Paint Nights!!

I choose to attend a paint night with my friends on September 15th in Vets Hall! We chose to attend because we love painting and thought it would be a fun event to attend. This was the original event I thought I would attend in the beginning. At the paint night the artist was there and she walked us through the process of painting a city horizon. The night was a lot of fun as we learned different techniques to paint. The artist was very helpful and made sure every one was having a good time, and relatively at the same place. Also painting with my friends made for a fun story and  and even better memory. 

 We had so much fun at our first paint night that we have attended to other paint nights! One was at the Gatsset Fitness Center and instead of painting what the  artist had in mind me and my friends switched it up a little bit and painted other things! The other paint night was hosted by the Italian club and me and my friends pulled topics out of a hat about what we were all going to paint. That made our night that much more fun as we all tried to think about what we were going to do with our topics!
 Attending these paint nights helped play a role in developing my sense of place by drawing my friends together to have a fun, stress free night!

Thanksgiving

My house has been the place where I have lived my whole life. I feel connected to my house because it is where I learned and grew up! Every time I turn the corner of my street and see my Bright blue house I become ecstatic. It is the I realize I get to see my 4 siblings, my parents, my 2 cats and not to mention my dog. My house is filled with fond memories including many traditions that are changing ever so slightly as my siblings and I grow up. We have hosted many thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter dinners at my house. This would be a joyous time spent with not just my immediate but my extended family as well.

Over the years my older sister took over hosting thanksgiving dinner with her boyfriend! Although the tradition of thanksgiving dinner being with just my family, it has been fun mixing our family with my sister's boyfriends family. But the tradition of being with family has lived on at her house!
Our Christmas tradition of being all together at my house has lived on as we all still meet on Christmas morning at my house, waiting on the stairs for everyone to arrive. Our Easter diner is still hosted at our house and is another tie when  our whole family gets together.

So for me my house represents not just a place I love but family, A place where the one's I love meet.Ever since I was little me and my siblings have continued to grow closer and closer together, and our house is a place where we have meet up and continue to build new fun memories. I'm glad that for Thanksgiving break I am able to say I got to come back home to my house and meet up with my family and hangout!!

Bike Path Trip!

Taking the trip down the bike path towards Marblehead to the other park, contributed to my sense of place. This was due to the fact that it allowed me to explore a new place I can go with friends and explore further. Also as we were walking there it expanded my knowledge of where things were surrounding Salem State University. This in my eyes showed me the importance of being able to find your way around and always be able to get your way back home. During the walk I noticed new things I had not known existed like the second soccer field and the park.

Even though my knee was bothering me I really enjoyed being outside on such a nice day. It was such a beautiful day to take a nice walk and explore the surrounding community in Salem. I enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the fall leaves, I especially enjoyed crunching the leaves as I walked. The park also had beautiful views of the ocean, as well as some beautiful homes that had fantastic views.The fact that we then got to explore and record what we considered to be our sense of place was with the I-pads was fun! I think having more time to explore would of been valuable.

The pictures below showed a portion of my groups and my journey back to our home at Salem State university. This trip was eye- opening to understanding that sense of place is seen in every new experience or journey you encounter!

The Salem Diner

Me and my partner  went to The Salem Diner because we heard it was good and we both hadn't been there. The location of the diner also made it easy to meet up and fit into our really busy schedules. We ultimately decided we would go on Wednesday at 9:30 and we would meet up in front of Meir after class and walk over. We called the local diner to see if we would be able to interview a waiter or waitress. In order to interview them we had to get permission from Chartwells, since they oversee the diner as well. 

Prior to going to the diner we came up with ample questions that we were curious to ask including... 

 1. How do you like working here?- I really like it my coworkers are nice and the customers as well.
 2. How long have you been working here?- I have been working here for about 6 months.
3. Who comes more often to the diner?- Mostly SSU students come here but sometimes you see other people.
4. When was it first opened?- It was first opened in 1941.
5. What is your favorite thing to do here?- My favorite thing to do here is interact with the customers and have a conversation with them.
6. When did Salem State University bought it?- It got reopened in January 2014.
7. How do you like here living in Salem?- I like it especially when it comes to Halloween you get to see many people around having a good time in downtown.
8. How is it like being a waitress?
- It is hard work trying to be on time giving out the food but overall it is great the only thing is when we get our check is not much since waitresses get tips we get paid differently.

