Spanish & Illinois

by Lydia Fleming This week for Spanish in the Community we are writing our second reflection for the class. However, this time it is a little different because many of us are not working with our community anymore, including myself. Sadly, I can’t volunteer any more at International Prep Academy, but I can reflect on my time with them and relate it to the world today. For this reflection I picked the prompt in which we talked about how a pandemic effects people differently. The pandemic can affect me differently than another student in the class. It can affect my mom differently than my dad. It can affect a teacher differently than a policeman. It can affect a social worker differently than a store owner. Furthermore, it can affect an immigrant differently than a native-born citizen. I think this topic is very interesting and I have also listened to a podcast on the matter. Before this assignment I did put much thought into how a global pandemic could affect such a larg...

by Lydia Fleming Throughout the course of this semester there have been a lot of changes. One could say these changes have been beneficial for them, while other could say they have been detrimental. Honestly, I do not know where I stand when it comes down to whether or not the current global pandemic has had a greatly positive or negative impact on my life. Since the COVID-19, my life has changed pretty drastically. I have gone from living with my three roommates in Champaign to living alone in Champaign. I have gone from going to class in person every day to somehow managing the new workload remotely. The campus has gone from vastly populated to nearly deserted. On the other hand, I have gone from being a couch potato after class to making time for a daily workout routine. I have switched my junk food habits to Whole30 habits. My skin can breathe without makeup, my hair can grow without heat, my eyes can rest without contacts. My relationship with my mom has grown and most imp...

by Lydia Fleming I have officially finished one full week of online classes and week two of quarantine has just come to an end. The transition from normal in-person classes to all online has been a difficult experience I will always remember. This experience has taught me that things can change in the blink of an eye. I remember waking up Thursday, March 12 th and being so excited for my road trip I was leaving for on the following Monday. By 7pm that day things had drastically changed. A school wide email was sent out to all staff and students about the COVID-19 pandemic and we received news that all study abroad programs have been canceled and students were asked to come back, all classes after break would be moved to online till further notice, and everyone was asked to leave campus if possible. This came as a shock because I was unaware of the severity of the virus and its spread in the U.S. That night as I was getting ready to go out with my senior roommates and friend...

by Lydia Fleming Today was a little more rowdy than usual at the International Prep Academy. I do not know if it was because I came after lunch and right before recess or if it was because it was close to the weekend. When I arrived in the classroom all the children were not following their teachers’ instructions and she struggled to get all the children to sit in their correct spots. Finally, the children listened after she raised her voice and told them she was not proud of their actions. However, five minutes later two of the students began misbehaving again. The teacher encouraged all the other students to stay focused and to not pay attention to the disruptive behavior. This is when the teacher had me step in and take on of the students to her desk and ask her why she was acting this way. Sadly, I did not receive the response I wanted. The student became disrespectful and the teacher had to instruct her to sit and think about her actions. After the teacher finished her...