Suns up, Guns up! Week One

Introduction

Hi everyone! I'm Megan, a dietetics student from the University of Delaware (lets go fighting Blue Hens). I will be spending the next 7 weeks at Texas Tech as a NACUFS intern with four other dietetics students,...and chronicling my times as I go! In my blog I will talk about the internship, the campus, and of course all of the fun things to do around Lubbock. Here it goes!

Week One: Welcome to Texas Tech

                                      


Today I have officially been in Lubbock for a whole week! I flew in last Saturday from Washington D.C. and met up with two of the other interns Emily and Emma when they picked me up at the airport. We went to Tom & Bingo's BBQ which was my first Texas BBQ experience I have to say it was pretty great.That is certainly one thing I have learned about Texas, there is no shortage of great food. Later that day Carolyn arrived and our group was complete! Living with these girls has been a blast and there is NEVER a dull moment. Also, if you were wondering what the purpose of my title was, "Suns up, Guns up" is the motto for Texas Tech.

Everything You Need to Know:

1) Everything really is bigger in Texas (I'm serious)

2) The Texas flag is on EVERYTHING 

3) The weather is incredibly unpredictable 

4) The people are FANTASTIC 

Let me elaborate just a little bit. The other interns and I went to the Cadillac Ranch and The Big Texan steakhouse on Memorial Day and established that the food is huge and everything is served with a Texas flag. Thus, I can officially tell you that numbers one and two are confirmed facts about Texas. If you don't know what the Cadillac Ranch is, it's a line of old Cadillacs that people spray paint (legally of course). It started as an art project a very long time ago and it certainly worth checking out. Here's a picture of all of the Cadillacs after a heavy rain storm that I will explain later and of the TTU NACUFS interns (I'm the tiny head in the back, perspective is everything). 

Cadillac Ranch 

TTU NACUFS Interns 2016

 After the ranch we headed to The Big Texan steakhouse which is a staple when you're in the area. They have a 72 oz steak challenge that is entertaining and also kind of scary. A young man was attempting the challenge when we went but alas he stopped at 52 oz. Here is picture proof that the food is huge and served up with a side of Texas.

Dinner: Featuring a large steak, the Texas flag, and the souvenir cups

By now I have mentioned the weather a couple of times and I have to let you know it is both awesome and completely unpredictable. In the span of three days there was a dust storm, a thunderstorm with hail, and flooding. No worries though the buildings here at Tech are safe and stable (and have windows perfect for safely watching the storms). In order to show you the flooding I have to fast forward a bit to the second day of work where the city of Lubbock flooded. Apparently, there was a man kayaking down Quaker Ave but I didn't witness this myself so you might just have to google that one. I tried to get the best pictures of the flooding that I could but water is hardly cooperative for photos.

I promise this is a road, not a pond

Finally, lets cover number four. The people here at Tech are amazing and so welcoming! I have to start with Karen, our residence hall Senior Business Assistant. From the moment I got here Karen has made me feel right at home, even though I am over 1,000 miles away from mine. Then there is Alan our internship coordinator. Alan has made sure that the other interns and I know where to go, what to do, and what to bring even before we came to Tech. He has tailored our program this summer to be very nutrition based since we are all dietetic majors; which means that this summer will certainly be a learning experience. Day one with Alan was filled with training and a review of food safety which is critical on a college campus. Finally, there is Mindy the registered dietitian who works with hospitality services here. Mindy is incredibly busy but she took time out of her schedule to work one on one with us and to make sure we had a clear idea about how to understand the food ordering system on campus. For the rest of the week, Mindy also helped us work on our capstone project, which will be to create recipes for a gluten free dining facility and also create accompanying training procedures with a big kick off event to promote it. I will talk more about the project in later posts because it is still in the development phase. Mindy also helped us out with writing "Wellness Wednesday" posts which will be featured on the Texas Tech Recreation page in the coming weeks. 

What to Look Forward to Next Week:

Next Monday Emily and I will be starting at The Market at 6:30 in the morning. We are both excited to experience a full day of food service and to learn from the staff. The Market is a concept at TTU that is designed to be a food court atmosphere and has a little bit of everything. Check out my blog next week to learn more about The Market, the capstone project, and my Wellness Wednesday.

Bye for now!

- Megan