By : Abdulmalik Alhudaithy (Saudi Arabia)
On Tuesday May 17, 2016 we went to volunteer at Stoneybrook Lodge, which is a retirement community for the elders here in Corvallis city. The lodge provides health care and social activities for the seniors who need to be taken care of or prefer to stay with people who are active and close to each other. The lodge has many amenities, like coffee clubs, library, a swimming pool, movie nights, and trips and activities around the city. Volunteering at Stoneybrook Lodge was a great and fun experience. Sitting there and chatting with elders who had a lot of experience in life was very wonderful. I really enjoyed having a conversation with one of them who has been here in Corvallis for more that 35 years! He is originally from Portland, which is also called Stumptown, because first people who settled there cut all the trees and left them with their stumps, according to him. We talked about almost everything, such as how he started his life in the army then went to the business school at University of Oregon. Then, he got married and moved to Utah to join a company, then finally settled here in Corvallis. And we also chatted about our cultures, and how we managed to adjust to live in a different culture than ours. The people in the lodge were very nice to us; they were very lovely and welcoming people. I really enjoyed my time there, and I hope to visit them again.