Discussion Leader. Section 3. Pages 60-86. Brittney Nehring

1.       What was your favorite part in this section, and why?

For me, the most interesting was when she talked about her job at the nursing home.  Although she is a dietary aide, and I am a nurse aide, she still describes instances with the residents.  These people seem so relatable to what I go through every day at work.  We too have the diabetic resident who tries snatching food from other residents’ trays.  She tells about the resident who pours orange juice over her French toast, this reminded me of a resident who put her banana in her soup and ate it.  We have such similar residents, who will reject what was cooked for the main meal and request other things.  I really like this part because it makes me laugh inside because I know exactly what she is experiencing and it sounds identical to the nursing home I work at.

2.       When Barbara’s coworker talks about their place of work, he says it “feeds” on gossip, can anyone relate to this?

I think that this goes for many jobs.  I know I can really relate to this, my workplace seems like it operates the same way.  Whenever anyone says anything, everyone else hears about it in a short period of time.  Whether it is something that person did over the weekend or something a resident said to them, people always talk about it. I do think that this helps people stay energized and relieve some of their stress talking about other people’s problems.   I agree that you need to watch out who you say things in front of, because there are always the people that are good workers, but they will stab you in the back.

3.       How did you react when Barbara was working with the other maids and she sees how poor they are (when one of the girls can’t even afford a soda)?

I felt bad because these women are working for such little money.  When the company is actually getting $25.00 an hour and some of their employees have to work a whole shift on only a bag of chips, that’s sad.  But I also wonder where all of her money is going and if she spends it very wisely. 

4.       Do you think or wonder if any of the conditions of her apartment (cottage) she explains are an exaggeration?

I really wonder about these conditions, although I know these places aren’t very good quality and are very small.  She says that she can’t even change her clothes in the bathroom because it is too small for a person and her discarded clothes.  This makes me really wonder because from the cover of the book she looks like a very slim person, therefore a bigger woman shouldn’t be able to fit in the bathroom then.  She also says the toilet is less than four feet from the kitchen table, wow this place is small!