last week till spring break
This is the last week before spring break, and of the classes that I am taking, I have papers due in two. In the International Health Systems class, I have a 15-20pp final paper I've been writing so far this semester about the health system in Mexico due Tuesday. The class is a ½ semester class, so it will be done after this week. Also, in the Global Nutrition class I have a 3-page report due about an NGO that works with nutrition issues internationally. I chose to write the report about an organization called Plenty International. They were established in the 1980s in Tennessee, and began their work by donating surplus crops to those in rural/poor areas who were in need. They expanded by establishing programs in Mexico and Belize, among 15 countries that they also work. Their main objectives are to reduce undernutrition in indigenous populations by introducing sustainable crop growing within the community, mainly with soy. They educate the community about farming techniques, ways to transfer the soy bean into other soy products such as milk, and how to incorporate soy into the local diet.
Other things that I have been doing have been many! I cross country skied for the first time after the first big snow storm we had. It’s lots of fun, and I’d like to do it more but I don’t actually own any equipment. I say I like it much better than snowboarding. Also, a few weeks ago I attended the first “sub and substance� lecture of this semester. The ‘sub’ is the lunch that is provided and the ‘substance’ is a lecture given by international students in the SPH. I read that the lecture series is a way for international students to display some of the work they have completed in their native countries. Kelvin presented the lecture on the health status of elderly adults in Hong Kong. The project enlisted 65+ adults to participate in a study to reduce falls in the home by adapting their home environments among other factors.