#liaintern

Sorry it's been so long! These weeks have been passing by so quickly! My first week at the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center was amazing! For my first week, they hosted a camp for kids Kindergarten through sixth grade so I was tossed right in the mix as a co-camp counselor for the kindergarten class. 

Let me just say first that there was a time in my life where I hated kids. I think it was more like  I was afraid of them. They are brutally honest with no filters and I had some bad experiences with bratty kids so I was a little traumatized.With that being said, I was more than a little wary about being in charge of little kids. 

But I am so glad I was put into that situation because I LOVE MY KIDS. I love them so much. Let me backtrack a little again. The camp is a place where these kids can learn about the Japanese culture through various activities. The week was jammed packed with activities that raged from racial/multi-cultural awareness, knowledge of world war II through worksheets and speakers, and traditional watermelon smashing games. It was simply amazing. We even went on a field trip to the Japanese American National Museum and a old mom and pops sweets shop called fugetsu-do. The itinerary was great in that I feel as though it was a good balance between learning and fun. I would have loved to have gone to a camp like this.

But the best part is obviously meeting all the kids. In just a week, i grew to love all the kids in my room which I believe had seven little rascals. Each one was so different. There were shy kids, the kids that always listened, the ones that couldn't keep still, the ones that defied authority. I loved them all. It was especially amazing to grow close to the ones that were shy at first. That meant that through those couple days, I gained their trust enough for them to be able to laugh with me and confide in me. That feeling was amazing. I really am considering if I want to work with kids in the future. 

Things weren't always happy dandy as, I knew I needed to be the authority figure. It was funny because I could say a child's name and give a look and they would know they should sit down and do their work. kindergarten-ers have short attention spans, they always want to play with your phone or your hair and get piggyback rides, but they are the most adorable kids. 

This summer I am lucky enough to be part of the Leadership Education for Asian Pacific's Leadership In Action Internship! Whew, that was long. Anyhow, the internship started on  6/16/2014 and boy, has it been a long week. Since I wasn't able to write during the week, this post will just be the overview and highlights of this week. 

The First Day: Filled with anticipation, this day - for me, was mostly about meeting the rest of the interns. We got our program interviews and jumped right into a workshop about the differences between a leader and manager. While managers are people who make sure things get done, there is something powerful in what a leader can do - inspire, motivate, move others. But despite various definitions and key words, I think it's safe to say both intersect and have important roles in any organization. That afternoon, we met Matt who talked to us about team building. The first day, we were able to feel each other out and learn about the different personalities in the room. It was apparent that everyone was different in leadership styles and that we all had different talents/skills to offer.

Day Two: We spent the whole day with Matt which was amazing because his workshops were always fun and insightful. We did a gallery walk in the morning and focused on feedback techniques in the afternoon. Giving feedback is harder than I thought.  I think something important to remember is that not everyone wants feedback. It's always better to ask permission first before giving feedback and also important to ask if someone wants to be publicly acknowledge for feedback. Some may not like the attention and others may thrive in it. These are good things to consider as a leader and the best way to do that is to effectively communicate intentions and impact.

At night we were able to go to Tuesday Night Cafe! It's an open space in Little Tokyo for performers. I've been there before but I love the atmosphere. It was great to be in a place with people who are performing about issues that are relevant to the community and my life. Plus it was nice to just hang out with the other interns as we're still trying to get to know each other.

Day Three: The day was the challenge day! We had to go to different ethnic neighborhoods and prepare dinner at our retreat house. Sounds simple enough but it's not as easy as it seems. We were given a sheet of directions but as a team we had to plan which members went to what towns, how much money each team was given, what dishes to cook, how to take public transit. There's a lot to consider and the day was hectic but it was nice to be out of the office and experiencing new things. As a L.A native, I have never taken the metro but it was fun taking the rail to Ktown. It gave me a different perspective on public transit, the people who take it and how important efficient/affordable public transit is to a city.

Day Four: Sadly, we were only able to stay at our Retreat House for one night. (Dinner was amazing btw.) I woke up, bright and early, at 6:15 and we all headed back to the office at around 7:30. Today we visited a lot of CBO's and talked to a panel at JANM. The panel was very insightful and being in that big conference room made things feel official and important. ahahah LUNCH WAS AMAZING. We ate at The Parks Finest which is Filipino BBQ food? I'm not sure what to label them, but the food was amazing. The CORNBREAD is to die for. But it was also amazing to talk to the owners. They seemed like such down to earth people, starting from humble beginnings as a catering business and now having there own spot in LA. They had personality and I think that comes off in the food and atmosphere of their restaurant.

Day Five: The last day of the week and  I must say, I was so glad. What I'm writing now is only a glimpse into the week. It was exhausting trying to process all the information given to me and also tiring traveling around to all the different places...FUN - but very tiring. But on this day, I tried to put my best foot forward because we got to meet our CBO supervisors! Lucky for me, my supervisor - Pearl - was really sweet! I'll be working with her at the San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center this summer and I couldn't be more excited. We played a fun activity learning about our communication styles using DISC. Apparently, I'm an I. I stands for influence. People in the "I" category are optimistic and fast paced. We like to be acknowledge and fear social rejection. ahahah We were put into these squares that were suppose to define us but I think it was important that Linda, kept reminding us that just because we were labeled something didn't mean we should be pigeon-holed into that one ideology. 

Later that day, we started discussing our community impact project and I must say I was the most impressed by this section. I was impressed because I felt like as a team, we put what we learned into action. We created ground rules, we appointed a facilitator (which was Steven), and we established an agenda, letting each person speak without stomping on each others toes but also without fear of hearing/giving feedback. Although we didn't come up with all the details of a project, I think we worked well as a team and I think given more time, we will succeed.