China in New Mexico

My freshman year of college I had the opportunity to participate in a service learning trip over Spring Break. The trip was to Taos, NM a small mountainous community in the north-west part of the state. Not only was I able to learn a great deal about the culture of Taos, but I was also able to learn about China because there were three students from China on our team. 

One evening the three students asked everyone to come to their culture. They had even made a meal for us. I was so surprised at how different their foods are from the Americanized version of Chinese foods. Their dishes were simple most from broths with lots of vegetables (cucumber, cabbage, and other greens mainly). There was little meat in the dishes and they said that one of the dishes would have a whole chicken for the family to eat from, unfortunately, we only had breast cuts of chicken.

All in all, we were able to learn a lot about the culture of China and the simplicity of their dishes.

Presentation Reflection

The presentation of my summer internship project was Tuesday. There were 17 individuals in the group that I presented to. I was initially a bit nervous as the presentation was scheduled for 1.5 hours (the longest I've ever done)!

Thankfully, I was well prepared for the demonstration of four activities and sharing of information on how the curriculum is outlined and designed. In all, there were 8 lessons containing a total of 23 activities, 7 clinic display ideas and numerous additional resources and handouts. 

The agents and educators were very excited for the program and to see it all together. As expected, there were a few comments and suggestions, most notedly will be having the program translated into Spanish and wording of a few items.

A few of the other suggestions were about additional activities that could be added, but began to branch outside the scope of the program. However these discussions gave way to thoughts about future projects for students/interns.

In summary, my summer was far more of a "real world" job than I expected. From staff changes to curriculum expectations to working independently, I feel much better prepared to enter the world of graduate school and eventually the workforce. I also feel more prepared to be pregnant, should that ever come my way! This experience was very humbling as I felt so blessed to be able to provide a resource that the educators were excited to use and implement.

Zucchini Boats

This summer we have had lots of zucchini. That said, we were having a hard time finding new recipes for zucchini that didn't heat up the oven. Luckily last week was cooler and we were able to bake zucchini boats. We used tomatoes, red pepper, salt, pepper, onion, garlic and shredded mozzarella cheese. The zucchini seeds were scooped out, then stuffed and finally baked at 375 for 12 or so minutes (just until they are soft to the fork).

Image Source: http://www.laaloosh.com/2011/07/25/stuffed-zucchini-boats-recipe/

The zucchini doesn't have a strong flavor which allows for it to retain the moisture from the tomatoes and flavors from the other ingredients.  All in all, a healthy addition to our evening meal! I look forward to trying these again as we continue to gather summer squash from the garden. Next time I plan to try them with meat, beans, corn, onion, cheese, and tomatoes.

I use photos from other sources because my photography and editing skills are not that great.

Next Steps

As my time with EFNEP and K-State Research and Extension come to an end, it is time to look forward to the start of school. While school is three weeks away, I will stay busy with various activities. It will definately be a "different kind of busy", as the more I complete these weeks, the less I will have to do once school starts. Some of those activities include moving, clinical dietetic shadows, and sorority recruitment.

I will also be working on graduate school applications and contacting faculty and internship directors at those respective schools. I am exctied to have date goals for when I will submit each application and am excited to see the results.

My Time with EFNEP

As my last days in the office are approaching, I can hardly believe ten weeks has passed. It seems like just yesterday that I sent out the outline for the curriculum and waited for responses: that was over a month ago. 

The program is coming together nicely and is in the final stages of revisions. The educators will, most likely, have comments and changes after it is presented to them. 

I was so excited when I received the proof from the graphic designer. She had compiled all of the scripts for educators and handouts into one document that will serve as a leader's guide. It is complete with small icon-like pictures of the handouts the clients will be completing for the respective activity. She has been so great to work with: I will have an idea for a handout or activity page and she will make it happen.

It is hard to believe I have put together a program for nutrition and lifestyle education during pregnancy. One of the largest challenges I faced is the fact that I have never been pregnant.

This internship has helped me realize my blessings in the areas of education and economic environment in which I was raised. Sometimes as a college student, I forget that there are millions that dream of the opportunities that we so often complain about (the small assignments, studying for tests, writing papers and such).

I have also learned that I will most likely not pursue in community nutrition, at least not in program writing. Instead, I will look for a career that includes more direct interaction with clients (this will most likely be in the clinical setting).