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An Auspicious Beginning

By acdevita

大家好!Hello everybody! I'm Annie, but my Chinese name is 丁爱丽 (Dīng Aì Lì meaning, love and beauty, not to brag). I am currently living in Kunming, which is the center hub of the Yunnan Province of China. For those of you unfamiliar with China's vast geography, it is close to the Vietnamese and Laos border in the south. Although Kunming is often touted as a small city with perfect weather, it is actually a city of about 9 million people and it is currently rainy season. But you won't catch me complaining! I am enjoying everyday, even those with bouts of homesickness, due to excellent program staff, infinite places to explore, and some cheap dumplings waiting for me at the end of every day- pause for a group "yummm." Yunnan is incredibly interesting from its extensive topography, including the mountains in the north west to the beaches in the south east, to the 24 minority populations that call Yunnan their indigenous home.

This is what makes my program with SIT so special. I am learning about minority health and traditional Chinese medicine from indigenous people, in Chinese. Chinese language skill is so important because understanding what an expert means in their chosen language opens up the depth of knowledge at which we can understand the more rooted truths of their experiences. Just for example, there are two forms of and; one that adds value and  one that does not. Understanding caveats of language open doors to deeper and more meaningful research. I was nervous about my language skills at first, however, 4 hours of Chinese class everyday while being immersed in the language can speed up retention times!

My program is also quite special for several other reasons, including two different homestay experiences. China dos not have one type of person or place, so we will be living with a family in Kunming, and a different family in the rural (Bai) minority village of Dali. My classmates and I will spend the better half of November traveling to different minority villages and learning about global public health from experts and locals alike. Finally, in November, we enter an independent study period, during which time we can delve deeper into a topic of our interest, live anywhere in China, and conduct research with the Chinese people.

My topic is the traditional Tibetan medicine's approach to the treatment and prevention of mental health issues. I will be living and working in a Tibetan minority town, volunteer in a Tibetan health hospital, and even get the opportunity to shadow a Lama. I hope to also be able to explore the way that Buddhism effects the art of mental health mediation and get to explore more areas of China that are impacted by the Buddhist faith. I became interested in this topic during the orientation period in Beijing, during a lecture given on the aging population and the rise of suicide rates.

Mental health is a major issue everywhere in the world, but Professor Zhang's research on the elderly population's depression spoke to me and I began to look into mental health in China. As we entered a lecture series on religion and the impact on health policy in China, I noticed a clear correlation between the ancient ideals of harmony, balance, and mindfulness that both  Dao and Buddhism hold. These ideals that are rooted in faith are key tenants of western depression and anxiety care. I was hooked on this idea of a focused lifestyle of harmony, balance, and mindfulness.

But more importantly, how these lifestyle ideals could translate not only in preventative care but also with adaptor care for those currently suffering with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, etc. I continued to research and found that Tibetan traditional minority medicine has one of the oldest and most comprehensive way of treating mental health because at its bones, it is a wholistic practice of health, with an emphasis on keeping the heart and mind at peace.

I cannot believe I am here in China, doing what I care so much about, while using my language skills I have been cultivating since high school. I am so excited to be able to share my experiences with a larger abroad community, and gain a deeper understanding of my own culture from experiencing something so different abroad.