During my second visit to Freedom House, Sarah and I went to help with whatever tasks they wanted us to do. We ended up getting to clean the dining room. It was probably the most thorough job I’ve ever done cleaning a dining room. In the hectic swamp that is my on-campus home, I don’t get a lot of opportunities to do any heavy duty cleaning, but I found the experience pretty nice and therapeutic. With all the mental effort needed for my job and class, it’s nice to take some time and do some mindless chores. Being in the dining room that long really got me to take in the environment and see how small and plain it really was. It would be nice if there was something we could add to make it homier since I think the dining table is the best place for a family to bond in a home. They already try to set up a similar vibe using their “no cell phones in this room” policy during meals. Going a bit further could involve different curtain, maybe an artificial smell for the room, and even a way to light the room differently. I think that finding ways to contribute to the atmosphere could help make it matter less what’s on the plate in front of them and bring out the people around them instead. I would not mind at all going back to do any more cleaning since there’s something nice about it when you don’t do it for yourself too often. It also helped me understand a room and it needs more than the initial visit would allow. I think the only aspect missing from my understanding of the dining room is what it actually looks like in action because right now everything about how it operated for me is just an assumption.
