Meta-Reflection
So it's been the four weeks since we've been actively engaging in our placement. After re-watching all my vlogs I'm happy to say that we definitely did make progress as every week, more and more new faces turn up to Luke's Place. I've always been high spirited when it came to this placement because I think it's very unique and cute that such a place exists so close to the university and I had high hopes-well I mean... I still have high hopes for more people to come.
Advertising has been quite a tiny issue as it's hard to manage the Instagram and Facebook page as we also have to constantly go to FOMS to re-stamp the posters so they can consistently stay up around the music building. Manage school, social life and placement advertising and plan events for Luke's Place is quite a struggling but we're still holding up pretty well!
At first I was really intimated and stress with trying to get people to come and aware of what we're trying to promote as the first two weeks no one came except my one other friend. I definitely did expect a lot more people to show up but was quite disappointing. Realizing that it's not as easy as I thought, Sherry and I decided to be more active on our social media posting. From time to time while people are sitting in the cafeteria or just wondering in the halls, I go up to them and say hi and tell them about Luke's Place. That if they ever have time they should come by and check out the place as I stated it's a nice environment to relax, study or even jam out.
So far, a lot of my friends and even my section have turned up unexpectedly to my placement and it makes me so happy that they took the time to come see the place and what we had to offer! I always ask them for feedback and reason for coming, usually they come because Tiff told them too but at the end of the night they always enjoy themselves and have been coming back every week ever since then. I'm glad I was able to bring my different group of friends closer to one. I think it's super important for people to meet new people and expand their connection ground! Also, as section leader I wanted to show the first years that western welcomes them and there are others around campus to talk to whenever they feel like...maybe... that they're lonely or it's hard making friends. It's a safe and relaxing environment and that's what makes it so enjoyable!
I'm definitely very comfortable in my placement and I love everything about it, especially the hospitality ladies because they're honestly too damn adorable, friendly and welcoming! They are always the first people that Sherry and I see when we first walk in every Thursday night. We always help them set up the food and make tea/coffee and have some decent conversation before we part ways as they always leave during the actual coffee house to the other room to play cards. They think their "grey hair" and "old age" will scare of students and "ruin the vibe" but that's definitely not true and we tried to welcome them back into the coffee house but they always insist that they're having enough fun with cards and coffee with one another (SO CUTE I KNOW RIGHT). So that's that.
Overall, everything seems to be going really well and I look forward to the rest of this placement!
Meta-Reflection
So here we are at week six at Luke's Place! Both Sherry and I have gone through many changes to help improve Luke's Place and its environment. Recently, our coffee house got moved upstairs to the actual church where they hold masses so the acoustic, vibe and environment is quite different than it was downstairs in the basement. Why you may ask? Well, in the basement it was quite cozy and having the wallpaper cream yellow and christmas lights hanging around really warms up the place as well as set the mood. The visual aesthetic and set up itself really keeps up with what people envision a coffee house vibe to be like as oppose to an actual Church setting. Now because it is set upstairs in replacement of the benches at the back of the church it is quite hard to adjust as in trying to keep the same environment as we did in the basement. This is all quite a learning experience as if we're starting from the day one at our placement. We had to figure out how everything was going to work efficiently like it did downstairs.
I think it was quite a good idea to ask one of the girls in my section to bring in her pet lizard as it did attract more people to come and allow many of us that didn't know each other that well or just meeting for the first time to really come and get to know each other. Peach really helped us build the community and I think we need to have more of this. Like I said before, it's important for the advertising part of the placement as it helps spread the word of Luke's Place and what we're trying to promote. This relates to how teachers try to recruit as many students as they can in school programs because I think Music Education is just as important as other courses such as sciences and maths and shouldn't be looked down upon just because it's an art course. To be able to provide students with positive outcomes and feedbacks we are able to show other students in the school that you can both have fun, develop transferable skills and learn. Music also builds community and relationships with each other just like what we're trying to do at Luke's Place! It's not just for music students or uwo but for everyone and it's great to expand your network and meet new people!
