Cultureshifts: Weblogs

Volunteering Opportunities

LBA Foundation
Legacy B Ball develop players.
Bolivian project
Our Vision To create new cycles of hope for neglected children of Bolivia. Our Mission To see hope, healing and dignity flourish in Bolivian children, values that they will multiply into society through the establishment of self-sustaining and scalable models of care.
Elder Life Program Volunteer (Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, Auxiliary)
Contact Mary Lou Tinmouth, Director, Volunteer Services, Joseph Brant Memorial Hospital, Phone: 905 632-3737 ext. 5898, Email: mltinmouth@jbmh.com
Hamilton Health Sciences Henderson Hospital, Hospital Elder Life Program
The Hospital Elder Life Program is an in-patient program. Many Seniors, while in the hospital, have problems with their memory, thinking and moving around. The Hospital Elder Life Program helps keep the mind and body as active as possible.

News/Articles

Pass the Books. Hold the Oil
New York Times coloumn today http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/opinion/sunday/friedman-pass-the-books-hold-the-oil.html?_r=1&hp By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Published: March 10, 2012 EVERY so often someone asks me: “What’s your favorite country, other than your own?” I’ve always had the same answer: Taiwan. “Taiwan? Why Taiwan?” people ask.
A Call for Help
A friend asked my advice the other day about which medical alert pendant would be the best for her aunt, a plucky woman in her 80s who lives alone, tends ably to most of her own needs, takes daily walks, still enjoys the cultural riches of New York City and travels solo to visit relatives clear across the country. But lately she is less steady on her feet, at risk for falls and needs the security of being able to summon help even if she can’t get to the telephone. To read more go to http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/22/a-call-for-help/?scp=7&sq=elder%20care&st=cse
ONTARIO BRACES FOR A GREY WAVE; The Star
This is an article published in The Star http://www.thestar.com/Atkinson2008/article/532921

Events

Summer in University of Iowa
In Indain Scholars Program, the students (any number between 20-60 for summer 2012) from India will attend the summer gifted program from July 7-21 (summer 2012).
Transition Seminars
Transitions: Developing a Global Mindset Navigating the Academic, Social and Cultural Environment as an International Student By Dan Sheffield Next dates (Live times 10.30 PM EST) April 14 May 19 June 16
Sir Issac Newton Physics Exam
May 13th. Registration last date March 30th
Maths contests
University of Waterloo Maths contests April last week
FUSION CONCERT 2009
For Spring Break we plan a Jazz-Indian Classical fusion music by local teen bands at Stair Case theater, Hamilton.
POSTER EXHIBITION
December 5th 2008 Conversations organized a poster exhibition at Westdale High School.

September 08, 2008

same and different

Professor Antoinette Sedillo Lopez comments on how being Latina doesn't always mean she can communicate effectively with other Latins.

Over the last 18 years I have come to the beautiful, Spanish colonial town of Guanajuato, Mexico to teach in the Guanajuato Summer Law Institute fairly regularly. For the last three years, I have directed the program. Each time I come, I make more Mexican friends and I learn more about the Mexican culture (both in the anthropological sense and in the “difference” sense). Many people assume because I am a Latina and speak Spanish that I am familiar with the culture and can communicate effectively. While I agree that is it a tremendous advantage to speak Spanish, it is certainly not all you need to be effective in communicating and understanding Mexican people in their cultural context.

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Associations/Organizations

Overseas Association of College Admissions Counselors
The Overseas Association of College Admissions Counselors (OACAC) was founded in 1991.OACAC members can be primary and secondary school counselors, independent counselors, college admission and financial aid officers, enrollment managers, and organizations engaged in guiding students through the secondary to higher education transition process.
American School Counselor Association
The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) supports school counselors' efforts to help students focus on academic, personal/social and career development so they achieve success in school and are prepared to lead fulfilling lives as responsible members of society. ASCA provides professional development, publications and other resources, research and advocacy to more than 30,000 professional school counselors around the globe
National Association of College Admission Counselors
NACAC is a unique educational association that brings together secondary school counselors, independent counselors, college admission and financial aid officers, enrollment managers, and organizations who guide students. NACAC is a broad-based membership association of institutions, organizations and individuals dedicated to ethical professional practices

Films on Aging

Eva Sereny: Foreign Student
Paris, 1955. Philippe Leclerc is overjoyed: he has just been granted the fellowship he applied for and he will be able to study for a year at the prestigious Asheland-Stuart University of Virginia. Once on the spot, he discovers how different the South of the USA is from his native France and the period of adjustment is no bed of roses, notably when he mistakes American football for soccer while playing a game and becomes the laughing stock of the college. Philip nonetheless gains the friendship of the captain of the team and gradually adapts to his new environment, discovering American literature through the lectures of a fascinating professor, rock and roll and jazz, among other things.
F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918, into the 21st century. It follows the life of Benjamin (Brad Pitt), who is born with the appearance and physical limitations of a man in his eighties. Abandoned in a nursing home by his father, Benjamin begins aging backward. While in the home, he meets Daisy (Cate Blanchett), a young aspiring ballerina. As the film progresses, the two fall in love, while struggling to deal with the issue of one growing younger while the other grows older.[2]
A Song for Martin
A Swedish movie; Martin is a conductor and composer; Barbara, a violinist. Meet and marry in middle-age, but they find out that Martin has Alzheimer's disease.
Firefly Dreams
This Japanese film tells the story of Naomi (Maho), a troubled teenager sent to the country for the summer to care for an aging neighbor with Alzheimer's disease.
The Savages
Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman play siblings in this tragic comedy about adult children caring for a parent with dementia.
Away from Her
In Away From Her, Julie Christie was Oscar-nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of Fiona, a woman with Alzheimer's who voluntarily enters a long-term care facility.
The Straight Story
Throughout The Straight Story, 73-year-old Alvin Straight gazes calmly at the night sky, as if the stars were reflections of his own memories, while traveling Iowa to Wisconsin on lawn mower.