Tai Chi - For Relaxation, Balance and Strength

A series of six weekly Tai Chi classes was offered at the Dorchester Senior Citizen's Center, beginning on February 26th. Our final class will be on Thursday, April 2nd, from 11 AM to 12 Noon.

E. Frederic Mirer, our instructor, led the series of six classes, from Cheng Man Ch'ing's form, "Grasp Sparrow's Tail." All of our members that participated in the Tai Chi class found it very helpful for relaxation, balance, and strength. During the class, we learned that these benefits of Tai Chi help seniors stay healthy and young.

More information about our instructor's Tai Chi method can be found at the Patience Tai Chi Association website:
http://patiencetaichi.com

Information on Cheng Man Ch'ing can be viewed at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCEXCHuNVZo&feature=related

NYC Council Member Dr. Mathieu Eugene Presents Women’s History Month Awards

NYC Council Member Dr. Mathieu Eugene visited our center today to honor all the women of Dorchester Senior Citizen's Center. Dr. Mathieu presented awards to two of our dedicated members, Sandra Green and Ruth Yuen. Both of these women show tremendous leadership by contributing their help with projects at the center.

We appreciate Dr. Mathieu's visit, as well as his ongoing support and advocacy for the Dorchester Senior Citizen's Center.

Jokesercise

Last week, the exercise class had a fun time with Howard Newman, who is a comedian and a exercise instructor all in one! During the exercise session, he intertwined jokes with exercise, and everyone participated. We were all in stitches at Howard's jokes, which were very similar to Jackie Mason and Henny Youngman. It was a win-win situation for all -- the center had a wonderful comedian who kept us laughing and we also became healthy with the exercise. We learned that it's true, when they say "Laughter is the best medicine!"

Black History Month

Black History Month was celebrated today with a special lunch, entertainment, and a presentation. Our special lunch featured crispy baked chicken legs, braised cabbage, baked sweet potatoes, cornbread, fresh fruit and juice. This delicious lunch was cooked for us by our regular cooking staff.

We had entertainment from a member of our center, who sang the Negro National Anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing," composed in 1900 by James Weldon Johnson. After that, we had a member speak about various accomplishments of African Americans, such as inventors, writers, and our new president, Barack Obama. We all had a good time while learning about a part of our nation's history.

Korean Special Lunch

Yesterday, we had a special lunch to celebrate Korean Day. Three of our Korean members supervised our cooks in the kitchen, along with our Korean staff member, Soonja Kim. Our lunch menu consisted of yam noodles, beef, spinach, and carrots with sesame oil, and bean salad and rice and soy sauce on the side.

All in all, everyone had a marvelous time eating an ethnic food that many of our seniors have not had the opportunity to try before.

Chinese New Year

A few our Chinese seniors led us in our annual celebration of Chinese New Year on Tuesday, February 3rd. They volunteered to supervise the preparation of an authentic Chinese dinner for everyone. The menu included sweet and sour chicken with pineapple, vegetable fried rice and chicken corn soup. The chicken was really good, and the soup was extra creamy!

Our decorations were in tune with the Chinese New Year. We had red and gold garlands streamed throughout the center. Our members look forward to this festival every year. And boy, did everyone have a good time!

Presidental Inauguration

Today, we are watching President Obama's inauguration on TV. Everyone at the center is very excited about this important event.

Our choral group, the Singing Swingers, sang patriotic songs to celebrate the event. We finished our songs with the National Anthem. We are all excited to be sharing this moment together at the senior center. Fira, our Russian ESL teacher, is also discussing the inauguration in her class.

We are very proud to have a center with a diverse group of people, coming together to watch history in the making.