week 8

Tuesday 5/18/10

I normally rely on Molly to find locations when the class has to be held outside Grover Center, so when I made that call to Molly and she informed she was not around since Art Works is close to her residence, I wondered what will become of my tree planting point. Luckily I saw Alex and we were later on joined by Laura and another class mate. It was quite an exercise walking to Art Works, as I had to struggle to keep up with the ladies. In fact, these ladies are extremely fit and it had me thinking about working out regularly.

Once again we saw “nutrition in action” by planting all these fruit trees. I believe this exercise will go a long way to minimize food insecurity and improve nutrient intake of individuals who are food insecure. It is interesting how I always come across rocks anytime I dig hole for planting, hopefully I will find something I can share with my classmates the next time.

Tuesday’s tree planting exercise also provided us with an experience of working with community members. In as much as we need to be patient with some community members, I believe it is not out of line to put them in their right place as our instructor did. I had to move away from the initial hole I dug and leave the planting to my classmates because I could not stand the smoke from their cigarettes because it irritates my eyes. I kept wondering what will happen if I was the only person with them. What would I have said to them? Would I have left them there till they finished smoking? I guess these are some of the challenges we will be facing in the future.

I pray God control our speeches in the future to that it does not create a barrier in communication.


Thursday 5/20/10
Even though we did not have class on Thursday, the day was a productive one as my group members and I took time to go through out project. We decided on what role each member has to play for a successful completion of our project. As the only male in the group, I must confess that it is a privilege working on this project with four caring and talented ladies.

Our meeting with our instructor put the icing on the cake as he informed that our choice of vegetables was impressive. Well, he said that after putting us through drills of advance nutrition questions. I cannot wait to see our strawberries grow as this project has given me the opportunity to see a strawberry plant for the first time in my live.