1. On Saturday, March 23, Jordan and I made our second trip to Rock Island Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Because we now knew what the building looked like, we did not drive past it. We also knew that we should park in the visitor parking area. Just to be safe with the green button, we asked a man outside what to do. We successfully made it in the building without the alarm going off this time. When we arrived, we met the new director, Marlo. Marlo was very excited to meet us. She had much better communication with us about our volunteering. She also let the employees know that we would be coming. Marlo seemed generally interested in finding out information about Jordan and I. This communication was qualitative. She treated Jordan and I as unique individuals regardless of the context. She wanted to find out more about us besides the fact that we were volunteering for her. This was different from the last director who used quantitative communication. We never met this director, but over the phone she did not seem to have an interest in Jordan and I. She did not care to know anything personal about either of us.
2. Once Jordan and I had a chance to talk to the new director, Marlo, we went upstairs to the with Darren, the activities director. Darren was ready to go on his break when we got there, so he told us we could sit in the activities room until it was time for independent cards at 1. Since we did not just want to sit there, we went to find Marlo and ask if we could help her with anything. We helped her clean out a closet in the activities room.
During our first visit to the nursing home, Jordan and began to use Knapp's stages of relationship development. We began by initiating. We tried to show the residents that we were interested in them and wanted to communicate with them. After initiating, we began experimenting. Jordan and I began to look for similarities between the residents and ourselves so that we could better connect with them. The residents did the same with us. They would ask us things such as where we went to school, what we were majoring in, and where we were originally from. This "small talk" helps you to better connect with people on a deeper level later on in the relationship. Unfortunately, because most of the people in the nursing home are confined there, we would not be able to move on to the intensifying stage of relationship development and take trips with them. However, in most other relationships, this would be the next stage that the relationship would progress to.
When it was time for independent card games, Jordan and I sat patiently at the card table. Moments later, a fight broke out among the residents. They all began to yell at each other because there were not enough chairs at the table. You could easily tell that the residents were angry through verbal and nonverbal cues. The words that the residents were saying displayed their anger. You could also tell that they were angry through nonverbal cues such vocal tone and rate, and facial expressions. One lady, Mary, was a mediator in the argument and was able to settle the other residents down and end the fight. Mary is not afraid of what others think. She says what is on her mind and scolded the person that was at fault for the argument. By doing this, she was able to quiet the residents down.
After the dispute, Arlene and her husband Steve sat down to play Skipbo with Jordan and I. I began to notice that Arlene and Steve were quite different. I would consider them to be complementary. Arlene did not communicate much at all. I saw her smile a few times, but that was about it. The only time she spoke up was when she disagreed with something that someone did. She seemed much more reserved than her husband, Steve. Steve initiated conversation with Jordan and I. Knapp's stages of relationship development can also be applied here. Steve began by showing interest in talking to Jordan and I. He then experimented by trying to find out more about Jordan and I. He made connections between his life and our lives. He told us about where he used to go to school after we talked about St. Ambrose. He made connections so that he could better relate to us.
3. Although we will not necessarily be able to move on to the next stage of relationship development with the residents, I hope that Jordan and I will be able to continue to connect with the residents on a deeper level. Since we had a chance to get to know Arlene and Steve, it would be nice to get to talk to some new residents next time and get to know them on a more personal level. The next time that Jordan and I visit the residents, we plan to go on a Sunday. The past two times that we volunteered were Saturdays. We are hoping that visiting the residents on a different day will provide us with the opportunity to do something different with them.
