Update #4

This is a slow week. My site supervisors are away in D.C for training so we can't have client meetings. We are cleaning up the office, hanging up flyers, and doing any other little work that needs to be done. This week we are supposed to focus on sociocultural perspectives. This internship is the most I've interacted with people from other cultures. There are always people who come from other cultures in classes, or other parts in my life, but this is the first time for example, I've sat down, one to one, with a refugee from Uganda. It can provide some challenges, like language barriers or figuring out what their training in their country means here, and it's frustrating to see someone who has had years of professional training, and is qualified to get a professional, long-term high paying job, stuck in a cleaning job because they do not know the language here very well. Many of the people who come to us for help have come from other countries and are now in a country, by themselves, without family, with no job or place to stay. It has really shown me to be grateful that I have a support system here because many of them don't have that.

One thing that really surprised me when I started here is how many adults are computer-illiterate. I have always grown up with a computer in my house and my dad taught me how to use the computer before I could read. It's strange to me when someone comes in who doesn't have an email address or doesn't know how to use Word. I guess that I have been taking my ability to search the web for a job for granted. It didn't even occur to me before that many many people don't know how to use an computer. Sometimes when I help people I feel useless, because all I'm doing is looking on craigslist or doing a online search, but I have to realize that that is big to them, and something they aren't able to do without someone's help. I'm a bit scared for these people because our world keeps getting more and more technologically advance and almost everything is integrated now. I can't imagine not using my computer and checking my email everyday, but a lot of people don't know how to check their email, which sometimes gets in the way of them getting a job. I try offer to send them to computer introduction classes, but most of the time finding a job is their first priority or they are just not interested.

I think it's very different to say that Cambridge is diverse than to actually work one-on-one with people from all over the globe. It is very interesting and many times their stories are very sad. It can be hard working here, because improvements move slowly, but it's the little day to day things that make me feel like I am really helping them. I really hope to see one of my clients get a job before I leave LIFT.