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.