Service learning is something that has been instilled in me since I was little. My family and i would always volunteer at homeless shelters and soup kitchens as part of the Oakland Fire Department. I have always had this mentality to help other people and not expect something in return. When I attended high school, they have a requirement of 30 hours per year doing something that you are passionate about. I previously didn't know about CSUMB's service learning requirement but I didn't think anything of it.
Most people think that service learning is a waste of time but I find it gratifying to help the community in any way possible. When I was enrolled in SPAN 301S, i decided to dedicate my time at Everyone's Harvest in Marina. I chose this site because it would be conjunction with my ENVS class, which was about the environmental effect in Monterey Bay.
Some of the tasks that I had to perform were talking to the vendors, making sure that the correct paperwork was in place, facilitated around the farmers market, set up and break down any tables or tents, and overall help in any way that I could.
At first, I felt like I was not doing as much as I could have been, or living up to all I could offer. That quickly changed when one farm worker who was selling their fruit was having some trouble communicating with the person buying. The vendor knew some broken English but the buyer did not know any Spanish. I kindly offered if they needed some help communicating, and I helped patch out any miscommunication. After that interaction, the lady would give me a piece of her fruit or smile at me, acknowledging my presence as more than just a volunteer.
After that, the head of the farmer market knew that if there was ever something that needed to be translated or something of that nature, I would be the one that they called for. I noticed that once the vendors knew that they had someone who spoke their language and understood what they saying, they felt more at ease and not as tense. One of the ladies confided in me that she wished she spoke better English so she did not need to rely on other people. That stroke a chord in me. I wondered how many other people felt like that, not only in the setting of the farmer's market but in other places.
I've heard from many people that in the future we do not need interpreters or translators because the technology is going to be so advanced that they will know everything.. That may be true but that human to human interaction is invaluable and can never be replaced by robots. This service learning assignment helped me solidify the interpretation is what I want to do in life. I want to provide a voice to those who are scared to let their own ones be heard, or to avoid confusion that could hurt them in the long run.
Overall I learned so much while volunteering at Everyone's Harvest. I got to know a bit of the inside work of how to run farmers markets. I learned more about farm life that is so close to our University. But the most beneficial thing for me was learning the vocabulary that a farm worker would use, and how it would translate in English. As someone who aspires to be an interpreter, it is never a bad thing to know as many words as possible in English and in Spanish.
Most people think that service learning is a waste of time but I find it gratifying to help the community in any way possible. When I was enrolled in SPAN 301S, i decided to dedicate my time at Everyone's Harvest in Marina. I chose this site because it would be conjunction with my ENVS class, which was about the environmental effect in Monterey Bay.
Some of the tasks that I had to perform were talking to the vendors, making sure that the correct paperwork was in place, facilitated around the farmers market, set up and break down any tables or tents, and overall help in any way that I could.
At first, I felt like I was not doing as much as I could have been, or living up to all I could offer. That quickly changed when one farm worker who was selling their fruit was having some trouble communicating with the person buying. The vendor knew some broken English but the buyer did not know any Spanish. I kindly offered if they needed some help communicating, and I helped patch out any miscommunication. After that interaction, the lady would give me a piece of her fruit or smile at me, acknowledging my presence as more than just a volunteer.
After that, the head of the farmer market knew that if there was ever something that needed to be translated or something of that nature, I would be the one that they called for. I noticed that once the vendors knew that they had someone who spoke their language and understood what they saying, they felt more at ease and not as tense. One of the ladies confided in me that she wished she spoke better English so she did not need to rely on other people. That stroke a chord in me. I wondered how many other people felt like that, not only in the setting of the farmer's market but in other places.
I've heard from many people that in the future we do not need interpreters or translators because the technology is going to be so advanced that they will know everything.. That may be true but that human to human interaction is invaluable and can never be replaced by robots. This service learning assignment helped me solidify the interpretation is what I want to do in life. I want to provide a voice to those who are scared to let their own ones be heard, or to avoid confusion that could hurt them in the long run.
Overall I learned so much while volunteering at Everyone's Harvest. I got to know a bit of the inside work of how to run farmers markets. I learned more about farm life that is so close to our University. But the most beneficial thing for me was learning the vocabulary that a farm worker would use, and how it would translate in English. As someone who aspires to be an interpreter, it is never a bad thing to know as many words as possible in English and in Spanish.