From visiting the small diner I was able to compare it to visits to other small diners I have visited. It was not my favorite diner I have ever been to but I found the  small atmosphere to be warm and inviting. When walking in through the doors I was overwhelmed with the smell of food. I especially remember smelling bacon, even after leaving I remember the lingering smell of bacon on my sweatshirt. From interviewing the waitress I learned a little bit more on the Salem Diner. I found the overall design of the dinner to be a really cool concept. When I was standing inside the diner The atmosphere reminded me about how space plays a role in a sense of place and how one thinks. 

While at the diner we used critical thinking skills because we asked a lot of questions, and found out the answers and when things were a little confusing we asked for some clarification.  With the information we gained I also used critical thinking skills to make connections to my personal life. For example when inside the diner I made connections to the diner that my sisters work at back home where I live. Having my sisters be waitresses I have a greater appreciation for helping out the waiters/ waitresses by stacking plates when done with my meal. 

This contributed to my sense of place because it was filled with great people and it allowed me to experience another place that I could see myself going back too. The diner was very self explanatory. I decided to research what role diners have in affecting ones sense of place?

I tried to read the assignment due on  Nov 14 but it says it is unpublished. However I remember briefly talking about this in class and me and my partner are planing on playing a trivia game on your sense of place in Salem.

https://salemstate.instructure.com/courses/1127085/assignments/6011135 (Links to an external site.)

Pausing in life to experience one's senses!

I want you to close your eyes and imagine your sitting on the ground. The grass is bending and the leaves are rustling in the crisp Autumn wind. The wind is blowing your hair ever so slightly across your face. While the warmth of the sun is radiating from a black jacket you happen to be wearing. The sounds of the city are beating their way through the silence of being outside in a little secluded park. When you close your eyes you can hear the vividness of the wind, leaves, water, birds, cars and the occasional bar from a loving dog. When your eyes open you seethe beauty of the trees with the right shining sun with a few clouds scattered across the blue sky. If you turn your head you see the ocean with all the boats and the slight rippling of the water in the distance. You yourself are know part of the beauty the park has to offer.

This is the experience I had when visiting Forest River Park. It was a beautiful day. It was so relaxing to pause from the fast pace of the world and reflect on the simplicity of being one with nature. There's a sense of calm that rushes over me with the freedom of walking in nature and observing the beauty of the world away from the stresses of everyday life like school, work and even friends. It is an amazing time to sit and reflect on hard moments throughout your week that you need some clarity on.

Being in the park and reflecting on life as a whole helps me to gain another side of my sense of place. Not only can you build a sense of place on taking a break alone to sit and enjoy the beauty, but you may also read a book, draw or even write out in nature. You can write or draw what you see or feel, or you can escape the world even further by sliding up next to a tree and enter a new world through a book. 

I can not wait for spring when the weather is better to be able to go and relax and maybe read draw or do homework next to a tree. I really enjoyed going on this trip and being able to take a break, it allowed me to slow down and actually appreciate the small things in life. That was important because in a busy life it is hard to remember to take a break and just breath in some fresh air away from the exhaust of the cars. I believe that this trip was extremely insightful and was a very rewarding experience just to be able to relax in a class and have scheduled time were it is okay to just sit, relax, think, and to be in the present.

We have a panel of students come in and talk to us about registration and what was important to know about scheduling meeting with your adviser. They had us all write down questions we had for them and they answered them with ease. Informing us on everything and anything we would possibly want to know! It struck me that college is only going to get harder and busier as you get into your major classes. Time management is going to have to become your new best friend to allow you to juggle work, school, friends and most importantly sleep! At SSU you need to fully allow yourself to participate in your community to obtain your sense of place.

Justin Snow also came to talk to us about advising. He reviewed degree tracker, and our unofficial transcript. He was very informative and learning how to use degree tracker is really helpful in the process of trying to make your course selections. Using degree tracker you can see what gen ed classes you still need to fulfill in order to graduate. Knowing that will make sure you keep on track to graduate on time. He also went over our unofficial transcripts which will allow for you to see how many credits you have and after your first semester your grades and your overall GPA.

