All About Community - Connecting, Trusting, Improving

Today, I was woken up by a crashing sound coming from the direction of my laptop. I immediately jumped up and felt the cover since my eyesight is so bad. It was untouched. It turns out that the shelf above my desk had shifted while my roommate was leaning against it. It still gave me a big scare, though. Since I was already up, I decided to be productive and work ahead on our reading assignments.

In class, we worked on our public speaking skills. Dr. Jennifer Madden came in and addressed all the concerns we could ever have about speaking in front of others. I really liked her style - she was confident but she communicated that she cared about our input. After we had covered the general rules for public speaking, she told us that we would have to improvise a speech after lunch. With that hanging over our heads, we went out and tried to enjoy our break. I ate spinach pizza at the Ratty (the smaller dining hall) with Selene and Lydia, and made my own dessert combining cookies and ice cream.

When we returned, we split into small groups to present improvised speeches. Soon it was my turn. I decided to give my speech on my Action Plan, which is a plan to improve our world that could start with our local community. The Leadership Institute expects us to put this Plan into place once we're back at home. We will present a speech on the final day of the class to students, faculty, and some parents.

My group was facilitated by Dr. Madden herself, which was awesome because she had constructive criticism that was very to-the-point. I learned that I do need to project my voice, but that I actually have that down pretty well. My lack of emphasizing certain words and of variation in tone contributes to the impression that I don't have enough volume, when in fact that's not the worst problem. 

The worst problem was that I wanted to do too much. That's always been a problem that I've had; it's very difficult, but very rewarding. I brought all my brainstorming ideas together and put them together into one plan that ranged from presenting an art project on the gender spectrum to educating younger children to voter registration to gender issues being represented on the ballot.  The most important piece of information that I came away with is that I really need to narrow down my Plan to make it strong, focused, and attainable. I have a good idea, but I'll need to work it out some more. I'm really glad that I made that speech, though. The feedback and the experience together was invaluable.

After class, I learned more about the ropes course which our class is participating in tomorrow. My RA, and other students who had already gone through it, reassured me on the fact that it wasn't too physically taxing, but that we would all come away from the activity feeling more empowered and more united as a community. I can't wait. The only thing that makes me a little bit apprehensive is the fact that there will be lots of mosquitoes and ticks. I'll be sure to wear long pants and serious shoes.

I did a bit of homework with classmates Bianchi, Diana, Lydia, and Selene. I learned something new - not only is Bianchi from New Orleans, but her family is originally from Honduras. I never would have thought that, because she doesn't look like the stereotype of people from Central America. I'm very surprised that there are so many Spanish speakers here at Brown - there's quite a lot! Apparently, there are also strong Colombian and Portuguese/Brazilian communities which exist in Providence. I also met some of the girls down on the first floor - Heidi, Ashley, and Natalie - through my Women and Leadership classmates.

Lupe and I went to check out the ballroom dancing activity at 6 PM. The instructor never showed up, and we began to doubt if the activity was even intended to have an instructor. We were under the impression that this would be a beginner's class, not just a gathering in the ballroom. After almost 45 minutes, we decided to eat at the V. Dub instead.

At 7:30, we had a workshop with the Women and Leadership class led by my RA (who is also our TA) and the RA for the rest of the class which is on the first floor of the same dorm. We sat down and laid out the basic community rules that we have written down for each and every group activity we have started at Brown. Initially, I was a little bored because every time the same group of people had met, we wrote down these rules and everyone contributed the same kinds of words, like trust, open mindedness, and "one mic". Later, I saw how important these rules were, how important it was that we went over them several times, and how much they were valued in different settings.

We did several activities, all involving trusting the group with very controversial topics and issues that touched home for a lot of us. For one, we held hands in a big circle and were asked to step forward (still holding hands) if we heard a statement (such as "I have thought about suicide") that was true about us. I felt that everyone participated honestly and to the best of their abilities. Our hands became sweaty with the tension and nobody broke the silence throughout the activity. By the end, several girls had shed tears, and several more had supported them. The interesting thing was that although I stepped forward upon hearing statements that would have scared me if I had said them myself, by having 22 other people involved with the same dilemma at the same time, this problem was eliminated.

