I just get so excited about this stuff!

Alright, I've had some very exciting things going on (well, I find them exciting!) and also, I am postponing my reading that I have to do for tomorrow...so I thought I would write them down.

Our group has decided to courageously apply for a group Fulbright travel grant for 2008. Basically, last year's cohort applied to do research and study in Cambodia and Laos in order to develop curriculum plans to teach about Eastern Asian and Hmong culture in schools in Montana. Well, they didn't get the grant, but when the grant committee reviewed their proposal, they sent a "Why they didn't get the grant" summary. So, what we are planning on doing is taking this same idea, revising the proposal, and resubmitting. However, the deadline for the grant is Oct. 4th, which is - yikes - only a little over a month away. We are going to work out the details yet, but it sounds like an awesome opportunity to get some real-life grant-writing skills and also the possibility of doing research in southeast Asia. So, good-bye social life!

Also, I am so excited to have discovered a different health-related course to take. I was planning on taking Intro to Epidemiology (the study of diseases, how they spread, where they come from, etc.) as a way to prepare me for my Master's of Public Health that I want to earn sometime down the road. However, it is an online course, and I was worried about the practicality of it, da da da. So, with the help of my classmates (two of which are also taking this other course), I have been introduced to Health and Human Performance 485: "Theories of Health Behavior and Counseling". Cool. How practical. I hope through taking this course, I will be able to apply much of what I am learning to my international work and doing healthwork somewhere in there. Anyways, can't wait to start school.

And also, potluck tonight = I need to read my assignment now, because I've been on the phone with Alison for the last hour. Fun times, but haha now I will employ my speed reading skills!