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I am just not in the mood to blog right now. in fact, i would rather play with emily's amazing hair than blog. I have nothing to blog about because no one will respond to me for my interviews. I am listening to the Beach Boys. \m/

Katie Outline (Not Finished)

Katie Interview- Connect 123

1.       Reasons to volunteer

a.       Just finished college

b.      Needed to get a job

                                                               i.      Wanted to improve resume

2.       What is the program?

a.       Connect 123

                                                               i.      Children’s Hospital in South Africa

§  Worked as a children’s aid

                                                             ii.      People are there from all over the world

                                                            iii.      Volunteers are put in groups of 8

§  They become family

3.       Best Part of the Experience?

a.       Working with the kids,

b.      Making kids happy

                                                                     i.            Horrible living conditions

§  Kids there sleep in tin houses without toys or things to play with

§  “They literally have a stick and some sand and it will entertain them for hours.” Direct Quote

4.       What did she learn?

a.       Not to take things for granted

5.       Adjusting to the lifestyle

a.       Always had to be with someone

                                                               i.      No time for yourself

Katie interview Reflection

My first interview! woo!

surprisingly, it wasn't very hard. I found it was very laid back, about 45 minutes on the phone but time flew by. I was very interested in her experiences and found it was hard to take notes because I was so intrigued by what she was saying. because it was over the phone I wasn't able to record what she was saying so I was trying to type as much as I could. I found that the most awkward part was when I turned the conversation in a different direction by asking a new question. but overall, Katie was very energetic and welcoming, so I am very glad I could talk to her about her experience.

The program she talked about was called connect 123, and sounds really interesting. she worked at a children's hospital as a children's aid, which isn't exactly what I would do but then again, it sounded like a great experience. she said its crazy how generous people there are. like most of the people are living in houses with one room and a tin roof, where 7 kids ate and slept at the same time. but then there are some people who are more wealthy. but rather than be greedy and keep their money to themselves, the more wealthy people take care of the less fortunate in their town. another thing she mentioned was how much of an impact it made on her when she saw how little these kids needed to be happy while here we always want the newest thing. I am exact quote was "a kid will have a stick and some sand and be entertained for hours". here we have things that entertain us but lack imagination. it's like our imagination is now computerized. I think that an awesome thing to realize. I will definitely be looking into this program. it would be perfect for summer vacations because you can go anywhere from 1 to 6 months. it also looks great on job applications and tends to be the first thing employers notice. it was great talking with Katie and I look forward to researching more in this program!

Katie interview notes

Katie-South Africa children's hospital
Connect 123

after college-- wanted to improve resume for experience, programs name is connect 123
she worked with children in hospital
no real qualifications, but you can choose your field of study.
a lot of socialization, meeting people they set up places for you to stay.
meeting people all over the world, a lot of friends from everywhere.
you get connections with people from everywhere.
best part: working with the kids, making kids happy.
the people there sleep in tin houses without toys and things to play with, they literally have a stick and some sand and it will entertain them for hours.
she learned to not take things for granted.
what is happiness? family means everything to them while we need more and more.
adjusting to lifestyle: being safe, always have to be with someone. no time to yourself.
3 months-- wish she stayed longer, pick up languages a bit, language classes, experience the culture
hardest part-- being so far away, 20 hour flight away, missing birthdays, working in a hospital itself was hard, the hardest part is that you can't give them enough. the people there have nothing and all you want to do is make them happier and give them everything, when all you have to give is some paper and crayons and nice words.
team of 8 people-- they basically become your family, you do everything together. you're all away from their families
everyone brought something different to the table
the program makes sure that youre part if a community, not doing anything by yourself,
travel and see as much as you can., take advantage of your tome there, youre not just there to work but also to experience. people can get annoying sometimes
looked good on her resume, had experience, employers loved it, first thing they do is point it out and ask about it.
want to do better because of the people you're working with and better for, you want their experience to be the best you can possibly make it. having that makes you better volunteer and person. you see how grateful they are for that.

interview struggle

all of the interviews I have scheduled are over the phone, which is not a problem. the problem is that these people are so busy it's hard to find a time to sit down and talk. along with that, some of these people are not emailing me back to confirm dates or times and I am the type of person who likes confirmation and have plans set in stone. I like having a set work schedule, I like making weekend plans at least 4 days in advance and then they must be CONFIRMED the day before. is that weird??

Interview Requests

Finally! I now have 2 set interviews over the phone for this month. One is with a woman who volunteered at a hospital in South Africa, the other with a woman who volunteered in the Peace Corps! I am very interested in both of these programs, so these should be very benificial to me. I also have to set up an interview with Mrs Lasko for this week.. i hope i didnt wait too long. I kept putting it off. i'm not sure why. But lets just hope everything turns out fine. I have a list of questions set, and i am personalizing them for each interview.

Interview questions

Katie:

What made you want to Volunteer?
What did you do while in Africa?
What was your role in the hospital?
How did you help the people living in that country?
How does one qualify to participate in Connect-123?
What was the best part of your experience?
What was the worst part of your experience?
Was it hard to adjust to the lifestyle of that country?
What did you do to make it easier to adjust?
What was the hardest part of being a volunteer?
How has your life changed since your time as a volunteer?
In what ways did volunteering help you after your time?
What do you think helped you become a better volunteer?

Erin:

What made you want to volunteer in the Peace Corps?
What did you do while volunteering in your country?
How did you help the people living in that country?
How does one qualify to participate in the Peace Corps?
What was the best part of your experience?
What was the worst part of your experience?
Was it hard to adjust to the lifestyle of that country?
What did you do to make it easier to adjust?
What was the hardest part of being a volunteer?
How has your life changed since your time as a volunteer?
In what ways did volunteering help you after your time?
What do you think helped you become a better volunteer?