To finish off, we wrote out something about ourselves that we would prefer communicating in an anonymous setting. The RAs read the statements aloud while we listened in an almost magical silence. I was shocked at some of the heart-wrenching experiences that people have been through. I feel so much closer and so much more trusting of everyone in the class now that I've been through the Diversity workshop. I also know that I will consider people's backgrounds and feelings even more now. I'll always remember the feeling of being connected to everyone else in that room. I feel like I've really spent 2 months here, not three days. It's crazy how much information I have to process and how much I've grown since I've gotten here.

First Day...All Over Again

Leaders can be defined in many ways. At least, that is what I learned in class today. Women and Leadership balances the definition of a leader in today's modern society while also discussing the impact and roles of women in the world. This class this far has proven to be a thought-provoking course.

Today began the program at Brown. But first, we all know breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so we headed to the Ratty for breakfast. The food is alright, better than most, but a downer for being Ivy League food. Oh well, I guess it goes to show that not everything will be as magical as we thought it would.

Harkness Building. This is where we're staying at. 

We headed down to the Watson Institution to begin our first day with Kisa Takesue, our professor. The moment we walked into the door she warmly smiled and greeted us enthusiastically, ushering us into her class. That really made me like her right away; I could tell that I would like the class. 

Our classroom! Our professor is the one in black. 

The students in the class had some familiar faces; some new. In our class, we had people from Italy, Indonesia, Chicago, New Jersey, Bangladesh, India and many others. I love the diversity in our class but at times it created some debates in our class when we were discussing certain topics. It forced me to think about why other students have opinions that differ from mine and why they might think that a cause or problem that I think is important might not matter so much to them. For example, there was a girl in our class that spoke about how she didn't feel that women today do not have obstacles when it comes to making choices in careers and such. She said that many times society creates "imaginary obstacles" for women and some feminists create a big deal out of nothing. 

I have nothing bad thing to say about her, I appreciate her insight in things, it makes for an interesting discussion. However, growing up the way I did, I beg to differ. I grew up with the notion that women were suppose to stay at home, become a housewife, and take care of the kids. Women are not supposed to have a bigger career than the husband or male in the family and they serve as the head of the household. There are certain beliefs I have about this, but I'll save that for another time. 

Going back to the topic, I felt that she was naive when it came to women's rights. She probably lives her life very comfortably and has a mother that has a good career, so she doesn't see the inequalities between men and women like I do. But that's what the class is for: to learn about women from a different perspective, including myself. I tend to see issues in society in an ethnic view, rather than a women's view. 

Lucero, Selene and I in our class! Not sure what Selene was doing though... 

The rest of the class consisted of ice breakers and such and before I knew it, it was time for lunch. 

The second part of the class was focused more on the leadership part rather than women. We were discussing the many ways to define a leader and came up with the conclusion that there are many types of leaders in the world. Most importantly, we learned that there is no such thing as the ideal leader; everyone has their flaws. 

Although we felt that a perfect leader was pragmatic, passionate, goal-oriented, initiative, engaging, concerned, approachable and many other things, it's impossible to fit that description. That is what really made me think about how a leader is portrayed. I loved the way the professor was discussing about the good and bad things of leaders. Overall, the first day really made me think about the different ways one can be a leader. 

Today was the first time we did our laundry. Thankfully, the Brown Session I group had a bag of detergent that they let us have, so we didn't have to purchase any today. It was true about the laundry room being extremely hot, especially after using the dryer; it was like a sauna down there. After we finished, we headed for dinner at the Ratty. 

The evening activity consisted of defining the different styles of leaders at a deeper level. The North leaders are people who just want to get things done and quickly, regardless of the people and situation at hand. I like to relate them to the Nike quote, "Just do it". The Southerners were people who liked to keep base with everyone in the group; people who make sure everyone is included. The Eastern folks were people who focused on creative decisions, but had the tendency to get distracted easily. Finally, the Western individuals are perfectionists; they tend to include details and plan everything out. I first considered myself a Northerner, but seeing as how an overuse of Northerners was their lack of concern of teammates was something I never did, I realized I was an Easterner. But then again, there are different roles to use, depending on the situation. 

Today was a good day to start. It was tiring, but a success nonetheless. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow will teach me: about women, leaders, diversity, etc. I spent the rest of the day doing my homework. 

Irene studying. 

Our RA, Christine And now, my bed is calling me.