This year for our fieldwork we were not asked to go sit in a classroom and observe. We were not asked to be in a classroom at all actually. What we had to do was a bit unusual, and for some uncomfortable. We were asked to step outside of our “comfort zone” and observe things that we do not usually pay attention to within our society. Being able to do this without judging anyone was hard, but it was something I knew I would have to learn to do at some point. Being able to observe different cultures without judgment is a very hard task to accomplish, especially when you are someone like me who has an opinion about everything. It was a challenge for me to learn that I had to be able to look at someone or something that is different than what believe and accept it for what it is or isn’t. I had a hard time, in the beginning, not judging the people I observed or worked with throughout this experience. One of the hardest times I had with not judging people was when I was in the nursing home. Being around elderly people is tough to begin with, but working with them in a setting that they do not want to be in is even more difficult. I worked in the nursing home over a period of time during the weekends. I would do different activities each time I was there, and I worked among many different types of people. Some of my favorite days were the days that I would get to sit with the elderly women and paint their fingernails. They loved having all the attention on them. I never realized how unloved they felt because of the fact that they were in a nursing home. These women would tell me stories of their childhoods, their families, and things they wanted to do at that time. It was incredible how all of these women craved attention. I also loved being able to act as a granddaughter to these elderly men and women because many of them either did not have grandchildren, or their grandchildren did not come visit them often. To have someone come visit with them often gave them a feeling that someone cared. To me, it seemed like these men and women brightened when someone showed that they cared for them. Hearing all of their incredible stories not only gave me hope, but it gave me an insight on all of the things they had experienced. Knowing that some of them went through the depression period, some fought in war, and some worked until they could not work anymore frightened me, but it also made me understand that everyone goes through serious problems in their lives. Within a classroom you have to understand this as well. The children in your classroom are not all going to be chipper and perfect all of the time. Some children will be living in poverty; some will be living in high-class neighborhoods, but either way those children are going to face problems at some point within their time in school. Children do not always bring the problems to the classroom, but as a teacher you have to understand when they do. You also have to understand how to go about dealing with this. I faced that problem a lot while in the nursing home. Sometimes I was not sure how to approach some of the war veterans because the disabilities frightened me a little, but I worked through that because I understood that they could not help the situation they were in. Another one of my fieldwork activities was observing a holiday dinner. I did not want to observe my family because that is something I can do any time of the year. It was also something I was used to and comfortable with. So, I decided I would observe my boyfriend’s family as they went about Thanksgiving dinner. Other than Thanksgiving dinner, I have had other dinners with my boyfriend’s family. At first, I did not think that a holiday dinner would be different than an every day dinner with his family, but it some what was. The set up for the holiday dinner was much more formal than that of an everyday meal. Yes, his family still sat at the table as family, but it was much more organized. I believe this is true within any family, and I think that it is great that holidays are more thought of than every day meals. Some other things I noticed were the different roles taken throughout Thanksgiving Day. The women did most of the cooking and cleaning, while the men relaxed and watched. Some of the men helped with preparation, but for the most part their only job was to stay out of the way. Something that I found very interesting was the fact that they drink all throughout the day on Thanksgiving. There was beer, liquor, and wine from the moment we walked through the door. On Thanksgiving at my house we do not drink alcohol during the dinner, but we do drink it after the dinner while watching the football games. Drinking alcohol all throughout the day, to me, seems crazy. I do not understand how all of the people drinking did not become completely drunk before the night was over. Granted, there were a few who were drunk out of their minds. Conversation throughout the day was much different than the conversations in my home. On Thanksgiving my family tries to get away from all of the negative aspects of life and focus on our family as a whole. We try to talk about our accomplishments, goals, and most of all what we are thankful for. My boyfriend’s family is somewhat different. They discussed what they were thankful for very briefly and then got on a history kick. The dinner table discussions kept referring to the past and things that were not as positive as what I am used to when I am at home for Thanksgiving. All in all, I believe this Thanksgiving was definitely an experience I will never forget. The drinking was fun, but I prefer what my family traditionally does by waiting until after dinner to start the drinking. I enjoyed the history session, but I also enjoy the positivity of my holiday family dinners. I would not say that I prefer my family to his; however, I am more apt to enjoying the meal when it is in a setting that I am more familiar with. Another thing I did over the holidays was way out of my comfort zone. I was raised in a Baptist church. My boyfriend, however, was raised in a Catholic church. So, since I was with his family this holiday I got to experience a Catholic Church service. At first I was really nervous because I had no idea what to expect. I knew that there were differences between Catholics and Baptists, but I never realized what they were. Going into a Catholic Church setting, it is very obvious who is not Catholic. This was especially true whenever they started the service. First off a Catholic service is called, Mass.