Rest...then... KEEP RUNNING!

Hello Blog! Hello Readers

It seems that I always begin like this, but, it has been a long time since I have written! I think, what about two weeks now? Anyway, I took approximately 1.5 weeks (like my scientific lingo?) to myself to enjoy my friends and enjoy my summer. This week, starting Sunday, I hit it HARD I spent the whole day today at my internship doing an article search for my OTHER research project... bad I know…but this can get really addictive. Anyway, I have several things to report.

The first of these being I have received feedback from my official update to my research fellowship administrators. All in all, it seems I have done nothing terribly wrong the first time. I did get reprimanded for not including page numbers in my notes. I changed that habit VERY quickly and immediately began putting them in my notes. The confusion around my project surfaced again, but I think I have settled that debate forever. I am not looking at the black physician in literature any longer, but instead looking at the figure in both textual and oral sources. I am looking at how he inhabits an understated second role as an advocate for equality in a time period when marginalization and segregation were legally mandated. Finally I can breathe a sigh of relief. I was also told I should look at what ISN’T present in scholarly works and use that as a spring board for criticism of the works that I am reading.

In other news, I had a lovely conversation with a historian from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research did not directly align with mine, but she looks at traditional healing and health in South Africa. After I told her I was going there to study abroad we had a long conversation about traditional versus western medicine as well as witchcraft, all over a nice toasted Panini. That trip to UNCC also allowed me to buy my community borrowers card and get access to online articles. That is good… but I hate how it is limited. I can only check out six books at a time. What kind of mess is that for a student researcher? On top of that, I can’t use interlibrary loans! REALLY? I guess I can’t complain though... at least I can check out something. I’m so excited because I got my license the other day, so I can drive to UNCC by myself now! YAY.

Over the past week I have been in HEAVY contact with my mentor. She gives the best advice. Yesterday, I emailed her and asked her about Google Books (which is an EXCELLENT resource for those of you who are doing research too) Here is what she sent to me:
"I will add, too, that the internet has made research almost unrecognizable
in its ease: when I was a grad student in the 1980s the MLA Bibliography
was still in huge volumes that you had to lug off a shelf in the reading
room and you would burn calories off running up and down the aisles of the
stacks, getting bound periodicals to take notes from (photocopying was
pricey and therefore not done except for all but the most important
articles). Hence the need to get those citations done right the first
time around--who wanted to go back into the stacks only to find the right
volume missing!!!"

LOL. Research has changed so much since then! I can now do an article search from a desk in my dorm room, or in my real room at home!

In Internship news. I have definitely taken a few days sabbatical (even though I am physically here) from my project. As it turns out Mental Health statistics are the hardest to come by, when looking at prevalence in racial and ethnic minorities. I might need to revamp my project a tad so that whatever products I produce look reasonable…but I have one thing to say: If anyone chooses a career in Mental Health/Mental Health advocacy, PLEASE set up better systems of surveillance. It is incredible to me! I was speaking with a multicultural mental health advocate who deals with refugee populations in my hometown, and he told me there was NO question on the intake evaluation about mental health status. Think about where refugees come from. It is a mistake to assume no mental duress, and an even bigger mistake NOT to point them in the direction of adequate mental health care. I see this is a big problem, not only in my community, but in the National Community. Now all we need to do is figure out how to fix the problem.

Well, I have a few weeks before my next official update. I need to read 5 books by then (lol). So… I need to get to it. I think that is about all for right now!
- Until Next time