Over The time has come – graduation! Five years later and I am finally finished at UBC and my gosh what an incredible ride! I remember when I started at UBC how disconnected I felt from the campus, from people, from the city. It was not until I took a year off to discover the world and myself in a positive but challenging way, which made me reevaluate myself at UBC. Upon my return, I made the decision to switch into GRS, a change that had a profound effect on my entire University experience.

GRS is like a home and a family! It is a program that makes you feel at home, brings laughter, global experiences, creates critical thinking about yourself in this world and connects you to unimaginable experiences. Every student is welcomed with open arms by Brent Skura and Roxana Quinde. These two have wisdom like Ghandi and charisma that lights up a room. They make everything in life seem achievable and push you to expand your horizons personally and academically.

It is very hard and sad to be leaving GRS. I feel like I am leaving close family and friends behind. Yet, I feel I have been provided with continuous support to help me begin this new chapter in my life. But now when I reflect on my entire undergrad, I realize how life changing that switch into GRS was. I often think about the person I would have become had I stayed in my former program, and feel nothing but certainty about my decision. I am grateful for my experiences in GRS, the opportunities Roxana and Brent pushed me to experience and how I have become a ‘global’ citizen in this world.

So thank you to Roxana, Brent, the students and everything else that made my five years at UBC so incredibly inspirational and helped shape the person I am today.

Over and out GRS. Forever with me, forever a part of me!

For any of you looking for the perfect soul-warming, fuzzy-inside feeling for the holiday season, take a page out of Denmark’s book – Traditional Danish Glögg. This Christmas hot wine, mulled beverage is perfect for sitting by the fire or warming up those toes after an eventful day out in the snow.

Makes 5-6 glasses

Symmetry

This past term I have become addicted with short films or videos on Vimeo – a website for high quality videos and people who love them. What makes Vimeo so unique is the broad range of categories of films it have to offer, such as staff picks, nature, everyday life, travel and experimental. To me, Youtube is like the Hollywood movies and Vimeo is the International or Sundance Film Festival. The latter is getting off the beaten track, or to put it more cliche, taking the road less traveled. Vimeo is so perfectly suiting to those wanting to experience something so unique, rare, unknown, mysterious and adrenaline-pumping, by nonetheless, creative and generous random people in our world.

I wanted to share this video for its mysterious title, enticing description and captivating way of showcasing our world: http://vimeo.com/awards/winners/lyrical

Having guests over for a ravin’ Halloween house party? Or looking for something yummy to sip on while handing out candy to cute little ones decked out costumes?

Check out this tasty halloween-inspired alcoholic beverage from the Food Network website!

Ingredients

For the infused vodka:
1/2 cup candy corn
1 1/2 cups vodka
For the cordials:
2 ounces orange liqueur
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 large egg white
Candy corn, for garnish
Directions
Infuse the vodka: Combine the candy corn and vodka in an airtight container; set aside for at least 3 hours, then strain.

Make the cordials: Add 4 ounces of the candy corn vodka, the orange liqueur, lemon juice and egg white to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously for at least 30 seconds. Strain into 2 chilled martini glasses and garnish with candy corn.

(Obtained from © 2011 Television Food Network G.P. All rights reserved)

I want to share with all of you one of my top 5 most favorite treats that includes an amazing combination of chocolate, peanuts and crunchy chow mein noodles…THE BEST combo ever – Chocolate Spiders.

My mom used to make these for my brothers and I religiously when we were young. Consequently, they take me right back to my childhood while growing up in Calgary. Now those were some good memories. If you are ready to dive into a chocolate coma, here is the recipe:

1 bag (350g) of semi-sweet chocolate chips (Chipits are best)
1 bag (350g) of butterscotch chocolate chips
2 cups of peanuts (1/2 salted and 1/2 unsalted)
1 can of China Lily Chow Mein noodles

Preparation (approximately 25 minutes):

In top of double boiler, melt chips. Remove from heat and stir in noodles and nuts. Drop by teaspoonful onto sheets of parchment paper. Place in refrigerator and then consume immediately when nice and crunchy!

Phew. And this is a phew of excitement!

