cherish.  Also, I've seen in myself a desire to really want to help people in a way that I've never experienced before.  I've known for a long time that I would like to be in a career that involves helping people hopefully through community development, but I didn't realize how much that desire would be stirred within me over this summer.  There's just something about working at a place like NNH that makes you excited about the people you see everyday and about walking alongside kids who may be struggling at home, in school, with discipline, or any other problems that kids face in life.  I know that there were a number of times where I learned a lot from the kids about life in general and I was humbled on several occasions when my assumptions were challenged.  But that's what I loved about the summer.

In regard to the last week of my internship, it was very busy.  With a 10 page single space written report, a research design critique, two reporting assignments, a weekly log, and a power point presentation, let's just say I didn't get out of the house much (except when I went to coffee shops to also work on my papers).  Overall, the paper writing was not too bad.  It just took a lot of contemplation, reflection, and organization.  When you finally have to sit down and write about everything you've done over the summer, it can be a little overwhelming.  There was definitely a few moments where I just felt like I couldn't do anymore.  But, I realized that I just had to take one step at a time and one day at a time so that I could get through everything.  I began writing my papers last Sunday and finally turned in all of my assignments on Saturday evening.  Also, I did my presentation for NNH on Friday.  I think it went really well even though it was really low key.  I just went through a power point presentation for the new Educational Director and the Executive Director while we were all sitting around a table.  It was very comfortable and conversational.  I liked that both of the people really wanted to know what I had to hear and even took notes while I was talking.  While I know that I didn't come up with some big theory or conclusive information (which I knew I wouldn't), I do feel like I was able to offer NNH something "helpful and sensible" (as one of my community development professors likes to say).  In the end, that was more than I could ask for.  Also, they told me that I should come back and work for them next summer, which was really exciting.  Obviously I don't know for sure my plans for after graduation, but its at least nice to know that there's an option out there for me (and an option I would love to take up on).  

So, that's about it for my past week and really my whole summer.  Thanks to all who've kept up on my blog, have been praying for me, or have contributed financially toward my internship.  My internship would have been much harder if I did not have the support you all have given me.  Most of all, I thank God for all the things he's taught me and all the blessings that he's showered on me this summer!

Coming to an end

Wow, do I really have just one week left?  It seems like this summer has flown by.  I've done so many things, met so many people, and have had such a great time.  This past week was definitely a great way to end the summer program.

One exciting thing about this week was that the new educational director at NNH arrived on Monday.  His name is Matt and is in his late 20s.  Right away, he seemed to fit in with the kids.  He also added some extra structure to the program, which was nice.  Monday was a pretty chill day because Mr. Matt arrived.  We didn't do math centers and the kids heard from a lady who sells insurance.  The kids also had a time where they were able to get to know Mr. Matt a little.  During literacy centers, the kids worked on the summer reading projects, which they've been working on during the second session.  Also, I was able to do two interviews with two of the kids on Monday.  I asked them different questions about their experiences at NNH and their opinions about the mentors/staff at NNH.  On Tuesday, it was just like any other Tuesday.  However, I was able to do three interviews with three of the kids, which was great.  It was nice because on Monday and Tuesday we didn't have that many kids at NNH.  This always makes centers a little more calm and easier to control.

The rest of the week was pretty relaxed and fun.  Wednesday we went to the pool, even though I thought we weren't going to (it was pouring the rain when I arrived, but Ms. Rachel knew that it would clear up by the time we got to Booker T., which was completely correct).  I of course had fun getting in the pool and going on the diving board.  But, the only thing that isn't fun about the pool is that we always have to sit kids out when they do something bad (for instance, I sat out two girls when they were arguing about frogs they found in the grass).  On Wednesday, I was also able to do an interview, but it was with one of the parents.  It was really nice talking with her, especially since her kids have been coming to NNH for about 5 years.  

Thursday was a good day, partially because we had Panera Bagels, orange juice, and coffee for snack.  The kids also learned about Jordan during international study day centers.  After centers, the kids played Jeopardy with Mr. Matt being the host.  The kids really got into it.  Also on Thursday, I conducted a preference ranking exercise (which is a PLA tool- Participatory Learning and Action).  Let's just say that I got what I needed, but it was a little chaotic getting eight kids to take the research seriously.

