THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: given by Sierra (from Georgia)
“Be a more generous stranger.”
I was on the plane flying alone for the first time and the two ladies I was sitting with were just so nice and supportive of me. One lady went out of her way to help me catch my next flight because I was a little nervous about finding it. So even thought she was in a rush herself to catch her flight and I had two hours and could’ve found it on my own in plenty of time, she made sure I was in the right place. Her generosity surprised me and just inspired me to try to be a more generous stranger to others.
JOURNAL ENTRY, DAY 1: written by Anita ( from Woodville, WI)
We started our morning together with a continental breakfast with groceries bought by Sherry and Jeni at the local IGA store. There are 12 volunteers and our Team Leader to feed. We all helped with the clean up and went into a group meeting.
Michele, our gracious Team Leader, presented a great icebreaker introduction to each other where we tricked ourselves into remembering each other’s first names. Everyone was remarkable in remembering names of the person to their left and right and the people before. The meeting continues with Global Volunteer policy and guideline discussion. We took a break when Tom announced the shower room and swimming pool were available.
We met again to discuss the projects available for the week. Blackfeet Care Center has digging sail for a patio and interacting with the residents, meals on wheels and serving the noon meal is at Eagle Shields, an assisted living residence, landscaping and office work are all needed projects by Browning residents and organizations. After a satisfying lunch of sandwiches and vegetables, a van full of us went with Sam, a Blackfeet Indian who is a reservoir of cultural/tradition knowledge. We left for St. Mary’s to travel to the Northern sites of the Reservation. With Sam as our talkative guide, we experienced a small part of Glacier National Park. We viewed Jackson Glacier, two waterfalls, the Three Peak divide and a drive across the eastern flat lands of the “Res.” Those of us in the van were Tim, David, Todd, Anita, Justin, Jeni, Sierra, Jamie and Erica. Peg and Maureen went hiking to Two Medicine and viewed 2 waterfalls. Sherry stayed in Browning and visited the Great Plains Museum where she met a Blackfeet “artist in residence.” Michele did paperwork and Global Volunteer business work.
The van came back on schedule and we all met to ride with Sam to the Care Center for a pizza and salad supper. Michele walked to the Center; she has so much energy.
After supper, we all walked back to Head Start for a meeting on team values. According to Michele, "there are 15 adjectives that make a successful team." Our team came up with more than 15, 18 to be exact. FUN, FOCUSED AND FLEXIBILITY ARE SOME OF OUR TEAM VALUES. Then we each shared three goals or actually reasons for being here in Browning, MT for the next 5 days, working as a service learning team. Several of these reasons are “to learn the Blackfeet Indian culture/traditions, to share skills, to work with new people, to have fun, to make a connection with Big Sky country, and other fine thoughts.”
We ended the evening with a film about the Blackfeet Indian history, told in their memories and in their point of view. It’s to bed after an enriching day with exploring the Reservation, Browning and enjoying each other.
“Be a more generous stranger.”
I was on the plane flying alone for the first time and the two ladies I was sitting with were just so nice and supportive of me. One lady went out of her way to help me catch my next flight because I was a little nervous about finding it. So even thought she was in a rush herself to catch her flight and I had two hours and could’ve found it on my own in plenty of time, she made sure I was in the right place. Her generosity surprised me and just inspired me to try to be a more generous stranger to others.
JOURNAL ENTRY, DAY 1: written by Anita ( from Woodville, WI)
We started our morning together with a continental breakfast with groceries bought by Sherry and Jeni at the local IGA store. There are 12 volunteers and our Team Leader to feed. We all helped with the clean up and went into a group meeting.
Michele, our gracious Team Leader, presented a great icebreaker introduction to each other where we tricked ourselves into remembering each other’s first names. Everyone was remarkable in remembering names of the person to their left and right and the people before. The meeting continues with Global Volunteer policy and guideline discussion. We took a break when Tom announced the shower room and swimming pool were available.
We met again to discuss the projects available for the week. Blackfeet Care Center has digging sail for a patio and interacting with the residents, meals on wheels and serving the noon meal is at Eagle Shields, an assisted living residence, landscaping and office work are all needed projects by Browning residents and organizations. After a satisfying lunch of sandwiches and vegetables, a van full of us went with Sam, a Blackfeet Indian who is a reservoir of cultural/tradition knowledge. We left for St. Mary’s to travel to the Northern sites of the Reservation. With Sam as our talkative guide, we experienced a small part of Glacier National Park. We viewed Jackson Glacier, two waterfalls, the Three Peak divide and a drive across the eastern flat lands of the “Res.” Those of us in the van were Tim, David, Todd, Anita, Justin, Jeni, Sierra, Jamie and Erica. Peg and Maureen went hiking to Two Medicine and viewed 2 waterfalls. Sherry stayed in Browning and visited the Great Plains Museum where she met a Blackfeet “artist in residence.” Michele did paperwork and Global Volunteer business work.
The van came back on schedule and we all met to ride with Sam to the Care Center for a pizza and salad supper. Michele walked to the Center; she has so much energy.
After supper, we all walked back to Head Start for a meeting on team values. According to Michele, "there are 15 adjectives that make a successful team." Our team came up with more than 15, 18 to be exact. FUN, FOCUSED AND FLEXIBILITY ARE SOME OF OUR TEAM VALUES. Then we each shared three goals or actually reasons for being here in Browning, MT for the next 5 days, working as a service learning team. Several of these reasons are “to learn the Blackfeet Indian culture/traditions, to share skills, to work with new people, to have fun, to make a connection with Big Sky country, and other fine thoughts.”
We ended the evening with a film about the Blackfeet Indian history, told in their memories and in their point of view. It’s to bed after an enriching day with exploring the Reservation, Browning and enjoying each other.
0 comments:
Post a Comment