Amanda Crisci

June 24th 7:50am-3:15pm

Peninsula Bridge

Michelle Hammel, site director

michellekhammel@gmail.com

My first week of Peninsula Bridge was pretty hectic, there’s a lot of adjustments that needed to be made and help that was needed to facilitate the development of friendships among the students. One of the most interesting things I encountered was when an activity called “life sized drawings” was being led and the students had to draw people they found courageous. Many of the students drew soccer players, while some drew figures like Hillary Clinton and Malala. It was interesting to see the cultural difference between me and the students since soccer isn’t a huge part of my life, but it is a very big part of theirs. I learned that in the student’s communities soccer is almost like a rite of passage, everyone wants to play soccer almost all of the time. Other things I observed was the interesting family dynamics a lot of students come from. Today we played a game called “cross the line” and one would cross to the other side of the room if they identified with one of the thing being read out loud. It was very interesting to me when I saw how many kids lived with extended family, or without their parents at all. Many of my friends live with their immediate family only, so it was interesting to observe how their different home lives affected them. Overall, Peninsula Bridge brings together a lot of unique students who all bring a lot of different assets and qualities.