Blog 3

While we were still on the airplane I recognized the substantially different landscape of Jamaica as compared to West Virginia. The trees seemed more lush yet the ground looked dead and barren. The houses are painted many elaborate eye catching colors, yet most of them stand unfinished. I am initially confused. The country is immediately beautiful, yet poverty can be observed before my feet even touch the ground. When we finally walked outside the airport, the air smelled different. Yet the smell was a familiar coastal smell that I am accustomed to from traveling to beaches here within the US. At the airport there were many people that were Caucasian, but as we begin our journey further away from the airport more and more people start to stare. I feel out of place, but uncontrollably excited about what this week has to offer.

This is the way I would chart who I am based upon how I spend my time, my values, and who I am as a person. I devoted 40% to College. This is a vague term but I would use this area to encompass everything from attending lecture, to driving to class and from doing homework to attending seminars and meetings. Anything that directly relates to my studies as a student falls into this category. The other large category "relationships" represents the time I spend each day focusing on other people. This may include time on the phone with my friends or family, time with my girlfriend, having lunch with others, or any other time that I may spend with other people that is unrelated to the educational aspect of my life. I devote 10% to fitness. As an exercise physiology major this is important to me. Finally I devoted 10% to me. I almost always take time everyday to think, reflect, and just satisfy my own needs. I usually do this in the mornings over coffee before I have time to get my day started. But an hour with a good book or a power nap in the middle of the day are favorites as well.

My privilege list didn't include anything about race so therefore my list wasn't similar to McIntoshe's . Race is an issue that I have a hard time grasping and tend to push to the back of my mind at all cost. Not for any particular reason, its just something that I personally have never had a problem with so I guess that tends to be why the issue is somewhat hard to talk about.

The above was true until we landed in Jamaica. For the first time in 21 years I am now part of a minority. I'm different. I don't feel this means I am any more or less privileged that I ever have been before though. I'm an optimist, I always see and find the good in every situation. Maybe that is why I tend to not think about or discuss race often. Its a touch subject that can become emotional or heated. I like to avoid that. If anything I actually feel more privileged to be able to be in Jamaica taking part in this experience. So upon my arrival I feel the only privilege I have lost, if you can even call it a privilege, is being part of the majority.
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/jamaica/prevalence-of-overweight-percent-of-children-under-5-wb-data.html

Since exercise and physical health are major parts of my life, I decided to dig into a little research. I noticed that many of the children in Jamaica were very lean and during my entire time in the schools I noticed few kids that by my subjective standards would be considered overweight. This link demonstrates that the prevalence of obesity and overweight in children is dramatically lower in Jamaica (about 7-8%) vs. the US at 33%