VOICES FROM THE FIELD

REFLECTIONS & PHOTOS FROM PiA FELLOWS IN THE FIELD

“I’ve never felt love like the kind I received from my students. You know how in the Dr. Seuss story, ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas,’ how the Grinch hears the people singing even after he took all of their toys and the food for the feast, and his heart grows several sizes in his chest? That’s how I feel right now. I’m not saying my heart was small when I came here, but after saying goodbye to my students for the last time, turning off the lights and walking out of our classroom for the last time, I just felt so overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of love I received from my students these past few weeks. There were so many heartfelt letters and so many tears, my heart had no choice but to grow in order to contain all of these emotions.”

“I am loving my time in Bangalore! The city is always bustling and there is so much to see and explore. Moving to India has not come without its challenges, but I’m learning so much and gaining more confidence in my ability to navigate life here each day. My work with Dream a Dream is exciting and challenging. I have my own project in which I am planning and creating a crowdfunding donation campaign for India’s Daan Utsav (Joy of Giving) week. I’m drafting emails, creating communications calendars, assisting with video editing, planning events, etc. My work requires me to collaborate with almost all the teams in our office, which means I get to learn about every aspect of our organization in the process. I cannot wait to experience and grow even more in the nine months to come.”

“Yamaguchi City is true to its name—it’s surrounded by mountains. They’re beautiful and imposing and they trap in the humidity in the summer and are changing colors now that it’s autumn and on foggy mornings they emerge from the mist like history. When I tell people I find them amazing (I’ve never lived near mountains before), people laugh, because for them, those peaks are an ordinary part of the landscape, persistent sentinels on a familiar horizon—the comfortable silhouette of home. I wonder all the time whether I’ll ever find the mountains normal, and whether I even want to.”

“I am half-Vietnamese, so I grew up speaking Vietnamese at home with my family. Being able to speak the language helps me connect with my local colleagues on a deeper level – whether it’s understanding their sense of humor or having the ability to understand things they want to say but can’t express in English. Everyone has a good grasp of English and is just as kind and welcoming to Fellows who don’t speak Vietnamese. All of our work is in English since we are constantly interacting with staff across all our country offices. ”

“The purpose of the field visit was to train private healthcare providers from pharmacies and clinics in Luang Prabang, Oudomxay, Luangnamtha, Phongsaly, and Xayabury on how to detect, test for, and treat malaria using rapid diagnostic tests and antimalarial drugs. I was no use in this regard because of my Lao ability, so for most of the training, I busied myself with any number of organizing tasks. I was useful, however, as a ‘patient’ for providers to practice blood testing on. At the end of each training I wrote trip reports. Outside of the trainings, I learned some useful Lao, got to know the members of my team better, and ate all sorts of foods, including but not limited to hornet larvae, goat liver, bamboo worms, & buffalo laab. We also took some time to explore the region and went hiking in this amazing forest reserve called Namkat Yorla Pa, which uses ecotourism as a model for preservation.”