I feel like since I arrived in Cape Town a month ago, I've done nothing but complain to my family and friends. Actually, that's not a feeling, that is exactly what I've done. I've been complaining about the workload, the stress, the physiology, the biochemistry, the pace of the class, the difficulty to adapt, and pretty much anything else you can think of.
But now that our first test is out of the way with (Monday) and first portfolio handed in (Tuesday), I feel I can relax and breathe a little. I've still lots of complaints about my bicycle problems and about not feeling very safe here and about how difficult it is to get around, BUT I definitely feel more positive about the course.
The first three weeks we primarily studied Normal Nutrition, which was a lot of science, but now we are doing more varied stuff. This morning some of us visited the Red Cross Children's Hospital. We wore our UCT Student Dietitian badges and felt very important. We learned how to weigh, measure and record sick babies. Then back on campus we had a guest lecturer show us how to do the measurements on adults and we practiced on each other.
Earlier this week we did microbiology stuff like taking samples of door handles and our mobile phones and hands, then grew the bacteria. We also worked with a lecturer from Switzerland who had us experiment using Listeria (very dangerous!) and got to wear lab coats and gloves :)
We had other lecturers come in to teach us about the importance of bacteria in food, showing us how beer is brewed and cheese is made. It's all so well tied together with both the practical side of things and the science being taught.
And, of course, every Tuesday we go to cooking classes. We first have a lecture on something like eggs or gelatin, and we learn the science of emulsions and suspensions and gels, etc, then we go cook something like a souffle or meringue and see the science at work. I really enjoy this part, especially the baking as it's something I've never really tried.
We have also been food and activity records - basically a record of what we eat and do each day. Then we use software and calculations to work out how much of our recommended nutrients we are getting and if we are consuming to much or too little energy. It's very time consuming and the software can be frustrating, but it's fascinating to see what we would actually do with patients.
As you can tell from the above, the workload is varied. It's also hectic at times and very intense. My weekends are spent at my desk and most evenings too. Though part of that is probably attributed to my inefficient and rusty study habits, which will hopefully improve soon.
So I've survived the first month. I actually don't know if I passed my test or portfolio grading, but I'm still here and that says a lot. There were many days in the first weeks that I was very tempted to quit and leave as it all felt too much. But hopefully I'll keep on adapting and keep on learning and keep on finding it interesting. I'll try to keep on keeping on, as Bob Dylan says.
