Current location:	Bedroom
Current mood:	touched
Current music:	Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry

Random Update
Summer before law school - pretty amazing.  I love the work I'm doing - I work for a senior citizen day care center, aimed especially at those senior citizens who don't yet need nursing home care, but who have serious disabilities, be they mental, physical, or otherwise.  It's both depressing and encouraging.  It is encouraging because for some of these seniors, this center is all that they have to keep them going or else they would likely deteriorate - in short, they live for the social interaction, sense of individuality, and the chance to do activities like tai chi (they're so cute!!) and bingo or trips to casinos (so funny!) and other fun events.  Not to mention the fact that many of them might not be eating at all or taking their medicines if not for the meals we serve and the fact that we have a full-on nursing staff to take their vitals, and the free transportation to and from any doctor-related visits we offer. 

Why is it depressing then?  It's depressing because they honestly need this - the joy they get simply from us remembering their name and calling them by it is absolutely humbling.  They've been used to being lumped in under the blanket "medicaid" label for so long that any chance to be seen as a person is something absolutely foreign and breathtaking for them.  And for me, it's sad to know that these are the facts of life for some people.  The whole situation is really making me think long and hard about getting into poverty/public policy law.  For once, I feel like I'm making a huge difference.  There's really no other way to describe it but humbling.

The only teensy problem is the location of the center - where it is located is mostly a Hispanic area, which naturally means that most of the seniors speak Spanish only.  What's the problem, then?

I, um, don't.

While I'm mostly working with computers here right now, I do want to get involved with the seniors, which necessitates a pretty decent knowledge Spanish.  About a thousand flash cards later, I'm still learning... if anyone has any suggestions, I'm totally open to anything that would open these lines of communication!  Stupid self - why did I take french???

Buenas noches everyone!!!