Spanish Reviews
 
BIRTH TO THREE-WINTER 2008

I also volunteered at Birth to Three. I worked with the children of families who are going through personal problems while their parent’s participated in educational parenting classes. Few of the children spoke Spanish. The hours were fairly flexible, there are many groups to volunteer with. The position was very laid back and Birth to Three was a really great to organization to be involved with. I will also be volunteering at their Spring Fling event working at an auction booth and I will be doing volunteer work around the office to fulfill the amount of hours I need. Birth to Three has been very helpful in getting me enough hours for the PLE program.

BUENA VISTA IMMERSION SCHOOL
1. Buena Vista Immersion School, FALL 2006
    The Participatory Learning Experience has been both rewarding and educational. I was fortunate enough to volunteer my hours in a first grade classroom at Buena Vista Spanish Immersion Elementary School. 
    I volunteered a total of 33 hours and spent the majority of my Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the classroom. The PLE internship did not interfere at all with my other classes and was a nice outlet for me. During my time in the classroom, I helped the students with their reading and writing lessons as well as their multiple art projects. The art projects consisted of water colors, pastels, clay and cross stitching. In regards to their writing, every morning the kids were given a specific animal, like a lion or bird, and had to draw a picture and write a small paragraph on that animal. I would go around and rehearse Spanish vowel sounds and have them read me their entire paragraph in Spanish. At one of my volunteer sessions I got to teach sign language in Spanish to the kids. I also helped out in the computer lab and assisted Senora Field with any other type of projects around the classroom. 
I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the kids, but I also learned a lot from the teacher, Senora Field. Listening to her converse and give directions in Spanish improved my understanding of the language. I also felt very comfortable talking to her and asking questions when I didn’t get things. She was so appreciative of my help and I looked forward to seeing and working with her each week. She also brought me books to read on Seville, since we talked about me studying abroad there next fall! 
    It was very gratifying when I received hugs and smiles from the kids every time I walked into the classroom. I’ am so amazed at how much six and seven year olds can remember and apply every day. Having the opportunity to learn another language at such a young age is going to be so valuable for them in the long run. Each of the kids has their own unique characteristics and it was such a joy to work with all of them. 
I definitely recommend PLE for students who are interested in doing a Spanish related community project. PLE offers internships at all levels of fluency and it’s a great way to utilize your Spanish.

2. Buena Vista Immersion School, FALL 2006
    For my PLE I volunteered at Buena Vista Spanish immersion elementary school.  I am in a 1st grade classroom and I come in on Mondays and Wednesdays for a couple of hours each day. All of the work the kids do is in Spanish at Buena Vista, but they are 1st graders so they are just starting to learn their vocabulary, how to say their likes and dislikes, simple sentences and questions, “Puedo ir al baño?” being the most universally popular. 
The time that I’ve spent there has been relatively unsupervised.  Usually I go during the time of the day that they spend on “learning centers”.  The class breaks up into groups of about five each and they take turns moving around the classroom to their various centers; typing, silent reading, and doing various worksheets and projects.  During this time the teacher stays at one center and when the kids are there they read aloud to each other and work on new vocabulary, and I circle the room helping the kids at all the other centers.  This was my first real experience in a classroom, and at first I wasn’t sure how to handle discipline issues, because I didn’t really have direction from the teacher, and I was just let loose, but I watched the way she handled various situations that arose when I had the opportunity and I felt very comfortable disciplining the kids by the end.  
They are so sweet at that age (even the ones with discipline problems)!  I liked the teacher a lot too.  I am going to continue volunteering there for a while after the term is over.  I will say, however, that if you are interested in an intense Spanish experience then I would definitely choose a higher grade level or another organization altogether, although I did learn some new vocabulary, like “guajolote”.  
	I would recommend volunteering at Buena Vista to anyone who is interested in using their Spanish with little kids.  For me it was a really positive experience.

3. Buena Vista Immersion School, SPRING 2007
As a Spanish major who someday hopes to teach elementary school kids, the PLE at Buena Vista was a perfect fit for me.  The University of Oregon Spanish classes didn’t allow me to have the interaction with children that I wanted, and most of the schools in Eugene don’t incorporate the Spanish major, so the fact that I could volunteer at Buena Vista and earn credit for it was a real incentive.
I volunteered in Sra. Long’s second grade classroom every Thursday for three to four hours, which was wonderful because I didn’t have class on campus until 2:00 on Thursdays.  Each time I arrived was a new experience: usually I would help the kids read in a group; I also usually helped the kids put together some kind of art project; sometimes I helped Sra. Long record grades or make photocopies for homework; sometimes I helped with math (which was especially exciting for me, since I have been taking a sequence of math classes about how to understand and teach math for Elementary school kids!); once a substitute came, and I got to watch the kids practice their tango, which was absolutely adorable.  In general, though, each day was a mixture of some or all of those elements.  It was definitely intimidating taking five children to a separate room and reading with them—they are wonderful kids, but they certainly tested to see how much they could get away with from me!  I already had a lot of experience being a teacher’s aide at a daycare, so I thought I would be able to handle it no problem, but I hadn’t realized the enormous difference between assisting a teacher and (however temporarily) being a teacher. By the end, though, I had grown much more confident in how to deal with any disciplinary problems, and the kids all recognized me and gave me hugs when I showed up each morning.  All in all, it was a very rewarding process and I would definitely recommend this internship to anyone who wants to practice their Spanish within the community.

4. Buena Vista Immersion School, WINTER-2008 
Throughout this term I have been volunteering at the Buena Vista Spanish Immersion School in a third grade classroom. The experience that the PLE program has allowed me to obtain has been so beneficial to my journey of becoming a teacher while improving my Spanish speaking skills. I have learned so much and have gotten a lot out of every moment that I have spent with the students and the teacher.
During each of my visits I get to work with the students on their class work. We work on math, reading and writing. For math we have been looking at shapes and studying the different vocabulary words that pertain to geometry. During reading the students read stories that they have chosen and then we discuss the new vocabulary and go over what is happening in the storyline. When we work on writing the students get different worksheets and then we go over the work for mistakes so that they can correct them. It has been so much fun seeing their improvement in each of the different areas that they have been working on. The times are very flexible and didn’t conflict with my classes at all.
I am so glad that I chose Buena Vista because the students are great and the teacher I am working with, Señora Annie is so wonderful. Every time I come in she is so helpful with my Spanish and encouraging if I make mistakes. I feel like I can ask her about anything I’m not sure about and I don’t have to feel uncomfortable. She has helped me grow a lot in my ability to speak Spanish because she is so supportive of every effort I make to communicate with her and the students.
I would recommend Buena Vista to any level Spanish speaker because the students and teachers are so helpful. I have definitely gotten a lot out of this experience and I can’t wait to continue on through until the end of the school year. 


5. Buena Vista Immersion School, SPRING-2008
Starting April 2008, I began working at Buena Vista Spanish Immersion Elementary School alongside Joy Koenig and her class of first-grade students.  I volunteered two days a week for about two hours at a time, helping with an assortment of activities.  We split into groups where I would help with reading to the students (as well as them reading to me), pronouncing correct Spanish, practicing flash cards, and finishing various projects.  When needed, I would also act as a teacher assistant, helping her organize and plan activities for the kids.  The atmosphere in a first grade classroom is relaxed, free, and happy, though at times very chaotic.  The people I worked with consisted of other volunteer moms, in addition to Senora Koenig, all of whom treated me with respect and valued my input and opinions.  I used Spanish every time I volunteered, especially with Senora Koenig when discussing my role for the day (since the first graders are still limited in their range).  The level of Spanish needed for this position could be fairly basic (say 200-level) but the more advanced language could still be utilized with the fluent Spanish speakers throughout the building (or with a 5th grade classroom, for example).
	This experience was meaningful for me in multiple ways: I was able to continue practice on my oral skills in a comfortable environment, using phrases and vocabulary I was used to; I met a wonderful, outgoing teacher who adapted her style of Spanish teaching to a simple level so young children could adjust their minds toward a Spanish-speaking mentality; I realized the influence we have on our young thinkers, and how starting a positive new curriculum from the beginning can encourage them to strive for the best; and ultimately, I enjoyed seeing how the Spanish language is used throughout our community in so many different ways, more than just the obvious translation aspect.  Overall, I would highly recommend EVERY foreign language concentration to sign up for the PLE program for at least one term, as it has enriched my studies as a Spanish student greatly.

6. Buena Vista Immersion School, SPRING-2008
I worked at the Buena Vista Spanish Immersion School helping out in the first and second grade. I have never done any volunteering like this before, so it was very interesting for me to do this and see the drastic change in language level between the two grades.  
I worked as a teacher’s assistant, so I helped out with what ever the teacher needed.  I would say I spent half the time working with the students helping them with writing and reading. The other half of the time I spent preparing things for the teacher, which involved making copies for up coming assignments, grading tests and other assignments and anything else that need to be done like sharpening pencils or hanging up artwork. The thing I like about it was that everyday was something different.
Working at the school was a great experience on large part because the environment was so nice and welcoming. Everybody I talked to was very friendly and helpful throughout the entire school  
The only disappointing thing was that I didn’t get to practice my Spanish as much as I had hoped. My only chance to practice was getting instructions from teachers in Spanish sometimes, as well as reading beginner level Spanish books and stories with the students. I did have a lot of chances to hear Spanish spoken because the second grade teacher often gave instructions to the class in Spanish.  In addition to that there was also story telling from other native Spanish speakers. Although I would say that really anybody with a basic Spanish level could do this position even first year Spanish students and definitely second year students. I really wasn’t challenged at all as for my Spanish level which is I would say is at the advanced/intermediate level.
Although I didn’t get to speak Spanish as much as I would have liked, I did gain a lot from this internship. Just being in the classroom and helping out was a great experience, after I graduate I’m planning on going to Spain and working as a English teacher I have had some friends who have done it before and really enjoy it. This classroom experience has been really useful because it gave me the exposure to the classroom that I would have never got anywhere else here.

7. Buena Vista Immersion School, SPRING-2008
For my participatory learning experience, I have been going to Buena Vista, the Spanish Immersion elementary school.  My experience has been in Sra. Koenig’s super-high-energy-first grade class! I work in the classroom every Friday from 8:30-1:30, so I experience a lot of what happens throughout the day.  Usually in the mornings the teacher is working with them as a group and they also work independently.  My role is to talk to them and help them with any problems they have, and make sure they have their names on the paper. They then break up into groups of 4 or 5, and go to different stations with the teacher, parent volunteers, or myself.  I have helped them with reading, drawing, and writing. Normally during this time I get to know the kids a little better.  This is also very independent for me because I don’t have direct instructions from the teacher, so I get to be a little creative and keep them busy.  I have also made copies for Sra. Koenig, cleaned up after art projects, participated in art projects, handed out snacks, and done different odd jobs to make sure the class time runs more smoothly.  One of the most enjoyable parts of the day has been practicing for their end-of-the-year fiesta.  Each classroom does a performance and I have had the pleasure of joining them in practicing.  I know that they have so much energy and so it’s wonderful to see them express it in such a way.
Sra. Koenig has been a very good resource for me.  I have learned how to better interact with the kids so that I am stimulating their minds instead of telling them what to do and how to do it.  I have also learned a lot about the public school system, and Buena Vista in particular. 
Sra. Koenig explained to me that because first grade is the student’s first exposure to Spanish, she begins the year speaking about 70% Spanish and 30% English.  By the end of the year the goal is for her to be speaking 80% Spanish.  I try to adhere to that rule as much as possible, and if I find that my vocabulary is limited, or the children are not responding to me, I speak in English.  The children are still shy about speaking, and so it is unlikely that they will willingly speak Spanish.  When they do speak, it is very limited and usually they repeat words or phrases.  Although they do not speak often, I am constantly amazed at how high their level of comprehension is.  When they are listening and reading they understand and will respond in English with ease.  
Overall this has been a very good experience for me.  I have not been exposed much to this age group in a public school, so it has challenged me to think of creative ways to be interesting while I participate in teaching them.  It has also been wonderful for me to learn some basic vocabulary that I would only be learning in a first grade classroom!  



Centro Latinoamericano

1. Centro Latinoamericano, FALL, 2006
    For my Participatory learning experience I decided to volunteer at the Centro LatinoAmericano because I wanted to work with the Hispanic community in the area and from what I had heard it seemed the Centro was run by Hispanics for Hispanics. So I contacted the Centro and asked if they needed any assistance in any area I could help. The English teaching job was already filled, so my supervisor asked me if I would like to start a new program with him where I would help people who couldn’t read, write, or speak English to fill out job applications and become computer literate. I accepted because I knew this would give me the chance to talk Spanish one of one with native speakers and it was perfect for me because it suited my level of Spanish speaking perfectly.
The first few days were slow and I did a lot of file work for them, but still got to speak Spanish because almost everyone who works there speaks Spanish as their first language. But as time went on more people began to come to fill out applications with me and I got to practice my Spanish skills more frequently. I loved helping the people and most people were very thankful as I felt we both gained a mutual respect for each other through the process of speaking. Not to mention that people from all over Central and South America come in and are constantly speaking around you which was very interesting to hear.
I think the most important part of my experience was just being around and seeing how a non-profit social program works and the struggles of doing social work since it is something I have always been interested in. The Centro is very, very important to the Hispanic community in Eugene and it seems without their help many more people would be left on the streets to fend for themselves. These workers risk their time and livelihood to try and help as many people as they can through job programs, job searches, English classes, parenting classes, legal advice, and others programs. I felt very lucky that they let me volunteer there and I had a great experience.

