Monday, March 17

Today we visited Hursey Elementary School, where we got to teach 3^rdand 4^th graders about nutrition. At my station, we had the kids matchup names of foods with categories on the food pyramid. While I initially didn’t know what to expect from the kids, I later learned that they were the most well-mannered, intelligent group of kids I had met! In our station, most kids didn’t know where to match clams, but every kid knew where to put the cookies! One of the girls named Kimberly said that this was her favorite activity of the day, and gave each of us a big hug at the end. Because it was raining, we only got to look at the Garden Classroom situated outside the school. Although it was muddy and wet, the Garden Classroom was truly breathtaking. Clearly, this was a school that recognized childhood obesity as a national problem, and designed a healthy, fun way to teach kids that fruits and vegetables could be pretty sweet too.

Afterwards, we drove back to our place at the church, made smoked ham sandwiches/PBJs, and took a nap. After we woke up we watched a documentary called “Sick Around America” and learned about the numerous Americans who suffer from lack of health insurance. I was particularly struck by a story of a 21 year-old-college boy, who in his last semester of senior year, got unexpectedly sick and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Because he didn’t have health insurance, he was forced to pay for his medical bills himself, which left him to abandon his dreams of becoming a chemical engineer and take up a fast food job instead. Another story that stood out to me was when a college girl was diagnosed with lupus. Because her family did not own health insurance either, she went untreated for her disease and died as a result. It made me frustrated to know that these were very real problems that ordinary people faced everyday. It frustrated me to see that people couldn’t get access to health care, simply because they didn’t qualify (for any pre-existing conditions), were unemployed, or were of a certain socioeconomic status. I also began to realize, that often times, we take our health for granted. As college students, we sift through 4 hours worth of sleep, put off the gym for another day, or opt to eat that greasy pizza instead of healthier options. The decisions we make in our daily lives are conscious, and yet overlooked. But in reality, health is all we have. And if we all can agree that health is of utmost importance in our lives, why shouldn’t health care be available to all people? That is, afterall, the framework in other thriving countries such as Canada and France. So why not the US? Because there’s just no telling what can happen in our lives--people are fine one day, and sick the next. No one should have to suffer or lose their life simply because health insurance was not made available to them. This was just an injustice I couldn’t shake off.

            After the documentary, we went sight-seeing in the beautiful city of Charleston. Despite the on-and-off rain and cloudy skies, we still had a lot of fun exploring. We got to walk along the boardwalk, and went souvenir shopping at a few local markets.On the way back, we stopped at a Piggly Wiggly’s and, by popular vote, we rented the movie, “Argo”. After we got back, we chilled out a little more and all made homemade pizza for dinner (probs the best pizza I’ve ever had!). We then had our reflection about the documentary we had watched earlier. After reflection, we played a game called “Heads Up” (which is basically like charades, but better) and broke down in hysterical laughing fits from attempting accents and bizzare gestures. All in all, we had an incredible first day in SC filled with fun and new learning experiences! -Usha