Today is Friday – the last day of a week at work. I have a terribly busy week. I supposed to have a day off right after my travels but too much work prevented me from doing so. It has, however, been a productive week, as my past 4 months have also been productive. This is nice as being effective makes me feel self-appreciated, self-motivated, and happier.
Working in poor settings grants me a better sense of where I want to be and what I want to do next. Do I want to work in academics i.e. being a professor, or do I want to work in a combined research and intervention program like what I am doing right now? Each has pros and cons. Professor seems a nice and stable job but its academic research is, sometime, so removed from reality that might not really benefit people. Professors usually have to produce at least a few research papers each year, but many of these papers might never have a chance to impact people’s life. I, of course, also understand that knowledge is indefinite, and thus we need to add more understanding to a growing body of literature of all fields.
The non-academic global health track gives me the chance to see different places, different life, and all kinds of struggles that people are facing. It gives me the sense of compassion for human beings. There are no simple answers for the causes of poverty and diseases. We should not be here to blame for the poor in Africa for not knowing how many children they should have, how to practice safer sex, how to have healthy behaviors, or how to raise farm animals; or be here to blame for what we have seen in Haiti. If there was a choice, I believe none of those people would have ever wanted to be born in Africa or Hattie; or as many of us would have never wanted to be born in Vietnam. Instead, here we should live an out-loud life though it has been so often shaped by undesired forces and out of our expectations; and we are here to fix the world, which was unfortunately created unequal before we were even born.
But traveling to and living in different places are tough. I would like to spend a few years in one African country but there might be issues related to relationship and family. In addition, I also need to pursue the American citizenship before I should live in a third country. The citizenship would be helpful for my travels and for securing funding for my projects.
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It’s snowing heavily outside my office. It is predicted to have 10-12 inches of snow by 3 AM tomorrow. DC 's snow emergency policy allows workers to have their liberal leaves. But I live just a 10-minute walking distance from my office so I don’t mind to stay. I love seeing snow falling outside the window, or walking down the roads letting snow covering my head. I thought, snow is the incredible creation of nature.
The Vietnamese New Year (Tet) is coming close. The past 5 years have driven me so far from Tet. It is family time so I feel a little bit guilty for not being able to be part of it. My guilt also comes from the fact that my family will always expect me to be home during Tet, but it might no longer necessarily be my need, and that I am losing my desire for Tet. I, however, have a little “lucky money” for all of my nephews and nieces and I do hope it adds a little more to their excitement, and that they would understand that I will always be there for them. I promise to myself, I will make it home next Tet.
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