The CIP activity I chose to do this semester was volunteering at Bazaar Cafe. At the cafe, you will likely be washing dishes and spending your free time afterwards talking to to the other staff/volunteers.

During the first half of my time at Bazaar Cafe, I stayed in the backyard shed with the other staff/volunteers to eat snacks and have fun chats. The second half was mainly centered on washing dishes.

Although volunteering at Bazaar Cafe was a bit unsatisfying at times, I still enjoyed it overall. The memories I made in the shed are what I will remember when I think back to this CIP and it definitely lessened my dissatisfaction with the second half of my time there. If you’re looking for a more low commitment CIP and you’re interested in developing more day-to-day speaking skills, I would recommend Bazaar Cafe. However, my biggest piece of advice would be to volunteer in the last 1-2 hours before it closes on the day you choose to go. This is when the cafe is least busy and is when you can spend more time talking to the other staff/volunteers instead of doing dishes the entire time. If I had done that more often, I would have likely enjoyed this CIP throughout the semester rather than just the first half.