The multicultural event that I chose to go to was the Aloha Festival at Tempe Town Lakes. I fell in love with the Polynesian culture as a little girl when my mother signed me up for hula dancing. Although my dancing did not last long, the love for it is still there. I love going and learning about Polynesian culture and seeing them dance. So to say the least, I enjoyed going to the festival. When I was on my way to Tempe Town Lake, I knew that I was going to see a lot of Polynesians there. My personal perception and understanding of the group was that they are very loving and welcoming. They are friends with everyone and treat their guests like family. My perception of them is also that they love to dance and eat. The dances they do all have a meaning and story to them and their food is awesome.
After participating in the event, I realized everything is true. At the festival there were two stages. On one stage were some Tahitian dancers that looked so amazing while dancing. I was amazed at how fast they can move their hips. I was able to talk to the wife of one of the dancers who was performing later in the evening. She talked about how much fun her husband had coming to this event and performing for the audience. She also felt that it was a great time to spend with her family. On the other stage they had singers performing their Hawaiian modern songs. They were just singing their hearts out. Just by walking from one vendor to another you were able to learn about the culture. On one side of the festival they had little workshops, one of which were for the little kids where they could make Leis out of paper flowers, yarn, and straws. Right across from that was a place where you could learn how to play the Ukulele. Here you could all sit down and they would hand you the ukulele and teach you the notes to a song. Once everyone learned the song, they would play it all together. The workers were so happy to be there. You could tell they loved what they were doing. Along with the learning stations, the festival also had different venues where you could buy souvenirs. They had one where you could buy traditional Polynesian foods, clothing, and toys. They also had ladies making real flower leis by hand. The air was filled with the aroma of the different types of food. It was so tantalizing. I found out that they do love to eat. How could you blame them? After sampling some of their BBQ chicken and having some of their noodles, I did not want to stop—It was so good.
Although I am no expert on this culture, this information has helped me. In my church, I am one of the leaders for the 8-12 yr old girls activity days. This is where we meet once every other week and do different activities and projects. I was able to use what I’ve learned from the festival and help teach the girls how to make leis and Hawaiian skirts. Later, I taught them an easy Hawaiian dance. Then they performed for their parents at a recognition night and were able to teach their parents the dance. What I learned helped me teach others so that they will become more diverse and open to other cultures.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Reflection Assignment #4
A few weeks ago while I was in class I heard something familiar that resonated with me. When Jessica was talking about it, I understood exactly what she was teaching and could confirm how true it was. It was the Physical and sensory limitation lecture and it was the slide that said Actions to be taken. When she said Guide Dogs it caught my attention. I listened more intently as she was going over how we shouldn’t raise our voices to people that are blind, or play with the working guide dogs because that would distract them from what they are supposed to be doing.
Now this hits close to me because, you see, as a little girl my family raised guide dogs. Each of the girls, at different times, got a dog to train. Since I was the youngest girl, and having two older sisters, I was able to see how they handled and trained their dogs. I went with them to the meetings that our Guide Dogs for the Blind group had once a month. Now, our first dog was named Jelly and she was a beautiful yellow lab. We trained her as a puppy and she grew up to be sweet natured and mellow. After a year, we gave her back and she went through training that was even more rigorous. Towards the end of her training, she was washed out of the program. She did not make it because she had cataracts, and for some reason they did not want the blind leading the blind.
Our second dog was named Polka. We did not get her initially as a puppy.
Another family had her but because of a death in the family, they were not able to train her the way she needed. This started a long path for Polka—being sent from one family to another until we got her. Although she was a sweet girl, she was hard to train. This is because she was neglected the first few months, a time where training was crucial. We worked with her and although she made huge progress she just couldn’t bring herself to submit completely. When she returned for her intensive training, she could not resist the urge to chase the ducks in the pond. In doing so, she also dragged the person walking with her into the pond.
Our last dog was named Florita. She was a wonderful, beautiful mixed yellow lab and golden retriever. I took her everywhere and showed her off. Though it was hard to give her up after a year, the only thing that would hold our family together is that we were helping someone with a visual impairment to be able to have eyes again. Florita graduated and we were able to go to the graduation and meet her new owner, Bobbie Hughes. When we met her, she was so kind and appreciative of everything we did so that she could have Florita. Because of a Guide dog, Bobbie was able to do the things that she wanted. She was a student and was able to travel around the world to study, and the dog was an important part of this.
When I heard Jessica talking about the stated slide, I could relate to the material that she was covering. When we were out training our dogs, people would think that we were blind and treat us differently. On another occasion we were at Hollywood Video and my sister had her dog. She picked up a video and started to read its back when a child with his mother said to her “Look mommy that girl is blind”. We were laughing so hard. Even though some situations were funny there were a lot that were bothersome. Some locations would not let us in with our dogs. We had a slip of paper that we had to carry around with us so that we could show the people that it was the law and they had to let us in, but it was really hard. People did not want a dog in the restaurants or they would just come up and start playing with the dog when we were trying to train them to sit and behave.