2. Centro Latinoamericano, FALL, 2006
    Being a Spanish major, and having studied abroad, I had really been interested in seeing how I could use my language skills in the United States.  When I came to the University of Oregon in 2003, my major was undecided, until I took Spanish classes, and understood how important being bilingual is in the modern US.  For my internship I volunteered to teach English at the Centro Latinoamericano in Eugene.
	Having spent many years learning foreign languages, both in the United States and abroad, I thought it would be challenging to apply what I had learned by trying to teach others a second language.  I had a little experience with teaching English while studying abroad in Chile, and felt so welcomed there as a foreigner that I feel I need to help immigrants in the United States feel as welcome here in my home country.
	In the Centro Latinoamericano I spent two hours every week teaching Latinos in the community.  The classes were really laid-back, and I had access to a book with pictures and suggestions of topics for each week.  All of the students were eager to learn, and really appreciated what I was doing there.  The students asked many questions, and it was also an opportunity for us to speak in Spanish.  I have learned how important bilingual participation is in society, even in a city as small as Eugene.  This internship has served to confirm my belief in the need for inter-cultural understanding and help in the United States.  

3. Centro Latinoamericano, FALL, 2006
    I thoroughly enjoyed my PLE experience because I was able to practice my Spanish consistently in an environment in which I felt comfortable.  I taught ESL classes to adults at Centro Latinoamericano for 4 hours a week.  My students were mostly adults, varied in levels of speaking ability, and usually numbered about 8-15.  I began the course by reviewing vocabulary in the work place, which included phrases like “how much do you pay?”  “What type of work are you offering?”  and tactics for negotiating for a fair salary.  I found that the students wanted to learn more about the English language itself.  So, I bought a book call “Ingles Hecho Facil” and began to make Xeroxes from it to give to the students and to do in class.  Exercises include verb structure and conjugation, singular and plural nouns, recognition of cognates, and more.
	I found that my students participated actively and that they have benefited from my free service.  I have seen improvement in some dedicated students and that gives me a feeling of satisfaction.  I will continue to teach ESL classes during the same times that I have been.  I believe that the students will continue to come to the classes and so will I.  I consider this to have been an invaluable work experience as well as people experience.  I believe that I will continue teaching ESL and am considering pursuing certification to teach abroad.  Thank you PLE!

4. Centro Latinoamericano, WINTER, 2007
Throughout winter term I fulfilled my requirements for the Participatory Learning Experience at El Centro Latinoamericano. El Centro provides services to the Latin-American community. They are a non-profit organization that helps place migrant workers and immigrants with jobs; they look out for the rights of the Latin-American community and help with integration and assimilation.
	The Participatory Learning Experience at El Centro helped me build my vocabulary and gave me the chance to practice speaking Spanish. I spent my time at El Centro working with the Latin-American community. I maintained an assistance table where I would translate any forms, applications, and letters people received in the mail that were in English. I would also fill out job applications that were in English for anyone who was in need of assistance.  I often met with people to just talk. We would discuss their circumstances in their country and their situation here in the States. Many who work at El Centro believe one of the major aspects of helping the clients is giving them your moral support. 
	I highly recommend lending a hand at El Centro Latinoamericano. It is a wonderful organization that is focused on humanitarian rights. I received a lot of experience with the Spanish language. I do recommend trying to get a position in the morning. Many more people come in to El Centro in the morning to receive help rather than in the afternoon.

ELAW

1. ELAW, FALL, 2006 
I did my Participatory Learning Experience at E-Law for fall term of 2006.  My primary work was translating for their international on-line conference that connects people including lawyers and scientists from countries around the world.  E-Law is an environmental law and public interest conference that facilitates communication of scientific research or law strategies between people working on litigation in foreign countries or simply learning about scientific advancements that are better for the environment.  In translating this material from English to Spanish and vice versa, I feel like I improved my translation techniques and learned a great deal of legal and scientific jargon that at first was difficult to pick up.  Even though my personal contribution of translating seemed small, it was going towards a much greater cause. 
	The fringe benefits of the translation included participation and volunteer work with the numerous events and speeches that E-Law hosts.  One was the author of The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community, Richard Korton, which brought some of Eugene’s most environmentally-inclined folk out to discuss the current issues.  Another event was a speech by indigenous rights lawyer Lottie who helped win the case of the Awas Tinghi vs. Nicaragua in the Inter-American Court of Human Rights that forced the Nicaraguan government to give a land title back to the indigenous peoples and protect it from logging companies.  
	I recommend this job for anyone interested in environmental or human rights and looking to improve their translating. Also, translating is done over e-mail and can be done from home. 

2. ELAW, FALL, 2006
    I had the opportunity to carry out my internship at the Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW) and found it very rewarding.  I translated e-mails from their international conference from English to Spanish and from Spanish to English.  We had a bit of trouble getting started in the beginning due to some technical difficulties and I wasn’t able to translate from just any computer.  The first few times I came in to Elaw I helped an indigenous rights lawyer from Nicaragua work on her power point presentation.  That was very interesting because I got to experience a different accent than I was used to.  She also shared a lot of stories with me about the work that she had been doing in Nicaragua and the cases she had won against big logging companies.  It was very inspiring.  After a bit, I started coming in to the office from 10-1 on Mondays and Wednesdays to do translating work.  I had never done any translating before so I was a bit nervous, but Kalindi, the volunteer coordinator and the woman I shared the office with was very encouraging and a pleasure to work with.  In the end I was glad to have had to come in to the office to do all of my translating work, because I relieved helpful feedback about my work and developed relationships with the wonderful people who work there.  The beautiful forest like location and abundance of tea and snacks also made the work go faster.  
	The Elaw international e-conference is basically a tool to make environmental law more effective and less costly to the pioneering lawyers, who in many cases put their lives in danger to do what they do.  It’s a collaboration of legal and scientific information from countries all over the world.  Since many environmental cases are dealing with the same big companies and the same problems, this collaboration is helpful and is setting legal precedent all over the world.  It has been a very powerful experience to be communicating victories and opportunities to people who may never have heard about them at all.  I’m sharing extremely valuable information with the people who need it most.  I have plans to continue volunteering with Elaw and even convinced two of my roommates to do the same.  I recommend this internship to anyone who has an interest in environmental law.  The work that you’d be doing makes a big difference.  

 
3. ELAW, WINTER, 2007
For my internship I volunteered with ELAW, the environmental law alliance worldwide, an organization that helps people around the world deal with environmental issues, and take care of them using the law. THe main office is located in Eugene, which is where I went to do my volunteering. They have an online network of members around the world who communicate through messaging. Many of their members speak spanish, and need the messages translated from english to spanish. I was given a password, and would then log into the network, go into the english mail account, and translate the most recent messages into spanish, and then forward them to the spanish mail folder. The messages contain a wide range of legal jargon, technical environmental lingo, and other professional language, that I was unfamiliar with in it's spanish form, so I had to look a lot of things up. I was translating some pretty important, at times lengthy documents, including the IPCC report on climate change. This is a document put out by the Intergovernmental panel on Climate Change, an organization that reports on the status of the changing climate, and how human actions are affecting the climate, and what to do about that. The hard part was knowing that nobody was going to be proofreading my translations, and whatever I wrote, and forwardded to the network would be read by native spanish speakers all over the place, so I had to make sure everything was worded correctly, and made sense. It was interesting having the chance to be in an office, of an actual, wonderful organization, and to see how it works, and what it is like being a part of the working community, as opposed to just the University community.

4. ELAW, SPRING, 2007

Interning for ELAW has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had as an intern. I feel like I am helping real people and that I am translating documents that will make a difference somewhere down the line. I have also learned a lot about environmental laws and which ones are being broken all over the world. I feel that I have really made a difference while interning with ELAW, and I know that my contributions are much needed. I wish that there were more bilingual interns who could help translate all of the emails because ELAW really could use more volunteers. 
	I have come to realize that translating is actually a lot of fun! I feel a great sense of satisfaction translating, and can’t believe how fast time flies sometimes. The great thing about this internship is that its 100% bilingual. Every hour you work will be pure translation, and you will be able to learn as much as you want to. I learn new vocabulary every time I translate, which has really made me feel like my time spent translating is doubly beneficial. I also have a better understanding of current work issues related to the environment. I am becoming more aware of what’s going on outside my Eugene bubble!	Overall this internship has been a great experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone. It is also very flexible. I was able to set my own hours and work from home, which was very convenient. The best part about this internship is that I really felt needed and appreciated. There have been times in my past as an intern and volunteer where I felt taken for granted or not taken into account at all when decisions were made that affected me. My supervisor, Kalindi, is a very helpful and kind lady who continually thanks us interns for our translation work. I plan to continue interning for ELAW even after the term is over because I feel good about supporting an organization that works to end environmental degradation worldwide. 

5. ELAW, SPRING, 2007

The ELAW internship was a very interesting experience.  First of all, it provided me with the means to receive some insight into a non-profit organization and taught me a little bit about how they function.  Also, it introduced me to some nice people who worked at the ELAW offices, all of whom seem very dedicated to their cause.  In addition it was also very good for my Spanish language skills.  When I first started I was looking up a good amount of words because it was all new vocabulary for me.  However, by the end of the term I was feeling very comfortable in my duties there and the words that I’d had to look up before were coming to me naturally.  Another interesting thing was to see first hand (via the Amigos Forum) the work of the people who are out there “in the trenches” so to speak and really using their knowledge of the law for the betterment of the environment.  Translating details and progress being made from many cases from different countries all over the world into Spanish was a challenge but it definitely makes you feel like you’re a part of something that is doing some good for the world.  
As I mentioned above, upon my arrival I was looking up various words due simply to the fact that it is a very particular and specific vocabulary that you will need.  That being said, I am currently taking 300 level courses in Spanish and feel that anyone with a seemingly good level of Spanish and a bit of confidence could do this without a problem.  This is also mixed with the fact that since it is only the “Amigos Forum” (a place where other Environmental lawyers can keep up to date on case progress, precedents or simply dialogue) you don’t need to sweat it too much if you make a mistake and mistranslate something.  All in all I feel that it is a great experience and worthwhile, you improve your language skills and it’s just a great cause to get behind.  

6. ELAW, Fall, 2007
ELAW es una organizacion de ley ambiental mundial, fundada aqui en Eugene hace sobre 20 anos. Tiene muchos sitios en Mexico, Suramerica, y otras regiones hispanohablantes, y por eso es importante trasladar documentos y email a espanol para continuar la conversacion mundial. En el sitio ELAW en Eugene, ahora soy una trasladora voluntaria (hay entre 2 y 5 actualmente), y intento continuar trasladando despues de termino esta clase. 
Hasta ahora he pasado sobre 7 horas por semana en la oficina de ELAW leyendo y trasladando email sobre el medioambiente, y he descubrido que es mas dificil que pense al principio. No solo hay palabras y frases extranos como “carbon sink,” sino tambien frases muy largas e ambiguas que requiren comprension especifica de los temas de la conversacion. A veces leo los emails de Meche y los otros trasladores, y hay una lista de vocabulario util que algunos voluntarios empezaron y que continuo expandir, pero todavia falto mucha comprension de estructura de frases y gramatica espanola que no de cuento antes de esta clase. Si tengo preguntas, hay una mujer, Meche, cuya primera lengua es espanol, que trabaja en la oficina tambien. Sin embargo, la mayoria de mi trabajo falta intercambio directo en espanol, y es dificil mejorar la gramatica sin eso. 
Esta clase me ayuda comprender mis habilidades con la lengua espanola y aprender lo que necesito mejorar. Pero tambien me da la oportunidad de expandir mi vocabulario, y despues de 2 horas de traduccion, puedo comunicar con fluidez sin dificultud. No hay duda que mi competencia con espanol ha mejorado bastante mucho.

7. ELAW, Fall, 2007 The participatory language experience was a great opportunity to practice my Spanish.  I interned for E-Law.  It was a wonderful learning experience that allowed me to further develop my Spanish skills.  At E-law I translated legal documents for their worldwide conference.  This allowed me to not only use my Spanish skills but to develop legal skills.  So if you’re interested in entering the legal field this internship would be ideal.  
	The internship did not take much of my time.  It was flexible enough to fit my busy school schedule.  I worked 33 hours and still had time to work and go to school.  I am a fluent Spanish speaker.  The idea of translating sounded easy.  After this internship I realized how much potential I have to grow.  The experience was challenging and rewarding.  Not only did I learn new Spanish words, but I gained patience. 
	I also learned a lot of new Spanish legal terms.  I am interested in entering the legal field and helping Hispanics.  Having this internship has help me understand more legal terms in both English and Spanish.  It has also been rewarding.  I felt like I truly did help.  Because E-law conferences are worldwide there is a language barrier that separates them from each other.  It felt nice knowing that I was helping them overcome these barriers, so that they can help this world be a better place.  
	This internship has been an experience I will never forget.  It is also something that is much needed.  Now I have more experience in Spanish and in the legal field.  It has opened a window of opportunities.  It also let me experience the legal world so that I can better make a decision in the field I want to enter in the future.  This experience has been both amazing and satisfying. 

