Juicy

CBD sky
Originally uploaded by reneenoelle.

My tardiness in posting is for good reason. Studies are going well. As I mentioned in my last post, my peers are fab. I just returned to the library after a break for coffee with a friend from the course. She's spent the last 7 years working for the World Bank and Surfaid in Indonesia and turned down a position with the UN to do this course. If that speaks to the quality of the program than I am in good hands, and I think it does.

I spend a great deal of time researching and reading these days, which I luckily quite enjoy. My topic of the week is human rights. In one of my subjects, we take turns leading the tutorials on juicy public health related topics. I volunteered for the first session next week, so am researching and writing a paper on whether human rights is central or peripheral to public health. Then next week I'll present in the tute and faciliate discussion on the topic. Should be good. Much more interesting than epidemiology and biostats (apologies to all my epidemiologist and statistician friends, but they're just not my cup of tea!). I love this type of topic because it touches ethics, equity, politics, philosophy, sociology, and law, and issues of poverty, racism, globalization, forced migration, infectious disease, torture and war. Gritty stuff. Perhaps I'll pass along some thoughts on the issues at some point, but for now I'm in researching mode. More soon.

Still ticking

Seed
Originally uploaded by reneenoelle.

Just a quick post to let you all know I am still alive and well and didn't throw in the towel and run away to the ashram. Classes began last week and they have been exciting, inspiring, overwhelming, exhausting. My cohorts come from across the globe, and have far reaching experience. Many are doctors or other medical practitioners, have other advanced degrees, or are policy analysts, researchers, program evaluators, etc. Wow, an amazing group. The internet cafe is about to close so I really must end this quickly. Will write more soon.