On Saturday February 23, Jordan and I had our first service-learning experience. We visited Rock Island Nursing and Rehabilitation center. When we first arrived, we drove past the nursing home. Our schemas of nursing homes did not include buildings that looked like apartments. As soon as we drove past the building, we saw the sign and realized that we needed to turn around. We were then unsure of where to park. After we had already parked we noticed a parking section for "visitor parking." We then went inside and failed to take note of the sign that told us to push the green button before entering. We then set off an alarm and a man had to come let us in and turn the alarm off. Setting off the alarm was partly our fault in that we did not pay attention to it. I believe that the nursing home needs to put the sign in a better place or make it more obvious so that visitors do not set the alarm off.
After the alarm situation was settled, we went into the cafeteria. Lunch had already been served and a lady said that next time we should arrive earlier to help her with her job. If they would have told us before hand to help out with lunch by using better communication, then we would have arrived at a time to help out with lunch. As plates were delivered to residents, there was not much communication present. Mostly, the staff members would just hand the residents their meals and move on. After lunch, we rode the elevator to the third floor. A lady asked Jordan and I questions to get to know us. She then asked us if we were a couple. I am assuming that she presumed that we were a couple because we told her that we both went to the same school and that we were volunteering together. She also probably assumed this because of how close we were standing in the elevator. This would be an example of proxemics. A man then gave Jordan and I a tour of the building. The second floor consisted of mostly bedridden people. The third floor was mostly mobile people. The fourth floor was independent people and people with alzheimers. After the tour, we were told to play independent card games with the residents. We played 2 games of Yahtzee with Doris and Steve. Doris was rather quiet and kept to herself. She did not seem to like to talk much and did not smile much either. She did not use many nonverbal cues to let us know how she felt. Steve was even more reserved than Doris. He barely talked at all and mostly just nodded his head and said "yeah" or "no." Besides Doris and Steve, there were other residents at the end of the table. They were rather quiet at first, but then again, so were Jordan and I. As time passed, we became more talkative and friendly with them. After we finished playing Yahtzee, we went down to a church service in the cafeteria.
From our first service-learning experience I learned that Jordan and I need to pay more attention to our surroundings. We had a few issues such as parking, the green button, and arriving when they wanted us to arrive. Now that we will know a few of the residents, we will feel more comfortable around them and next time, will hopefully be able to talk to them more.