8. ELAW, SPRING, 2008
Para mi PLE, trabajé para dos organizaciones, ELAW y HEP. Generalmente fui a ELAW a la mañana, pero ellos fueron muy flexibles con el horario. Las horas para HEP fueron cuatro hasta las seis a la tarde. En la oficina de ELAW, yo traduje los correos electrónicos entre trabajadores de la organización. Recibí una palabra clave de la jefe y yo tenía que traducir todos los correos electrónicos relacionados a la palabra clave. Si ellos estaban muy cortos, podían hacer muchos en dos horas, pero para los escritos tan largos a veces requiere dos horas o más para completar uno. Para HEP, les ayudé a los estudiantes que querrían ganar un GED. La mejor parte del tiempo les ayudé con las matemáticas, pero a veces con las ciencias y gramática también. La atmosfera y las personas de ambos lugares fueron muy acogedores. Sentía bienvenida todo el tiempo. Para el trabajo de ELAW, no hay que saber una gran cantidad de vocabulario, porque muchas de las palabras que ellos usan son del medio ambiente o asuntos legales, y hay que encontrarlas. Sino hay que saber mucho del contexto y la importancia de no traducir palabra para palabra. Para el trabajo de HEP, la cantidad de español usada depende en quien alguien está ayudando. Algunas personas están tomando el examen en ingles, pero su inglés no es muy bueno y hay que proveer muchas traducciones. A veces trabajé con estudiantes que hablaban inglés con fluidez y no necesitan español. Y a veces yo tenía que explicar cosas muy complicados—como “mitosis” y los partes de una célula—en español. Depende mucho. Del experiencia en ELAW, gané mucho vocabulario y mucha practica en pensando en español. Hay que pensar como un hispanohablante diría algo, no como un anglohablante lo haría. Era muy difícil a veces, pero aprendí mucho. De la experiencia en HEP, gané práctica en enseñar y explicar cosas en maneras nuevas en español. Yo tenía que tratar con sujetos que nunca he hecho en español, como matemáticas y ciencia. Era un desafío, pero mi español mejora mucho. 


ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

1. ELL-River road Middle School-FALL, 2006
    I completed my internship at River Road Elementary School, a predominantly low-income school with a large population of Spanish-speaking students.  Before choosing the location, I spoke with Alicia Longoria, who splits time between River Road and another school and acts as an intermediary for the Spanish families.  Alicia suggested to me that River Road would have the most need for my Spanish skills and directed me to Amber Frank’s fourth grade class, where I would choose to do my internship.
	Amber’s class has a number of Spanish-speaking students.  Some students, such as Luis and Susana, have a fine understanding of English as a second language and participate as any other English-speaking student in class.  Nayelly, on the other hand, is a whole different story.  Her English level is nearly zero, and she often sits through lessons without a trace of understanding.  The school, already short on funds, often does not have textbooks available in Spanish, and students therefore miss out entirely on lessons such as reading and comprehension.  However, there are efforts made.  Amber herself speaks Spanish (as was required upon her hiring), and she will often try to explain classroom dealings with Nayelly, as well as encourage Nayelly to do written assignments in Spanish to ensure her participation.
	I first began to work with Nayelly as a helper during Amber’s lessons.  I would sit next to Nayelly and try to explain the stories in her reading book that lay open in front of her, as well as translate Amber’s questions and directions.  However, this eventually proved to be fairly unsuccessful, so we changed our strategy.  The new strategy involved me working separately at the back of the classroom with Nayelly and Miriam (another fourth grader from a separate class with similar English-language problems) on reading and comprehension.  We managed to get a copy of their reading textbook in Spanish, and the two of them would take turns reading aloud from the same story that the rest of the class was reading.  When it came time to pass around question cards (laminated cards with reading comprehension questions that were passed and discussed between classroom groups), the three of us formed our own group and worked on the questions.  I would translate them to the girls and they would find the answers.
	The biggest impact that I feel that I made during the internship was during what I like to call the “alphabet situation.”  We were working in their English books practicing word pronunciation, and they didn’t know what “playground” meant.  So I found them a Spanish-English dictionary and told them to look it up.  Well, long story short, they couldn’t find the word, and I was confused - how could they not know how to use a dictionary?  Well, my shock was about to get worse because Amber explained that it wasn’t so much the dictionary as finding the words themselves; she guessed that they weren’t too familiar with the alphabet.  This revelation really alarmed me, and I decided to do something about it.  I made them drop what they were doing, put everything away, and get out a piece of paper and pencil.  Then I told them to write the alphabet (which I still believed they could do).  As it turned out, Amber was right and the girls struggled.  Sometimes they couldn’t even come up with the name of a letter, confusing Spanish and English pronunciations or just making up an entirely new language.  But they did have the basic idea, however creaky, so we continued to practice for the rest of the lesson and even through recess (their choice, which I was secretly pleased with).  It was clear that the girls really wanted to learn the alphabet, but they just hadn’t had the resources.  Miriam even asked me how she could practice at home.  So, in order to help them practice, I put together two homework kits with twenty-six big cut-out green letters and an answer sheet to check themselves.  Then I instructed the girls to practice for ten minutes every night on their bedroom floor or on top of the kitchen table, and I promised them each a surprise if they could write the entire alphabet correctly on my next visit.  
That visit is yet to come (I’ll be returning next Monday for my last day), but I do plan on giving each girl a Spanish-English dictionary of her own to use at school and to take home for the use of the whole family.  When I spoke with them, they both told me that their family didn’t have one.  I can only hope that, with the challenges ahead of an all English education, their dictionaries will serve as a useful tool in communicating through their writing and their speaking.

2. ELL-River road Middle School-FALL, 2006 I completed my participatory learning experience at River Road Elementary School. This school has a large population of Spanish-speaking students, many of whom do not speak any English and if they do, it is very little. I was interested in working in a school because I plan to be an elementary school teacher, working in particular with children who speak Spanish. I thought this would be a great way to have some hands on experience with the age group I am interested in working with. I began by emailing the ELL teacher Chris Tofte at the school, who connected me with the third grade classroom of Sharon Blackwell, where I would complete my learning experience. 
	Sharon Blackwell’s classroom is medium in size and has about 7 or 8 Spanish-speaking students. All of these students except for one speak very good English. Marco does not really speak any English at all and is in desperate need of one on one work on his English skills. It is very difficult for him because he is in a classroom with only English being used. He is an incredibly intelligent little boy with so much potential who is lost in the sea of another language. I was eager to get started with our work. Chris, the ELL teacher had decided I could be most useful in the classroom with Marco rather than in the ELL groups he attended throughout the day. 
	The first few visits were spending time getting to know the children in the class, specifically Marco. I would sit next to Marco and try to translate as much as I could quietly to not disturb the rest of the class. Some days I was there during science. We were working with archeology and describing rocks with magnifying glasses. This seemed to be a good time to be there, as well as during spelling, math, and reading. I also enjoyed the occasional visit during p.e. and health because they would always have some fun activity to do. The experience got even better once Marco was comfortable with me and I felt I had made a connection with him and we were really getting somewhere with his skills. One day, he even stayed in from recess to work on his spelling words and we worked on the few letters in the alphabet he could not pronounce. On Oct. 31, I accompanied the two third grade classrooms on a field trip to Dorris Ranch. This ranch is set in the early 1900’s and they worked in small groups teaching the students about the way of life during those times. There are a few Spanish-speaking students in the other 3rd grade class as well, and I had a great time moving between groups and translating for the ones who needed it. 
	Many students at this school have very difficult home lives and like Marco have many siblings and possibly no one who speaks English in the household. This makes for a very difficult situation. Marco talked with me about his home life a bit and about his student life. He does not get much of what goes on in class (although he is a math genius), but could excel if only he had a bit more one on one time. I feel the atmosphere is difficult for him with a teacher who does not speak his language, although as I observed the other Spanish-speaking students do try to help him occasionally. I am planning to continue to work with Marco and possibly other students at this school. I feel I can continue to be of great service to the school. They need any kind of help they can get and the children need us. I feel I used a good amount of Spanish in this experience, although it also focused on working with all the students of the class. 
	I gained so much from this experience. It reminded me yet again that I am on the right path and in the right field. I enjoy working with children immensely and using Spanish with children is such a joy. They have no problem saying anything they have on their minds. Marco would laugh at me when I got a word in Spanish wrong, but in the end he would teach me the right way to say it. I look forward to the last few weeks ahead with Marco and the rest of Sharon Blackwell’s third grade class and hope to make more progress with Marco’s English. I would highly recommend this PLE to anyone interested in working with children and making a difference in their learning experience and language progress. 

3. ELL-River road Middle School-WINTER, 2006 I completed my participatory learning experience at River Road Elementary School. I continued in the same classroom as last term, which was a wonderful experience! The children in Sharon Blackwell’s third grade class have become comfortable with me, making it much easier to have progress in the classroom. My position in the classroom is to assist the teacher with anything she needs and to focus on the children and Marco in particular. I have continued working with the same third grade boy Marco as last term and we have made incredible progress. The student did not speak or write English when I began working with him, but this term the progress was amazing! We have truly formed a friendship, allowing us to connect and reach a new level of communication. He is now speaking English and writing letters with little help as well. It has been so rewarding to see the progress and know I helped influence this. I even spoke with his father on one occasion to discuss his advancement and a possible after school reading program. Overall, this has been such an educational and rewarding experience of truly learning how to educate and interact with children in both English and Spanish. My hours have always been flexible and I find I end up going there more than needed, just because it is fun and even stress relieving. I was able to use a fare amount of Spanish and even was “schooled” by Marco on a few wrong conjugations and learned some new vocabulary. In the end, I truly enjoy the atmosphere at River Road and feel quite comfortable in the friendly community of students and staff. 

GIRL SCOUTS

1. GIRL SCOUTS-SPRING 2008
For this term, I have been working with the Girl Scouts.  I chose to do so because I was involved with Girl Scouts since the first grade and my mom still does troops and events for them.  From her, I know that they are trying to expand their Latina program due to the growing Latino populations in the communities.  I believe that the Latina program is an important addition to the Girl Scouts because it is trying to include this community instead of ignoring it, as is the case in many other situations in America.  
	The Girl Scouts in Eugene only have one part time Latina Specialist to do all the promotions, events and troops for the Eugene and Springfield area.  It is difficult for her to do all this work in the limited amount of time that she is hired to do.  Also, she is new to the Girl Scouts and was never a member when young.  By me helping her, she was glad that I was familiar with the structure and ideas of what the Girl Scouts is all about.  
	At the time that I started (Spring 2008), she had a couple Latina troops going, but for only an hour per week.  Instead of helping with her troops, she had me begin helping with a summer program called Soy única, soy Latina.  It is four-day event that occurs for a couple hours each of the four days.  There are two sessions, one for Eugene and one for Springfield.  Unfortunately, the events do not occur until the month of August so I will be extending my volunteer hours with the event, but do not have any experience with it to share at this point.  
The Latina Specialist had just been starting the organization and planning for this year’s program and had not had much done when I had contacted her at the beginning of the term.  A few weeks into the term, she had the locations confirmed and gave me the folder with the information from past events.  With it, I was to look at what past programs had done for activities, crafts and themes and do research for new ideas.  I also made some phone calls for her seeing if past volunteers were interested in participating again and if they had any comments for this year.  
As for the amount of Spanish being used, I have not used much so far.  Once instructions for the crafts and paperwork begin, I will be using more.  Also, the event will be held in Spanish.  I would say that at the event, the level of Spanish that is in need is enough to communicate comfortably and clearly since instructions will be given in Spanish and interaction with the girls and adults will be in Spanish.  
 So far, my experience has been good, although I have not done much.  The Latina Specialist is very nice and enthusiastic to have people volunteering and working with her, which makes it pleasant to work with the Girl Scouts.  I believe that my experience during the event will give me a lot of experience because I will be able to use my Spanish with native speakers.




HEAD START

1. HEAD START-WINTER 2007
I participated in an internship at Head Start located at the University of Oregon.  It was a pre-k program so I was working with children age’s three to five.  There was an afternoon and a morning program so I worked with two different sets of children, each group consisting of around sixteen children.  There were four Latino children in one group and two in the other.  My job as a volunteer was to watch the whole group of children and do activities with them.  When there was free time I would try to make conversation with the Latino children in Spanish because they have been brought up to speak Spanish and English.  There were three children in the morning class that loved to speak Spanish with me and it felt very rewarding for me because it made them feel more accepted because the other staff on the day of the week I came in did not speak Spanish as well as the other children.  
Head Start is a very good program for children and a very good place to volunteer but the Spanish involvement was lacking.  For the Spanish aspect of the experience I did not get out of it what I was expecting.  An example is, in the afternoon program the two Latino children were very shy to start off with so it was very difficult to have any kind of conversation with them.  Once I did talk with them it was only ever in English.  I could not get them to respond in Spanish or even respond to me speaking to them in Spanish.  I love kids and have worked with them before in a previous job, so the experience was not a waste, but every time I went in for the second half of the day I did not get to use my Spanish skills.  If someone wants an internship that primarily uses their Spanish skills I do not recommend this one as a first choice on the list for PLE because there are so many more that really could be more beneficial.  However, if Spanish and education or just working with young children is your passion, I do recommend this particular one because there is opportunity to have experience with both at Head Start.  

High School Equivalency Program (HEP) 

1. High School Equivalency Program (HEP)-Winter 2007  The U of O High School Equivalency Program (HEP) is a resource offered to Latino Migrant workers in the area that come from as far as Arizona and California to complete their GED’s.  The program is funded through the Education department but is led by only a few very hard working and passionate full-time staff that manage to bring a group of 35 Latinos through a condensed intensive High School education every 10 weeks.  The students that enter the program are of all ages and generally have little to no prior education.  They are provided dorm rooms and meal plans at the university so that they can spend 40+ hrs/week in the classroom and studying in their rooms.  

The program has an almost inexhaustible need for tutors with even basic Spanish language abilities to help students review basic math concepts (times tables, division, fractions, etc.) and grammar and social studies readings from their texts.  The afternoons between 4 and 6 pm were the ideal hours for the tutorial but the program is also flexible with schedules.

