On Saturday March 31, I volunteered at the Houston Children's Museum for the annual Nano Days event. It was a museum-wide event in which various stations were set up with a different activity that incorporated the nano scale with objects on the large scale. My favorite station was looking at butterfly wings, in which the kids were able to look at the difference in appearance between a butterfly up close and a single nano-sized scale on the butterfly's wing. It was truly remarkable, I learned many new things myself. Did you know that on the nano scale, gold is actually red?! In addition, there was also an enormous Buckey ball being constructed out of balloons at the heart of the museum that spanned from the floor to the ceiling. I loved the irony of it! I was at the I Spy Nano station in which I told interested kids cool facts about nanotechnology that I learned, and they were to find it on their I Spy game cards. The older kids were fascinated by most of the new information they learned. The younger ones got a fun game of I Spy out of it. It was a win-win for everyone! Over all, I think everyone had a good time and the event was successful. The kids had fun as well as the volunteers!

On Friday, April 20, I volunteered as a wounded victim at the CERT field exam. It was loads of fun! This was the final test for the trainees in order to get their CERT certifications to be search and rescuers during natural disasters.
It was a really bad thunder storm and the victims went to find shelter. However, along the way, many got injured when the high speed winds destroyed the safe house. I got a long bone fracture in my femur when a large table fell on my thigh and trapped me. There was moaning, groaning, screaming, and crying from the victims along with a bit of panicking from the trainees. We were instructed to give them a hard time and overwhelm them, and that we did!
Because I had a long bone fracture and was not supposed to walk, htey had to roll me onto a blanket and carry me to a "safer" area. It was so much fun yelling at them watching them handle all the whinning victims and complaining about anything. All of a sudden the lights went out and everyone assumed it was part of the drill. Little did we know, it was puring outside and the power was actually out.
Overall it was a great and memorable experience. All the trainees did a great job in the situation. This means there are more volunteers out there to help in case of a disaster. I am really glad I got the opportunity to be a part of this.

There has been a change venue. Burrus Elementary is not going to work out.
Yesterday, April 14, I volunteered at Japhet Creek. It was an adventurous experience. I started out pulling rag weeds, but that got a little borring. So Liz and I decided to go exploring because I wanted to see the creek and not the weeds.  We went down the trail, grabbed a couple of trash bags and started picking up trash around the creek. The aura around the creek was so mystical and peaceful like noting I have ever experienced before. The sound of the water flowing down the creek and the birds singing muffled out any other sounds. There was no easy path and there was much climbing and jumping on rocks involved in order to stay on two feet. Initially it was only Liz and me fending for ourselves down in the creek, but on our way back we met other happy volunteers and decided to continue cleaning the creek. Yes there were bugs and creepy crawlers and poison ivy, but I must say, that was the bravest thing I have done in a while. I didnt scream once :) I am really glad I found the creek because I would not have had such an experience if I spent 4 hours pulling rag weeds.

Unfortunately due to unfavorable weather conditions, I was unable to go to Burrus Elementary on Friday. Yet another week goes by and the anticipation continues to build. I am counting on this Friday to get started and finally get down to business!

I finally got the go to start volunteering at Burrus Elementary. I passed my background check. Glad they do not mind felons (totally kidding!!). I should be going back on Friday, hopefully, and getting down to business. The suspense is killing me! CIS has kept me at the edge of my seat for much too long.

On Friday the 24th, I went to Burrus Elementary for the first time. I did not get a grand tour but I did get to see the front office. The people there were very friendly, welcoming, and they did not seem surprised to see me, which I am hoping is a good sign! I believe that I officially completed the registration process when the woman at the front desk made a copy of my ID. I am to report back to Burrus this Friday, roll up my sleeves, and be prepared to get to work. I am not sure what to expect, but I signed up to tutor/mentor, so that is what I will be ready to do.
The students there also seem very friendly. Two girls opened the door for me when I walked in so that gives me a pretty good first impression. Maybe that is not the best thing to base my impression of the whole school on, but I would rather have a good first impression than a bad one, so I am sticking with that one for now. I am both anxious and nervous about this Friday, but I will do my best and the rest will fall in place.

Intro

Today I took the first step in becoming a VIPS (Volunteers in Public Schools) as part of the Communities in Schools (CIS) program. This is an essential part of my Service Learning Assignment this semester. I selected to volunteer at Burrus Elementary School in HISD mainly for two reasons. The first reason is that I really wanted to work with elementary kids because they are more open to learning and  may be more receptive to this program. The second reason I chose Burrus is because it is close to UST campus where I dorm, and transportation is necessary.
Overall I am really anxious to start volunteering and tutoring the students. I have always enjoyed working with kids and I expect there to be positive results. I always tell myself not to have high expectations, but sometimes that is easier said than done.