The last day of the summer program was on Friday.  It was such a crazy busy day, but it was a lot of fun.  First, me and one of the staff had to make a ton of pudding for Messy Day in the morning.  But before doing Messy Day, the kids did a scavenger hunt at NNH in different rooms (since it was still raining).  That went pretty smoothly.  After that, I helped some of the staff fill up tons of water balloons.  My fingers were about to fall off, but we had fun getting wet.  After one of my friends came and gave a speech about theater to the kids, Messy Day began.  The kids did water balloon tosses, an egg toss, the three-legged race, there was a water war, and the kids threw pies at each other.  While none of the staff would get messy, I definitely wanted to participate in the fun (I had been looking forward to this all week).  It first started out with one of the kids throwing a few water balloons at me.  Then, one of the staff told the kids to bring me to the water hose, so I was drenched from that.  When the pie throwing started, I threw a few pies at the kids before one girl nailed me in the face with a plate of pudding.  It was pure chaos from there and the kids ambushed me with plate and plates of pudding.  I was pretty much covered in pudding, but I have to say that I enjoyed every moment of it.  After eventually cleaning up, I was able to give my last goodbyes to the kids.  It was very bittersweet, but it was comforting to know that I will have the opportunity to see the kids during the rest of the year when if I volunteer (which I plan to).

So now, I'm just beginning to start wrapping up all my research and beginning some major paper writing.  I'm really hoping that I can get a lot done at the beginning of the week so that my last few days in Chattanooga aren't too stressful.  Nonetheless, I'm not too worried about it, but it will definitely take some focus and prayer!  Please be praying that God will give me wisdom about finishing my analysis and that I can offer something helpful and sensible to NNH when I do my final presentation on Friday.  

where did the time go?

Wow, has it really been two weeks since I wrote on my blog?  Last week, it totally slipped my mind that I should write on my blog.  I think that's a little reflection of how busy it has been at NNH.  Let's see... What did happen two weeks ago?  Well, I do remember that Dr. Mask visited me on one of the math/literacy center days.  It was fun having him come in and observe some of what the kids do.  Dr. Mask and I were even able to discuss what research I've done so far and what else I can do before my internship is over.  The rest of the week went pretty well.  Instead of going to Coolidge Park, everyone had to stay at NNH because it rained.  So, the kids ended up doing some crafts and watch a movie, which was a nice change from having to walk in the hot sun and watch the kids play in the water as the rest of the staff roast.  Also, on Friday we went on a field trip to the Discovery Museum.  It was a fun experience because I was able to watch the kids have so much fun, but it was also a little tiring.  It also didn't help that I had a bad headache on that day.  Oh, and I also taught some German to the kids during Academies.  I tried to teach the kids how to sing "Twinkle, twinkle little star" in German, but I think it was a little difficult for the young kids.  While I'm not sure if any of them will remember anything that I taught them, at least they were able to learn a little bit about Germany and hear what the language sounds like.  Another exciting thing about that week was that we had three Burundi children come to the program.  These were three children who had been at the after school program when I had first arrived (these were also the children who I thought were Burmese, which they definitely are not).  While I haven't gotten to know them really well since they arrived two weeks ago, I've been able to talk to them some and have found that all of them are really smart and sweet. This past week was a little crazy.  Monday was pretty normal since we just had centers like we always do.  It was nice because the kids used Leap Frog during the math centers, which was a nice break from the math packets.  However, it did get a little loud in that room when all the kids were competing to hear their Leap Frog games.  During fitness, it was fun watching the kids as they rolled tires down the hallway in a race.  While they got pretty excited about that, it did leave scuff marks on the walls.  On Tuesday, that's when the week got a little hectic.  We had this church group from Orlando, Florida come to hang out with the kids, so it definitely made for a loud afternoon.  But a nice thing that I was able to do on Tuesday was to sit in with one of the social workers from the direct assistance program and listen to consultations the social worker had with participants of the program.  It definitely gave me some insight into what NNH deals with everyday and how desperate some people are to get a little help with paying bills.  Talking with the social worker, I liked learning that with their program, they alway require the participant to pay some portion of the bill and they can only get help from NNH every six months with a utility bill.  Also, they always recommend that the participant should get financial counseling, which is offered for free. On Wednesday, the church group came back again to hang out with the kids.  While the kids really loved having a bunch of extra teenagers to play with, it did require the staff to be more firm to keep the structure of the program.  We were going to do a scavenger hunt on Wednesday around Chattanooga, but couldn't because it rained.  So, all the staff had to put together a craft that the kids and the church group could do together in the afternoon last minute.  We were running around getting that done, then the kids had to do review, and then the group arrived.  It was nice that the kids could hang out with different people, but it just made the building a lot more crowded than it normally is.  At the end of the day, we just had the kids watch a couple of movies since they couldn't go outside and they were also being a little rowdy.  Wednesday was also a day where all the staff cracked down on discipline in order to keep the day more structured.  With a major tantrum and a messy assembly hall, we forced some kids to do write offs and we also started taking away pool time for some of the kids.   On Thursday, I had planned to maybe do some interviews with kids, but I couldn't because I accidentally left my laptop at home.  It probably would have been to hectic anyway to conduct any since it was so busy.  It was the last day that the church group was with us.  They arrived while the kids were finishing up on their international study day centers.  Thankfully, it was nice enough outside that we were able to go to Coolidge Park.  While all the staff were a little worried that it was going to be a disaster when the staff, the church group, and kids walked to the park, it ended up being okay.  Ms. Rachel made it pretty clear to the kids that they were not to talk on the way, so it stayed pretty quiet (although some of the teenagers kept talking, which tempted the kids to talk back to them).  After we went to the park (in which there was a bloody mouth, one kid walked around the park herself without any staff knowing, and a bunch of the teenagers went to get snow cones after we told them we were getting ready to leave), we went back to NNH and made the kids watch a movie.  Sometimes we let the kids do something else while we watch movies, but we didn't this week because we felt like they needed time to just be quiet. Yesterday was finally a break from a busy week.  We went to the pool yesterday since we didn't go on Wednesday.  That was nice, but I think all of us were pretty exhausted.  Also, it was the first day that one of our staff wasn't with us (and she won't be back next week either, which should make things interesting).  Before we went to the pool, the kids didn't do review or Academies, but listened to a wash board band instead.  I think the kids really enjoyed it and it was fun to watch some of the kids dance to a bunch of older ladies singing songs like "You are my sunshine" and "Rocky top Tennessee."  Thankfully, yesterday was fairly uneventful, which was a nice break.  However, I still didn't have time to do interviews because we got back to NNH at around 3:30, which would only give me about 15 minutes to do an interview before the parents start picking up the kids (and I had to get snack ready anyway, so that didn't happen).  While I did do one interview this week with one of the kids, I really wanted to do several more.  I'm just hoping that next week I can get everything done since it's the last week of the summer program (I can't believe it!).  I really wanted to interview at least one parent, so I'm going to see if that is at all possible.  I also wanted to do a PLA activity with the kids, but I'll just have to see how much time I'll have.