As a tutor, I found the experience to offer a conversational immersion with native speakers that exceeded even the upper division Spanish courses I’ve taken at the U of O and was comparable to going to a Spanish speaking nation for 2 hours every afternoon.  But by far, the most rewarding part of the process was getting to work with individuals who have come from the humblest of situations and overcome great obstacles in order to seek self-betterment through education.

2. High School Equivalency Program (HEP) -SPRING, 2007

The internship that I chose to do was working with the students who are involved in the HEP program here on campus. HEP stands for the “High School Equivalency Program” and it is targeted at helping farm workers escape the rigorous life of the field by educating them, and helping them gain their diplomas. 
	The skill level that is required to do this program is considerably high. This is not an internship for people who just want to relax and speak a little bit of Spanish. This is an internship for people who want to get out of their comfort zone and be forced to use Spanish as a tool in communication. Prior to this experience I was extremely comfortable with Spanish level and ability and though of myself as being a fluent Spanish speak, and I still do. However this program showed me that I have a lot of room to grow in terms of being completely fluent. One thing about this program is that every day is different, and you have to be prepared for whatever may come your way. Some days are wonderful and I felt like I was helping the students tremendously; however some days were extremely frustrating due to my lack of ability to express certain things. It seemed like many of volunteers stopped coming as frequently towards the middle of the term. In this program, you will have to rely on your Spanish ability to explain things that you probably have never explained before. 
	Most of the students in this class need help with their mathematics. So if you consider yourself to not be so good in math then you will two barriers to overcome in order to help the students. I would not recommend this internship for anyone who is not very serious about their Spanish. However, for those who are seeking an internship to approve their ability communicating in Spanish, I would highly recommend this internship. It puts you in a very tough spot where you have to continuously think of new and better ways of explaining different things, although most math. I believe I grew as a Spanish speaker in this program as well as a person. 

3. High School Equivalency Program (HEP) -Fall, 2007
The High School Equivalency Program(HEP) caters to people living in Eugene and Oregon who wish to further their education as well as those from much farther away.   There aren’t too many programs like HEP that allow a student to receive instruction in Spanish for their equivalency test and because of that, there were students that traveled from various parts of Mexico as well.  While there are two groups of students(English speakers and non English speakers), the majority spoke Spanish only and only one student spoke English as her first language.  The HEP program provides instruction in math, science, social studies and writing, but about 90% of the questions asked pertained to math.  That was the subject that the tutors and the students devoted the most time to.   A few times, some of the students that I was trying to help with math ended up showing me how to do the problem!   But while a solid math background helps, all that is needed is conversational level Spanish and a friendly attitude.  Sometimes students that needed help would be shy and not ask a question, so it’s on the tutor to seek out those who may have a question, and just be friendly and approachable. This program was a great experience for me; I came into it wanting to improve and practice my Spanish, and I was definitely given the opportunity.  The tutoring schedule is Monday through Thursday from 4 to 6.  Some days there were nonstop questions for 2 hours; other days all we did was discuss our favorite futbol teams.  Everyday the staff, which consists of a handful of dedicated employees, and the students were very friendly and grateful to the tutors for volunteering their time, and helping with such an important program.  I would recommend this program to anyone who has studied Spanish for about 2-3 years and who likes to work in a classroom environment.  

4. High School Equivalency Program (HEP) -WINTER, 2008 This term, I volunteered for the High School Equivalency Program located just across from Hayward field on Agate Street. I volunteered two afternoons per week for two hours at a time tutoring a group of roughly forty former agricultural laborers currently studying for their GED test.  A lot of Spanish is spoken as all of the students are taking the test in Spanish, but most of them also have a fair to good proficiency in English. This was very nice for me as a tutor because while I spoke in Spanish the vast majority of the time, if I was stuck on a word or didn’t know how to say something, I could usually just ask the students. All of the students were very nice and appreciative. Although on the first day I walked in feeling quite intimidated at the idea of trying to help native speakers with their math, grammar, social studies, etcetera, the students’ positive and patient manner soon helped me to feel comfortable and at ease even at times when I was unsure of my Spanish. I always left the HEP classroom feeling uplifted and happy. Not only did I learn a lot of Spanish (sometimes I wondered who was doing the teaching!), I felt a sense of pride and accomplishment at working with such a wonderful group of people all of whom have had to overcome much more adversity just to graduate from high school than I have faced in my whole life.  Volunteering for the HEP program was a very enlightening and rewarding experience. The hours were fairly flexible and allowed you to choose which days and times would work for you. I wholeheartedly recommend volunteering for the HEP program if you are a Spanish student wanting to get in lot of “real world” speaking practice. It is a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere in which I had nothing but positive experiences this term.

5. High School Equivalency Program (HEP) -WINTER, 2008
	Teaching in HEP as a tutor has been a wonderful experience.  You have the opportunity to work with students of all ages.  In addition you have one on one time with the students, you get to know them and understand them to help them in whatever educational struggles they have.  However, it is not easy being a tutor, because you have to let your students trust you before you can actually help them.  Over all they are amazing students.  There are many fields in which the person can tutor in, but I only choose math and English.  I had to do math in Spanish and help the students.  In English I was grading their essays and giving them essay questions for them to write.  Furthermore, I was grading them and giving tips on how to develop a good essay.  Two of my favorite students are Benjamin and Gustavo, these two students I worked with since day one.  In the future, I would not mind helping or tutoring students for HEP.  It has been a great learning experience.  For anyone who likes interaction with people, or teaching, and is patient tutoring, this is the job for you.  One important issue that needs to be addressed is that HEP is flexible with the schedule.  They can work with you and see when you are able to come in, and help out with their curriculum.  Thank you very much for making me part of this experience.

6. High School Equivalency Program (HEP) -SPRING, 2008
This term I am volunteering at the High School Equivalency Program which is held Monday through Thursday for two hours each day. What is required of the HEP volunteers is to help the students with any needs they have regarding homework assignments or concepts that they do not understand from class. What my experience was, was that the idea of a tutor was unfamiliar to the students so upon introducing ourselves we explained why we were there. 
The students’ ages range from high school level whose native and primary language is Spanish. Because of this, the language spoken throughout the tutoring session is Spanish. They are also not required to speak English because their classes during the day are in Spanish as well as are the reading materials and papers they write. 
When I first started the program, I felt really nervous about only being able to speak Spanish because of them being native Spanish speakers. I thought that they were going to criticize me and think I was dumb for not knowing how to say something exactly correct, but they were more than willing to tell me how to say something. It was a good learning experience for me because it felt like I was in another country for two hours a day. The time was also beneficial to me because I even ended up learning how to say new phrases/ words and I was also able to better my listening skills and pronunciation. Basic conversational skills are a must in getting to know the students (although the purpose is NOT to meet people), and the use of commands, how to explain something in math or writing (you will pick up the words as you go along), and the use of the subjunctive and other grammar skills are important to have. An intermediate level person could do fine in this program, and I would think that being in a 300 level class or higher is ideal.  It seemed like the students were simply happy that there was a number of people to help them with their homework if needed.
What was mostly gone over with us tutors was math homework, and, on a rare occasion they needed ideas and help with writing essays. This is just a warning that if you do not like math, that is what the students will mostly want to go over throughout the term. Because they are getting something similar to a GED, the math is simple algebra, and if math is not a strong subject in the tutor’s part, it was from my experience that I could read over the examples and understand how to do the problems quickly (so it was sort of like a refresher course). 
Sometimes there would be too few tutors and in that situation it was not difficult to manage. Usually students did have the same questions so the tutor could help the students simultaneously. 
Because I am considering being a Spanish teacher someday, besides getting more confident in Spanish, I felt that this was good practice for trying to teach something. Although math is not my favorite subject, it was so exciting to see a student not understand anything about a math concept and then by the end of the two hours, be able to do the problems on their own. I feel like both them, and I felt very accomplished in our goals at the time.

7. High School Equivalency Program (HEP) -SPRING, 2008
I volunteered my time at HEP, an organization that hosts classes for native Spanish speakers of all ages to earn their GED. The classrooms are located on the University of Oregon campus near the Law Library.  I helped tutor students in grammar, math, and social studies. I had a great experience at HEP. It was rewarding academically and socially. However, I faced some challenges while volunteering my time at this organization. It truly put my Spanish skills to the test. One of the main reasons why I wanted take the PLE course was to improve my Spanish speaking skills. I am going to be studying abroad in Spain this fall and wanted to get a sense of what it would be like, to only communicate in Spanish. This experience really enhanced my Spanish vocabulary, especially mathematical terms. I discovered that while I was helping the students, I was also learning a lot about the Spanish language at the same time.  
At first I was very nervous to volunteer at HEP, because even though I have been taking Spanish for so many years, I still feel like my speaking skills are not where they should be. However, there is no need to be worried about your level of Spanish when helping at HEP because everyone is so friendly and nice. They appreciate any help you can give them. I was shocked by how quickly I formed bonds with two of the students. I tutored them twice a week and it was always a rewarding experience. 
Doing the PLE and helping out at HEP has been worthwhile. I gained so much knowledge through this volunteer work. I highly recommend this program to anyone interested in practicing their Spanish speaking skills. It gave me the confidence to be bold, and not be afraid to speak Spanish when given the opportunity. It touched me on a very personal level and I hope that everyone taking a Spanish course at the University of Oregon considers doing PLE. 

During spring term of 2008, I worked at the High School Equivalency Program located behind the campus fire department. I loved the proximity of the HEP building to my dorm and had a fantastic experience assisting students earning their GEDs in Spanish during their afternoon study sessions. My duties included familiarizing myself with HEP and its expectations; interacting with groups and building rapport with individual students; tutoring students with their social science, science, math, grammar, writing, and reading exercises; and challenging HEP students to do their best and make their dreams realities.

8. High School Equivalency Program (HEP) -SPRING, 2008
A HEP tutor felt she had been transported to a Latin American country every time she assisted students and wrote this in her paper about the program. I, too, felt this way and appreciated the unique atmosphere the students and tutors created in the Cesar Chavez classroom. Working at HEP provided me the opportunity to use the same level of Spanish I did when I studied abroad in México. The students I worked with were among the most hard-working, ambitious and honest people I’ve met and the tutors were deeply invested in going above and beyond to help the students. Some HEP students came from extremely difficult backgrounds and were so filled with hope. One woman’s son committed suicide two years ago and many single, female students were pregnant and lacked support as their families lived far away. One aspect that surprised me about the HEP program was that many of the students were in their thirties. Additionally, the students worked at drastically different levels–– some studied in English and quickly learned the material while others struggled with basic math concepts in Spanish.

To tutor at HEP, I recommend University students feel comfortable with conversational Spanish and have a basic foundation in math, which is the subject students most often need help with. I wish I had taken a oral skills class before I tutored at HEP because sometimes, I couldn’t explain concepts as clearly as I wanted to or felt silly using really academic terms I learned in Spanish literature classes. Regardless, HEP students deeply appreciate the tutors’ help and are forgiving when tutors struggle to communicate concepts in Spanish. They appreciate the support tutors provide and that someone cares. Beyond conversational Spanish skills and an understanding of fractions, decimals and algebra, I believe it is most important that HEP tutors are invested in closing the educational gap and connecting with the HEP students on a personal level.

I latch onto Latino students at the University of Oregon in hopes that by connecting with them, I’ll feel indirectly connected to my second home and family in México. Some probably think I’m some crazy gringa but most respond well to my zealous interest in their lives and cultures. Tutoring at HEP offered me the opportunity to not only connect with Latino students and feel indirectly connected to Mexico, but humbled me and made me realize what I have to be thankful for in relation to my advanced education and vast opportunities. My tutor position made me more compassionate about the plight of others to better their lives in another country and has helped to shape my post-college goals and dreams. Last week I met with a Teach for America recruiter and I’m leaning more and more toward applying for their program or applying to teach abroad after college.






HIV Alliance

1. HIV Alliance-Winter, 2007  For the past two and a half months for the Personal Learning Experience program at UO, I have been volunteering for the HIV Alliance. The HIV Alliance provides several essential services for the community, including counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS, education and prevention information about the pandemic, and the Sana Needle Exchange. Although the PLE volunteer position indicates the need for a bilingual and bicultural student, I decided to volunteer with the HIV Alliance even though I do not come from a bicultural background because I am passionate about the education and prevention of the devastating virus. 
While volunteering at the HIV Alliance, my schedule was easily accommodated by the Alliance’s helpful volunteer coordinator. Despite my hectic academic and work schedule, I successfully scheduled volunteer shifts around my obligations on a weekly basis. Initially, I met with the volunteer coordinator for an interview and placement, during which we discussed where I would best fit and be most effective as a volunteer and discussed the objectives and intentions of the HIV Alliance itself.
Since my placement, I have often helped with administrative and logistical tasks that must be done to ensure the smooth operation of the organization. However, I have also recently gotten involved in the Sana Needle Exchange, a program in which the primary goal is to provide clean needles and other injection supplies for intravenous drug users to prevent the spread of diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis A and C. The Sana Needle Exchange also provides safe sex kits, free HIV testing and counseling, free Hepatitis A and C vaccinations and testing, and detoxification and rehabilitation resource information. Although I originally had reservations about getting involved in this program, I have really enjoyed my time with the Sana Needle Exchange, I believe in the services they provide for the Eugene community, and I will continue to volunteer with the program, and the HIV Alliance as a whole, after the PLE internship ends.
Throughout my time at the HIV Alliance, I haven’t had the opportunity to speak a lot of Spanish. The Alliance does provide HIV/AIDS resource information in Spanish and has a few Spanish-speaking case managers. However, because the Alliance still lacks a fully bilingual and bicultural client manager, the communication and interaction between HIV Alliance and the Spanish-speaking community has been relatively limited. Although it has taken several months to organize a meeting, I am getting involved with the Spanish-speaking staff members and will soon be able to sit in with Spanish-speaking case managers during interviews and consultations with Spanish-speaking clients. 
I would recommend this position to any students interested not only in getting involved in a non-profit organization but also in learning more about the intensely relevant issue of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on a more local level. Because there are so many areas in the Alliance to which volunteers can dedicate their time, any volunteer is likely to be placed in a department they enjoy. The volunteer coordinator will happily help any volunteer who desires to speak more Spanish during their PLE internship. Hopefully in the future, with the persistence and continued involvement of Spanish students from the PLE program, the HIV Alliance will be able to expand their resources for and availability to the Spanish-speaking community in Eugene. 

