Girsh Park: Healthy Free Fun

Modern Version of Ancient Egg Hunt

By Silvia Uribe

Community events are made so that we can cherish a happy environment and enjoy unexpectedly meeting friends and neighbors. These really bring back to us the sense of community that sometimes can get lost in the business of our individual lives.

Girsh Park promises a lot of fun for children and their parents at the Goleta Egg Hunt on April 11. Ryan Harrington, the park's executive director, expects to have around 1,000 attendees, up from the 750 who participated last year. Imagine that! "The collective fun starts when community volunteers come together to fill the plastic eggs with candy," he said, and then comes the hiding of the eggs.

The Easter egg is not an ordinary egg. It carries with it a history of traditions and beliefs. The Easter egg stands for fertility and rebirth as the celebration has been derived from the ancient pagan spring festivals. Decorated Easter eggs are also given to friends and loved ones as presents, and have come to represent a token of friendship.

This is how the celebration at Girsh Park will work: Registration starts at 9:30 a.m. and the hunt at 11 on the dot, Harrington emphasized. There will be five different fields for different ages and abilities: toddlers, 4-6, 6-10, 10-12, and "Challengers" for children with special needs. The Egg Hunt is free and the Easter Bunny will be waiting for you.

Today, when going out with a family can cost a bundle, free activities become a need. If we count ourselves in the 80 people of people who have been affected by the rough times of our economy, we may be forced to eliminate expensive outings, but fun and family bonding doesn't need to make a hole in our pockets. In fact, Girsh Park is the perfect place to find many kinds of free entertainment.

Named in honor of its generous lead benefactors, the park opened in 1999 adjacent to the Camino Real Marketplace shopping center. Since then, it has become an essential part of our community. The park, which in May will be celebrating its 10th anniversary, is owned and operated by the Foundation for Girsh Park and directed by volunteers. It also receives funds from the City of Goleta. "Girsh Park is a model for public and private partnerships to provide services to the community," said Harrington.

Over the past two years, Harrington said, with a well balanced budget, the park has been able to increase programs and activities, creating healthy fun for everyone. Here's an idea of what we can find there:

• Baseball and soccer tournaments

• Baseball and soccer summer camps

• Free soccer program for all kids from the Goleta School District

• Yoga, nutrition, and strength training

Other yearly events at the park include fireworks on July 4, the Lemon Festival in the fall, music in the park every Sunday in September, Halloween for small children on October 31, and, for the first time, this year on December 6, the International Santa Barbara Marathon Children's Fest.

If you're interested in renting out the baseball and soccer fields, the basketball courts, the group and family picnic areas, or the children's play area, you can. Just call Ryan Harrington at 968-2773.

See you at Girsh Park!

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latina perspective.

Cross-posted at the Independent.com

Cultural "Shockers"

By Silvia Uribe

If you have never lived in a different country from the one you were born in, I submit to you that it is one of the most, exciting, difficult, sad, interesting, crazy, fun, and self-revealing things that a person can ever do. Having said that, I also have to admit that living abroad is a great learning opportunity that allows us to grow as human beings-- as long as we're open.

But today I won't talk about the serious, thought provoking experiences that life gives us, (usually in the needed dosage). Today I'm thinking about the mundane, the everyday little things that can make our life look like the puzzle of a blue sky, with tiny little pieces looking exactly the same, and no recognizable sign or indication of where they fit. The following are just a few examples:

Our first home in Santa Barbara was located in the Samarkand area-- a very nice, calm neighborhood. Too calm! I was perpetually wondering where all the people were during the day, the afternoon, and in the evening. Where was everyone? Cars cruised by only every now and then. But coming from one of the biggest cities in the world --Mexico City-- it felt not only lonely, but also plain boring. Our solution was to go a few times a week to a coffee place downtown to watch people go by! Who would've told me then how much I'd enjoy living in a calm area. I love it!

Once installed and ready to socialize, we got invited to a party at some neighbors' home. Charming couple! When we got there, they greeted us very politely, introduced us to a couple of their friends and left us standing there. We were very confused. The hosts never invited us, or anyone else for that matter, to have a seat. In our culture, a seat is the first thing we offer someone when he/she arrives to our home. Not knowing what to do, we decided to sit anyways, but no one else was sitting. It felt a little odd, or better said, very odd and uncomfortable. So, we decided to go do what we later learned, is called "mingle." Brilliant strategy to make new connections!

Have you realized that Americans refer to things, places, organizations, professions and even people by acronyms? If you're new to the culture, you're lost! And, to make it worse, text messaging has added a few abbreviations that are almost impossible to decipher, let alone memorize. Complete conversations can happen in acronym, or "text mode." After 15 years living here, I've learned the most common, but every now and then I'm still asking for meanings.

Now, think about the almost sacred rule in the American culture of not interrupting others when they're speaking. I doubt I will ever master this one! In my culture we don't call it interrupting. We believe that we're helping the other person find the right words, or that we're contributing to a lively conversation. Talk about different perspectives!

And lastly, the worst shock ever! When we learned that unannounced visitors are considered impolite here, I thought I had gone too far away from home. In our end of the woods, unexpectedly visiting someone shows the desire to be with that person, and so it is taken as a compliment! Similarly, the notion of time limits being set for parties held at home or for calling friends on the phone was unthinkable. When were people supposed to interact with their friends freely? For months, both our ring bell and our phone were like strange, dormant objects waiting to be awakened by an animated being. We were hoping for another human. Now, we understand the reasons for these social rules, and we abide by them

As you can see, we learned some things intuitively, and others the hard way. Some were easier to adapt to than others, and every time that we encountered one of these "shockers" it gave our family conversation for a while, until the next came by.

