Open Table Reflection

When the concert first began, the three instrumentalists walked with energy despite their age. The first song, “Sonata I in G-Major Op. 2, Nr. 1” by Michel Blavet, was a Baroque Sonata. There were five movements and was played by the harpsichord, flute, and cello. All movements of the song were polyphonic because of the three instruments that had different parts and equal importance. In the first movement, I noticed that the flute tended to rise in pitch. In the second movement, I noticed that the melodies often repeated. Throughout the rest of the song the tempo changed from fast to slow and the flute would usually take the lead. On the last movement, the cello and the harpsichord

The next day on Sunday, February 28 I went to Schilletter Dining Hall at around 3:33 PM. Schilletter was smaller than Harcombe and had a different layout. Schilleter is set in a shape similar to a circle which has the different food stations all around. At first I thought that this place would have more groups of people since it is smaller but it turned out to be the opposite. In schilletter I noticed a larger amount of people isolated from each other. There were more places for people who eat alone to sit because of the layout of the dining hall. It is interesting how the shape and the arrangement of a dining hall can modify how people sit and socialize. Because of the tables being all around people were able to make less contact with each

Because there were only a few guests present the ceremony was taking longer to commence than the guests were expecting. There were different groups of people having conversations laughing silently at each other’s jokes, some were sitting on the pews and others were standing up, but all were scattered. The band was still doing some warm up rounds, you could see their concentration as they each fiddled with their instruments. The

For an observation of an AA meeting my classmate and I made arrangements to go to an open meeting at Our Lady Star Of The Sea Church, which was held in a basement during a Tuesday afternoon session at 4:00 p.m. I first looked up the sessions online on a website where it held all the meetings on Staten Island and this one fit my schedule well. Its not unusual for me to be attending or visiting churches but for this assignment it did feel a little out of my comfort zone, because I didn’t know what to expect or what others would think of me. I chose a seat in the back corner that wouldn’t be too obvious yet it seemed like a typical seat for a newbie to sit at. The room was fairly large and I was surprised at how big the crowd got at least 30 plus people attended.

Shortly after our visit to the Lofgren’s, I married my fiancée, which concluded my six-month long residence with my grandmother. Subsequent to my moving out, Grandma resided alone in her house for several years and on nearly every Sunday, “just in case someone might drop in after church,” made a delicious roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy. During the first years of our married life, Kathy and I frequently dropped in after church to dine and visit with my endearing

Our dinner party consisted of meeting at Char’s, where we shared swipes for those not on a meal plan (myself). While this was a great experience as I have never been there before and definitely interesting to see as I am a recent transfer student. Our topics really seem to range and develop into much deeper conversations compared to last I must say! The major discussion revolved around wage gap, beauty ideals with sexual violence reference, and overall experiences of the ancestor interview.

The event is open to all to become part of the conversation and to share their stories. Light refreshments will be

Everyone sat down at the big rectangular table like if they were all a big family enjoying dinner together. There was food such as guacamole, carne asada and tacos. Families were able to take leftovers home and were grateful for this. They each hug their neighbors good bye as they leave the backyard into the sidewalk to their own unique

(Even the “ex’s” and the people who are not quite in the picture anymore.) As we gather around the table we share things we are thankful for. Whether we are thankful for the sweet banana pudding waiting for us after supper, or whether it is something heart felt, we always come together and share things as a family. But most importantly, we share food. Each separate family brings something they cooked and my aunt sets it out as a buffet line along her kitchen counters and we join hands and say the blessing, and start fixing our plates. Us ladies get to go first. As I make my way around the counter tops each year, I fill my plate with tender turkey and juicy ham, potato casserole, green beans, macaroni and cheese, rolls, corn on the cob, and other things

This essay is a reflection on my observation of how a group interacts with each other. The 12-step meeting I attended was Overeater’s Anonymous (OA). OA uses the same Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions as Alcoholics Anonymous, the words are changed from “alcoholic” to “compulsive overeater”. The meeting I went to had seven people in attendance even with this small of a group it was definitely a diverse group. All seven attendees were women whose ages ranged from a young college student to an elderly homemaker, there was a middle age professional (just left the office type), and a good old ranch gal boot wearing, hair in a braid ranch women. I was a bit nervous about being there but someone patted the seat next to herself and I

six minutes in length and a couple songs were a little over ten minutes. The

Activities on this day were pretty normal. We attended a nice church service, mingled with friends, helped out around the church, and either went out to eat or headed home for a nice cooked meal. On this particular day we had went out with a few church family members to a nice restaurant and decided to go home and relax for the week ahead of us. As we came home we were in for a big surprise.

Never have I taken the time to think of the significance of the kitchen table in my life, but I have come to realize that my kitchen table has always been a place to unwind and share with my family members. From childhood to my adult hood, I have always come to the kitchen table in celebration, conference, in search of security, and enjoyment. The kitchen table of the past always brought my family together, and the table in my present brings focus to my school work and an occasional “catch up” conversation with my family, and in the future I hope to have a similar kitchen table setting as I did in my childhood, but with my own style.

I have spent approximately 5,735 hours sitting at a dinner table with my family. Some of those hours dragged by and some of them ran out in the blink of an eye. Many hours took place around a huge mahogany table that seemed to extend for miles, while others occurred around a tiny folding table, barely big enough to contain the food and conversations being passed above it. However, one of the things that has always stayed that same, no matter the table or the topic of discussion, was the people that sat around it. Family dinner is such a profound time of the day; a time when everyone can come together as one. Throughout all of these years and all of these dinner tables, I have come to learn that relationships are sacred.

For the service learning project, I teamed up with three of my classmates to volunteer at a lady’s conference at Imani Restoration Centre church (IRCC) on the 16th of September, 2017. IRCC is a non-profit organization which is a Kenyan community founded that focuses on bringing African immigrants together to support and learn the things of God. Samuel Mwangi, the senior pastor of IRCC, said that through the counseling sessions that he holds at the church every Thursday, he discovered that most ladies go through the same challenges. Therefore, he thought it would be great for him to organize a lady’s conference, so that ladies could come together to share and support each other (Personal communication, September, 16, 2017)