My last week of CFE has been a remarkable journey and I have gained a lot of knowledge about the Downtown Eastside community. At first, I was nervous and scared because I didn’t know what I would be expecting and that it was out of my comfort zone. I thought local residents would come across as being aggressive; however I was wrong. My perception of the Downtown Eastside community was actually the opposite of what I originally thought. They’re just like anyone else, but their circumstances are different. Local residents have more wisdom and knowledge than I anticipated. I learned a lot from listening to people’s stories and their stories were often shared to my family and friends. The UBC Learning Exchange helped me break out of that perception of the Downtown Eastside. I realized that the UBC Learning Exchange is a safe haven for people. They come to learn and share their talent or skills to others. I participated in the Legal Access Forum last week, which  informs other community-based organizations about their services and what they have to offer. It’s great to listen to a lot of interesting people that provides insight about their contributions and overall, they all share a common goal and that is to help local residents. The legal access forum had panelist from UBC law professor, InSite, Atira Women’s Resource Society, Vancouver Police Department and many more. Although, it provided information to other community-based organizations, they failed to bring in local residents to share their own personal views of accessing legal assistance. I hope that the next forum will invite local residents in order for them to gain useful information. Lastly, this will impact my teaching deeply. I always had the mindset of treating people fair and understand their circumstances. But, having my practicum in the Downtown Eastside has been an eye-opener. You don’t know until your put in situation and actually understanding that environment. I would like to teach my students that we could make a difference and allowing them to volunteer and take initiative and be more involved in our communities.

This week at the UBC Learning Exchange, I participated in fun and engaging activities. The first event was called Summer Connect. Summer Connect was taking place at the Union Gospel Mission at Hastings, Vancouver. There were many information booths set up for local residents to get the help they might perhaps need. One of my tasks was to ask local residents to fill out a speech bubble of what they enjoyed, what they think the downtown eastside needs, or what the Summer Connect should have next year. A lot of the local residents said they would like to see more housing, more enforcement of the law, and clean streets (more garbage bins). What stood out to me the most about this event was when I was talking to two gentlemen who live in the downtown eastside. They said they come from third world countries and living there was harder, because they wouldn’t have services offer to them. They wouldn’t know where to find a place to sleep, eat or use the Internet. What surprised me the most of what these two gentlemen said was the people of the downtown eastside should appreciate these services and not to take it for granted, they know what hard life is like. Moreover, they said these services allow people to stay dependent on them, which make it harder for people to leave the eastside of Vancouver. I learned a lot from this event and I appreciated people sharing their stories with me. Another activity that I took part in was being the facilitator for an ESL class of level 3. It was a small group of people and I helped them understood what the Internet is. I made connections of my own personal experiences using the Internet, which made them feel comfortable. They never used a computer before, so providing them insight made them want to try the beginner’s class of how to use a computer. I felt accomplished that they took another interest at the Learning Exchange. Last activity of the week was the Indigenous Art weaving project. This activity puts you in “Zen mode” its relaxing and fun to do. I never thought I would learn how to weave, which was really interesting. I was even the first one to finish (haha). Overall, I continued to create lesson plans, help organize the Legal Access Forum, which takes place this Wednesday June 24 at 9:30am, and communicating with people. I learned that if I’m bringing connections from my personal life that it helps people want to connect and feel comfortable sharing their stories with me or to others.

UBC Learning Exchange is an organization that mainly interacts with the marginalized communities of the Downtown Eastside. These local residents are low-income newcomers to Canada that are refugees or permanent residents. Majority of them have trouble speaking English, which can lead to discrimination and social exclusion. It also becomes difficult for them to obtain jobs that will cause them discomfort in their lives mentally, socially, and financially. Other residents are unemployed and struggling with addiction and/or mental illnesses, and Aboriginal people that lost contact with their heritage and traditions.

My first week at the UBC Learning Exchange has been an interesting experience that allowed me to reflect deeply about the communities of the Downtown Eastside and the organization itself. Local residents come to the UBC Learning Exchange to learn and to build on prior knowledge. They struggle speaking English, which could be difficult for them to communicate when they’re out and about. When I observed one of the ESL classes, I noticed that UBC Learning Exchange uses practical lessons that allow local residents to feel confident and be able to express what they want to say when they do other activities outside of the organization. Practical lessons include how to use transit, recycle, describing people, and going to the clinic or grocery store. All of these lessons help people make their lives easy. What I enjoyed the most was that these people are invested and they take the time to come to the Learning Exchange and become familiar with subjects that reflect on their lives. It makes me feel proud that the UBC Learning Exchange is helping these local residents to feel in ease and an inclusive place for them to work in. Another activities that I got involved with is sewing button pillow cases and blankets,  drop in for computer lessons, and playing mahjong.  What made me feel a little uncomfortable was the drop in for the computer lessons. I didn’t want to come across has “babying” local residents in how to use a computer.  These people are adults and they never used a computer nonetheless touched a computer before. I wanted to be there for people but not in a way that would make them feel like a child such as saying “good job!” “there you go, you got it.” It was hard from adjusting from my practicum to the CFE.  At the end, I just helped people who asked for help, but I kept reminding myself not to come across that way.

UBC Learning Exchange has got myself and the other UBC students involved in amazing projects. These projects include: Elderly Abuse Awareness Day, Summer Connect, Legal Access Forum, and creating lesson plans for the ESL classes. All of these projects are to help create awareness of what is going on in the world and to find ways to build a better community. I look forward to working on these projects and to express the outcome of these events. I feel good at this moment, and I’m happy that I’m involved in a great organization.