Field Trip! AFI

The visit to AFI was incredible! It was a lot of fun learning about AFI and the programs they run there, as well as interacting with the clients that attend this facility. For me, being at AFI, and seeing the people there, it really brought the characters in The Boys Next Door to life. I saw the different levels of these high-functioning disabled adults, and it reminded me of characters like Arnold and Lucien. They had different levels of ability. When we were reading in groups, there were three clients who all read at different levels. Neal, the first one to read out loud, was a very good reader. He knew a lot of words, needed help with a few, but I think an overall good reader. Kevin read next. He basically just ended up reading the words that he knew out loud while he moved his finger across the line. Lastly, Phillip read. He didn't read out loud. Instead, he read silently, I think, while tracking the words with his finger. I don't know if he does or doesn't read out loud, or whether he was just shy. It reminded me that everyone is unique in the way we do things.

I think that reading the essay by Fettke before going on this field trip made me aware of myself and how I treat others. I tried to love on the clients and get to know them. It was neat to see how the clients interacted with each other and me. They are people who do things like I do. One of the clients, Michael, while we were having our break was one the phone. He had his cell phone out and told us he was talking to his girlfriend. These people are in this community together. Joking around with each other, and some were calling others crazy. I think that the clients just enjoyed being talked to and making new friends with us students. I was a little nervous at first, cause I wasn't sure of what topics to bring up, but Vanessa and I were chatting with a big group of people and learned their names and joked around with them. They were so much fun.

Going to AFI I guess gives me more of a visual for all of the characters and what they do. I think Tom Griffin did a wonderful job with The Boys Next Door in his depiction of the high-functioning disabled and how they live life.
As I reread part of the text when Jack gets a new job and tells the others at the party and the others are kind of upset and react in different ways, I thought about how the clients would feel if some of the workers had to tell them they were going to a new job. I'm sure that everyone has a relationship with all the staff so it would be heartbreaking for the clients. Change can be hard. Accepting people is one thing. Letting them go is another. After being with and seeing someone many times a week, and then the routine changes, it may become difficult for some clients. I don't know how deep the attachment goes, and how the others workers deal with the situations, but I'm sure they work through it. Change is a part of our lives.
Honestly, going to AFI was one of the best field trips. I think reading the play and essay gave me a different perspective than I may have had if I went there without any of the texts beforehand. This brought awareness to me about what was happening in the community that I wouldn't have known about otherwise. I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of their community, even just for a little bit.
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