Interamerican University Studies Institute

1. Interamerican University Studies Institute-Fall-2007 After working with the smiling staff of IUSI during Spring Quarter, I was thrilled to be invited back for Fall. I didn’t hesitate for a minute. The behind-the-scenes glance into administration of an international exchange program (specifically Spanish language exchanges to Mexico and Costa Rica) was too good to pass up. I began working with Bob, Ashley and Jen on Sept. 17th and will finish my internship this week.
	My duties comprised a variety of administrative concerns, but left room for initiatives I’d brainstormed through in my public relations sequence classes. There is always room for new publicity ideas with international exchanges. I frequently updated applications and documents, composed emails to current and past participants to give or solicit information, and phoned Costa Rican and Mexican staff members with questions and updates. More often than not, the emails and phone calls were written/spoken in Spanish, allowing me to use my language skills in an office setting. I was also happy to translate two reports written by the Mexican exchange students who attended OFAM’s Jazz Camp this summer. Translating the insights and descriptions of my hometown through the eyes of exchange students was intriguing and fun; I enjoyed granting OFAM’s director a peak into their experiences. Finally, I primed Jen and Bob on the benefits and logistics of blogging so they can consider building a student blog for their Queretaro program.
	My six months with IUSI have been invaluable. Not only did I gain knowledge about a career I’d enjoy in the future as I consider a master’s in International Education, but I made connections with others in the industry (Paul Primak from OUS who chatted with me about his programs in Ecuador, a country I will return to the first week of December). 

Lane Community College

Lane Community College-WINTER-2008
I volunteered as a tutor in a Spanish 102 class at Lane Community College. I was offered the position by the instructor teaching the class, with whom I had studied Spanish at the 200 level. 	
	My duties included demonstrating lesson material in the form of formatted dialogue exercises with the instructor and with students who volunteered to try the exercises in front of the class. The exercises included the grammar and vocabulary currently being focused on in the class. After the exercises were introduced and demonstrated, the class would break up into pairs to practice the exercises on their own. At this time, I would walk around listening to and monitoring the practices, helping students figure out how to do the exercises correctly if they were making mistakes, answering questions and giving feedback. I only interacted with the class in Spanish while I was there. 
	A goal that the instructor and I set for me to achieve by the end of the term was that I would have presented a reading to the class, explaining grammar and unfamiliar vocabulary as I went, and also that I would present the structure of a practice exercise, walking the class through the concepts involved, and then asking for volunteers to demonstrate it with me. 
	The schedule was very flexible for me. The instructor asked only that I decide which class I wanted to volunteer in (all of which met five hours per week), and then decide how many hours per week I wanted to attend. For the first half of the term, I attended three hours each week, then four hours per week for the second half. 
	I really enjoyed my volunteer experience. Being in a classroom setting with people in the beginning stages of learning Spanish was exciting, and I found that both revisiting and having to explain grammatical concepts to others helped to reinforce my own understanding of the language.    


Latin American Solidarity Committee (Previously CISCAP)

1. Latin American Solidarity Committee-Spring-2008
I chose the Latin America Solidarity Committee as my place to complete my community work mainly because I was inspired by their mission statement. It reads, "Working for peace and justice from Eugene to El Salvador since 1982.” LASC was formerly known as CISCAP, the Committee in Solidarity with the Central American People. As a volunteer-based organization committed to changing foreign policy towards Latin America, I felt that actively being involved through my internship would help me unify my learning of the major historical, social, political, and cultural aspects of Latin American culture and broaden my knowledge of current issues. Indeed, the participation in fundraising, public events and office work enabled me to meet the individuals working everyday to protect basic human rights at the grassroots level. Working with the people involved, coupled with hands-on experience in the office, enabled me to learn skills that will continue to help me grow as an activist.
> LASC is supported by more than 100 volunteers, many of whom are students at the University of Oregon. I was able to work with a couple of them tabling during the Street Fair and special events put on by LASC. I am at the office every Wednesday for two to four hours a week and most of my duties consist of organizing a benefit show to raise funds for the organization. I have had multiple opportunities to use my Spanish, whether it is translating a document, communicating with others in the office or listening to speakers at the LASC’S events. For someone who is not one hundred percent confident with their Spanish speaking skills, the flexibility was helpful in allowing me advance at my own pace. The quarterly Newsletters featured current events written in Spanish and English, and like I said before, the speakers at events also spoke some Spanish in their presentations. From this experience I have gained important grass-root skills, and friendships.
> Anyone interested in making a first-hand difference towards changing our treatment of people in Latin American Countries will love working with the Latin American Solidarity Committee. You will also have an opportunity to use Spanish.


Mobility International USA

Mobility International USA-Winter-2008

For my PLE experience this semester I had a great time working at Mobility International USA (MIUSA), a local non-profit organization that works internationally to empower people with disabilities.  MIUSA has three different branches; the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE), International Development and Disability (IDD) branch and the Exchange branch, which focuses on programs through which people from different cultures and backgrounds are able to come together and share ideas and experiences about disability.  
Fortunately during this semester MIUSA was hosting an exchange program here in Eugene.  There were 16 delegates from eight Latin American countries who came to a three week conference in Eugene.  The focus was on educating and empowering the 16 delegates about rights for people with disabilities especially in the area of employment rights.  In many cultures, it is difficult for people with disabilities to obtain jobs.  In the three week period, there were many workshops through which information was disseminated, as well as other activities such as trips to the coast and meeting with the Mayor.  
	I would not consider myself to be completely fluent, but certainly conversational and able to understand the majority of what I read and hear.  This meant that I was able to help in much of the preliminary planning for the event through communication with the delegates and the translation of things such as schedules and other pamphlets that were going to be used. I was also able to participate in the program itself and enhance my communication skills through my interactions with the delegates.  This experience was a very good experience for me because I was able to be a part of an event that is very impactful in many ways.  Not only is the staff at MIUSA awesome, but so was the exchange program. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to other people.


North Eugene High School

1. North Eugene High School-Winter-2007
After reviewing all my options in the PLE program I finally settled on becoming a Spanish tutor for Julie McCauley at North Eugene High School.  The first time we met in person was when we exchanged our hopes and expectations from the experience.  I requested to be involved with the students as much as possible as well as anything that would expose me to the Spanish language.  She needed a language experienced aid and tutor.  Julie is extremely friendly, laid back, yet very organized in her lesson plans and schedule.  My first encounter with the students was a bit awkward, it only took moments for me to make them smile and feel comfortable asking me questions.  The students at North are very friendly and hardly ever stir up trouble
	My daily tasks consisted of grading papers, answering questions, and working in partners when there was a student who needed extra attention.  For half the time I worked with Spanish II students who were unable to speak or be spoken to in Spanish, but they were eager to learn and willing to ask questions.  The other half of the time I was in a Spanish V class where the majority of the students were almost fluent and they were practicing for their AP test at the end of the year.  When the work was light I regretfully made flashcards for the Spanish I class and made copies.  It wasn’t the exposure I was hoping for, but the teacher was doing her best to keep me busy.  
	Overall, it was an amazing feeling to be able to help students understand a grammar concept or certain vocabulary.  It was interesting being on the other side of the learning process providing answers and trying to present them in the clearest, most understandable form for the students.  I highly recommend this position for those who wish to go into teaching a language.  The teacher is flexible and willing to let you have floor time in front of the class.  Although during my work experience I decided to lean towards becoming a Spanish interpreter, I enjoyed my time with the students and the teacher, but I would prefer to translate for people in the community.

2. North Eugene High School-SPRING-2007
I would have to say that I was a little hesitant about signing up for a local school, for a variety of reasons.  My first inclination was to try and find an assignment that would allow me to work with Latinos, which were not native to Eugene or Oregon but were Spanish speakers in their homes and needed some form of assistance with whatever; so I could get the experience of working with them using my Spanish regularly.  I also had this picture in mind that I was only going to be working with English speaking students and probably just be grading papers or doing random assignments to help the Spanish teachers. Well, this was about as opposite as my experience could get. I found myself working with students from El Salvador, Mexico, and Guatemala.
	I contacted Julie McCauley, who teaches a few different levels of Spanish at North Eugene H.S.  She is a great resource, for other areas within N.E.H.S., because I actually only worked with her and her class for two weeks. Initially, I helped out in the Spanish II and Spanish III classes, going around working with English speaking students who were learning Spanish.  I did some TA work, like correcting quizzes and an assortment of assignments.  Working with the English native speakers was enjoyable, but not what I was looking for. Julie is great; she’s energetic and has a great attitude and always returned phone calls and was willing to work with my schedule.
	The majority of the term I was working with Karen, who is the ELL teachers. She teaches students that were born outside of the United States in Latin American countries, and they are high school ages (a few of the students were actually between the ages of 18-20) and are in that class to learn English.  My class that I worked with, was all boys. There are about a dozen of them, from 15 years old to 20.  They are a high energy group, that’s always having fun.  I went in for a few hours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and was always out of there by 11am.  Karen is wonderful, she speaks amazing Spanish with a great accent and is a walking Spanish dictionary.  She always included me in lessons, I never taught directly to the students, but when they played games or went outside to do an activity with the nice weather she always included me. 
	I really enjoyed getting to know the faculty that I came into contact with at N.E.H.S., they were all helpful in working with me. I would highly recommend calling Julie, or Karen; there is always a need for help.  The students loved having me there, and I myself looked forward showing up every Tuesday and Thursday morning. A great experience all in all. If I was not graduating, I would go back to North Eugene High School in a heartbeat. 

RELIEF NURSERY

1. RELIEF NURSERY, SPRING 2007 For my Participatory Learning Experience, I had the opportunity to volunteer my time at the Relief Nursery; a non-profit committed to the healthy development of children and the prevention of future child abuse and neglect. 

On Mondays and Wednesdays from nine until just after noon I worked at the Springfield location, supporting and assisting the two teachers in caring for the pre-kindergarten children. The classroom consisted of eight children, all of which were about three years of age. Of them, only one boy spoke Spanish as his first language while another child spoke it at home but was brought up to speak both Spanish and English. My main duties as a volunteer/intern were to help oversee the group of children, partake in the activities we did each day and help foster positive learning and development in the classroom. Throughout the day I would try and have conversations with every student and found it very enjoyable to do so. Because there was only one that spoke just Spanish, it was rewarding for him and I to talk with each other, as I think it helped him become more comfortable in the classroom environment.

Overall, the organization is very well-organized, the teachers are all well-trained and encouraging and I both learned a lot and enjoyed my experience. Not only did I feel like I was positive influence in the lives of each disadvantaged child in the classroom but I learned a mountain of things myself on how to positively interact and encourage children while creating a stable and positive environment in order for them to grow and develop. From small to large, I’m sure many of the things I learned I will carry with me and incorporate in my child raising experiences in the future. However, for the Spanish aspect of the experience, I didn’t get as much out of it as I fully expected.  Not only is it is difficult to partake in a conversation with children at the age of three just based on language development but with only a few students who spoke Spanish, the opportunities were even more limited. I found the language demand to be less than what I was hoping for.

More than anything however, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and wouldn’t trade it for anything. After working there, I found that within the organization itself there are many other opportunities one can take advantage which require more Spanish language skills and I may venture in that direction in the future. In addition, each classroom will vary in the amount of Spanish speaking children it has so each term could be far different as far as language use goes. If someone is looking for an opportunity to largely practice and improve their Spanish language skills, than I do not recommend the Relief Nursery as the best choice. However, if one is looking into child development, education, social services or NGO work in addition to Spanish after finishing school, then I definitely recommend it is a great place to obtain some real-world experience. 

