Fair. My participation was in collaboration whit the "Circle of Nutrition and Dietetics" which I am part
off. The activity was held in the Student center from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. When I arrived at 10 we were assigned a table and some chairs for the display of our educational material. The other tables were
all ready filled with stuff and people were starting to arrive and looking for some brochures and some
souvenirs but we had none of them because the person who had our materials had not yet arrived.
We could not do much because when people looked at our table they saw nothing, it was empty so they did not even bother asking for information.
So in the mean while I started to look at things in my surroundings. I looked at the other tables and
there contents, there were some with musical therapy, artistic therapy, dance therapy, sport therapy and
much more. There were others that had free health test like a thyroid test, HIV test between others.
Finally at 11:10 am the person in charge to bring the educational material arrived with it and handed it
to us. We started to organize it and rapidly discussed what we were going to say and not say because
this was a special population we were dealing with. After we had organized and prepared everything people started to approach our table but they were kind of scared to come in close, we don't know why. So as they came in we ask them if they knew what healthy eating was, if they knew what was the "My Plate" representation and if they knew what it meant. Most of them had saw it previously but did not know how to read it and what foods were cataloged behind each category. So our primary job was to educate them on how to make good use of this tools and explain the food groups to them so that they could make better choices. Some of these people looked completely fine and no one would have though that they are OAPI students other were extremely shy and didn't say a word except from "no" and "thanks". The hardest part of the activity was having to give a talk when someone was playing and instrument or something because the volumewas stupid high.
This experience was really touching for me because I am very sympathetic towards others and having to see a great amount of people not being able to don some things we give for granted or just being different was really hard. Even tough I liked the experience and that it was of great enrichment, I don't see myself working with people with special needs. It takes a great deal of patience and ease characteristics that are not my strong ports. Also in the times that no one was approaching our table and that we were free, we talked and share as partners, we were more than one int the table, so it was also enriching from that part because we shared experiences and our thoughts. Finally the best part of the activity was that we got free food and snacks! That's always a win.
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| This is not the actual activity but one in wich we were doing the same thing, I dont have one from the OAPI activity. |
It's interesting how you mention that while the materials for your table arrived you started looking at your surroundings and noticed different details. It actually reminds me of the class reading: "On Looking". It's amazing how when we separate ourselves from what we're doing and/or what we usually notice, our minds open up and notice so many different and interesting things
ReplyDeleteOn the post you made about the conference, I mentioned how I enjoyed your personal description of the event, because of how it compared to mine. In this case, I did not attend the "OAPI Student Health and Well-being Fair." However, you're a good observer and when you mention key details about your surroundings, I feel as if I was there
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