Reflection on college wide event

     The event that I went to was called hair politics and it was not one of the events that I thought I would go to from the begging of the course. It was a very fun event a lot of people came and there was food and a panel of professors or other women talking about their hair, their history, the way the style it and also things like how society played a role. I believe this event contributed to my sense of place because we were all together interacting having a group discussion and talking about where we are from and our culture and hair and I think it is important to have a diverse community. At the end we also had a raffle and students got to win hair products. The only reason I learned about this event was because since I work at the diversity and multicultural affairs center I knew more about it and I also help set up the place before students came.

        

Thanksgiving

     For this thanksgiving break I went back home to Lawrence and I was very excited because not only did I see my family but also I get to go eat at my favorite restaurant Jaqueline's. I am a Latina so I love to eat pastelitos which you can see it in the picture above the chicken. I love the food here it is very delicious and every weekend when I go home I make sure I at least get to it some chicken and french fries before I go back to my dorm. Also everything I eat there just reminds me of where I am from it is something I always look forward to every time. But it is not just a restaurant it also a store where people can buy anything from chips to dishwasher soap etc. Also it is near my house which is awesome I can just walk over there. Overall I had so a good time back home. 

The other park trip

The trip on Monday to a second park was not my favorite but the view was pretty. I felt like the other park was better but I did still like the park because the view was great and also because walking as a group to the park the weather was nice and also the bike path looked amazing in the fall.

 But it did brought a sense of place to me. By having a view and the type of peace and quite that the park offer contributes to my sense of place in Salem as well as other places meaning that any place with a nice view and peace contributes to a sense of place for me
We where at a park but it was not like a park with swings it was a park to walk your dog and have a nice view as well. But when we got there and had to do a project using an iPad I did not like it because the iPad camera was not great so we used a cell phone to take pictures and videos. But overall this experience was great and fun. Not only did we do our project but we also communicated with each other and had good conversation.

Salem Diner

 For the triad project me and my partner went to the Salem diner because we both have not been there before and it was a place where it is very close to campus which made it easier for both of us to go over there. We chose this place because personally I think it also represents Salem since it is a very old building and it has been around for a while.
 In order to go to the diner together we set up to meet each other on Wednesday in front of Meir hall. Before going to the diner I called the diner to see if we can interview a waiter or waitress and they told us we had to get permission from Chartwells first.
  The questions me and my partner came up with where:
How do you like working here?
- I really like it my coworkers are nice and the customers as well. 
2. How long have you been working here?
- I have been working here for about two years.
3. Who comes more often to the diner?
- Mostly SSU students come here but sometimes you see other people.
4. When was it first opened?
- It was first opened in 1941.
5. What is your favorite thing to do here?
- My favorite thing to do here is interact with the customers and have a conversation with them. 
6. When did Salem State University bought it?
- It got reopened in January 2014. 
7. How do you like here living in Salem?
- I like it especially when it comes to Halloween you get to see many people around having a good time in downtown.  
 
     Above is the picture of when Salem State reopen the Salem Diner you can see that the president of Salem State is there as well as the mayor, chief police etc.

   This triad experience for me was fun and a new type of experience that I did. What I learned the most is coming up with questions to ask a person also how to communicate better with others. For example I am taking a course called oral communication and it has help me grow into a better speaker. Also while going to the diner what I found most interesting is the way the building is shaped because I have never seen a diner shaped like the Salem diner is as you can see from the picture above the way it looks. But there was really nothing that I did not have interest in everything was new so I mostly looked around.
    Another thing is since it was my first time going to a Salem diner I was amazed of how it looked like on the inside because I have gone to other diners from where I am from and they are completing different from the Salem diner. Ways they were different was like the Salem diner was more of a cozy place and the diners where I have been to are more spaced out, bigger and more modern.
    Going to the diner I believe it did contributed to a sense of place in Salem because it is basically a very old building that still people go to and interact with each other and having that type of atmosphere makes it a better place to be around.
   At the end I decided to do my research paper topic about how women get treated differently from men in the work place. I chose this topic because we interviewed a worker who is a female and it reminded me of things I have read online about sexism and how women do not get treated equally in the work place. So I decided to research on why women do not get equally paid the same amount as men. It also plays a role in sense of place in any city, country, state because equality is very important making everyone feel like they belong somewhere.
   I couldn't read the assignment due November 14 because it is not published but me and my partner are thinking about like a trivia game and I will bring like a prize for the wining group.

Sense of place at the nearby park

    Connections human have with trees is that we breathe oxygen because tree produce it. The sun gives the trees life. Animals eat of the glucose the trees make. The weather like rain will make the tree grow even more.
    Going to the park was very good. I felt relax and at the same time happy because of the peacefulness that is there. I definitely value the park because not only do the trees provide us with food and oxygen but also because it is a place where people go and have fun with friends and family. But since global warming is happening people need to notice that they need to value or know how worthy nature is.
    This park plays a role in my sense of place in Salem because of the way people go there and find it a place to relax and enjoy with friends or family. I think a huge part of sense of place is feeling the nature and connecting with the environment surrounding you. So by going to the park it shows the meaning of enjoyment for people to go to.
    Overall this field trip to the park in my opinion was awesome because it reminds me of my nephews I always bring them to the park and also how peaceful it is there. I like that when I got there and had 20 minutes to do our assignments it made me feel more happier just sitting down and observing and also it made me less stressful. But what I did not like was the weather I was really cold but that is my fault for not wearing a better sweater.
     I definitely will go to another far trip like this I really enjoyed it and liked it.

Panel and advising

    On Monday students from the first year office came in and talked to us about anything like school, Salem, classes, jobs etc. When they came in they gave the class an index card for we can write questions for them and they will answer them all in class. The type of information they were telling us is very helpful I learned many new things from how to choose classes and putting them in your shopping cart in navigator, how to check professors at rate your professor and how helpful it will be when choosing classes for next semester and also talking about their experiences in Salem and how to become a better student. What struck me about how to succeed in college is to stay focus and not get lazy with your homework to make time for school but also make time for yourself to relax and chill with friends or family. Also what struck me about life as a student at SSU is that there are many ways to get involve to interact with others and make the most of being in college having some fun etc.

     Also on Monday Justin came from advising to talk with us about degree tracker, navigator etc. He was very helpful on showing us where to go to check our courses and how many credits we have already, where to register for classes and also reviewing what you must do to graduate. While knowing what classes I need to fulfill my first 30 credits I started shopping for course for spring semester. After I was done choosing classes I decided to make an appointment with my adviser and he helped me by checking if I had good classes and gave me more information about majors and minors. I think the amount of support SSU gives is very great I feel like getting helped made my first year in college better because I came here knowing not so much about college and credits but now my knowledge is growing.   

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.