2. RELIEF NURSERY, FALL 2007 This fall I served at the Relief Nursery for my internship where I was able to interact with a variety of different ages and backgrounds. I was placed in the infant room with children ages six months to a year. I primarily worked in this classroom on Mondays from 9:30 to 12:30 a.m. and on Wednesdays I was placed in a classroom according to where the help was most needed that day. The infants were a little young to understand any language spoken to them, but it was helpful and reassuring to them to hear the language that they listen to at home. The other classrooms I worked in had toddlers that were around five and six years of age. About half of the classroom or more was Spanish speaking so I was definitely able to use my language skills interacting with them. As an intern I was to help the teachers by playing with the children, helping with breakfast and lunch, and anything else the teachers or children needed throughout the morning. There were also opportunities to volunteer outside of the classroom, specifically with the dinner event during October. I was able to assist with childcare during that time in which parents were able to get dinner and enjoy a nice relaxing evening.
	The atmosphere at the relief nursery is a highly nurturing and uplifting one, with the goal of making all the children there feel safe and cared for. Much of the facility is maintained through the help of volunteers and interns, so the more people there are to help, the more individual attention each child can receive. The infant room especially needed this one on one attention because they are at such a tender and vulnerable age. One of the infants I cared for came from a Spanish speaking home so when I talked to him, he looked at me with reassured eyes and seemed to enjoy hearing some familiar sounds. I was definitely able to practice my Spanish more often in the toddler rooms, since they were at an age where they could actually understand and respond to me. I felt that I gained more of the experience of working and interacting with the children more than I did speaking Spanish, but I think that what I did gain was very valuable for me. I personally love working with children, and this was a great place to be able to interact and help them using my Spanish as often as I could. 
	I gained a tremendous amount of patience and tolerance from the Relief Nursery. The staff that worked there were all incredibly supportive and loving towards everyone, which was a refreshing environment compared to so many other services in the community. Everyone there was sincerely happy to be of service to the families they worked with, which they demonstrated through personal conversations and home visits with the parents and equally caring attitudes towards the children within the classrooms. Working with infants gave me an unusual experience that I was not expecting going in. After a week, however, I realized how much I really enjoy working with small children and how enriching it can be. The toddlers were equally challenging but I was able to maintain my calm attitude and gain as much experience as possible with both my Spanish speaking skills and working with children in general. There were many opportunities to use Spanish, but I think if I were to want another experience using a lot of Spanish, I would probably choose another venue. I was happy this term to have at least one day a week speaking Spanish, so overall I can say that the Relief Nursery is a great place to start. 

3.  RELIEF NURSERY, WINTER 2008 For my PLE internship this winter I volunteered at the Eugene Relief Nursery. The Relief Nursery is a local Eugene non profit committed to the prevention of abuse and neglect among high risk families. At the nursery I was a bus rider as well as a classroom assistant. There are many different opportunities for volunteers and the hours are flexible, there are positions in the morning as well as the evening. I rode the bus every Tuesday and Thursday morning and assisted the bus driver in making sure the children are safe and comfortable. The bus has a variety of ages of children ranging from infants to five year olds. I used my Spanish regularly on the bus with the children along with the parents, picking up and dropping off the children. I would speak to the parents about the times in which the children should be coming home or should be ready in the morning. The parents are extremely appreciative at any effort to communicate with them in Spanish and the bus driver’s love having someone on the bus with Spanish skills at all levels. The bus was a great experience because I was able to interact with the families and used my Spanish skills when interacting with the parents. 
 I worked with the 2 year olds in the classroom. I had three children in my class that were only Spanish speakers and one teacher in the class who was fluent in Spanish. Although the children were just beginning to speak, I was able to use my Spanish in the classroom, especially when the Spanish speaking teacher would be absent. There is a flexible routine in the classroom. Every morning the children eat snack and volunteers assist in hand washing and sitting with the children. After snack is done the volunteers assist in helping to make sure the children put their plates away and clean the table. The remainder of the morning is spent at free play in the classroom, in the jumping room or outside. The staff at the Relief Nursery is great and very helpful in assisting volunteers and making sure they feel comfortable. Due to the age of the children, Spanish is spoken but it is at a lower level. I would recommend the Relief Nursery to people who are interested in speaking Spanish but want to start out on a lower level. 

4. RELIEF NURSERY, SPRING 2008
I worked at Relief Nursery which is a day care service for at risk children in the Eugene Springfield area. I work on Wednesdays mornings from 9:30 to 1:00. My duties while there were to help the teachers. I helped with the children, cleaned, set up and take down activities for the day. I was given a lot of time to work with the children, not just cleaning. The atmosphere was very busy. The first day there wasn’t time to go through every part of the day and explain it step by step. I meet with a coordinator before hand, but once I got there I just jumped and learned as I went. This may seen intimidating, but it wasn’t. It was nice to be able to just jump in right away and start working with the kids. I was in a classroom with seven children ages 2-3. Also in the classroom, there were two teachers and another intern. I used a good amount of Spanish everyday. There were three only Spanish speaking children in the classroom and only one of the teachers spoke Spanish, so I talked to the Spanish speaking children a lot every day. Any amount of Spanish would be useful in a classroom with Spanish speaking children. Since there was a fluent Spanish speaking teacher in the classroom it isn’t important to be great at Spanish, but the more Spanish the better because then it is easer to connect with the Spanish speaking children. I gained a lot from this experience. It has helped me with speaking my Spanish and getting over the fear of not saying everything perfect, because the staffs there are happy to have any volunteer, especially someone who can speak Spanish. I also have learned better ways to help children become independent, which is one of the main goals of the nursery. I enjoyed my time at the nursery very much, and suggest it to anyone who has an interest working with children. 

5.  RELIEF NURSERY, SPRING 2008
During spring term I volunteered at the Relief Nursery.  The nursery provides free services, mainly childcare and parent classes, for low-income, high-risk families with small children.  During the day they offer regular childcare, with opportunities for volunteers to work in the classrooms or as bus riders.  In the evenings they provide childcare while parents attend classes.  I chose to volunteer in the evenings, mainly to fit in with my school and work schedule.  Evening classes take two hours, and all of the children of varying ages are generally together in the same classroom.  
Volunteers help to keep control of the classroom—they help the teachers to entertain the children and to teach them respectful and responsible ways to handle themselves in any situations that come up.  We were also responsible for simple clean-up.  The staff at the Relief Nursery is great.  They are all happy, friendly people, and they are very helpful and accepting of new volunteers.  Although the organization is there to help at-risk families, all of the parents that volunteers come in contact with are wonderful people, and are grateful for the help with their kids.
Some nights that I volunteered I was in the infant room.  On those days I didn’t get to use any Spanish.  Partway through the term, on Monday nights, they started an evening class for ESL parents, which meant that we had up to five Spanish-only children in the room at a time, from ages 3-6.  In those situations I got to use a lot of Spanish, although it was at a fairly low level.  It still requires being able to think on your feet—you never know what a 4-year-old is going to ask!  Overall, the main benefit of working at the Relief Nursery was getting comfortable with all of the vocabulary that goes along with childcare.  Kids don’t wait for you to figure out how to say something, so you have to think fast.  On the other hand, after a night or two you pick up almost all of the words and phrases that you need for the regular activities, and that is the only challenge.  For me it was a great experience because I’m going into social services and hoping to work with kids, but anyone who wants a position that will provide a real learning opportunity should probably look elsewhere.




River Road Elementary School-WINTER2008

I completed my participatory learning experience at River Road Elementary School. I continued in the same classroom as last term, which was a wonderful experience! The children in Sharon Blackwell’s third grade class have become comfortable with me, making it much easier to have progress in the classroom. My position in the classroom is to assist the teacher with anything she needs and to focus on the children and Marco in particular. I have continued working with the same third grade boy Marco as last term and we have made incredible progress. The student did not speak or write English when I began working with him, but this term the progress was amazing! We have truly formed a friendship, allowing us to connect and reach a new level of communication. He is now speaking English and writing letters with little help as well. It has been so rewarding to see the progress and know I helped influence this. I even spoke with his father on one occasion to discuss his advancement and a possible after school reading program. Overall, this has been such an educational and rewarding experience of truly learning how to educate and interact with children in both English and Spanish. My hours have always been flexible and I find I end up going there more than needed, just because it is fun and even stress relieving. I was able to use a fare amount of Spanish and even was “schooled” by Marco on a few wrong conjugations and learned some new vocabulary. In the end, I truly enjoy the atmosphere at River Road and feel quite comfortable in the friendly community of students and staff. 

Roosevelt Middle School

1. Roosevelt Middle School, SPRING, 2007

Every Wednesday of spring term I rode my bicycle to Roosevelt Middle School where I got to spend my day in Mary Crabaugh’s Spanish classroom. My duties in the classroom included: grading homework, giving oral verb tests, tutoring students who need extra help and helping students catch up on their homework.
	
Going into the volunteer job I didn’t think that I would speak that much Spanish. I was surprised, however, to find that a large number of Spanish speaking kids take Spanish either to learn how to write in the language or as one girl told me, to get an easy A. Also Mary Crabaugh has a lot of Spanish speaking kids placed in her homeroom. So I had fun talking to kids in Spanish about where they’re from and what they’re interested in. Those kids were fun also in the fact that many of them knew different ways to conjugate verbs depending on what country they or their parents are from. 
	
Other students had advanced beyond the middle school level Spanish and were participating in an independent language study. So it was very good for these students when I spoke Spanish with them as it helped their pronunciation and comprehension. 
	
The classroom setting was also very nice as Mary Crabaugh is a wonderful teacher and really cares about the welfare of all of her students. She often pointed out kids who might be having a hard time so that I could give them extra attention during class. Her class time was also very well structured and she used a comical Spanish play to teach vocabulary, that the students had a lot of fun with.

On the whole my participatory learning experience was very enjoyable, helpful to my language skills and something I looked forward to throughout the week.

2. Roosevelt Middle School, SPRING, 2008
En la primavera de 2008 yo trabajaba en Roosevelt Middle School con estudiantes de español.  Yo ayudaba la profesora, Mary Crabaugh, como un tutor para sus clases de español 1 y 2.  En estas clases yo hacía una variedad de trabajos incluyen: aprender los estudiantes con su hablante y escritura, y también participar en obras de teatro.  Además yo dirigía pruebas orales por los estudiantes.  El ambiente de este trabajo es más o menos tranquilo porque los estudiantes son buenos y la profesora es simpática.  Quiero ser un profesor de español, entonces este trabajo era buena experiencia para mí futuro.  Es útil a ver la manera que un profesor español se maneja su clase.  No hablaba mucha español en este puesto, entonces no es necesario para tener una asignatura española para hacerlo, pero es necesario a saber gramática avance.  En fin este puesto es útil para gente que quiere ejercer educación en el futuro.  Roosevelt es muy cerca de la Universidad de Oregon, entonces transportación no es un problema.  También la profesora es flexible (mis horarios eran diferentes cada semana.) Yo no recomendaría este puesto a estudiantes que quieren hablar mucha español porque estés estudiantes tienen un nivel bajo de Español.       


Shelter Care, WINTER, 2008

(A ONE TIME EVENT at the Fairgrounds)

I volunteered at the Project Homeless Connect event. I arrived at the event at 7:30 AM and helped set up for the event. I worked at the entrance of the event and greeted people and helped homeless people find the services they were looking for. I spoke Spanish with three Spanish-speaking people and one Spanish speaking family. I mostly spoke English. I could of left whenever I wanted, but I left at 3:30, right after the event ended. This was a wonderful event. I really felt like I was helping those in the community who needed help the most.

Siempre Amigos

1. Siempre Amigos-Winter 2007 I combined volunteer hours from two organizations, Siempre Amigos and ELAW, to form my PLE internship this term.  By doing this I experienced a balance of individual translation practice and conversational interaction.  The following paragraphs summarize my experience with both organizations and contrast the benefits offered by these groups to PLE students.
	Siempre Amigos is a great opportunity to get to know people in the community, use your Spanish in conversation and help people integrate into society.  Anybody who’s traveled abroad knows how difficult it can be to get used to a different culture and especially to make friends there.  It’s impossible to imagine how much harder that process would be if you left you country because of war or exile and were now suffering post traumatic stress disorder.  However, this is the situation that most of the participants of Siempre Amigos live with every day.  Many Latin American governments have committed repeated atrocities against their people leaving many with no choice but to flee to the states.  I worked with participants at S.A. by teaching English, helping Spanish speaking high school students with their assignments, helping teach basic computer skills and just being a friend to some elderly participants.  Volunteering for this organization gives a great feeling of satisfaction, is a great opportunity to use Spanish, meet wonderful people and learn about different cultures.  It is important to be sensitive to individual participants needs and to understand how PTSD works.  This is great for enthusiastic students with 3rd or 4th year language skills.  The most difficult part of this internship is that you have to set up all your own hours with each participant, so it requires good organization and the motivation to call and set up meetings yourself.
	At ELAW, I found a welcoming staff and other volunteers who made the internship fun and worthwhile.  I chose to do Spanish translation in the ELAW office instead of on my own time by email.  I would suggest this to any PLE volunteer considering this internship.  Within the ELAW office, you get to interact with the employees, see how this nonprofit works, and talk to people about the cases you translating for.  This makes it a more personal experience.  Volunteers for ELAW are usually logged onto the ELAW web email site and translate messages about cases to facilitate communication between the English and Spanish speaking sectors of the worldwide organization.  It’s interesting because you get to learn about cases that involve fights for human rights and especially environmental law issues.  ELAW also at times has need for live interpreting at its meetings and lectures; hopefully I’ll get to do this in the future.  The most difficult thing about this internship is deciphering law documents in English as they’re often written in huge run on sentences or incomplete thoughts.  Nonetheless, it’s worth it in my opinion for the cause of the environment and the beneficial experience for anyone who might consider getting a translation certificate or work in law in Spanish.
	Both of these internships have been fun and engaging, although I’m not doing a PLE internship next term, due to a part time job and less free time, I’ll still volunteer for both organizations when I get the chance.  I would suggest either or both to any student who speaks good Spanish.

