Up with People Day 4 4/10/2009

Day 4 the last day of the volunteers working with us.

The final activities are being held today and once again we are doing the charity selling and work at the gas station. I once again spent my day at the gas station but there was a switch in groups everyday, so there were different people to spend the day with.

The day was really interesting, it seemed as though many people wanted to purchase gasoline for their vehicles and most of us were hoping that it was because they looked forward to not only meeting foreigners but also to support the foundation by purchasing gas from us. But myself and the other volunteers really think that holding the signs and waving to people passing by really helped in bringing in customers. We did a test to see what worked best. We first just held up signs and stood on the corner with them and we saw that not many people came in. Then, we waved to people and smiled and held the signs up and noticed that many more people came into the gas station. It was a lot of fun. Most people seemed happy with us waving, we even got elderly ladies and random people waving to us as they were walking down the street. The waves seemed to make many peoples day.

I noticed that many people from the day before returned once again to get their gas tanks filled. The group that was filling the gas tanks always seemed to have a good time, they spoke with the customers and they seemed to like the fact of pumping the gas tanks. It was a whole new experience for them since, the pumping system is probably different compared to the way it is done back in their home countries. I know in the United States, most gas stations do not even have people waiting to pump the gas for you, you have to fill it up all by yourself. So I can easily see where the excitement might be when it came to the volunteers pumping gas for the customers.

Some of those people were impressed that the international volunteers were trying their best to speak to them in Mandarin. However, it also seemed that some of the customers who knew English also wished to practice their English with the volunteers, which was pretty nice all on its own. I was taken back to realise the amount of people who appreciated what the international volunteers did that week.

That morning went by so fast for me, I really had a lot of fun working with this group of individuals I learned a lot from them as well. It will be sad not to see them after having worked with them. Our time together was brief, but I feel that I will always remember their great personalities and the good times we had together, and I am sure that anyone else they might have affected as well, will always look back and smile.

Until next time!! See you!!

Jasmin Nunez