The End

I wanted to publish my final blog post from a plane over the Caribbean, on my way to Costa Rica (where I am now), but I was too busy sleeping. This past year has been the longest, busiest, most exhausting one I can remember, and I’m glad that it´s finally over. My year ended in the same place that it began, a biological field station in north-eastern Costa Rica. Last year, I was working as a TA for a monkey class, forcing students to learn the basics of habitat assessment and plant identification. This year, I am playing in the kitchen with the women who cook for the students to learn some traditional Costa Rican and Nicaraguan recipes in preparation for a course on Costa Rican/Latin American food that I will be teaching here next summer (Tropical Cuisine: Costa Rica).

I have spent most of my adult life scheming to find ways to escape on extended trips to the tropics, usually as a teaching assistant for a course or as a field/research assistant on a research project. It has all been wonderful, but I have always been working for someone else. I never got around to creating my own project or class that would take me there. Thanks to Parkland, I am finally headed to the tropics for a class that I have created (along with Jane Valentine, Director of the Dietary Program) instead of tagging along as an assistant to someone else. I knew that I wanted to pursue a career involving food and nutrition, but that´s a big field. Taking classes at Parkland allowed me to narrow things down. In addition to taking classes, I was able to explore an interest in nutrition communication by creating a cooking show and writing a newspaper column. I plan to pursue this interest further in graduate schoolso I can keep writing, teaching, and maybe even making more cooking shows. Right now, though, I am ready for my nap.