a fairly smooth transition

This week at NNH, it was the first week of the second session.  I was anticipating for a more stressful week since we no longer have an educational director (at least for now), but it really wasn't that bad.  Thankfully, there were less kids, so it was much easier to figure out how things needed to be run without an educational director.  For Monday and Tuesday, there were about 11 or 12 kids missing (although there's a few who won't be coming back at all during this session).  While this made it easier to keep things under control, I really missed the kids who were able to make it.  But by Thursday, most of the kids had come.  I think this next week we'll see quite a few kids back, which makes me happy, but also a little nervous.

I would say that the most hectic day this past week was Thursday.  When we did our centers for international study day, there was a little confusion about who was suppose to go where and what they were supposed to be doing.  However, things eventually worked out, it just caused the staff a little bit of stress.  Going to Coolidge Park was also hot and a little chaotic with the kids getting changed out of their bathing suits and back into their regular clothes.  But all in all, it wasn't that bad of a day, it was just a little tiring.

A fun thing we did this week (in addition to going to the pool) was go to this place in Chattanooga called Pump It Up.  It has inflatables, like the moon walk, obstacle courses, and slides.  It was nice to be in air conditioning as well as watch the kids have so much fun without having to constantly tell them to lower their voices.  I think that the staff also had a lot of fun playing on the inflatables.  Quite a few times, I raced kids through the obstacle course, which was tiring but exciting.  However, I did eventually pull myself out of playing after I hurt my leg.  Actually, there were quite a number of injuries that day, although most were very minor.  One girl, who I rode with on the way back to NNH, insisted on talking about her injuries for the whole ride back.  Kids can be so dramatic.  Oh, and I forgot to mention what the kids did at academies on Friday.  There was the typical finance, there was yoga, and then I was in a group where the kids learned how to make birdhouses.  The kids really got into it and they seemed to enjoy making something with their hands.  I did, however, have to get onto one boy who started hammering a nail into the table.  I think these activities are really exciting for the kids and it is so great that they get to learn about so many different things that they would have never learned about outside of NNH.  I'm hoping that next week when I teach German during academies (don't worry, only the basics...), that I can teach it in such a way that the kids will have fun.  I was thinking of possibly having the kids play a game or learn a song in German just so they can get the hang of pronunciation.  I'm going to try to think of something a little creative.

