Greetings from Durham, England! It is hard to believe that we have already been here for TWO weeks! Time really does fly when you’re having fun! We have seen all sorts of cultural sights here in Durham, including the Durham Cathedral, the Beamish Mining Museum, and the Miner’s Gala all in our first week! This past week, we attended Jon Faddis’ really incredible jazz concert. It was a lovely complement to the Streets of Brass Festival that we volunteered with earlier in the week. I have a new-found appreciation for jazz and especially the trumpet!
I am working with Jiayu and Juliana at Waddington Street Centre, which is a lovely mental health resource that is nestled just outside the heart of Durham city. This first week, I have been working on the Support rotation. Throughout the course of the next two weeks, I’ll be spending a week in each of the Health Trainer and Education rotations, which I’m really looking forward to. In Support, I spent a lot of time in the main sitting area chatting with various service users throughout the day. One particular service user proved to be especially talkative and I quickly learned that he had worked for fifteen years in the mines of England when he was a young boy. At age 15, he told me, he was too young to enter the military, but he wanted to get a job. He began working in the mines after he completed at 30-week training course (I was relieved to hear that they actually had those!). I couldn’t imagine being lowered down into a 900 foot deep shaft by a rope and pulley system! Apparently, one of the mines he worked in was seven miles below sea level. Wow! It’s really incredible to me to think of the vast differences between being 15 in the 1960s and being 15 today. This gentleman was earning 35 pounds a week doing dangerous and dirty work, while most of us at age 15 are still in the classroom!
Today, Waddington Street Centre had its annual celebration where its many talents and achievements are showcased. We were entertained by the WSC music class with some original compositions and cover songs and I was “wow’ed” by the talented writers and performers in the writing/poetry and drama classes! It was really a lovely day for all, complete with a little awards ceremony for outstanding performances in various classes. Even though I spent a whole week in the lounge area playing games, chatting, and meeting new folks, it was good to see some new faces today, as well! I was very impressed by the turnout for today’s event and also by the overwhelming support of WSC’s service users from the community and the service users’ personal friends and family. It was really such a wonderful day and showed me truly how much WSC means to so many people!
I have really enjoyed drawing comparisons and contrasts between Waddington Street Centre and Threshold, which is the mental health resource where Jiayu and I were placed for six weeks in Durham, NC. I think both facilities have enjoyed hearing the differences and similarities, as well! I am eager to take some ideas inspired by Waddington Street Centre back to Threshold, where I hope to continue volunteering with throughout the rest of my time in Durham.
I am working with Jiayu and Juliana at Waddington Street Centre, which is a lovely mental health resource that is nestled just outside the heart of Durham city. This first week, I have been working on the Support rotation. Throughout the course of the next two weeks, I’ll be spending a week in each of the Health Trainer and Education rotations, which I’m really looking forward to. In Support, I spent a lot of time in the main sitting area chatting with various service users throughout the day. One particular service user proved to be especially talkative and I quickly learned that he had worked for fifteen years in the mines of England when he was a young boy. At age 15, he told me, he was too young to enter the military, but he wanted to get a job. He began working in the mines after he completed at 30-week training course (I was relieved to hear that they actually had those!). I couldn’t imagine being lowered down into a 900 foot deep shaft by a rope and pulley system! Apparently, one of the mines he worked in was seven miles below sea level. Wow! It’s really incredible to me to think of the vast differences between being 15 in the 1960s and being 15 today. This gentleman was earning 35 pounds a week doing dangerous and dirty work, while most of us at age 15 are still in the classroom!
Today, Waddington Street Centre had its annual celebration where its many talents and achievements are showcased. We were entertained by the WSC music class with some original compositions and cover songs and I was “wow’ed” by the talented writers and performers in the writing/poetry and drama classes! It was really a lovely day for all, complete with a little awards ceremony for outstanding performances in various classes. Even though I spent a whole week in the lounge area playing games, chatting, and meeting new folks, it was good to see some new faces today, as well! I was very impressed by the turnout for today’s event and also by the overwhelming support of WSC’s service users from the community and the service users’ personal friends and family. It was really such a wonderful day and showed me truly how much WSC means to so many people!
I have really enjoyed drawing comparisons and contrasts between Waddington Street Centre and Threshold, which is the mental health resource where Jiayu and I were placed for six weeks in Durham, NC. I think both facilities have enjoyed hearing the differences and similarities, as well! I am eager to take some ideas inspired by Waddington Street Centre back to Threshold, where I hope to continue volunteering with throughout the rest of my time in Durham.