2. Siempre Amigos and ELAW-Winter 2007
I combined volunteer hours from two organizations, Siempre Amigos and ELAW, to form my PLE internship this term.  By doing this I experienced a balance of individual translation practice and conversational interaction.  The following paragraphs summarize my experience with both organizations and contrast the benefits offered by these groups to PLE students.
	Siempre Amigos is a great opportunity to get to know people in the community, use your Spanish in conversation and help people integrate into society.  Anybody who’s traveled abroad knows how difficult it can be to get used to a different culture and especially to make friends there.  It’s impossible to imagine how much harder that process would be if you left you country because of war or exile and were now suffering post traumatic stress disorder.  However, this is the situation that most of the participants of Siempre Amigos live with every day.  Many Latin American governments have committed repeated atrocities against their people leaving many with no choice but to flee to the states.  I worked with participants at S.A. by teaching English, helping Spanish speaking high school students with their assignments, helping teach basic computer skills and just being a friend to some elderly participants.  Volunteering for this organization gives a great feeling of satisfaction, is a great opportunity to use Spanish, meet wonderful people and learn about different cultures.  It is important to be sensitive to individual participants needs and to understand how PTSD works.  This is great for enthusiastic students with 3rd or 4th year language skills.  The most difficult part of this internship is that you have to set up all your own hours with each participant, so it requires good organization and the motivation to call and set up meetings yourself.
	At ELAW, I found a welcoming staff and other volunteers who made the internship fun and worthwhile.  I chose to do Spanish translation in the ELAW office instead of on my own time by email.  I would suggest this to any PLE volunteer considering this internship.  Within the ELAW office, you get to interact with the employees, see how this nonprofit works, and talk to people about the cases you translating for.  This makes it a more personal experience.  Volunteers for ELAW are usually logged onto the ELAW web email site and translate messages about cases to facilitate communication between the English and Spanish speaking sectors of the worldwide organization.  It’s interesting because you get to learn about cases that involve fights for human rights and especially environmental law issues.  ELAW also at times has need for live interpreting at its meetings and lectures; hopefully I’ll get to do this in the future.  The most difficult thing about this internship is deciphering law documents in English as they’re often written in huge run on sentences or incomplete thoughts.  Nonetheless, it’s worth it in my opinion for the cause of the environment and the beneficial experience for anyone who might consider getting a translation certificate or work in law in Spanish.
	Both of these internships have been fun and engaging, although I’m not doing a PLE internship next term, due to a part time job and less free time, I’ll still volunteer for both organizations when I get the chance.  I would suggest either or both to any student who speaks good Spanish.

  
3. Siempre Amigos-SPRING, 2007 This spring term of 2007, I have been volunteering with a program called Siempre Amigos. It is a program based in the Centro Latino and is run through OHSU. Siempre Amigos is a program that provides assistance to politically abused Latino Americans. Once a month a psychiatrist comes down from Portland to meet with participants, but there is always support provided to them by the rest of the staff. Since I have been working with them, they have had various activities for the participants such as a garden project and Mothers Day celebration. My part has been with the kids, though. Most of my time has been spent as a “befriender.” There are two young girls I mentor, one is 10 and the other is 11. Natalia, who is 10, just needed a friend to hang out with, so on Saturdays we either go to the park, play basketball, get ice cream, play cards or go out to lunch – or a combination of those. Natalia prefers to speak English, but her mom only speaks Spanish and an indigenous language, so I have gotten to use my Spanish quite a bit when I call them to set up times to meet and also while getting to know both of them. 
Linda, who is 11, needs help with her homework, so I was paired up with her in order to do that (usually I just sit next to her and she talks her way through it, asking a question here or there – she underestimates herself). She is a sweet, outgoing little girl, and is extremely smart. I usually meet her at her house when she gets home from school and we get her homework done, then when we have time we like to draw with sidewalk chalk outside, color, or play UNO. She and her mom both speak English, but her mom likes to give me practice, so she makes conversation with me in Spanish regularly. 
The PLE program has been a great experience for me, not only to practice my Spanish, but I have also learned a tremendous amount about the Latin culture just by spending time with these two families. One more experience I would like to share was when I was helping paint doors at Centro Latino and we had a young girl helping who had walked about twenty five blocks to come help. She had just moved to the U.S. from Guatemala six months prior and didn’t speak any English. I was able to get to know her a little bit and ended up giving her a ride home. We had a great conversation the whole way. It was awesome to be able to do this, and without Spanish I wouldn’t have been able to. 

SOUTH EUGENE HIGH SCHOOL

1. SOUTH EUGENE HIGH SCHOOL, FALL, 2007 I am studying to become a high school Spanish teacher, so when I heard about the opportunity to work at either North or South Eugene High School I was very excited.  When I contacted North Eugene, they informed me that they did not need any assistance, because they had many Student Teachers; however, South Eugene had several positions available.  Quite a few of the teachers just needed one-on-one tutors, but I decided to volunteer in a classroom so I could get experience working with students, as well as learning various teaching styles.  
Over the last several weeks I have worked with two teachers: Mary O’Connor (with a Second Year, first period class) and Lynette Williams (with two First Year, second and third period classes), on Mondays and Wednesdays, and an occasional Friday.  They have both been great to work with, because they are flexible in which days and periods I volunteer in, they give me opportunities to help teach the classes and work individually with students, they both have a lot of teaching and studying abroad experience, and their different styles of teaching allow me to learn more and decide what activities or ideas I would like to use in my own future classroom.  
The daily routine of what I would do was fairly consistent, including: taking attendance, collecting/checking off homework, totaling the week’s grades, sending attendance/putting grades into the computer, passing out activity sheets, assisting students with partner/group work, and occasionally leading homework corrections from the overhead or vocabulary flashcards with the class.  
Working with the students was great practice, because not only was I able to teach the students new information, but also refresh my own Spanish vocabulary that I had not used in a long time and learn new words, as well.  The experience helped reassure that I would like to be a high school Spanish teacher, allowed me to gain ideas for lessons and styles of teaching, and I plan to do it again next term because I enjoyed it so much.


2. SOUTH EUGENE HIGH SCHOOL, SPRING, 2008 For my PLE experience I have been working at South Eugene High School. I volunteer at South every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from 12:30-3:10. 
My duties usually include grading tests and homework, creating quizzes for students, helping them review vocabulary for exams, making copies and workbooks, organizing teacher’s papers, cleaning desks, entering grades into the computer and just about anything the teacher needs help with. 
All of my volunteering is in Franzi Thompson’s classroom. I actually had her as a teacher when I was in high school, so it is fun being on the other end and helping out. I volenteer in two classes and one free period. One class I help in is a second year Spanish and another class is a fourth year class, so it was interesting for me to see two different levels of Spanish and also help the teacher during a prep period. The atmosphere has been pretty laid back and fun. 
The amount of Spanish I used varied. Franzi at times would speak a lot of Spanish to me and other times not to much. It was helpful for me being able to speak and understand Spanish so that I could follow what was going on in the class and not get bored. It was also helpful being able to have a basic knowledge of the language when I graded papers. A person could get by with only having a basic understanding of Spanish in this position but I would recommend at least having some experience with it. Franzi really likes working with people who are self starters so it good to know what is going on. 
This position was fun for me. It was really nice being able to get of campus for a few hours a week and doing something different while getting credit! I am interested in becoming a teacher but I have to admit that this position made me feel stronger about not wanting to teach at the high school level. I help Franzi for four hours a week and I am barely scraping the surface of the papers she has to grade. I think I would rather work with kids in a slightly less structured environment and have less paperwork to do. 



VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE

1. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-FALL 2006
I had an incredible experience working at Volunteers in Medicine.  I not only learned more about Eugene and the challenges facing those living in low-income areas, but I also had the opportunity to speak a lot of Spanish.  I volunteered on Thursday mornings for 3 ½ hours and no two Thursdays were alike.  Sometimes the clinic would be quiet and calm, with few Spanish speaking patients coming in.  These days I would make reminder calls in Spanish to make sure people new about their upcoming appointments, receive phone call from Spanish speaking patients, or help interpret financial qualification meetings.  Other days there would be many Spanish speakers, calling in and coming in for appointments.  After my first two weeks, when the volunteer coordinator for interpreters was confident my level of Spanish was high enough, I began interpreting appointments.  This was my favorite part of volunteering at Volunteers in Medicine.  You really feel like you are helping someone out when you facilitate communication between a person and their doctor.  I learned new vocabulary such as stool (deposición), liver (hígado) and gallbladder (vísicula) and met incredibly warm, grateful people.  I came home every Thursday with new fun stories for my roommates.  The most recent being when I told a man he was five feet and one 1/2 fleas.  He laughed and asked “Sabes que es una pulga?”, I quickly realized my mistake (I never said my Spanish was perfect) and remembered the similarity between the words flea and inch.
	If you have a high level of Spanish and are comfortable in your speaking abilities, I would highly recommend volunteering at Volunteers in Medicine.  If you are not as confident in your Spanish you can still work greeting Spanish speaking patients and making reminder phone calls.  It is a wonderful organization and I enjoyed my experience there so much that I am going to continue volunteering next term.  

    2. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-FALL 2006 My internship experience this term was the hardest, yet most
rewarding, thing I have done this year.  I volunteered four hours a week at Volunteers in Medicine, which provides free health care to low-income residents of Lane County.  A lot of these patients are Latino and speak limited or no English, so I acted as interpreter for the nurses, doctors, and pharmacists.
I am a very shy person and the fact that these people’s well-being depended on me was scary at first.  But with every hour that I was there, I realized that my Spanish-speaking skills were needed and appreciated.  I have myself lived in a foreign country (Costa Rica), where at first I had no grasp of the language, so I could empathize with the patients.  When I changed my attitude and came from the thought that I was there to help people instead of thinking “Oh I’m going to mess up and this person won’t get the help that they need” I was able to better serve my community.  
	The doctors, nurses, and staff (both paid and volunteer) were great to work with.  Everyone there is compassionate about helping the poorer people in the community and we all helped each other out. 
	I wasn’t thrown into interpreting for the nurses and doctors right away.  At first, I observed doctor visits with another interpreter until I was comfortable doing it on my own (Gracias a Dios for the Spanish-English dictionary!).   I was the greeter in the front office and was able to make small talk with people and make them feel welcome and accepted.  I also made appointments over the phone for patients and returned messages.

    3. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-FALL 2007 For my PLE I decided to volunteer at Volunteers in Medicine.  My experience there has been fun and really worth while.  I work at the front desk and do the initial financial screening for patients to see if they qualify to receive medical help at VIM.  I also help out with answering phone calls, making photocopies, and helping out patients with questions.  The majority of the patients I help out speak Spanish.  I help getting them checked in, schedule appointments, translate for the pharmacy, answer questions, take phone calls, and occasionally help out in the exam rooms.  The Spanish patients are always extremely grateful to have someone that understands them and can help them.
	I only volunteer once a week, on Tuesdays from about 5 to 8:30 or so.  We have a schedule of people who will be seen that day for both financial screenings and for appointments with the doctor.  In between patients we also make reminder calls for the next day.  There are usually about four of us upfront, two checking in patients for doctor visits and two doing financial screening.  I am the only one up front that speaks Spanish so I am usually kept very busy with trying to help out any Spanish-speaking patients and their families.
	The hardest part of volunteering there is that sometimes we have to turn patients away because they don’t fall into the financial boundaries.  Sometimes they get upset, but most of the time they are just frustrated.  It is a sad situation, but thankfully we have options of places we can refer them to for medical help and usually that works out.  
	I have really enjoyed helping out at VIM.  The people that volunteer there are wonderful.  They are extremely kind and accepting of new volunteers and really do their best to make you feel comfortable.  They are volunteering their own time and looking to give back to their community and it is really apparent in their attitudes and the way that they treat the patients and the rest of the staff.  It has been a fun learning experience for me and I have gotten a lot out of it. I really enjoy working with people and it’s really nice to be able to see the affect you can have on others in helping them.  I would definitely encourage anyone interested in helping out there to do so, it is a really worth while experience and I have had a lot of fun being there.  

4. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-WINTER 2007 When I first walked in to the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic, I felt completely overwhelmed. Although fluent in Spanish, I worried I would make a mistake when interpreting between patients and doctors. I thought I would be seen as a college child who still had much more to learn. Luckily, I was wrong.
Everyone at the Clinic greeted me kindly and with real affection. Within one hour, I was given a name tag and shown how the clinic operates. By watching and listening, I absorbed as much knowledge as I could in those first two hours of the PLE. Even though I made occasional blunders in translating and interpreting, the volunteers still appreciated my willingness to correct my mistakes. In these last few weeks, after the numerous phone calls, written translations, and patient-doctor interpretations, I have learned that sometimes, it’s the smile that counts. 
The general enthusiasm of my fellow volunteers and their interest in making the world a better place encouraged every day I went to the clinic. I am looking forward to having more time in the summer to dedicate to continuing to visit the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic to offer much-needed help. Because the medical assistance they give the community is based on volunteer greeters and volunteer doctors, the clinic can use as much help as they can get. The kind nurses, doctors, and office assistants have shown me a glimpse into a group of dedicated people who truly reflect the best qualities of American culture.

         5. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-SPRING 2007 Before this position, I never had much experience with native speakers outside of “hola.” Once the conversation got beyond that I usually defended myself with “solo un poco inglés” when, in reality, I’d taken five years of Spanish. Finally, I put my skills to use. During my experience I have not only enhanced my ability to comprehend native speakers, but I have utilized words left behind in my earlier years of education. Besides a refreshed vocabulary, I am more articulate in the Spanish language and have employed a whole new set of words deriving from both medical and financial terminology. 
	Initially, the clinic will situate you in the position of a greeter. There you will meet patients and simply direct them to which seat they need to go to. There is a combination of English and Spanish speaking patients who come in. Often the Spanish speaking patients are aware of the basics of English, but they’re more comfortable if you speak Spanish. Financial evaluations are often difficult for them though. Interpreters are the intermediary at this point for the patient and the front desk worker. A grasp of financial words are necessary, but you can look these up. 
	Similar needs apply to working in the back where interpreters help nurses and doctors understand the problems of the patient, and interpreters help the patients understand that the doctors are providing. Certain situations are difficult because information does need to be fairly accurate; however, there is guaranteed to be another volunteer who will speak Spanish and dictionaries are available. Also, nurses and patients tend to be understanding and will often reword or slow down their sentences for your convenience. 
	Overall, this was an amazing experience for me. Speaking with the patients is the most rewarding aspect, especially when you’re not interpreting and you’re simply getting to know the patients. Getting to know the English speaking patients is just as rewarding; all of the people there have interesting stories, and coming out of volunteering out of that clinic you too will have some interesting stories to tell—as well as some crazy new words like “Papaniculaou” (PAP exam) and “verruga” (wart).  