As my internship is quickly coming towards the end, I do feel a little nervous about whether I've gotten enough research to offer NNH as well as to show for after the summer is over.  Looking back on my time here, I definitely think I could have probably done more things to gather additional information from the kids, staff, or parents.  But, one thing that is different for me than I think what most Com Dev interns are doing this summer is that I basically have a full-time job at NNH.  I was actually thinking about it the other day and I think of all the staff who work for the educational program, I work the longest hours (not counting Jay and Chelsea, who have already left the program).  Basically, it is just a little more difficult to have the motivation to come back to my house after an 8 hour day and work on research.  I suppose there are other non-internship things I do that I could probably do less of, but it really is hard to motivate yourself when you're tired.  Despite these small challenges, I finally did finish summarizing my focus groups this week as well as write up questions for interviews I'm going to do with some of the kids and the parents.  I'm also looking at doing a ranking exercise with all the kids to find out more about their experiences with the staff at NNH.  So hopefully by the end of next week, I'll have accomplished some of these things.  But, I have confidence that God will open doors for me and that I'll be able to find out more information about the kids and NNH.

a nice break

This past week at NNH, I had it really easy.  It was a week with no kids, which was strange, but a needed break.  Because NNH was done with the first session of the summer academic program, we had a week that allowed time to transition before the second session began.  Throughout the week, I mostly helped with reorganizing things, writing out visuals for the centers, cleaning, making copies of worksheets, etc.  But beyond the hands-on work I did to help prepare for the second session, I was able to interview Chelsea before she left the Northside Neighborhood House to begin a different job.  She has been my supervisor since the beginning of my internship and she's been wonderful to work with.  I'm going to miss her a lot during the second session, but I'm so thankful for the time I was able to spend with her.  She was able to give me some insight not only into the educational program, but also the adult program, since she's also been head over the GED program at NNH.  I learned some amazing stories about how people's lives have been changed as well as the struggles that come with working at NNH.  I hope that from our conversation, she was able to fondly look back at the memories she's had at NNH.

As far as how my research is going, I'm still working on tweaking the information I gathered from the focus groups.  I've been coding as well as trying to summarize the major findings from the focus groups.  This week, I also plan to start writing up some interview question for some of the kids and their parents as well as looking at some PLA activities I could use to learn more about the kids' experiences at NNH and with the staff.  Please be praying that as I begin the second session, I would have wisdom in research more about the mentors and participants at NNH.  I'm excited to be working with the kids again this week and I'm excited about the ways God will stretch me and teach me new things about NNH and Himself.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this

It was another good week at the NNH, but once again a little tiring.  On Monday, I had a good day for no particular reason.  We had centers as usual, but the kids seemed to behave better than they usually do.  I think part of it had to do with the fact that there weren't as many kids there.  Other than centers, most of the day consisted of playing tic-tac-toes, doing the limbo, and doing my first focus group.  The focus group actually went really well and I was able to get some good information on how the kids view NNH and the staff.

Tuesday was also a good day.  However, it was somewhat of a sad day for the kids because they found out that the education director (as well as my supervisor) is leaving NNH to take a new job.  Most of them were understanding of why she had to leave, although a few of the kids did take it pretty hard.  Oh, one funny story from Tuesday is when a group of kids asked me to come watch them put on "a show."  It was so cute because this group of boys and girls first did a ballet for me, then a magic show, and then they got me to do partner dancing.  This then turned into a round of the hokey pokey and Father Abraham.  I did another focus group with the older kids on Tuesday.  While it still went well, I think some of the kids were hesitant to fully express their feelings about some of the questions (some of the questions required the kids to talk about negative 

On Wednesday, we went to the pool again.  It was a day where I was able to play with the kids without having to worry as much about keeping up with other kids.  For most of our time there, I was in the pool taking the smaller kids to the deeper end, I was racing with one of the boys, or I was just hanging out with the kids.  While I can't be with all the kids at once, I think that they appreciate it when they see one of the adults out in the water playing with them.  Oh, and on Wednesday, I was officially initiated by several of the girls into a cheerleading/dance club.  Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that I was a cheerleader when I was younger...