I just had GRS class where a bunch of students presented about their international experiences from last year. Alcina Ginger just presented about her university exchange at the University of Copenhagen, the university I was just accepted to for upcoming January, 2012. Her presentation stirred up a bunch of emotions in me and also made me realize that this is actually happening; I am going to Europe for the first time to study global nutrition.

After Alcina’s presentation with amazing pictures of beautiful Copenhagen, this is what came to mind:

What gets me all giddy inside?

-Meeting new friends from all over the world
-Learning about global nutrition from the Danish perspective
-Experiencing European culture for the first time
-Exploring beautiful historic European countries and visiting family friends
-Taking part in a field study program with a professor and fellow students (If the opportunity arises)
-Purchasing a new bike with a lovely wicker basket
-THE FOOD
-Believe it or not, the snow!

What makes me quiver to my bone?

-A lack of traveling due to a heavy workload :s
-Is one term long enough to fully immerse myself in the culture and get the best out of my time there?
-Can I afford sweets at cafes every weekend? (In Vancouver I take my scooter off campus and study at a cafe every weekend. I always treat myself to a latte or a hearty treat of sorts. This way, I can switch up my routine and my surrounding atmosphere and it also gives me an opportunity to explore new parts of Vancouver).
-Not grasping the Danish language as much as I would like to (I have been told by countless people that it is one of the most difficult languages to learn…not very reassuring as I love to speak the local language to try and converse with the local people)

I have traveled on my own before in South America, so I am really looking forward to escaping North America and starting a new life in a brand new country. It’s taught me about confidence, independence, open-mindedness and what it’s like to step outside of my comfort zone. And I know living in a new country is very different from traveling around but I am always willing to take risks and face new challenges. And by the way, I want to make it clear that I am WAY more excited than scared about this opportunity in 2012. I say, BRING IT ON!!

I want to share an experience I had living with a family for a few days on Lake Titicaca, Peru. This summer I went on a 2-month backpacking trip throughout Peru and Colombia with a friend. Part of our time spend in Peru was experiencing the spiritual and famous Lake Titicaca. My friend and I had the opportunity to stay with a mother and her two young boys on Uros Island, a historic volcanic island on Lake Titicaca. This stay involved three homemade meals and a one night sleep in her house.

When my friend and I first arrived to the island and were introduced to Mariana and her two boys, 6 and 4 years old, the first thing that struck me was how stunted all the women and children were. Now, I am not a tall girl, in fact, I only stand 5 feet, 1.5 inches tall. Back home, I am thought of as quite short, however, down in South America, I am more than the average height (this was quite a nice feeling!). Mariana was at most 4’9″ and her two boys looked half their age. This struck me as odd, however, when we helped her prepare the meals, it was evident where their stunted height came from.

I can honestly say that I can count that island’s staple foods on 5 fingers: quinoa, potatoes, cheese, pancakes and a few vegetables. Mariana is so poor that she cannot afford red meat, which is a very high source of protein and iron needed for a child’s growth. They are seriously lacking dairy and fruits as well. We were told that when you visit these families, a gift of thanks is recommended, food, in particular. My friend and I stocked up on oranges, rice, eggs and even school supplies for the two boys. The problem with living on the island that they do is that it is a 4 hour boat ride to the mainland. It is isolated and has at most two to three ‘tiendas’ that might sell eggs, but mostly unhealthy snack foods like chips and candy bars. Therefore, most families grow their own food and live off this foods for years. However, this food is mostly starch and is lacking the essential nutrients needed for optimal growth and a strong and healthy immune system.

Not only is the family deficient in many essential nutrients, their material contexts, such as the kitchen and cooking supplies is lacking as well. The kitchen consists of a small, square hut with dirt floors and one shelf that holds all but one pan, one pot, three bowls and one wooden spoon. She cooks all her foods in a wood fire oven but all the smoke that accumulates stays in the hut due to poor ventilation; there is only the door, that is kept closed and a small window that is too rusty to open up all the way. I felt our friendship blossomed in this poverished small, square area and in speaking spanish to Mariana we learned that her husband left her for another woman on the mainland and that he has not come back to visit his boys once since departing. We also learned that her life consists of feeding her boys, cooking, prepping food almost 10 hours every day, due to having to cook from scratch for three meals a day. Her life is very repetitive and has been ever since she was 12 years old, the age she started cooking for her brothers and sisters.