        6. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-FALL 2007 I volunteered at the non-profit medical clinic Volunteers in Medicine during fall 2007 for my bilingual internship.  Typical duties for new volunteers are working in the front office answering phones, making phone calls to patients and office duties such as pulling files and organizing them.  There is a special line for Spanish calls that the bilingual volunteers answer to be able to provide them with the same service as English speakers.  There are a large number of Hispanic patients that use the services at this clinic, which provide the interns with quite a bit of Spanish speaking opportunities.  Most of my time spent at this clinic was calling lists of patients to remind them of their appointments the next day.  It was a mix of both Spanish and English speaking patients; generally the majority would be English speaking.  Everyday can be somewhat unpredictable, for example the phone might not be ringing at all and most of the time is spent searching for patient files because calls were already made or the phone might be ringing off the hook some days.  An example of an unexpected day I had was actually my first day.  I went into the clinic expecting just to watch an interpreting video and learn a little about what I would be doing but right after the video the volunteer coordinator just put me with the rest of the interns to start working.  I was hesitant at first because I didn’t realize I would be working that day and next thing I know the Spanish phone is ringing and someone is saying “Can you get that?”  Next thing I know, barely being in the front office 15 minutes a nurse comes back asking for a Spanish speaker and all the other Spanish speaking volunteers had stepped out so I was the only one.  I had to go back and interpret between the nurse and the patient.  It was overwhelming when never having the experience of interpreting between people and not knowing all the medical vocabulary in Spanish.  
Everyday is different, sometimes you are the only Spanish speaking intern available and you are speaking all the time and I had other days where I spoke maybe three sentences in Spanish in the 4 hours I was there.  
	One great thing about Volunteers in Medicine is that all the volunteers and employees are very friendly and make it a wonderful environment to work in.  There is always someone available to help when you need it.  I have had to search the entire clinic for patient files and there are always people ready to lend a hand.  Someone will always have something for you to do and are really appreciative of your contribution.  It was a very good experience volunteering at this clinic because I learned a lot of new Spanish vocabulary that I would have never learned in School.  Also communicating over the phone really helped improve my Spanish skills because it is a lot different communicating face-to-face than over the phone.  The advice I give for future participants in this bilingual internship at Volunteers in Medicine is to really be out spoken with what you want to do.  If you want to speak a lot of Spanish you will  not get to unless you say I want be an interpreter because I feel confident enough in my Spanish to do so.  

        7. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-FALL 2007 
Yo trabaje en Voluntarios en Medicina cada martes desde Octubre, 2007, hasta el principio de Diciembre.  En la clínica, yo hice muchas cosas pero las más importantes fueron interpretar para los doctores y enfermeras, y saludar a la gente cuando entraba y salía de la oficina.  También hablé con algunas personas por teléfono para hacerles unas citas y recordarles de sus citas.  El ambiente fue muy diferente contra lo de que estoy acostumbrado.  Había mucha gente mexicana que necesitaba ayuda porque estaban enfermos.  Me dio mucho gusto estar allí hablando español y ayudando a las personas mexicanas.  Toda la gente estaba muy amable y simpática.  Había diez personas que siempre trabajaban allí y cinco otros voluntarios.  Ahora todos somos amigos y una doctora, Susana, me invito a comer en su casa.  A veces usé mucho español pero algunos días hablé muy poquito.  Los doctores siempre me buscaban cuando tenían pacientes que solamente hablaban español entonces tenía la oportunidad de hablar más español que los demás. 
      Creo que gané mucho a través de mi experiencia.  Ahora no estoy tan tímido hablar español cuando veo a un mexicano.  También tengo más confianza en mi español.  Estoy muy orgullo de que haya podido conocer a diferentes personas y empezar nuevos amistades.  Sobretodo, me gusto ver a la gente después de que yo la ayudé.  Me dio un sentimiento muy bueno saber que yo puedo ayudar a personas no más por hablar español.  Me gustaría voluntar otra vez en voluntarios en medicina y continuar mis amistades, practicar mi español, asistir a la gente, y tener más amigos.    

8. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-WINTER 2008
 For my PLE experience I volunteered at a clinic called Volunteers in Medicine. This is a clinic that offers free doctor services assuming the patient meets the qualifications to belong to the clinic. The clinic serves those people who work, but do not earn enough money to have insurance. I worked as an interpreter and had many different jobs to do. The jobs varied from greeting Spanish speaking patients who walked in- in Spanish, to being an interpreter from patient to doctor and vise versa. Other jobs I did was interpret for a Spanish speaking person who was trying to qualify for the clinic, answering phone calls in Spanish, and making reminder phone calls in Spanish. I spoke Spanish a lot every time I volunteered. The difference is the difficulty of Spanish spoken varied from day to day. Some days would be slow; therefore the only Spanish I spoke was when I greeted people and answered phone calls. These tasks did not require an extensive vocabulary base. Other days that were busy with eligibility screening and doctor visits were more stressful because the vocabulary used was something I was not completely comfortable with at the beginning. I knew going into this experience that I did not know many medical or financial terms; however I did know that I am a quick learner and that I have a good memory. Though the people working at the clinic were extremely grateful for me being there and did not care if I knew a lot of terminology, I made a great effort to learn all of the words because it made me feel like I was not only broadening my vocabulary but it was also easier for me to assist the Spanish speaking patients. The hours to volunteer at the clinic are extremely flexible. I worked on Thursday from 1-5, and sometimes on Friday when the interpreter for Friday could not make it. If you can’t block off a chunk of 4 hours out of your day to volunteer it is not a problem. The clinic is gracious to have any kind of help, so how ever many hours you can work is a bonus for them. I have not had the opportunity to travel abroad, so this was a very valuable and amazing opportunity for me. Not only did my Spanish vocabulary improve, now I am more comfortable speaking Spanish and having a continuous conversation in Spanish than I was before. Another aspect of the experience I enjoyed was being able to help people.  The Spanish speaking patients are so gracious you are there to make their experience easier. When I would stumble on my words or forget a certain medical term, they would encourage me and tell me that I was doing great. If there was a word I didn’t know or understand, they would describe it in Spanish until I knew what they were talking about. Overall this experience has been one I will never forget. I was able to improve my Spanish and help out the members of the community. I will continue to volunteer at the clinic because the clinic and the Spanish speaking patients made me feel like such a valuable asset. I would recommend the Volunteers in Medicine volunteering experience to anyone who has the desire to improve their Spanish and who wants to help the community.

9. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-WINTER 2008 

For my PLE I decided to volunteer at Volunteers in Medicine. The clinic is a non profit medical office. I volunteer there every Monday morning for three hours. I work there as a front desk Spanish interpreter. My duties included: answering the phones in Spanish, assisting patients during check in, and interpreting with the doctor and pharmacy when needed. Working at this clinic was a new experience for me but the people there made every moment worth while. There were some days that it was really busy and others very slow but nevertheless the staff always made it great experience. 
The staff and doctors at the clinic are all volunteers; they all give up their time to help people that can’t afford health care. The clinic offers their services to anybody that qualifies within their income guidelines. Any prescriptions can be purchase at the pharmacy at no cost to the patient. At the time a patient checks in they may choose to give a donation but they are not obligated to do so. The Spanish patients are always grateful that someone there understands them and is able to help them. They always acknowledge and appreciate the time you give them. 
	The time and effort that all the volunteers put each week into the clinic is such an inspiring act that shows that when a community comes together they can make a difference. I admire every single person that is a part of the Volunteers in Medicine clinic because they are changing people’s life. I have enjoyed so much working and being part of the volunteers that I am going to continue volunteering at the clinic when ever I have the time. This is an amazing organization that needs the community to support it in order to continue offering services to lower income families. If you’re looking to make a difference in someone’s life Volunteers in Medicine is the place for you because you’re find a great work environment and enthusiastic people that are passionate about their job.

10. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-SPRING 2008

Over this past term I worked at the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic.  The clinic is located on West 11th near Fred Meyer and I worked on Mondays from 8:30-12.  My duties increased as I grew more comfortable with the other employers and atmosphere.  By the end of the term a typical day would look like this:  I would arrive and check the Spanish messages on the phone and then usually call them back and change or confirm their appointments.  Then I would go out to the lobby and talk to the customers and direct them where to go when they arrived.  The customers were both white and Hispanic, so I spoke in both languages.  When the Hispanic patients were checking in I would interpret for them, depending on their level of need.  I would also go back with the patients and interpret for the doctors.  Sometimes I would also translate part of their medical files, if there were instructions or what not.  I also made phone calls to remind people of their appointments and answered phone calls with people’s random questions.  There begins to be some sort of routines and common phrases to use, but I also made a vocabulary list for me to review.  Some days were heavier than other with the use of Spanish, and I always felt like I was useful.  If your Spanish is not very proficient or you do not feel comfortable, then you can simply greet the patients.  I did feel nervous when it would be just me, the doctor and the patient because I was the only link between the two.  These experiences were always the most rewarding though.  I feel like I have a better understanding of what it means to interpret in a professional setting.  I am very glad that I was able to have this experience and would recommend it to anyone that has the time.


11. VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE-SPRING 2008
I have been working at Volunteers in Medicine for the past couple weeks each Friday from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm and have learned a ton. At first I was working checking people into the clinic and some translation for people who were being screened for financial eligibility for the clinic. I was later moved to taking phone calls, calling to remind patients of their appointments and preparing the charts for the following day. 
It seems that there are many Spanish-speaking volunteers on the days I volunteer so I haven’t used as much Spanish as others might use on days when there are few Spanish-speaking volunteers. However, each time I have gone in I have used at least some Spanish. Many of the Spanish-speaking patients are very grateful to be able to talk to someone in their language, even if they know English. You should have pretty good Spanish skills for this job and you’ll probably learn some new medical and financial vocabulary, but it doesn’t take too long to pick it up. 
The other volunteers and paid employees are really nice and helpful. They were very willing to teach me how to do my job. I have learned a lot from this experience, especially since I haven’t had a whole lot of work experience in the past. For Spanish skills I have learned new vocabulary and have learned to understand Spanish over the phone a lot better (it is not the same as talking to someone in person, it is usually harder). I have also been able to improve my understanding of various Spanish accents and ways of speaking. 



YMCA

1. YMCA-FALL, 2007

As the first PLE student ever to do an internship at the Eugene YMCA, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the program. I interviewed with Susan Niles, the Y’s “Director of Fun,” and soon realized that they, too, were unsure as to what extent they would use me. It all came down to demand, she told me. They had never been able to offer services in Spanish before, and now that they could, we would just have to wait and see how much of a demand there would be.
	On my first day, as Susan was introducing me to the very friendly staff members, a Latina woman came in and began asking the front desk in Spanish about membership costs. Everyone behind the counter formed awkward frowns, then upon remembering the new intern, all eyes turned to me in hopeful anticipation. “Well, you want to jump right in?” Susan asked me, and I grabbed my Spanish dictionary and came to the rescue. My interpreting was a little bumpy, certainly, but Efigenia was greatly appreciative of my efforts, as were the staff members. After she had her membership scholarship, an appointment with the personal trainer, and a reservation for childcare, Efigenia left a satisfied customer. It was amazing the rush I got from this one simple transaction: I was giddy for the rest of the day. Even though YMCA membership isn’t a life-or-death situation, I felt that I had helped make Efigenia’s day a little easier, which was truly rewarding.
	Not every day at the Y was as exciting as my first, but I felt that all my work was meaningful. My first assignment was to create a flyer stating the hours which I was available to assist Spanish-speaking community members. Susan and I also created a Spanish voicemail box that I was able to check regularly over the course of the term and return calls and answer questions. Whenever there wasn’t a need for an interpreter, there was always plenty of translating that could be done. My first day at the Y with Efigenia brought to my attention that none of the Y’s documents or flyers were available in Spanish. Since each independent Y has their own system of paperwork, it was up to me to translate membership applications, insurance waivers, bankdraft agreements, basketball schedules, swimming lesson schedules, and bulletins according to those already printed in English. I found this to be my greatest challenge during the program. Though I had spent a semester in Mexico and felt confident in my conversational Spanish, I was unfamiliar with the correct jargon for formal documents. Words like “waiver,” “applicant,” and “water aerobics” I had to look up in a Spanish-English dictionary, which gave me no guarantee that the words I chose were actually correct. To ensure that I used the right lingo for the Y’s (mostly Mexican) Latino members, I asked favors of friends who were native speakers of Spanish. With their help, I was able to create fluid documents that will increase the Y’s accessibility to Spanish-speaking community members. 
	The time I spent working at the Y awakened my desire to make all services accessible to Spanish-speaking individuals, a goal I will pursue for the rest of my life. Having lived in another country, I am familiar with the difficulty presented by extreme language barriers, and the gratitude people feel when they realize that there is someone who can bridge the gap- an ally that speaks their language and is there to help. While I did not get to speak Spanish at the Y as much as I had hoped, I began the process of transforming the Y into a place that includes Latino and Latina community members as much as English-speakers. I hope that once word gets out that services in Spanish are available, the demand for them will multiply, and the next PLE intern can continue making the Y a Spanish-friendly environment.