Some actions that can be taken would be to educate people about the program and how it is helping the visually impaired. Also, business owners should be educated so that they are more understanding when someone comes in with a service dog. I was in sixth grade when we had Jelly and I did a presentation for my class. We had Jelly come in and I talked about what we did and how it helps those in need. Then when I had Florita I was allowed to bring her to my English class and do the same thing there. It was a real learning experience for them and they liked it a lot. My family learned about the program from a news article that spotlighted a family that raised guide dogs for the blind and what it was like to be a volunteer.
Recreation, nonprofit and/or tourism related organizations can be responsive to the need by permitting service dogs in and not making it such a huge deal. Also, educating others on the importance of the service dogs and how to behave when they are around so that they are not distracting the dogs will be of great benefit.
Some resources that provide community involvement are the Guide Dogs for the Blind school which is located in San Rafael, CA. There is also one located in Boring, OR. They provide tours of the facilities and they have fundraising events designed for people to learn about them and be able to donate to their cause. They also have community events so everyone can get involved. Even though there are only two schools in the United States for training guide dogs there are lots of puppy raiser clubs located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Every month each club gets together and does an activity where they can train their dogs and be out in the community socializing where they are not only training their dogs but teaching the people they come in contact with.
Now this hits close to me because, you see, as a little girl my family raised guide dogs. Each of the girls, at different times, got a dog to train. Since I was the youngest girl, and having two older sisters, I was able to see how they handled and trained their dogs. I went with them to the meetings that our Guide Dogs for the Blind group had once a month. Now, our first dog was named Jelly and she was a beautiful yellow lab. We trained her as a puppy and she grew up to be sweet natured and mellow. After a year, we gave her back and she went through training that was even more rigorous. Towards the end of her training, she was washed out of the program. She did not make it because she had cataracts, and for some reason they did not want the blind leading the blind.
Our second dog was named Polka. We did not get her initially as a puppy.
Another family had her but because of a death in the family, they were not able to train her the way she needed. This started a long path for Polka—being sent from one family to another until we got her. Although she was a sweet girl, she was hard to train. This is because she was neglected the first few months, a time where training was crucial. We worked with her and although she made huge progress she just couldn’t bring herself to submit completely. When she returned for her intensive training, she could not resist the urge to chase the ducks in the pond. In doing so, she also dragged the person walking with her into the pond.
Our last dog was named Florita. She was a wonderful, beautiful mixed yellow lab and golden retriever. I took her everywhere and showed her off. Though it was hard to give her up after a year, the only thing that would hold our family together is that we were helping someone with a visual impairment to be able to have eyes again. Florita graduated and we were able to go to the graduation and meet her new owner, Bobbie Hughes. When we met her, she was so kind and appreciative of everything we did so that she could have Florita. Because of a Guide dog, Bobbie was able to do the things that she wanted. She was a student and was able to travel around the world to study, and the dog was an important part of this.
When I heard Jessica talking about the stated slide, I could relate to the material that she was covering. When we were out training our dogs, people would think that we were blind and treat us differently. On another occasion we were at Hollywood Video and my sister had her dog. She picked up a video and started to read its back when a child with his mother said to her “Look mommy that girl is blind”. We were laughing so hard. Even though some situations were funny there were a lot that were bothersome. Some locations would not let us in with our dogs. We had a slip of paper that we had to carry around with us so that we could show the people that it was the law and they had to let us in, but it was really hard. People did not want a dog in the restaurants or they would just come up and start playing with the dog when we were trying to train them to sit and behave.
Some actions that can be taken would be to educate people about the program and how it is helping the visually impaired. Also, business owners should be educated so that they are more understanding when someone comes in with a service dog. I was in sixth grade when we had Jelly and I did a presentation for my class. We had Jelly come in and I talked about what we did and how it helps those in need. Then when I had Florita I was allowed to bring her to my English class and do the same thing there. It was a real learning experience for them and they liked it a lot. My family learned about the program from a news article that spotlighted a family that raised guide dogs for the blind and what it was like to be a volunteer.
Recreation, nonprofit and/or tourism related organizations can be responsive to the need by permitting service dogs in and not making it such a huge deal. Also, educating others on the importance of the service dogs and how to behave when they are around so that they are not distracting the dogs will be of great benefit.
Some resources that provide community involvement are the Guide Dogs for the Blind school which is located in San Rafael, CA. There is also one located in Boring, OR. They provide tours of the facilities and they have fundraising events designed for people to learn about them and be able to donate to their cause. They also have community events so everyone can get involved. Even though there are only two schools in the United States for training guide dogs there are lots of puppy raiser clubs located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Every month each club gets together and does an activity where they can train their dogs and be out in the community socializing where they are not only training their dogs but teaching the people they come in contact with.
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