By nfiszer
While I eagerly wait to embark on my Brazilian journey at the end of this week, I am slowly working on getting everything together in preparation for my departure. My backpack has been packed and repacked over several test runs, I have stocked up on sunscreen and bug repellent in bulk, and I've asked every question imaginable to the students I am lucky enough to know that have traveled on my program before. Apart from just the preparation of packing, I have been preparing for both my coursework and research in every way that I can. I am studying the Portuguese language by reviewing my textbook and class notes from last semester, as well as listening to all the Portuguese language-learning audio books I was able to find at the local public library. I have been practicing the language by emailing with a new friend from Sao Paulo, and getting her advice and corrections on my grammar and writing. I have also been researching my future city of residence, Salvador, to get a better introduction to the people and culture that I will encounter when I arrive.
In light of the public health focus of my program, I have been reviewing my textbook from my introduction to public health class, in order to be best prepared when we dive into the fieldwork, which will include an insight into traditional hearing, community health workers, personal attitudes towards public health, and access to health services. I am also reading two relevant pieces, assigned by my program, which will better prepare me for the context of my research. These include Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor by Paul Farmer, and Sickness and Wealth: The Corporate Assault on Global Health by Meredith Fort. Both of these readings indicate the strong human rights and inequity focus that will come along with my future public health research. Through this small review of global public health from various sources, I am prepared with ideas on what I would like to learn about and study more closely, as well as conditions to look out for that will help me better understand the status of public health in Salvador. Following these preparations, I find myself even more excited to get to my new city and to get to work on the semester of learning, both inside and outside of the classroom, that is ahead of me.