Thursday was a bit stressful later in the day.  In the morning, the kids studied India during international study day.  We had a woman from India come and speak to the kids.  While I wasn't able to hear what she had to say, I saw that she was dressed in traditional Indian clothing.  Also in the morning, I did another focus group with the youngest kids.  Even though I had to quickly push through the questions in order to hold their attention, they did a great job at trying to honestly answer the questions.  One girl, however, was so focused on the fact that we were going to go to the roller skating rink later that day, that she kept asking me about when we were leaving, what we were doing, etc.  After lunch, we did take the kids to go roller skating and it was crazy.  There were so many kids roller skating and we had some of the youngest kids there, so it was difficult trying to keep up with our kids.  Also, there were a number of kids who couldn't hold themselves up while roller skating, so I ended up hold a girl for about 45 minutes so that she wouldn't bust her head open.  By the end of it, my back was killing me.  However, the kids did have fun and they were able to just chill and watch a movie when we got back to NNH.

On Friday, I wasn't feeling very good, so it made it a little harder to enjoy going to Coolidge Park.  Before we went to the park though, the kids had academies.  We had three groups that consisted of yoga, Spanish, and learning about money.  I was in the group about money and investment, so I was able to watch the kids play a game about how to make good choices when spending, buying, saving, etc.  After academies, I did two focus groups before lunch.  I was pleasantly surprised by one group because it included a girl who tends to misbehave a lot.  However, she was so honest and really added a lot of great information for the focus group.  That definitely humbled me a little and it taught me that I need to be cautious in making assumptions about people.  The second group, however, was probably my most difficult.  It consisted of a number of kids who had learning disabilities, so it was hard for them to understand the questions as well as answer the questions.  After the lunch, we went to Coolidge Park, which was a very hot and sweaty experience.  However, after we got back from the park, we were able to take some time to say good bye to Chelsea and we celebrated her time at NNH with a party.  

Looking on this week, I would say that it was a growing experience in terms of learning more about the kids and their opinions about NNH.  Also, I feel like through my time with the kids at the pool, at centers, and the trips that we took, I'm becoming more comfortable in disciplining the kids as well as just hanging out with them.

Another week at NNH

I'm sorry I'm a little late in writing my weekly blog.  This past week was a good week, but it was also really tiring.  I'd been getting in bed later the week before and I think it finally caught up with me.  On a couple days, I had to go straight to bed after work to take a nap before I could function.  

Monday and Tuesday of last week were once again math and language center days.  I really do enjoy these days because I interact with all the kids, but it can be challenging if the kids decide to misbehave (there were a few kids who decided that they didn't want to do their math packets).  On Monday, NNH had a going-away party for one of the staff who has been a part of the program for 6 years.  Even though I've only been at NNH for about a month, I realized that his going would be a transition for everyone.  So on Tuesday when he left, it was interesting seeing the difference of him being not being there.  While I felt like I had a little bit more responsibility in terms of disciplining the kids since he left, I know that the challenge is good for me and will force me out of my comfort zone.  Oh, another thing I did on Tuesday was go to a board meeting.  I need to go to fulfill a requirement for a paper I was writing, but I really did enjoy hearing what goes on at NNH and how dedicated the leaders of NNH are to reaching out to the community.  Going to the meeting only gave me more respect for the work NNH is doing because I was able to hear their optimism despite how tight their budget is right now.  They seem to work well together and I was impressed with their enthusiasm.

On Wednesday, it was so nice to go to the pool.  Honestly, I think I look forward to Wednesdays almost as much as the kids do because not only do I get to hang out at the pool, but the kids are occupied for hours.  One funny moment at the pool this past week was when I looked over at the kiddie pool and this one girl was just standing there with her bathing suit almost completely off of her.  It was really funny because she was completely oblivious and shouted to me "look at me!"

On Thursday, the kids had international study day again and they studied Kenya.  I was in a center where the kids made the Kenyan flag with construction paper and other supplies.  After we had centers, we ended up going to Coolidge Park.  It was a lot of fun watching the kids go in the water fountains and I was able to take some pictures.

On Friday, we went on a field trip to the zoo before lunch (because it was so hot, we didn't want to go in the middle of the day).  My group and Ms. Chelsea had fun taking the kids around the zoo and watching their reactions as they got to see animals they'd never seen before.  After the zoo, we came back and we pretended like it was snowing and we watched The Polar Express.  It was a good time to relax, cool down, and have the kids occupied for a while.

So that was pretty much how my week went last week.  It was a lot of fun, but challenging at the same time.  I'm still thoroughly enjoying the kids, but I'm still learning how I can best handle certain situations where I have to take charge.