I also stated stated that Luke's Place is somewhere "safe" for students and people, what I mean by "Safe" is, it's where everyone can be themselves. Like for example, school is stressful and sometime you just want a break from it but you don't necessarily want to go out-out. Luke's Place is a great way for them to come relax, enjoy some music and refreshment as well as a change in scenery. It's not everyday that people can go to a church and have fun without having to stay quiet because a mass is going on.
I mentioned about the business card in vlog seven and it was quiet interesting how I had a specific mindset on how the card would look like but the last vlog showed the final product of the card and it was really different than what I originally planned. I'm not quiet sure how I just from one thing to another but it's quiet interesting. I think the first time I mentioned it I had so many ideas ready but at the end of the day, the more simple it is, the easier it is for people to get the message, especially how nowadays everything is so modern so I went along with that type of concept.
I think I decided have "Board Game Night" is because I knew a lot of people LOVE board games and having that I believe would attract more people to our placement and it really did! I also had the thought that board games brings people together and it definitely did as I made a new friend and this new friends met all my friends from board games! It's hard not to interact with each other in a game so in a sense it forces you to bond with each other. And personally I think it was quite a good idea! There's been a lot happening in Luke's Place but now that the weather is getting worst I don't think there would be as many people as there were in October but I hope to see some improvements!
So here we are at week six at Luke's Place! Both Sherry and I have gone through many changes to help improve Luke's Place and its environment. Recently, our coffee house got moved upstairs to the actual church where they hold masses so the acoustic, vibe and environment is quite different than it was downstairs in the basement. Why you may ask? Well, in the basement it was quite cozy and having the wallpaper cream yellow and christmas lights hanging around really warms up the place as well as set the mood. The visual aesthetic and set up itself really keeps up with what people envision a coffee house vibe to be like as oppose to an actual Church setting. Now because it is set upstairs in replacement of the benches at the back of the church it is quite hard to adjust as in trying to keep the same environment as we did in the basement. This is all quite a learning experience as if we're starting from the day one at our placement. We had to figure out how everything was going to work efficiently like it did downstairs.
I think it was quite a good idea to ask one of the girls in my section to bring in her pet lizard as it did attract more people to come and allow many of us that didn't know each other that well or just meeting for the first time to really come and get to know each other. Peach really helped us build the community and I think we need to have more of this. Like I said before, it's important for the advertising part of the placement as it helps spread the word of Luke's Place and what we're trying to promote. This relates to how teachers try to recruit as many students as they can in school programs because I think Music Education is just as important as other courses such as sciences and maths and shouldn't be looked down upon just because it's an art course. To be able to provide students with positive outcomes and feedbacks we are able to show other students in the school that you can both have fun, develop transferable skills and learn. Music also builds community and relationships with each other just like what we're trying to do at Luke's Place! It's not just for music students or uwo but for everyone and it's great to expand your network and meet new people!
I also stated stated that Luke's Place is somewhere "safe" for students and people, what I mean by "Safe" is, it's where everyone can be themselves. Like for example, school is stressful and sometime you just want a break from it but you don't necessarily want to go out-out. Luke's Place is a great way for them to come relax, enjoy some music and refreshment as well as a change in scenery. It's not everyday that people can go to a church and have fun without having to stay quiet because a mass is going on.
I mentioned about the business card in vlog seven and it was quiet interesting how I had a specific mindset on how the card would look like but the last vlog showed the final product of the card and it was really different than what I originally planned. I'm not quiet sure how I just from one thing to another but it's quiet interesting. I think the first time I mentioned it I had so many ideas ready but at the end of the day, the more simple it is, the easier it is for people to get the message, especially how nowadays everything is so modern so I went along with that type of concept.
I think I decided have "Board Game Night" is because I knew a lot of people LOVE board games and having that I believe would attract more people to our placement and it really did! I also had the thought that board games brings people together and it definitely did as I made a new friend and this new friends met all my friends from board games! It's hard not to interact with each other in a game so in a sense it forces you to bond with each other. And personally I think it was quite a good idea! There's been a lot happening in Luke's Place but now that the weather is getting worst I don't think there would be as many people as there were in October but I hope to see some improvements!