The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.
I have had two very enjoyable weekends and a very interesting week. Last Saturday I spent the majority of the day in the hospital at UVM for one of my classes. I must say that I loved being back in a hospital environment and really remembered why I love nursing. I much prefer the practical side of nursing rather than the theory and not having been in a hospital since January has been killing me! I was really surprised that all of their charting is done electronically. That's different for me considering that at uni at home we are still taught how to chart on paper. The way they get their medications out is also really cool! It's all computerised as well; the nurse puts in their patient and selects the drugs that are needed at the time and then a draw pops open, you grab the drug, close the draw, and the next draw pops open to get the next drug! It keeps going until you've got all of the drugs you requested. They also have pre-drawn up saline solutions which makes it so much easier to do a flush when you don't have to go through the 'correct' procedure of drawing up your own flush.
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| Those sexy green scrubs :P |
Then on Saturday night, Saskia, Kate, Clare and I went to see Dracula! I love going to the theatre and it was made even better because Caitlin (my roommate) was one of the main characters. And it was so good!! The lighting, the effects, the acting, all of it was just on point.
Then came Tuesday, when I experienced the most American event so far and probably the most American thing I will experience. Everyone knows, no matter where you are, that it was election day.
Tuesday was calm. It was only late Tuesday evening and very early Wednesday morning that the mood changed. A few of us internationals thought that we should be American and head to the Davis Centre where they were live streaming the polling results. I'll start with the fact that I live in a democratic state.
Clinton - democrat.
Trump - republican.
In the beginning things were looking fine, it was close, but there was no need to worry. And then things began to change. There were cheers when Clinton took a state and boos when Trump did. And then Trump took Florida. And the atmosphere changed.
Pennsylvania was running neck and neck and the possibility of Trump becoming President was becoming more real. That's when Van Jones made his speech. The whole room turned silent while he was speaking. I'm directly taking what he said for those who missed it:
"People have talked about a miracle - I'm hearing about a nightmare. It's hard to be a parent tonight for a lot of us. You tell your kids, 'don't be a bully'. You tell your kids, 'don't be a bigot'. You tell your kids, 'do your homework and be prepared'. Then you have this outcome, and you have people putting children to bed tonight and they're afraid of breakfast. They're afraid of, 'how do I explain this to my children?' I have Muslim friends who are texting me tonight saying, 'should I leave the country?' I have families of immigrants that are terrified tonight."
The end of his speech brought on the most cheers of the night. We were kicked out of the Davis Centre at 1am and believe that it was at this time America realised they effed up. I got back to my room and Caitlin said "I don't think we fully considered that Trump may actually be elected as President". The following day the effects were already being seen. The vibe around campus was sombre with a hint of disbelief. During the day there was an email sent out from the president of the university to all members of the UVM community that said "we are a caring and inclusive community that is committed to the safety, security, and wellbeing of each and every person". There has also been a separate email direct from the OIE to all of the international students saying how much UVM and America values what internationals bring to university communities across the states. Throughout the rest of the week, I also received an email from ISEP (the company I am doing my exchange through) which basically said the same thing that both UVM emails said. Professors have also been checking in with students during classes to make sure that everyone is doing okay and there has been tremendous amounts of support for students. While the rest of the world may know what's going on, it's the people currently living in America that are feeling the beginning impact.
I actually want to share with everyone the email from the OIE because it really shows what international relations are all about and one of many reasons that students decide to go abroad during their education.
To UVM's international students:
I want to acknowledge the feelings some of may be having after this week's election results. This note does not reflect a preference for any political party. Regardless of candidate's policies, we know that some of you were surprised that Americans elected as President a man who has openly said things inconsistent with UVM's Our Common Ground and whose words have made some members of our university community feel unwelcome in this country.
As the director of UVM's Office of International Education, I want to emphasise the following:
- Our staff remain available to talk with you during walk-in hours or at our events if you'd like the chance to talk through how you're feeling in the weeks and months ahead
- The University of Vermont values deeply what you bring to our community. As indicated by UVM President's note on Wednesday, UVM has been and remains a caring and inclusive community. Your talents, knowledge, skills, experience and perspectives bring tremendous richness to our campus
- The City of Burlington and the State of Vermont also value what you bring to our community and to our state
The friendships you make while you are here in the US (and that US students make while they study abroad) are what help the rest of the world learn about the real US in ways that transcend politics. These friendships also help Americans learn about the real lives of you, your family and friends back home. All of these relationships ultimately affect public policy positively in all of our countries. Empathy, and a deep understanding of one another - these are the critical goals of international education, which moves the world closer to peaceful relations.
Office of International Education
All in all, I have found the election to be interesting even if I'm not happy with the results, and in a way I'm glad I was here to experience such a big moment in America's history. Definitely an eye opening thing to go through.
On a totally different note, last week I had to buy some new shoes because the pair of boots I bought a month ago completely fell apart. I took them back and was like to the guy, yeah I bought these a month ago and they've completely fallen apart. He opened the box and was like, yeah they have completely fallen apart. So I got a refund there and finally found a pair of shoes I liked in Macy's. I got to the counter and the guy went through the whole "do you have a Macy's card? do you want to sign up for one?" and I told him, no I'm not here long enough thanks. I think that kind of threw him and he was like, oh where are you from? Told him Australia. He was like, ah I've never met anyone from Australia before, let's see if there's a discount for that. And I came out with a $10 discount on my already on sale shoes just for being Aussie.
This past Saturday was an orientation meeting for US students going abroad next semester and I was asked to talk to people going to Australia and I got to meet a couple of nursing students who are going to USQ! It will be nice to have some Americans around next year on campus and I'll hopefully be able to show them some things around the Darling Downs. I also got a free shirt which is super comfy. I love that about America, seems to be for whatever reason, there are free shirts involved.
Sunday was a super nice day! I went with my buddy and a couple of other exchange students to Montpelier to have a look around. Montpelier is the state capital of Vermont and a cute little place. We saw the State House, walked through the main street, walked up Hubbard Park Tower, and had lunch at a diner.
After lunch we went a bit out of town to Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks where they make 100% pure maple syrup. We got to try different maple syrups that they have after we walked around and they were all pretty good. Then we bought maple creemees (maple flavoured soft serve ice cream) and sat outside in the afternoon sun.
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| Weird wood at the Maple Farm |
And then because we thought that since we'd already had ice cream, we better go and have some more ice cream, so we went to the Ben & Jerry's Factory! When we first got there we looked at the flavour graveyard where they have a tombstone for all of the flavours that are no longer being made. Marie, Sandra and I did the factory tour because Elsa and Courtney had already done it, and during the first part of the tour, the tour guide asked who thought they had come the furtherest from the factory. I won. When he asked where I was from and I said Australia, the whole group was like, yeah you win. We walked through the factory and then got to try a sample of milk and cookies ice cream and it was pretty good.
It was definitely a very enjoyable Sunday away from study and work and it was so lovely hanging out with the girls. Last night was a mens ice hockey home game against Dartmouth and the Cats won 5-2!! Now though I am only two days away from being able to escape for a week for Thanksgiving break! 12 weeks is way too long to study without a break. I was even lucky enough to be invited to Caitlin's place for Thanksgiving and I'm really excited! In saying how excited I am for the next week though, this week marks one month left of being in Burlington. One month. That means only two months left in America. I don't know if I'm entirely ready to face that fact just yet. For now though, stay tuned for my first Thanksgiving adventures!!
Until next post.
Adios Amigos.
Tyarna xx
