September 26th, 2006

September 26^th, 2006: Internal Operations Day

How cool is it to pass a 30 minute drive by singing songs from five countries. THAT is how we started our day. And…actually, that’s how we conducted our return trip from our UWP activities today too! Sure beats listening to the news, stuck in traffic, while on the way to work.

Today was another internal operations day, so we spent the entire time at the Ueadashi Maruko Bunka Kaikan facility where we first met our host families. For Ubuntu time, DeeAnn gave a presentation on conflict and styles in which people deal with their conflicts. According to the theory she presented there are 5 styles which people use, which can be placed on a graph indicating intensity of personal passion/aggressiveness and concern for others. The styles were: Competing, Collaborating, Compromising, Avoiding, and Accomodating. After a discussion describing the styles, we were given a brief survey to help us to figure out our own ways of handling conflict. Not surprisingly, my survey’s result indicated that I favor avoiding conflict and will otherwise accommodate to other’s opinions.

Sadly, that is pretty accurate. These strategies keep me safe, but they are rather passive and leave me wishing that my opinions could be heard (granted often times I feel that my opinions are unimportant or unwarranted). I think this time, while I’m in Up With People, it’s my opportunity to take some risks and hold some opinions…just to see how people react. If a conflict arises, maybe….just maybe, I could stick up for myself and my beliefs. I know I’ve already started this work, but I’ve got a long way to go until I really put my two cents into anything.

After lunch (curri….oeshi!), Cori held a cast meeting reviewing our goals. We have reached mid semester! We have been together for 11 weeks and will be together for only another 11 weeks. Time is going by waaaaaay to fast. Thankfully, I’ve got a lifetime of experiences under my belt and there are more coming rapidly. Our cast culture has certainly moved past the honeymoon phase as our focus has come to the issue of respect. Cast members voiced concerns that they feel unheard, interrupted, undervalued, and that there is little communication between conflicting cast members/staff. Cori, wise as he is, challenged us to A) take ownership of our problems in the cast and B) bring our complaints directly to the source. I nodded, but I am definitely at fault for avoiding such discussions. I have one or two people that I should really offer some feedback to. Maybe this will be my next personal challenge, to actually provide critical feedback, face to face, to a colleague and a superior. Cross your fingers.

Before leaving for the day, we were given a fun project…something I feel we’ve been needing for a while. We were given a task to help us to cut loose a bit ( and possibly develop some better appreciation for our staff). We were broken up into 5 groups and assigned an old UWP song to choreograph within an hours time. For this activity, I purposely took a step back. I’ve choreographed before and I have a lot of time to dance in the show, so I took a more passive role in this project than I generally do. Most times I enjoy taking a back seat, but it was a challenge this time around. Instead of people trying to organize, it was a free-for-all for random thoughts and movements (mostly the same two people out of 13). I felt like I was spending time in a manic client’s most erratic dream. It took all I could to not sit and plug my ears with my fingers and sing “na na na na na……”.

Honestly, I had to talk to myself, in my head, and tell myself “You’ve been asking staff for fun, outside the box, activities like this. Get over your frustrations and make this fun for yourself…you’re only in this program for another 11 weeks. Get off your duff and do something!” So I did. I danced. I danced the manic dance and when we performed it for the entire cast, I almost liked it. Hooray for the power of self talk and cognitive therapy.

Back on the ranch, the four of us enjoyed making sushi and sachimi with Suziko. I tried gnocchi, which I had been warned was pretty gross. My peers were correct. It’s disgusting. Smell, taste, everything….just nasty. I’m fairly sure I made my special “I don’t like it face” that my Dad now laughs about. At least I tried it and can now say, from personal experience, “Eeew, yuck, gross!”.

Afterwards we all shared stories of home and Mr. Mihara exposed us to a sampling of his laquor collection. China has, um, china. According to Mr. Mihara, the Japanese have laquored wood. Ya learn somethin’ new every day, right?