Food Bank Week 1
I started working at the food bank from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm every Wednesday and Thursday. I looked forward to working at the food bank because I expected to study new things and could know about the food bank. I was so nervous that it was my first time working in other countries in English, but James, who was our supervisor, was a kind person. Therefore, I was relieved a little. I packaged food such as canned sauces or canned vegetables in plastic bags in the warehouse for two days. On the first day, I enjoyed doing this task.
Food Bank Week2
I was depressed a little before starting my fieldwork because I thought I did the same things with the fieldwork in the last week. However, I did a new task which is to serve food to users. When I served food to users, I realized that the food which I served was the food that was put in the boxes by us before the day. I also noticed that every work including the warehouse’s works connected to each other. I thought serving food was the biggest work in the food bank but serving food was just the last work in every process. Every work was an essential task at the food bank.
Food Bank Week3
I looked forward to working because I served food to users last week. On the other hand, I was nervous since I did not talk to them well last week. Some users asked me for the names of the food. It was interesting to learn food names in English. Also, it was a good opportunity to communicate with other coworkers though asking them their food names. After finishing the fieldwork, I felt both good and bad emotions. I was happy to communicate with many people, but some users ignored me when I talked to them. I should speak to them while serving food even after that. That made me depressed.
Food Bank Week4
I lost my courage to talk to them but after taking the Friday class, I realized each user had a different background so some users did not want to talk with someone for various reasons. Then, some users also were afraid of talking as same as me. I tried to speak clearly to users and keep smiling because if I felt uncomfortable talking with users, they also felt uncomfortable. Therefore, I tried to behave more casually. By doing that, I reduced stress and talked to users more easily.
Food Bank Week5
I did a new thing in week 5. I served frozen food to users for the first time. It was not as difficult as I thought. However, one of the users came and said, “Is there any Halal meat?” I was confused because I did not understand what he said. I did not halal food. I asked another coworker, and she explained about halal. I thought there were many foods culture in the world, and I did not know well about other food cultures.
Food Bank Week6
I felt good because I worked with one of the volunteers and she was such a kind person. I enjoyed talking with her. She was 93 years old, but she was so tough that she carried a box that was filled with vegetables. Also, I asked James a question and talked with him a lot during lunchtime! I felt sad when I imagined that my fieldwork was finished.
( she was such a kind person!!)
Food Bank Week7
It was my last time fieldwork! In week 7, I interviewed James. He was a kind person, so he answered all our questions seriously and spoke slowly for us. Therefore, I relaxed and asked questions while the interview. Then, I said “Thank you” and “Goodbye” many times. However, some coworkers said “You did not say Thank you. Thank you for helping us!” Those words made my hurts warm. Goodbye, and Thank you for the food bank!!
