Tuesday December 23, 2014

The last two weeks of my internship at Asian Liver Center (ALC) have come to a close. It was a strange way to end, with people gradually leaving here and there; a drawn-out series of small goodbyes. The first goodbye kind of hit me unexpectedly, it felt too soon and as if I’d be seeing them again after the weekend. We were busy too, and that was a kind of distraction. (PS. I’m writing this in a rush one week later, so dear reader, forgive me for the chaotic and somewhat unstructured post.)

Since it’s all jumbled up anyways, here’s an update on what I was involved:

Outreach is never a cookie-cutter exercise. You’re constantly learning on the run and adjusting as you go. Flexibility and people skills are key, and it makes a huge difference to be doing it with a partner or a team so you can encourage each other and continually evaluate/refine how things are going.

I was presenting on a fitness/awareness walks program we had been developing for a few weeks, which involved Taichi exercises for the liver, a short walk around the company campus, and an educational booth. The purpose was to develop an engaging and time-efficient (sustainable) way to update the current program, which involves a lecture from Dr So and onsite screening for hepatitis B. I’m not going to go into full details of what happened except to say that I was very nervous, feeling out of my league amongst all the older executives, the discussion didn’t really go as we expected but it was a good learning experience for all of us.

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I keep saying this again and again, but I felt like another week or so would have given me time to tie up some loose ends in those projects. I wanted to follow up those calls in Cupertino, especially having said to the restaurant workers that we would call one week later. Next year won’t be soon enough, they may have forgotten or stopped caring by then. I wanted to consolidate the work on the youth leadership conference themes, to continue developing the pitch for the online store. Leaving that work unfinished is unsettling, and makes me question myself. Did I work hard enough during that period? How will the next person be able to continue where I left off? Will it be dropped and go to waste? Did I make a worthwhile contribution, or at the very least, did I try?

In retrospect, I can see that this internship has taught me a few things. The first is quite simply that although I do really care about public health, I could not forsee myself working in a public health department without a direct connection with the patient-doctor front. The more steps between the people we are trying to help and the program we are developing to help them, the harder I find to feel that sense of purpose and really direct it towards fulfilling a need. Conversely, I really admire people who are suited for these roles, because we do need them for sure.

Another big lesson I’ve learnt has been the importance of planning. Oh boy, I’ve never been much of a planner, which is why a lot of the time I can feel chaotic and confused doing things, as if I’m constantly running around and recalibrating like a headless homing chicken. But by planning ahead, there’s a much greater chance you can make sure gaps are covered, and once the foundation is set, you can see even more potential for new ideas. I believe that you need good intention + good implementation for things to work out, and planning is inevitably part of good implementation (I begrudgingly admit).

I’ve got a few more days here, visiting places with friends, touring around other parts of California and beyond with people so kind to take me. I’m in awe of how much time has passed, how quickly it all accelerated towards the end, with every day packed full of things to do and people to meet. That’s really been the most incredible part of being here: meeting people, getting to know them, sharing meals and car-trips and New Year’s resolutions. I’m excited to go home, I really am. My head is swimming with ideas and things to do (more than the time I have!! ARGH!!) Things are still messed up in my mind, with lists and responsibilities and plans.

But golly gosh, there is something more that underlies everything that’s happened and everything that is about to happen. Why has this experience been so fulfilling, so rich with awesomeness!? I can’t answer that to completion, but what I do know is that spending time with people and being the recipient of so much love and kindness has really made this time meaningful and full of joy. It feels unfair, the amount that people have helped me during this trip, whether it has been giving me a place to stay, showing me around San Francisco (do not call it ‘Frisco’!!), taking me on roadtrips into the great beyond, letting me tag along for the ride and sharing a bit of their lives. And dear reader, whoever you are, wherever you are, thank you for reading this story and I can only hope that these things will inspire you to appreciate everyday as it comes, be honest and open, give back as much as you can. These are things I’m constantly learning too. One more special post to come and then that closes this series!

Mate, what a journey! Hope you have a very merry Christmas and embrace the new year :)

Carrie