We slide over sparkling tracks as the sun shines upon us

A beautiful weekend with a beautiful friend.

Goodbye, but not forever.

The worst part about going on exchange is having to say goodbye to some wonderful people I've met in the past five months.

You know it will happen eventually.  But you kind of push that thought aside and stop thinking about the few days remaining with them, until you're suddently at the point where you have to give them one last hug, one last goodbye, and "have a safe flight."  It still hasn't sunk in yet, but I know it will soon.

To every one of you who in the past few days has left Uppsala to return home, I wish you all the best and will sincerely miss you for the rest of the year.  We may be saying farewell today, but this is not goodbye forever.

Fresh New Start

My 2010 academic year ended on a bit of sour note.  I had one of my exams on December 22nd, which was pretty bad.  Actually, it was pretty terrible.

I realized over the holidays that I never took the time to tell you what I was taking in my second session at SLU. My excuse is that my blog is supposed to take me away from my stresses, which explains why I never rarely mention my classes when I write here.

Anyway, the course was actually really interesting, titled, "Safe Nutrient Cycling."  As in biowaste. Manure. Sewage sludge.  Compost.  Human manure.  

We learned a lot about proper composting and treatment of waste, which actually (and to my surprise) really interested me.  Unlike the previous engineering-based course on soil conservation that I struggled with, this one was based a lot on biology, which is more geared towards what I feel comfortable with studying.  Trust me, I'm not, and never will be, and engineer.  So this course was really interesting, especially in our little "class excursion" (a bike ride) to our prof's home, where pretty much everything he preaches about, he does!  I'm talking separate peeing and pooping toilets, storing his family's urine and watering his gardens with it during the spring and summer months,  separating his family's faeces with a special toilet geared only for the purpose of #2, and incorporating the faeces in his compost bin.  Human manure is a bit disgusting in theory, but is pretty amazing when you see it being successfully done in real life.  His reason for using human manure is valid - your shit is very valuable!  And so is your urine!  So much nitrogen comes out, in a readily available form for plants to take up, and as many agriculturalists know, nitrogen is a macronutrient that is deficient in just about every field.  

This was the course I took, really enjoyed, but unfortunately gave me a really hard time in the final.  I kind of felt like crying when I saw the calculations that I had prepared myself for, seeing that they were calculations we had never seen before in previous exercises.

Bring on the New Year!  I had my second (and last exam for this semester) exam today, and am pleased to say it went well - I should hold my breath until my mark comes out - soil biology was not quite as exciting as learning about pee and poop, but it was alright, particularly when we talked about fungi and symbiosis that forms with plant roots.  Who knew that little microbes in the soil could be so intelligent, forming a bond with plants so that both sides benefit and receive the nutrients and energy they each need?

Setting my inner soil nerd aside, I've finished my first semester, fresh and ready for a new start.  Next week, new classes start, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store for me. 

Canadian Food

Don't replay this too many times, your arteries may start to clog!

Reflections on Twenty-Ten

My year 2010 included:

~ Just going for it: Co-chairing NOW! UBC climate action conference.

~ Being so proud to be Canadian, a Vancouverite, when the world watched us in February.