Seeing everyone and human beings

So this week we have a group of 12 individuals who are doing and alternative spring break here at the Sioux YMCA. I was really hesitant before they joined us because my boss wanted us to step it up a notch when it came to teaching them about the culture. I thought to myself "how am I going to teach people about anther culture when I am still learning myself?!" What I have found is 1. That I have learned a lot since I first moved out here. 2. That you never stop learning. 3. I actually retained lots of information I have learned in my courses at nmu. 

The group is from Mount Ida College and many of the members of the group are either R.A.s or orientation leaders. Working with them this week has been amazing. I have had the chance to listen to the different struggles they have at their college and it reminds me of my days working in housing and res life and how I always wondered if I should have went into higher ed. Besides speaking with them about their college experience, I have had the privilege of spending time not only giving them things to do to help keep the YMCA is order through service projects, but also I have been able to see them learn about an amazing culture. Being able to debrief each day with them has really brought me back to why I went into outdoor recreation leadership and management in the first place. Pedagogy was something Cheryl, one of the most amazing professors I had spoke so much about. Sure she always taught in a round about way, but what she taught was that in order to get the most out of any experience, you need to understand the whole experience. 

Some of this may be rambling because I just worked 10 hours and had an emotionally draining debrief session but needless to say this group of volunteers has been amazing. 

We also had a guy named Andy come out and do sort of like a working interview. I honestly have my fingers crossed that he is going to take this position because 1. I need the help but more importantly 2. He was amazing at it. He jumped right in to working within the Y by making shelves and building things being super handy and totally rocked with our kids out here. He also was great with the volunteer group and knows soooo many games to play with the kids and also how to handle them. 

Besides work, I think having visitors has been a blessing. I'm not sure exactly what I'm feeling or how I feel about a lot of things in life right now, but I have found myself not fully understanding other people. Why people do things the way they do or why I wasn't enough for some people. I don't talk a lot about relationships or certain things and this blog isn't really where I want to hang my "dirty laundry" but experiencing relationships in my life where I may have wanted more or for some reason wasn't enough has been something I have come back to think about. I could say "oh well they weren't worth your time anyways" or "you'll find someone Courtney" and I dot doubt that. I just would like to understand people and the different reasons why they say or do the things that they do. 

I feel working with another culture has opened my eyes to these things and have made me question these things because I am experiencing something new and really looking at people as hymn beings and trying to strip away stereotypes that always tend to get in the way. 

Just because I may understand why a person acts the way they do or say the things they say doesn't always make it right. But more importantly, just because someone does something differently doesn't make it wrong.