I contacted my adviser and he got back to me within a day with the process to sign up for a time slot to meet to talk about my spring semester. My meeting was last Tuesday and he was very helpful in helping me determine what classes I need to make sure to get into to stay on track to graduate. This was extremely important because my major includes a lot of vigorous course loads to me wanting to become a physical therapist. He was very supportive of the kind of carer I want to pursue and how to achieve my goal. 

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Exploring My Sense of Place

According to the Article, Developing a Sense of Place Through Native Science Activities, by Clifford E. Knapp, there are 25 different ways to develop your sense of place. Including Orienting to a place, changing positions, understanding yourself, telling stories, naming places, etc.... I have started to develop a sense of place in Salem by exploring the surrounding community at SSU and downtown. Me and my friends have been participating in SSU hosted events as well as adventuring downtown to explore and see where we fit in.

I have found a sense of place by staying in the present which they explain about talking time to realize and remember your past and think about your future and blend it into your present. Also I have observed nature and described how I felt with adverbs, adjectives and verbs. When in nature I have also looked for patterns. When I was younger my parents brought me to a labyrinth that really allowed for me to be able to move around and fully experience the place.

The rest of the methods shown in this article i have not tried and i have no interest in trying them.
I like my ways of getting to know my place in Salem and finding my sense of place at SSU.

Farmers Market Trip!

I met my group downtown at 5 PM at the farmers market in Derby Square. My first reaction was that it was very similar to the market in my town! There were many different farms that where there selling their products. I thought the setup of the market was fun and I loved the fact that when we went there were dancers there! As soon as the song thriller came on all these zombies jumped up and started dancing, it was so cool!

At the farmers market we met with Chris from Grants Family Farm, his Aunt was also there helping him out at the market!

Me and my group were able to ask multiple questions including...
What are your most popular flowers/ vegetable to sell?
Their most popular flowers to sell are Zinnias. Their most popular vegetables are lettuce and arugula.

What is your most popular product to sell?
Eggs are always a big hit and actually when we were there they had sold out of eggs.

In a typical week how many hours on average do you spend tending to the farm lands?
Over the summer he told us that he spends on average 80 hours waking up at 4:30 AM, now that's dedication! Over the winter since there is less to do he sleeps into about 6:30 AM and spends less time tending to the farm.

Being at the Salem farmers market, how does it play a role in developing a sense of place?
Working on a farm and selling their produce at the Salem farmers market is a tradition for him and his family. His grandfather started it and there was a break and then it re started. When his grandmother found out they were starting it up again she was so happy!

Why did the name change from Grant’s Plants to Grant’s Family Farms?
The name changed because they used to plant for garden centers and they changed the name when they started more traditional farming to sell at farmers markets.

What would it mean to be certified by a third party?
It would cost a lot to be certified by a government third party.

When did you decide you wanted to work on a farm, and sell your products at farmers markets?
It was an easy choice since he grew up with it. He had an office job for a few months but he was not enjoying his job and so that was when he knew he wanted to work on the farm and sell at farmers markets. However he did tell us how retail is tough and its hard to stand up for four hours and smile and communicate with everyone.

What is the community like in Salem at the farmers market?
He discussed how he loved seeing his regular customers children growing up. He also stated how the whole month of October is crazy at the farmers market.

What is the craziest thing you have encountered since starting up your farm?

When I asked him whats the craziest thing since he has started he said besides it being in Salem I get weird questions. For example when something has run out, "can you check out back" or "are the chickens happy, do they have names".

Did the summer drought affect your crops?
Yes it did make an impact on their vegetable crops but they still had enough to sell at the farmers markets.

Are you in any other farmers markets?
The answer is yes Grants Family Farm participates in three farmers markets, Salem, Swampscott, and Marblehead.

Does any non- family members work there?
When we asked him he said no its all family run and he is the only full time employee the rest of the family is part time.

When did the farm begin?
It began in the 70's when it was bought, for a time it there was a break before Chris and his brother re started it in 2006.

How affordable is your products?
Their eggs are roughly the same price as store eggs, where as the vegetables are a bit more expensive.

