Blog #5 (Post Service)

1.       Throughout our time at Rock Island Nursing and Rehabilitation center, Jordan and I noticed a few recurring themes.  The first theme was the use of nonverbal communication.  Jordan and I came across this every time that we visited.  Whenever we would play cards with the residents, non-verbals were a big part of the game.  Even if the residents would not verbally communicate with us, we could tell how they were feeling or what they were thinking by their facial expressions, tone of voice, energy levels, posture...etc.  Non-verbals also played a big role in residents that had trouble communicating verbally.  If residents had trouble using words, they would use actions to show others what they were trying to say.  This was the method that they used to communicate with others.
            Another theme that Jordan and I noticed was the use of symbols.  On our first visit to the nursing home, we discovered the importance of symbols when we came across the sign that told us to "push the green button before entering."  There were other signs on the inside of the nursing home that gave instructions for exiting the building.  Another use of signs and symbols is the layout of the building.  The first floor refers to the cafeteria and lobby.  The second floor refers to the bedridden patients floor.  The third floor is where the independent residents reside.  The fourth floor is where the Alzheimer's patients live.  We were also given the opportunity to see how language is symbolic.  We learned this through the card bingo game that we played with the residents on our final day there.  
             A final theme that was evident throughout our trips to the Nursing and Rehabilitation Center was the use of deception.  Many of the residents have come to learn that it is easy to deceive those that are not around them on a daily basis.  On our first day at the nursing home, one of the residents asked Jordan to push her to another room.  The Nurse told Jordan that the lady had to do this on her own because it was her "daily exercise."  Another time that I volunteered at a nursing home, the residents would tell the volunteers to get them coffee when they were not allowed to have coffee.  Because residents themselves do not have access to the items that they normally would if they lived on their own, they sometimes try to use others to get the things that they want.  Deception seems to be a recurring theme with those that do not have easy access to the things that they want.
                
2.          Besides the main recurring themes, I was able to detect several other concepts that we have been learning about in class through our service at the Rock Island Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.  This service learning assignment has been a great experience for me.  I have really learned a lot and have become much better at looking for concepts from class that are part of everyday life.   This experience will definitely shape my future interpersonal interactions.  This service learning has helped me to know how to better communicate with others.  I have become more aware of the conversations, or lack of conversations, that take place.  I can now pick out specific concepts that I have learned about in class.  This helps me to be better engaged in the conversations that I have with others.  I have also learned the importance of stepping out of my comfort zone.  Going into the service project, I was not overly enthusiastic.  I had already worked with a nursing home last summer when I was training to become a CNA.  I would prefer working around children, and that is part of the reason that I chose to volunteer at the Rock Island Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.  I thought that maybe I had a bad experience in the past and that it would be good to try volunteering at a different nursing home.  I am glad that I made this decision.  Jordan and I had a great time with the residents.  I enjoyed spending time with them and was glad that I got to know them.  The residents were all very nice and seemed glad to have some new faces around.  Jordan and I would like to visit the residents again as soon as school winds down.          
            

Blog 4 (During Service)

1.      On Sunday, April 7th, Jordan and I made our final visit to the Rock Island Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.  This was our first time visiting on a Sunday, and because of that, we thought that we might be doing something different than the normal Saturday routine.  Normally on Saturdays Jordan and I would get there around lunch time and wait until the residents were done with lunch to play independent card games with them.  After the card games, we would help bring residents downstairs for the church service.  After visiting on Sunday, we learned that the routine on Sunday is not much different from the one on Saturday.  When Jordan and I arrived at the Nursing home we played independent card games with the residents until it was time for card bingo.  Our visit on Sunday demonstrated a few concepts from class.  I found an example of a euphemism being used.  I also noticed how symbolic language can be.  A final concept that I found that relates to class was the Social Penetration Model.  

2.      Jordan and I found the Nursing Home without many problems by our third trip there.  We were able to make it past the green button without the alarm going off. Once we were inside, we waited on a couch for the volunteer coordinator to come meet with us.  She then brought us up to the third floor.  We walked in to the independent cards game room and saw that two resident were already engaged in a game of Skipbo.  Jordan and I sat next to the two ladies and made some small talk about the game that they were playing.  I realized that this situation could be related to the Social Penetration Model.  This model relates to self-disclosure.  The first dimension in the model involves the breadth of information, or the range of subjects being discussed.  The second dimension of the model is depth, and relates to the depth of the information being discussed.  The residents, Jordan, and I did much better with the first dimension of the model than we did with the second.  We are able to talk about a variety of topics such as school, home, friends, and activities that we participate in.  Discussing any of these topics in depth is the difficult part.  Because we do know know the residents on a personal level, and they do not know us on a personal level, it is difficult to share personal information with one another.  

        Once they had finished their game, Jordan and I joined in on the next game.  Once this game had started, another resident entered the room.  She brought the newspaper with her and casually mentioned how one of the residents at the nursing home had passed away.  This is an example of a euphemism because the lady made the statement sound less harsh.  She said that the man had "passed away" instead of saying that he died.  One of the residents that was playing cards with us was very surprised by the news.  The other lady already seemed to have known about the death.  The lady that was surprised wondered why the other lady had not shared the news beforehand.  She was upset by the poor communication skills of her friend.  Once everyone had moved on from the sad news, we got back to the card game.  However, we did not play long before it was time to head downstairs to play card bingo.  

         Card bingo is a game where the first person to have their 5 cards called out of the deck wins.  I sat next to a resident named GiGi to help her with her cards since she is not able to talk or move very well.  Since GiGi could not speak very well, she would point to one of her cards if she heard it called out.  She used non-verbals since she was not able to use verbals effectively.  This game made me think about how language is symbolic.  So that the residents would not confuse "eight" and "ace," the woman calling out the cards would say "big a" for "ace."  I had never heard this term before, but all of the residents knew what it meant because they had acquired a use for calling the card "big a" instead of "ace."  This is a good example of how people assign meaning to words.  

3.        Through this visit to the Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, I learned even more ways that communication concepts can be tied into everyday life.  It made me think about how concepts that I learn in my classes can be applied to the "real world."  It is always important to try and connect things that you learn in class to the real world because it helps you to understand the importance of learning them.  I hope to be able to apply concepts from this class to life events outside of my service learning as well.  I will need to try to think about how communication concepts can be applied to all of my interpersonal communication, not just with the residents from service learning.