Volunteering, long-term care, memories of bowling and of China

Athena's American Conversation: Bowling in Life Story: "Every Tuesday afternoon I go to the hospital to volunteer at the the Long Term Care Center. I enjoy spending time with the residents, and I'..."

You MUST read this post by Athena!  Here we have liberal arts education working in so many fine ways.  First, Athena is a volunteer at a long-term care facility as well as a student; so we see her civic engagement.  Second, because she has been reading about bowling and the decline of social capital, when one of the residents begins to recall her happy memories of bowling in an league and her disappointment that her kids didn't want to play, Athena has a larger social context for the individual experience.  Third, all this prompts her cross-cultural comments about  the state of bowling in China.    I'd say it is a strike (in the bowling sense, not the baseball one.)