I loved going to the farmers market it was a great experience and it was fun to get a fresh insight into another part of Salem! I loved waling around with all my friends and seeing the different vendors there. I also really enjoyed watching the zombie dancers. It was also a great experience to get to talk to some of the locals and met their dogs!! Going to the farmers market helped me to develop my sense of place because it gave me a chance to meet with locals and discover another great aspect of Salem!

Howl-o-ween Parade!

I went to the Howl-o-ween Parade with my friends last weekend, on Sunday! We were going to walk but ran out of time before parade started so we drove. Driving in downtown Salem during October is bad and parking was even worse. However it was a great opportunity to meet some of the locals and who doesn't love animals dressed up in costumes? It was adorable! The parade was held along  Derby Square, in downtown Salem. It was a very family friendly event, with numerous pets dressed up as well as some of their owners. Not only did they parade up and down the street they then preceded into a costume contest.

Some of the contest winners were....

1. A group of dogs dressed up as characters from The Wizard of Oz!
2. Three cats dressed up as a Thing 2, Fish, and the Cat in the Hat!

These were also my two favorites of the day! But I also loved the dog with her own Popsicle cart! The dog dressed up like wonder woman, the dog as the trolley conductor, shark, dinosaur, Hillary Clinton and, the dog with  a jokey on its back!

All I could think of when watching this parade was A. how cute they all were and B. how my dog would love to be dressed up but would hate all the people around. Although going did kind of make me miss my dog and two cats it melted my heart to see how excited they all were and that in itself made me instantly smile!

If you love animals as much as me I would highly recommend putting this parade on your to do list for the years to come. It was definitely worth the trip downtown! I will definitely be going next year!
Howl-o-ween!

Library Tour!

Me and my friends found the library part of our sense of place right off the bat. We found it was the easiest way to get our homework done while being able to be together. It also provided a quiet space with enough seating for us all to work! At first we fell in love with the round booth tables, but as the weeks went by  we realized those were very popular and in a crowded area so we had to find a new spot. From then on we found our spot being the long tables in the back where we could all fit and work on our homework as a big group. We have also rented out study room which make the library that much more fun due to us not having to worry about being super quiet. In there we can play music, help our friends study using the whiteboard walls and, yet still get our homework done. 

First study space for me and my friends!

New and improved longer tables for studying!

The location of the Library is in the center of north campus, which allows for it to be easily accessible to all students. In my mind the location of the library makes a huge impact, it allows for students to always be walking in, near and around the library to get to their classes. That alone may entice students to come after class to get some homework done in a quiet environment and find their sense of place in the library.

The so called "floating stairs"

Through our private tour of the library from Jason I got to fully walk around the entirety of the second floor! I also learned the favorite spots to sit and study with beautiful views of almost all of north campus. I also learned that is acceptable to take naps on the booths/ in the chairs. He also mentioned the reasoning behind the architecture behind the building. For example he mentioned that they built the staircase in the middle of the library with the glass to make it seem like it was a floating staircase. Another one of the features was the big glass windows to allow for a lot of natural light and to make it feel more comfortable. They also incorporated  wood to give it more of a home like atmosphere. Lastly there is plenty of seating and over 200 computers available for students to use; as well as multiple study rooms which are first come first serve and very popular. 

We had one of the faculty of the library support team talk to us on researching. This was an extremely informative session where we found out how to look for CRRAP on websites, use the libraries database to find books and, lookup articles through the Academic Search Premier, through Ebsco. Throughout the process of researching through Ebsco you are able to refine your search. He told us that theirs a magical button that will even find us Scholarly Articles which may become very handy throughout are academic career at SSU!

Mapworks is here to help the university as a whole by connecting students and faculty. They host survey to help determine whether or not you as a student are having difficulties in your academics or just being at Salem State as a whole. Based on the survey they are better equipped for being able to provide you with the correct support to help propel your life here on and or off campus. The survey also asked for suggestions for what the school could approve on.          

Link to a sense of place article in Salem

This website is our schools version of Ebsco which is a data base that I became familiar with in my high school for our research papers. I always found this sight to be extremely useful while researching. 

