Well...not only do I have resources at my fingertips when it comes to public health but I also have tons of programs directly targeting the hispanic population in the area. Perfecto! Today I met up with some other students from the medical school here at Carolina to staff a table at the "La Fiesta Del Pueblo" where we took glucose tests and blood pressure as well as had information about local clinics who cater to the hispanic community. The festival itself is quite fun and lasts the entire weekend. There are musicians playing most of the weekend and there are tons of activities for the kids as well as free stuff everywhere. There are sections on education, public safety, health etc that offer various services and information about area projects and businesses. I have included a picture of our booth...at the end of a very very long day.

The students who I was working with today usually help staff a local clinic in Carrboro specifically aimed at the underserved hispanic population. The program they work for is called SHAC: Student Health Action Coalition which brings in medical, graduate, and undergraduate students as well as other professionals who want to volunteer at the clinic. It is run on Wednesday evenings and a variety of services are available. Needless to say, I'm going to be a volunteer. Haha.

The really fun part about today was being able to use my spanish and talk to people about possible risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, BMI as well as just have normal conversations about life in general. I get that feeling again of wanting to go to medical school after public health...here we go again. Haha. I must admit I am still timid but even when I screwed up sentences, they still understood me. I met a guy from Cuba who actually lives in Veradero Beach...the same place that I stayed in whenever I went to Cuba. He knows all the people we stayed with (small world!) and so we talked a little bit about the town and the healthcare system there as compared to here. All would not be possible without my Spanish - yay Community Service Alliance!

I also joined the Student Global Health Committee here which focuses on issues around the United States as well as other countries on issues that affect all of us. We go around to area schools and do talks in their health classes about STDS and HIV and try and open these kids up to a new understanding of their bodies. Unfortunately, Yay Bush! (SARCASM), we cannot talk about anything other than abstinence in the school systems here because...again Yay Bush (SARCASM), someone pushed through that legislation. So we are going to pretend in these talks that these kids are not having sex, nor will they have sex, nor should we talk about protection measures outside of abstinence in case they are having sex. I'm thrilled. Again - note the sarcasm. Oh Politics...

We are also having speakers come in from their respective fields to do campus wide debates about pressing issues throughout our communities, our country, and our world and try and really get the campus involved in major public health issues. In addition, the Catholic Student Center here is having discussions on Fair Trade, closing the School of the Americas, and Latino Advocacy in the United States in the upcoming months. Did I ever mention that I love the University of North Carolina? Yeah - cause I do.