Baby steps - 1st post 6th of Feb
Well, here goes my first intern blog post of module 7 in Global Nutrition and Health, specialization of public health & health policies.
Buckle up kids because this is going to be a wild ride YEEHAW!
*Ahem-beseriouschristian!-Cough*
After carrying your 31kg of luggage 1 km through rain I bet you would look terrific as well.
I’ve decided to start doing this post now, sooner rather than later, because it’s been crazy to be honest these last three days, it’s feels like a lifetime ago since I landed. So, better write while the memory is still fresh.
I arrived Tuesday the 31st of January by plane. Travelling was quite easy, you basically click the country you’ve gotten an internship into momondo.com and BAM you buy the cheapest route there, one way, because, honestly, it’s eight weeks, worry about getting home later, you’ll need money for food (don’t do this at home kids- plan better!).
This ended up with me paying more for the return ticket, because, buying a return ticket along your ticket to the country in question is cheaper. Whoops. Also, here are some consequences of buying without thoroughly checking your ticket: you don’t end up in the airport of Reykjavik, you happen to land at Klaflavik, 45min bus ride away from the capitol of Iceland. Which, at first puts you into a state of panic because you have no idea where Klaflavik is and if you’re even on the right coast. Later (around five minutes) I found out there are busses to Reykjavik and I am on the correct coast. Alright, no biggie. You know you’re not travelling unless you’re subject to a mild form of anxiety. I do feel the display at the airport in CPH gave the wrong impression though....
“The destination is a lie....”
Internship lesson #1: Plan your start and exit days, before you start your internship.
The bus are my main means of transportation is the public transport system, which is very reminiscent of DK. Except our busses don’t wait for anything. Here you “can” call upon other bus to wait for you if the current bus you are in is behind schedule. “Hey chief, I need bus 5 to get to Nordica, could you let them know?” – “sure thing chief” And then you get off, and WHAM it’s actually waiting for your student butt to get in.
The view from the busses are as gorgeous as they look - when there’s daylight
I got settled in the outskirts of town, Störhofdi, in a room not bigger than the one I have at my kollegium. Except I’m paying twice the amount I usually pay. Get your accommodation early guys, it’s only going to get more expensive as time progresses.
When I came to my designated spot of internship, the unit of nutritional research next to the “Landspitali” - the hospital of Reykjavik, close to the university of Iceland, I was first introduced to the other interns who were also here as well as my host supervisor, Bryndis.
From left to right: Bryndis Eva Birgirsdottir (host supervisor), Me (intern in third semester), Joanna (intern for bachelor thesis) & Debrah (Ph.D student) having a icelandic meal before getting into the thick of it.
The amount of information I got from then is blurry at best. I became quickly aware that now I am no longer an aspiring student trying to get his bachelor, now I am a functioning adult with knowledge that enables me to get involved with governmental changes to the school meals, researching sources to improve Icelandic shopping habits to improve population health, and… Darn, a lot of other stuff. I am basically working full time now. And it’s awesome. Busy, but awesome.
Suddenly everything shifts into a different focus. People here are fighting real issues in real time. It’s no longer a subject where you gather around the coffee table and discuss the different problems in the country, now you’re trying as hard as possible to improve the system. Now you’re no longer figuring out how habits develop or how to implement new (fictional) policies into a country. You are doing stuff that matters. Right now, real time.
The list of projects is quite huge, some are time sensitive, others are ongoing projects that will be done “when it’s done”. As of right now the list is as follows:
1. Improving school meals in Kindergartens of Reykjavik. Cooperation with the department of Education and Reykjavik municipality. (INSERT Picture here)
2. Helping with presenting of the “Bachelor of Nutrition” of the university of Iceland, with the possibility to get a masters afterward in either clinical-, public health-, or sports nutrition. To be done on Friday the 3rd. This I have already completed - I did the word-cloud you can see in the picture below and talked about how it is to study nutrition and the possibility to go abroad.
3. On-going allergy project spearheaded by the head of unit to treat or improve allergy treatments of patients with light allergic reactions.
4. Meeting with a “Kronan”(a nationwide grocery chain where I also purchase my day-to-day needs) representative to make suggestions to improve consumers shopping habits.
5. Creating a FFQ (food frequency questionnaire), calculating the nutritional amount onto excel.
6. Mapping governmental action status for health. Are their policies transparent etc.
1. Spend a day with health practitioners working within the national hospital right next to UNR.
2. Join guest lecture on food culture on the 7t of February.
In this writing moment I am working toward making suggestions for the “Kronan” representative who is coming in tomorrow.
More information will comes as time passes!