Trip to Salem's National Park

I learned a lot about Salem from the National Park Salem. Through my NPS reading, my fellow peers, the ranger, and from the place itself. We learned about the Maritime, the Custom House, the middle class, and the Polish Immigrants. My group personally researched the Polish Immigrants, and then got to teach the class about what we learned. We were also able to ask our questions to the park ranger!

Maritime

Salem Maritime- It was when ships came in to the ports and this is where their cargo would be weighed, inspected, and taxed. Interesting fact: The first elephant came over on a ship to Salem.

Custom House

Custom House- Salem was the leading trading site in the Country. They would mainly receive sugar, pepper, spices through trade. At the house they would use scales to weigh the cargo and calculate the tax and collect them. 

Original Eagle 

Narbonne House

Middle Class- We got to explore the Narbonne House. It had two rooms and six families inhibited it over 400 years from 1675- 1964. 

Derby House

Polish Immigrants- The derby house is the last Polish House standing in Salem, MA on Derby Street. Polish Immigrants came to Salem to escape Poverty and Starvation. They had their own community where they worked, and went to school and held social activities. 

More Information on Polish History in Salem

My Nature Journal!

Reflection on visiting NPS... 

Going on this field trip was extremely insightful, I loved being able to explore the different historical buildings! When first arriving at the site the first things I noticed was the smell of the ocean and more importantly the beautiful view. While exploring the old buildings it was amazing to see what was used back then in the Custom House, as well as seeing the old artifacts that were dug up out back of the narbonne house.

Walking around and learning some of the deep history that is a huge part of what Salem means to so many; allowed for me to add to my sense of place. Physically being able to go and see NPS allowed for me to add another place onto my place of where I could see myself going with friends and family in Salem. With the knowledge of history I have gained it has allowed me to be able to be like a tour guide for my family and friends! 

Questions...

1. Where does the path of the red line go around Salem?
2. What is the most famous part of history in Salem?

Storytelling to figure out ones place in Salem

Today in class we had two visitors come visit us to talk to us about their experiences and stories in Salem, MA, and finding our sense of place. One of our guest talked about her partnership with the Salem Farmers Market and the second one was a local historian who talked about his finding of a sense of place in downtown Salem. I found it really interesting when he was telling his story about the community he came a part of living on derby street and always going to RED's Sandwich Shop! This struck me because communities have always been a big part of my life growing up. To me being a part of a community helps create a sense of place.

I did not ask a question.  However I found out that a bar called in the pig's eye closed and it was a local tragedy. This came up with a question asked from a classmate who played guitar and was looking for a place to get a gig at. I found this interesting because live music events have always been an interest of mine.

I would love to learn more about the rich history of downtown Salem as it is always changing. Just from hearing about how our first speaker was talking about how REDS was in the past and how it s now, the whole atmosphere has shifted.

RED'S Sandwich Shop- "WHERE THE LOCALS MEET TO EAT" (redssandwichshop)
They like to pride them selves on being where the local go to eat. After looking at RED'S website I have learned that they have opened up a new location in Peabody. Also it has been a popular landmark for Salem for over 50 years! RED'S is definitely on my list to go check out with friends to get a sense of the community of Salem!
http://redssandwichshop.com/

In preparing for our speakers to come tell their stories to our class about Salem, learning some background on them was fairly helpful. It allowed for me to understand a deeper meaning on what they were actually referring to. Understanding the background information made listening easier and it made me more interested to hear more about their stories.

Both of the speakers mentioned places and ways to get involved in the Salem community to help identify a sense of place. For me these resources will help me to develop my sense of place and where i fit into Salem's Community. Our first speaker effectively made it interesting to listen to his story by making it relate-able and funny; while presenting important lessons on finding a sense of place. It could of been better to break up the days on which we heard from both speakers. This would of made it easier for me to fully engage in our second guest speaker's story. For our first guest I rated myself a two as being engaged with the experience. I gave myself a two for engagement because I was interested in what he was saying but it was very long and toward the end  I found myself loosing focus. For our second speaker I rated my engagement a 4 because my attention span was gone from listening to our first speaker and I found myself spacing out a lot and adding to my map of SSU. Although I did find what I payed attention to about the farmers market and the dog parade was very informative.