About OUR Blog!

All of us love to share, and the blog is one way for us to tell the story of our upcoming adventures in China. Amelia and I will be leaving this week ~ so we are especially excited.

I know that I cannot wait to see my nursing colleagues in China. For me, it has been four years since we were last together in Guangzhou. To be frank, I never thought I would have the privilege of returning to China. This trip means a lot. I am very grateful to the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire for giving us the opportunity.

We all hope to make a difference and to be a strong force for good in the world. We are hoping that our project will be the start of something new in the lives of young people in China. While we realize that making a lifestyle change is not easy and doesn't happen overnight ~ like swallowing a worm or magic pill! But we hope that maybe something that we say or do will ultimately result in behavioral change for kids who struggle with overweight and obesity issues.

I have corresponded via E-mail with Peggy, and she is eager to see us all. Peggy is a Vice Director for Outpatient Services at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University. She works with patients who suffer from Type II Diabetes Mellitus. We hope that our exercise intervention with young students will be preventive for this serious chronic illness.

Our blog is a work in progress. Some of us will 'save up impressions' and enter them all at one time, and upon our return from China. We aren't certain how much Internet access and blogging capability we'll have in Guangzhou, so it could be that we'll enter most of our notes as a daily journal~ and once we return ~ in mid-June.

Also, since many members of our team have never visited China, we will want to share thoughts about the nursing care, the hospital, traditional Chinese healing practices, home and hospice care and other experiences in the rich and fascinating culture we are planning to see.

We may focus on a specific aspect of the culture ~ tea, for example. Or we may focus upon a person or character who truly impressed us: with their kindness or with their hospitality.

In any case, we are all soon to enter a wonderful journey ~ and one that may even be life-changing ~ who knows?

We'll add some journal articles, some personal impressions, and plenty of photos!

But the take home message of our blog is that it is our University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire sponsored China journal~and a way of sharing our trip with you. Stay tuned for personal impressions from all of us.