I wrote my very last exam yesterday, bringing my third year of university to a close. Since the majority of the Nutrition students were all finished yesterday, with the exception a few who happened to take random electives, we all went out to celebrate. We ended up at the Dublin which was awesome because there were about 3 different parties that merged there so I got to see everyone in one place! I've only been to the Dublin a couple times, but I kinda love it. There's always a random band that includes fiddles of some sort. Last night there was just a random cover band but they played stuff that was fun to dance to and had the whole bar ripping up the dance floor. I always run into a million people I know that I either wasn't expecting to see or haven't seen in forever which makes the night that much more exciting.
Now that the semester is over, I am not exactly sure what to do with myself. I woke up this morning at 7am out of habit and for the first time in a very long time, I didn't have an infinitely long to do list on my mind or a detailed and jam packed schedule for the day. So, as a result I am currently sitting in my living room, eating yogurt, strawberries and mango, blogging while watching tv and hanging out with Earl. Wait what? I can't even fathom the last time I had time to do this. I sometimes get a chance to watch the news while I eat my breakfast before class in the mornings, but only if I've been particularly productive the night before and have had time to make my lunch before hand. I must admit, it is marvelous! I do actually have quite the to do list to get through today, but it's all little things that can easily be procrastinated on. I think today may be the first time ever that I've been secretly happy with the No Sunday Shopping in PEI. It gives me an excuse to lounge around in sweats watching Project Runway reruns (with some bulging brides and HGTV on commercials). It also gives me an excuse to put off all the errands I have to run until tomorrow. I am looking forward to the next two weeks of no school. I start classes again for internship on the 26th, but until then it'll be working and volunteering as much as possible and getting some much needed R&R.
An exciting opportunity for UPEI nutrition students has quite possibly been made available in the past week or so. Every year, the school sends nursing students to Kenya for 3 months to work with Farmers Helping Farmers, and this summer, they are hoping to make the trip available to nutrition students as well. It would even count as a 6 week community level internship placement for those interns interested in going. It's completely funded and sounds amazing - I would be doing food records and collecting dietary intake data and then working closely with womens groups and children in a particular community doing nutrition education, creating resources for the community and working with a school to enhance a community garden project. The internship will help the community understand the nutritional needs of their community, knowledge which will impact crop production and will build capacity throughout the community by providing the knowledge, skills, and resources to better feed their children. The funding is currently proposed at about 10 grand, which would cover all my costs of travel, immunizations, room and board etc and then some. The nursing students normally get a chance to go on safari and stuff while they are there too. I came to UPEI with the idea that I was going to one day save the world from world hunger and malnutrition, with the hope that I would get to go back to Africa to work for a chunk of time in the process. This project is EXACTLY what I had envisioned myself doing upon embarking on my degree. The problem is they are only taking 2-3 students, and haven't decided if they will for sure be nutrition students or if they'll simply continue to take nursing students. There is an info session on the 20th, so I will know more then. Until then my fingers are crossed. I want to go sooo bad! I get giddy just thinking about going back, but there are a lot of students who want to go, and there may not even be spots for nutrition students yet, so I'm trying not to get too excited. But on the bright side, at least now I know that my ideal job exists!
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