The past two Monday’s at BLCI have been dedicated to Financial Literacy workshops ran by a University of San Diego graduate student. The information she provided was not only relevant to the 9th grade students but relevant to me as well. The first Monday of the Financial Literacy workshop the students were able to fill out a worksheet to provide the presenter with some basic information about them. They seemed a little less engage with this part of the workshop however when they were given play-doh and legos as a creative way to answer questions they became more engaged.
The second part of the workshop was aimed at applying what they learned in the first workshop, about the importance of saving and budgeting, to a real life event. The students learned how to properly budget based off a monthly income. I did not think I would learn anything new however I was astonished by how much I did not know about credit cards and credit scores.
Aside from the workshops my partner and I were able to continue to go to Chikita’s Cafe and buy my favorite drink, the tres leche iced mocha. I have attached a picture from the cafe at the top of this post. I view this cafe as a representation of ChicanX culture and art because a lot of the items sold such as: stickers, keychains, pins, and earrings make reference to Mexican/Mexican American artist such as Selena Quintanilla and Frida Kahlo. Stickers of Conchas (Mexican sweet bread) reminds me of home because my abuelo (grandfather) always eats one with his coffee in the morning.
Working with BLCI has allowed me to learn so much from the students through my conversations with them. However, I have also been able to learn more about the community many students at BLCI come from. Through going to local shops such as Chikita Cafe I have been able to learn a little more about Barrio Logan.
