A Fun Diabetes Video

Kidshealth.org has an excellent video about diabetes that we watched today. Diabetes is a huge problem as we learned today (and will hopefully teach the group tomorrow!)

http://kidshealth.org/misc/movie/cc/diabetes/index.html

Enjoy!

on the way to the garden

Last week we went to help out in a community garden run by the South Chicago Art Center. It's a pretty incredible garden, tended to by a really enthusiastic and energetic man named Miguel.

But a quick story about what happened on the way to the garden. Before we started working, we had to pick up some tools to work with from the art center. We were hauling these dirty shovels and garden tools when we walked by a group of kids sitting on a porch. One of them yelled out to our students, "Are you going to work in that garden? Tell them we're not slaves anymore." It was both awkward and funny. We all kind of laughed it off and moved on, but how should one react to a comment like that? Is there a sense of maliciousness behind the humor, or was it just a joke?

Tour + Meal + Kickball = Good Day

Yesterday we were privileged to get a tour of the South Side of Chicago by the one and only Wallace Goode, Director of the University Community Service Center at the University of Chicago. The entire group loaded into a big yellow school bus early in the morning and began our journey by exploring Kenwood. Wallace pointed out the homes of President Obama, Louis Farrakhan, and Muhammad Ali (whose house is currently on the market for $1.6 million).

From there, we traveled through a number of communities such as Chinatown, the South Loop, and Pullman. Throughout the bus ride, Wallace did an excellent job at presenting the group with new and interesting facts about the rich history of the area. One interesting thing we learned was that the Chinatown was originally in a different location, closer to Fullerton, but eventually moved to its present location near Bridgeport. During this portion of the trip, we also became more cultured citizens of Chicago and learned what the stars and stripes on the Chicago flag symbolized: two blue bars for the two branches of the Chicago river, and four stars for four major events in Chicago history – the founding of Fort Dearborn, the Great Chicago Fire, the Columbian Exposition, and the Century of Progress Exposition.

In the South Loop, Wallace highlighted the affects of gentrification-just a few years ago it was not a frequently visited area but with the addition of housing developments, a Whole Foods and a Fancy movie theater (and Starbucks of course!) things were quickly changing. In our journey, we also visited South Chicago (yay!) where Wallace showed us a huge lot that once housed a steel plant but was now unused partially because of the contaminated soil. It was disappointing to see such a huge plot of land that was not being used for the community. For most of us, it was the first time we had been so far south and exploring Chicago with the group was a great experience!

Overall, touring the South Side was educational, entertaining…and hunger-inducing. (You try riding through the delicious smells of Chinatown as lunchtime approaches.) Thankfully, we ended our tour at Yassa, a lauded Senegalese restaurant in the neighborhood of Grand Crossing. Deliciousness ensued in the form of plantains, jollof rice, lamb, chicken, fish, couscous, cabbage, and SPICINESS. For some of us (Imari, Alex G, and Zakia) the amount of spicy heat was culinary perfection. For others (Deanna and Sam) it was pushing it – we liked it, but it also made our eyes water. A lot.

Now that our bellies were full of the delights of West Africa, we were energized to play a rousing game of kickball on the Midway back at the University of Chicago. Two teams, each with SSPers from each of the three sites, were created and a showdown between Team Jacob and Team Awesome took place. It took a little while for everyone to get in the schoolyard groove (remembering the tricks of those games you played in the third grade is no easy task!), but eventually we got into the rhythm of forced outs and RKIs – that’s “Runs Kicked In” for all of you kickball neophytes. Zakia, Deanna, Alex, and Imari were all on the victorious Team Jacob and give their apologies to Sam and Whitney, members of Team Awesome, for the stomping they received.

We ended our day with a name game among all of the SSPers, and then said our goodbyes. We’re so glad that the South Chicago Team is now all together and raring to go!

–Zakia and Deanna

Whitney's pictures from Chinatown

“Dancing Dragons”
The dragons in Chinatown were very colorful. They almost looked as if they were dancing and were turned to stone. I really like the designs that were carved around them. The overall appearance was very pretty to me. It looks as if they were real.



I like the bird because I really like the animals and I could picture the real colors of the bird other than the actual greenish color it was made from.



I liked the dog in Chinatown because that’s my sign and I really really love dogs.



I like the picture of the alley because I like the shadows on the wall. It has so much going on, and it makes me want to follow all the lines to where they end.

What I learned this week was people’s names and how people should know about their health. I also learned that you should get check-ups more and stuff. With the big group I learned how to do a presentation and what not to do when giving one and how to not be nervous. Also, I learned to try new things.

if you have time

There is an interesting column today by David Brooks (a u of c grad for you summer linkers) about changing people's behaviors and Alcoholics Anonymous. It's a short, interesting article that I think it relates a lot to the heart of the various SSP projects, and healthcare in general.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/opinion/29brooks.html?src=me&ref=general

here is the longer article that he references in his column

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/06/ff_alcoholics_anonymous/

Around the neighborhood

I took this photo because of Whitney's facial expression and posture. It tells the observer that she is feed up or frustrated about something. What I like about the outcome of the picture is how she's in between the two beams. Which shows up much darker compared to where she is. Also I feel that it’s unexpected for someone to take a picture in front of a wall that’s chipped. But maybe that’s what makes it different and unusual.

I like this picture a lot because I have an interest in graffiti. The green and white spray paint goes well with the natural background. The fact that they out lined each word with the opposite color is probably what caught my attention. Also the way the rust out lines the gate but not the complete thing makes the picture stronger.


The reason I took this picture was I wanted to show everyone what I saw from the outside of the gate. Which were the different piles of dirt? My purpose for that was because you can see that they each would hold a different texture, but yet they are the same. Also I liked how the trees in the far back add a little color and life into the picture.

hummus in one word

Our kids tried hummus for the first time last week. As you can tell, they loved it. Here is how we all described it one word:

Disgusting - Alex G

Unpleasant - Imari

Delicious - Zakia

Savory - Deanna

Tasty - Sam

Chickpealicious - Alex C

Whitney is unfortunately unavailable for comment, but I have a feeling that she would express similar sentiments as Alex G and Imari.