While students back at Elmira College were enjoying their traditional no-class Wednesday, our group of newcomer Appalachians was occupied with a busy schedule. Similar to the last few days, we started off our morning with the performance of hearing screenings at the CDL. We saw three children today, and it was a mutual consensus of the group that these children were a bit different than the previous children screened. A couple of the children from today's time slot showed us how difficult the administration of the screenings can actually be. Their ear canals were windy and curvy, as those of children normally are. It was difficult for us to get some of the test results for this reason. Ted helped us out, though, and we finished each screening accordingly. In addition, one of the children from today was a bit bashful, and we were ultimately unable to screen his hearing. We will be seeing him next week for another try.
         After our time in the CDL, we headed over to the campus coffee shops. We went to the Main Street Cafe first. Here we all ordered lunch, most of us preferring hamburgers. Once lunch was consumed, we moved about two shops down to the other coffee shop, Berea Coffee & Tea. This is the place where a lot of the college students from Berea spend their time. We hung out outside drinking our coffee for about an hour. It was then time for our main event of the day: a presentation on Appalachian gardening by Margaret and Adrian Dotson. This couple is a native of the state of Kentucky, and their personal heritage dates back to show a lot of experience with gardening and cultivation. They set up a powerpoint presentation for our group in one of the classrooms at Berea. They mentioned a lot about the history of the immigrants and how they allowed families to come and live in the Appalachian region. This immigration caused recreational and social bonds to form in many communities, and even ethnic groups came together. The Dotson's spoke a lot about the difference between the stereotypes of Appalachia to what is actually real. Their main focus of the discussion, though, was the history, traditions, and changes in Appalachian gardening. They started by explaining their lineage and how their Appalachian roots correlated with what they know about gardening today. The remainder of the lecture consisted of the descriptions of some of the crops and food that the Dotson's grew up learning how to make. Some of the foods we learned about were cornmeal, love apples (tomatoes), churning butter, plucking chickens, and butchering hogs. After the lecture, we were invited to the Dotson's home for a supper cooked by Mrs. Dotson. Before supper, Mr. Dotson gave us each a lesson on an instrument in which he excels: the dulcimer. This instrument is like a guitar, but it has less strings and less frets. We played about three songs with his help. For dinner, Mrs. Dotson made us cornbread and beans, and a salad and a few other side dishes were provided as well. They welcomed us into their home and told us a lot more about different parts of Kentucky. Ted took us for ice cream after dinner; it was an end to a fine day.

Here we are eating dinner at the Dotson's home.

This was our dulcimer lesson.