This Interesting Week

This week has been very interesting. Yesterday I attended a cooking class where a lady,Betty Nichols, taught us how to cook different types of vegetables such as portabella mushrooms, and watermelon. It was very cool to try some food that I never tasted.

Today, was really fun because we shot videos for our project. My partners and I shot videos of us talking about the different types of abuse that we are focusing on. Then we had a skit about physical abuse, in which Alan and Amara were the actors. We also finished the pamphlet that we had been working on all week- which we will pass out to doctors in the South Side who may have patients dealing with abuse.

Where we are

The neighborhood that we are working in this summer is the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. It is a neighborhood with many resources and assets, the biggest and most pertinent to the youth being the Gary Comer Youth Center.

My two favorite site visits include visiting the Theaster Gates Home which is located int eh Greater Grand crossing community and which hold a lot of community arts and history. It was very interesting learning about the thing that Theaster Gates is doing in the community and through his homes. (pictures attached)

My second favorite site visit was going to Pilsen, having delicious authentic Mexican food at Nuevo Leon and most importantly having a chance to visit the National Museum of Mexican Art. It was truly a wonderful experience, and it was a great way to learn about Chicago as well as bond with the whole group. I especially liked the paintings in the Museum and the pico de gallo in the restaurant. I even got a chance to snag a skirt at the local thrift store.

I have really liked going to conferences with the our team and watching the students interact with adults and learn about the health care issues affecting Chicago, what people are saying about them and what people are doing to help. I have also liked being able to talk and bond with all the students in the program because they really are an interesting and smart group.

I have learned a lot about program development and the importance of working with community members, and forming alliances with groups that are already known and working the community. I have also learned a lot about working with High School students, and am still learning more on that front. I have learned that while the South Side may have its flaws there are many people who care about it and its residents and are working hard to fix the problems.

Our project will be on increasing awareness about abuse, sexual, physical, and verbal, among youth in the Greater Grand Crossing Community. We will be creating awareness videos, as well as making pamphlets to distribute to community members, doctors, and parents.

Teen dating dangers

Last Monday we had a speaker come and talk to the group about teen dating and the violence behind teen dating. Dr. Oyola talked to us about the physical and verbal abuse in teen relationships and how it is a way to get away from the abuser. She even told us about making safety codes so that our loved ones and friends would know when we are in danger. Some of the information that she gave was really helpful for our project on abuse.

It was good to talk with Dr. Oyola, as she gave us good information and helped us to remember why it was important that we were tackling the issue of abuse.

We also worked on our intro video editing and started making a pamphlet that we will give to doctors and parents in the neighborhood. We then discussed expectations for the week and the plans we had for the week.

Teen Safety Day in the GGC Community

Two weeks ago the Gary Comer Youth Center held a community safety day of which the Greater Grand Crossing team attended. It was very informative and also quite fun. They had safety presentations on how to be safe while driving, self defense, drug and alcohol abstinence, and how to be safe during sexual activities. I must say we had a blast learning and enjoying the raffles and performances. I had the ultimate performance experience as I also took to the stage to perform for safety day. The crowd cheered loudly for me and at the end of the day we all realized that this is was what our community is about. It was great for all of us to come together and having fun while learning about the community in which we live.

Dave Pitts

Pilsen Neighborhood

Last Wednesday my group and I explored the Pilsen neighborhood, which myself and many of the group members had never been to. We went to a Mexican museum where we saw some very interesting things about the Mexican culture- including where they came from and how they lived. I thought that was very interesting because I had never seen some of those things before. After we left there we walked down a couple of streets to a Mexican restaurant where we tried different foods. We had food like tacos , quesadillas, guacamole, beans and rice and tortilla chips. The food was pretty good and it felt good to try something new. Then when we left the neighborhood and came back to U of C campus we had a speaker by the name of Dr. Monica Vela. She talked to us about having health insurance and making sure you go to college and finish school so you can have a well paid job that offers health insurance. Her discussion was also about health disparities, particularly in the South Side of Chicago. Once we got done with the presenter we all walked over to the Woodlawn Social Services Center where we had yoga with our instructor. This day was very long and hot but I also thought it was very interesting and exciting.

- Kishonna Hall

Calm after the storm

Today was a wash. Everything we planned to do today was cancelled. I was so bored today, however, after the storm was over the day picked up. We edited some video clips in the incredible Mac Lab. It was so awesome. All in all, today panned out to be productive.

What we have been up to

It’s been an interesting couple of weeks. Early mornings, fun expeditions, and long days. So much has happened in the past two weeks that it would take me five pages and not enough pictures to illustrate it to you.

We have definitely gotten to know each other better, fleshed out our project topic, and even managed to squeeze in a game of volleyball.

I will share the highlight of these past few weeks.

Perhaps my most favorite working moment was when we decided to focus on physical, verbal/emotional and sexual abuse among teens in the Greater Grand Crossing area.

I also really loved filming and walking through the 63^rd street beach with the GGC group and writing stories to work on our reading and writing skills.

Also did I mention our epic game of volleyball with the entire SSP group.

So far it has been a great mixture of work and fun. That is the beauty of partnerships, a chance to experience more than one aspect of life.

*A picture of Alan and I at the 63rd street beach, we desperately need a group picture

Horrible Day.!

Today was a bad day. My mother and I drove all the way to the U of C bookstore to find out that our car was riding on a flat tire. Next, it poured down rained on us. Thirdly, we missed our co-worker Kishonna due to her being sick!

Gosh today was such a horrible day, but my team leaders kept us busy with educational videos and blogging. After work, I'm going to Best Buy to buy a new camera and Ipod touch because I deserve it:)

Hope tomorrow will be a much better day!