This experience had a strong impact on me, in that it made me realize how fortunate we are back home and the great variety of foods we have available to us. Living with Mariana and experiencing her struggles was tough and at times very emotional, but it was amazing to see how strong that woman is and how she pushes through every day for her two boys and for herself.

Hello all!

So I am halfway through third year in the GRS program. My specialization is international nutrition. What excites me about this is helping developing communities strengthen and improve their agriculture and food system in making it more sustainable. However I hope to achieve this in a way where us educated North Americans do not go in and totally re-shape their food system and how they go about growing and eating traditional foods. They key is to help in a way that sustains their traditional ways and keeps to their culture. Sometimes our help can essentially exploit their ways of life and have a strong negative effect. We need to learn from their ways and integrate our possibilities with what suits them best.

I guess I want to ask how one goes about this most optimally? Would it be learning the locals’ language and living with them? If so, would they then take our knowledge and help as beneficial? I have travelled quite a bit, but have never volunteered in a community over a long period of time in which my help implements change. This is a task I hope to achieve during an exchange next year in Europe, where I would do a 5-week field study in Africa afterwards. Any suggestions of past experiences I would greatly appreciate!

¡Hola a todos!

 Nicole and I have made it to Lima, the huge capital city of Peru with almost 8 million inhabitants. We are still catching up on sleep, as our last night in Cuzco before we flew to Lima, we went to bed at 3.30 am and woke up at 5.30 am to catch a taxi. Nutty?! Well, it was worth it. We met up with our Machu Picchu tour guide William and we danced the night away at one of his favourite local discotheques (we first went to a more gringo-ish lounge with a wicked DJ but seeing William{s reaction, we knew he felt uncomfortable, so we decided to go local!). It was cheap cover and cheap beer is sold by the litre and Nicole and I were THE ONLY gringos in the club. Yes it felt weird at times being starred at like a museum piece. None the less, the three us of us couldn’t have had a better time.

 It was very, very sad to leave Cuzco, as we had visited that town 3 times and somewhat formed a family at the hostel we stayed at for those 3 times. They were always so happy to see us each time we returned and we even cooked them curry one afternoon. My last afternoon there, I sat on their terrace with their kitten Centimos and we played together for over two hours. He would attack my necklaces that were hanging around my neck, claw my legs, purr, then get all frisky again and attack the grommets on my jeans and then start climbing up my back. As out of control as he sounds, he is the cutest little gato! So far, Cuzco has been mine and Nicole{s favourite town because it really did feel like home.

 The severe lack of sleep is catching up with us now in Lima though. But to be honest, I would rather be catching up on sleep here than anywhere else we have been. Lima is not the most attractive cities. From April to December it is in a constant state of muggy and misty weather. It is grey and dark, the loudest of all cities we have been in and the streets wreak of car exhaust. We are staying in a busy backpacker hostel called Flying Dog Hostel right in the heard of Miraflores, a more pricey but safe district in Lima. There are shopping malls and Starbucks, McDonalds and movie theatres and a windy beach about 10 blocks down the way with locals surfing the waves. We are happy to be in this city for two nights and extremely stoked to be catching a 6 am flight to the JUNGLE TOMORROW!!

 Last night we had a tasty meal of falafel sandwiches and an oriental salad before seeing Eclipse (The 3rd series of Twilight) at a theatre nearby (before we had a 3 hour siesta in the afternoon). It is officially my most favourite thing to watch a movie in South America! The crowd ooos and aaahs at the most sappy scenes…especially when hot boys suddenly come on the screen. You will hear constant mumbling when something really dramatic or scary happens and hear huge roars of laughter when something really cheesy occurs. If this happened in Canada, many people would probably get kicked out because they would be disturbing others nearby. Man we are hard asses!

 Today Nicole is feeling feverish so she has been resting all day. I went to pick up breakfast at a supermarket down the road (yogurt, papaya and fresh raisin buns from a panderia). After this email I am going to walk down to the beach and then check out some stores. Tonight we are going to watch a movie in our hostel and eat popcorn. What a lovely low-key way to spend a Saturday night!

 My next email will be sent after our time in the one and only…AMAZON JUNGLE! Cannot wait for some warm muggy weather. And then I can finally wear some shorts!!

 Hasta luego amigos,

 Lauren xxoo