Countdown Time!

Ouais ouais la Fac!

Most of you know that I'm a student at the U of A's Campus Saint-Jean. But did you know how wonderful it is? (Probably.) Super-wonderful. One of the things I like about the Fac - and one of the main reasons I chose it - is that it's a very small community. Small enough that I rarely come across people I haven't seen before, small enough that the profs know all their students' names, and small enough that when I had my first bake sale, the Doyen came by to say "You know Stephanie, you could write me a letter to ask for support." (Only in French. He also bought a cookie.)

So I wrote a letter (Once again, Mathieu helped me out) and the Campus Saint-Jean has agreed to contribute $1000 to my trip! This puts the fund-o-meter at 60% of my goal, which is really quite phenomenal considering I've been fundraising for about ten weeks. I am incredibly grateful for this sponsorship from the Campus. I feel like it's made even more meaningful by the fact that, because the Campus community is so teeny-weeny, I know the people who are contributing the money and I know that they're genuinely interested in my project. That, and I get to give a little talk about my trip when I get back:)

Un gros merci au Doyen, à Denis Fontaine et au Campus Saint-Jean!

Worth it in the Long Run*

When I initially told my mother about this crazy volunteer-abroad idea I'd been cooking up, she didn't have a lot to say. Whiles she did email me one wildly inspirational sentence (we'll get to that another day), her comments were mostly practical and encouraging. I'm pretty sure I've forgotten most of what she said then because I'm a fact- and plan-addict and had already considered most of it. I do remember a good point, though: essentially, that if I want to live in Latin America, climb things, work in a hospital all day, sweat a lot and not get too sick, I should probably get in shape.

Hm.

She's right. Asthma and allergies mean that it doesn't take much to get me sick in the first place, and I certainly haven't been doing much to keep my heart & lungs in top form, either. I did buy runners last summer in an overly-optimistic attempt to get those 30 minutes a day... You'll notice from the photo that they're still exceptionally clean and largely unworn. I'd like to use them a little more often over the next few months in order to make my lungs happier and my heart stronger. (Oh, and swimming! I could swim!)

Given the fact that I bought the shoes at least six months ago, it's pretty clear that my determination to get running again is not incredibly strong. I have a lot of excuses that have also helped foil any other attempt at getting in shape - I'm too busy, I just ate supper, it's too cold, I'm tired, etc. This time, however, in addition to my mom's encouragement, I have a good reason to get moving: supporting a lovely friend.

Recently, my friend Charley was accepted as a participant in the Flying Doctors of Canada Doctors of Tomorrow program. This summer, she'll be spending roughly two weeks abroad helping doctors and medical students with their volunteer work in... Nicaragua! We'll be there at the same time! Isn't that crazy?! Anyway, the point is that U of A Doctors of Tomorrow (DOT) are hosting a 5 km fundraising run in Victoria Park (Edmonton) on April 3rd. Registration is only $15 for U of A students and I really encourage you to participate - after all, I'm doing it and I haven't gone for a run in months!

I'm off to fix that.


*I don't apologize for this pun at all.