We learned the American way of living, its systems, and we adapted. We kept the good things that we brought with us and made ours those that would help us grow as individuals, and as community members. The term "assimilation", or the concept of a "melting pot" just doesn't cut it. For us, it is all about having a strong sense of identity, about learning and adapting. We can recreate ourselves a million times, as long as in the process, we don't forget who we are.

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latino perspective.

Cross-posted at Edhat.com

Silvia Uribe

Silvia Uribe was born and raised in Mexico City, where she studied philosophy and Spanish literature, got married, and formed a family. Some 15 years ago, Silvia and her family arrived in Santa Barbara, moving a few years later to Goleta. Silvia is the founder and owner of Transil-Pro, a translation/interpreting company also located in Goleta. Through her business, Silvia has collaborated with nonprofit organizations, county and city governments, and corporations alike. She is a big supporter of volunteer work, which she does for two organizations every year. Silvia is also a freelance writer for both English and Spanish language publications. Whenever asked, she emphatically says, "I love everything I do, but writing is my passion."

Dianne Burns, Forensic Scientist

Major Crimes Criminologist Tells All

By Silvia Uribe

As I was listening to Dianne Burns talk about her work complexities I was mesmerized, and I wanted to hear more. We were at a meeting, though, and it wasn't at all conducive for a lot of unrelated questions. Once we were done with the order of business I approached her and ventured to ask her for a time to meet and talk about her career. She immediately said yes.

On the scheduled day and time, we met at a restaurant in downtown Goleta, and after a few pleasantries, I started shooting questions.

How did you figure out that you wanted to be a forensic scientist?

During an Introduction to Forensic Science class, I found out that the minimum criteria to work as a forensic scientist was a science degree. I had two years of biology under my belt already, and after two more years, I got my degree at UC Davis. At the time, the O.J. Simpson trial's news was on TV every day, and they showed the criminalist testimony. I liked the way he gave his testimony and the scientific information.

Dianne said she wanted an exciting career that would allow her to work independently. "Not having a boss breathing down my neck was very important to me," she said. She also wanted job security and a decent salary - who doesn't! With the O.J. Simpson case still in mind, she decided to explore the field a little bit more. "It didn't take me long to make my decision." It was then that she started looking for a job.

Was it difficult to get what you were looking for?

Santa Barbara's forensics lab

There is not a lot of competition. If you're serious, you can get a job. It took me three or four interviews with the California Department of Justice (CDJ) before I got a job. After seven years at that job, I came to Goleta as a senior criminalist to the Santa Barbara County lab. A criminalist and a forensic scientist are the same thing, did you know that?

Can you define what you do?

Basically, I examine evidence from the crime scene, apply scientific methods to the evidence, and interpret the information. I then present my interpretation of the evidence in the court of law.

I do major [persons] crimes - homicides, rapes, and assaults. Other criminalists do alcohol, drugs, and firearms. I go out to the crime scene and collect all possible evidence. I usually have two crime scenes in one: The first one is the place where the crime was committed, and the second one is the body. I work diligently so that no biological evidence goes unnoticed.

What is it like to work with the dead?

I rationalize death. You can tell when the spirit is not there. You can tell that the human body is no longer inhabited by the person. You're only dealing with matter. However, I know that the body of a person is sacred to his or her family members, so I treat it with the utmost respect.

What traits does a person need to be able to do this work?

One needs to have the eyes of a child in a scientist's brain, and to be curious about what happened before and after the crime was committed. One needs to be able to observe details that others might not think about. This is very important in order to anticipate where the evidence might be found.

What do you like the most about your work?

I like presenting the information in court. It is a challenge to interpret all the scientific data into common words for people to understand it, but I like challenges!

Conversely, what do you like the least?

Paperwork. My work is very regulated, as it should be. Although I know that paperwork ensures that the work is done correctly, it still takes too much time.

What is in the future for the forensic science field?

This is already a very precise science. We are able to individualize, meaning to identify, DNA to the exclusion of anyone else, except for identical twins, for which the DNA is the same. In this case we have to rely on their fingerprints only. But, we need to acknowledge that this is a comparative science of the known and the unknown. For example, we might have sperm and know what the specific DNA is, but we might not know who it belongs to. Until we can put the known and the unknown together, we can't do much with this information, and it is always going to be so.

On the other hand, forensic science has advanced 100 years in 20. Predicting the future is risky, but two things come to mind: a) Smaller equipment - we will be able to bring our equipment to a crime scene, and b) Faster results - we will be able to take samples of available suspects at the crime scene, analyze them, and know if there's a match with the samples taken from the victim, right then and there!"

We also touched on the personal side and she acknowledged that it could be disruptive to family life, and relationships, especially when she has to go out to a crime scene at any given moment, day or night. However, she made it clear, "When there's a will there's a way, and we, women, know how to make things happen."

Every part of our conversation, every answer that Burns gave me was filled with the kind of passion that transmits enthusiasm, leaving one craving more. When we parted, I was left with the thought that as long as our criminal justice system has people of high ethics and professionalism like hers, justice can and will be served.

Silvia Uribe is a freelance writer with a Latina perspective.

Cross-posted at the Independent.com