Developing a sense of place

     Referring to the article ways that I reflect for developing a sense of palace is by interacting with others, going to activities and learning more about the place and its history. What I have done already as part of developing a sense of place in Salem is exploring around, listening to speakers talking about them living in Salem and also talking to groups of people about Salem by doing this it helped me learn more about Salem.      In the article it listed some ways to foster a sense of place by western science which is giving back to others, telling stories, naming nature etc. it is more about the nature of a place and how you can connect with it. While reading the article what I have done similar to develop a sense of place in Salem is by looking, using and communicating when I explore Salem I talk to my friends and we talk about Salem and where they have been and by doing this we learn new things from each other about Salem. But while reading the article there are a couple of things I have not done and will like to do which is naming places and listening to water. I chose those because I think that naming place will be entertaining and will help me memorize the places in Salem. I also chose listening to water because I think it sounds interesting and I would like to know if it is actually possible to hear words that I recognize in English. Also in the article there was nothing that I will be afraid to try because sometimes I am open to do anything. But something I am not interesting of doing is touching the earth I do not mind touching the grass with my hands but I will not take of my shoes I just do not like walking barefooted around.

Farmers Market

    On Thursday I went to Salem's popular farmers market and it was a new experience for me since it was my first time ever to go to a farmers market. I enjoyed it very much there was so many people interacting with each other and having fun. Also there were kids playing around and watching a group of dancers dancing to Michael Jackson thriller song. It was actually not something I expected, I thought it was just people walking around buying food but there was many fun things for the people and kids to enjoy and the whole vibe was very good.

   The reason me and my group went to the farmers market was actually to talk to one of the vendors. His name is Chris Grant and we asked him a lot of questions about his farm, the farmers market and about himself. Some questions we asked him were:
 1.When was the farm built or bought?
 2. Have you been a farmer your whole life?
 3. How long have you been in the farmers market?
 4. How did this dry summer affect your farm?
 5. Which is the most popular food people buy from your farm?
 6. Is your whole farm organic?
   His response was:
1. The farm was bought in the 70s by his grandfather.
2. He actually was a social media analyst for three months but did not liked it. He said that since he grew up around the farm it was just something he knows and likes to do and never get bored of it.
3. This year in the farmers market in Salem is his sixth time.
4. The dry summer actually effected more his vegetable.
5. Eggs is popular everyone buys them and they always run out of eggs at the farmers market.
6. Yes his farm is organic is just that it is not certified by the government yet.
   Overall It was amazing going to the farmers market. It was very fun to see everyone having such a good time. This contributed to a sense of place for me because having the town make this event for people to go and buy things and also interact with others and enjoy their time shows that Salem is very welcoming and caring to people.

   
   

Library reflection

  On Mondays trip we went to The Frederick E. Berry Library and Learning Commons at Salem State University and I learned from Jason that the library was built in 2013. The library is always getting full that they extend the closing hour and are planning to extend the closing hour again because when it closes at two in the morning they are always kicking out about sixty students. The library is a great resource to help you with anything. They have an academic advising center, a writing center, center of academic excellence etc. I also learned that in the library there are rooms called study rooms where students can go if they have a group project they can meet up there and be able to communicate and do their work without disturbing the other students who are doing their work in the library. The study rooms are so popular that Jason said "we are thinking about adding more study rooms".

The library definitely felt very comfortable having the light wood and carpet is very good. Also I personally like the view because it makes me feel relax and calm. I like what they called the floating stairs as well I think that they are very cute and it is a great spot were people can take group pictures. The location of the library contributes to a sense of place at Salem State University campus by offering the students a very welcomed, safe and comfortable place to study.

  One main thing I learned from Jason about research in the library is that they are collaborated with other libraries and if you can not find a book in the Salem State library it will show up in other libraries. Also everything is free which is very good to hear especially if you are a college student.
We also had some speakers who are in the map works organization and they talked about how map works is about taking a survey and the result will show you your strength and weakness on academic or financial aid and your rate on how you manage time etc. After taking the survey you are automatically put into a raffle and you can win prizes like $100 on clipper card cash, coupon for textbooks, a Salem State quilt etc.

The link I chose is http://greenmanual.rutgers.edu/newcommercial/strategies/senseofplace.pdf which talks about the definition of sense of place. This relates to the library and the role that it plays for the community.

National Park Services

The field trip to the Salem maritime historic site was a very fun experience. I learned so much more about Salem going to the sites. One thing that struck me the most was the eagle that was placed on top of the custom house in 1826. But in 2004 it was replaced with a fiberglass replica. I love how it had the arrow showing that we are strong and ready to fight and the olive branch representing that we offer peace.

When we all first got there the view was great. Although the ocean smell was not something I enjoyed it was still a beautiful view. With the amount of space there was by the ocean I can picture many people just walking around, boats arriving and people unloading products. 

While looking around we did one natural journal drawing mines was not very pretty but as time passes by I will get better at drawing.  

Also seeing were they will measure the spices or sugars etc. got my attention because its a brass balance scale and it reminded me of lawyers since it is something represents them. 

This experience helped me better understand sense of place in Salem. Learning the history of the Salem maritime and how people worked hard to earn money, grow a business and be successful was very interesting. But overall the amount of history, stories and the hard work of the people gave it a sense of place in Salem. 

Story telling

Today in class we had two guest speakers to talk to us about Salem, MA. One guest talked to us about how she is involved in creating activities for Salem for example being involved with the farmers market. Also the other guest speaker is a Salem historian and he talked to us about Salem and how he has been living in Salem for a while now since he started college at Salem State. But what struck me the most is the historian because he talked more about Salem and how it used to be very different in the past. I was interested in one of his story that he told us which was how he will always go to a restaurant called Red's and even have his own table there. The historian told us about Salem and the many activities it creates for the community to gather around to make Salem a better place. I think that it is very important to create activities because it is one way for people to gather around and get along with each other.

I did not ask any questions to the historian because while he was talking I will look at my questions and noticed that he basically answered them all. But it was great learning more about Salem and not only the past but also the present.

What I will like to learn more about Salem is the history of witches. Ever since I heard about the Salem witches I have always wanted to go and visit the sites and read about more about the history which I think is very interesting.

One thing I heard the visitors talk about was the farmers market and how popular it is. The farmers market is a place that everyone will go to and buy anything from produce to crafts. It is a local activity they do every year and many vendors from New England will go to sell their products and produce. It is said that about 10,000 people visited the market on a single Saturday. Also it is a great place to interact with others and I'm looking forward on visiting soon.
http://salemfarmersmarket.org/


This was very helpful ad interesting I definitely learned more about Salem. Both speakers were very helpful and also nice to us having the time to talk to us and answer any questions. Also I like how they talked to us about their history too because it helps me more to know how the people of Salem are like etc.

Having the time to prepare writing down questions for the speaker was helpful. It prepared me to be more involved on what to expect when they come to talk to us. It did make the talk more interesting because since I already knew some background information about them I wanted to see how they were when I will meet them. The speakers made me feel that Salem is a very good place with many opportunities and to always try and be involved because it will help you meet new people that can become good and friends and grow as a person. I think they could not have been better they definitely were good speakers and knew what they were talking about. Having these guest speakers impacted my engagement I used to not pay attention back in the days when guest speaker will come and speak to the class but now I definitely rate myself as a one being very engaged.