There seems to be a “demographic shift” of our class… someone begin to skip a few classes that seem less attractive for them, others stay there, also, on the exam day morning most of us(sometimes including me) skip morning lectures so as to prepare for the exam in the afternoon. It’s interesting to see cos such phenomena are globally common in university, same as students in Japan. Anyway, it’s natural. Too many lectures and too many homeworks. Sometimes we need a rest, or to manage schedule strategically.
Quantitative Foundation
Today we learned about screening test. Sensitivity and specificity of a screening test is basically trade off, ant we can’t make a test with both of 100%. Also, it is always possible that we may miss false negative people, those who actually have disease but screened as negative(that mean they are regarded as not having disease) without diagnosing their disease and providing with treatment. Of course I know nowhere is a “magic bullet” that detect all patient with disease with 100% sensitivity and specificity. So we should not be overconfident about the result of “scientific” test too much, and should be sensitive about missing case.
U.S. Health care system
Most of classmates who originally attended this lecture seem to move to other cohort’s professor’s lecture, and now there are only about 20 students staying… To be honest, this lecture is hard for me too, and I was almost deciding to skip this lecture, but today finally I felt I am gradually catching up with this module. As I’m unfamiliar with the U.S. health care system, it was hard to understand the reading materials and lectures smoothly, but this time it was not so terrible. I hope I will do well for the rest of the lecture in this class…
Health and Behavior
Today, the lecturer talked about the theory of social support, or social network that is helpful to promote health behavior. Such kind of social factors of public health is exactly what I’m interested in! My last job was also one that aimed to revitalize and strengthen social bind and capital of people living in a disaster area, so I agree with the importance of these ideas. Some classmates said that such theories related to social and environmental factors are too vague and less specific. Yes, it is, but I think we need to be accustomed with these new ways of comprehensive thinking cos today’s public health challenge becoming more and more complex. I wanna study this area more.
Writing
I had a workshop with the lecturer and classmates to brush up my plan of research paper. Although it was tough time, thanks to them, I could made my options clear.
Art exhibition of Kikue Miyatake
http://www.nipponclub.org/upcomingevents.php
Today, I found this exhibition by chance when I entered the building to go to another floor. It was so awesome meeting with wonderful arts! Her style seems abstract paintings and I received direct and energetic message from her drawing. Bright and vivid colors arise from bleak and darker ones and their contrast were so beautiful. Surprisingly, she the painter was sitting at the front chair with a clerk, and I talked with them for a while. She also moved from Japan to NY when she was 24 years old, same as me. And, last year she visited north east of Japan too. How thankful time it was..
授業の合間に、ダウンタウンまで下って、Socia Security Cardの申請に行ってきた。やっぱりキャンパス周辺の168thとは雰囲気が違うな。人の交差が活発だ。昨日の夕食で、ニューヨークの街並みの開放感はどこから来るのかという話をしていたのだけど、ビルが高い分歩道・車道に余裕があること、人があらゆる方向に交差していくことが、どうも東京との違いを生み出しているかもしれない、と。一方東京は、小道・脇道の多さが特徴的で、また、人々も最寄り駅に向かって同じ方向へ動く傾向が強い(場所によるが)。東京のせせこましさも、いじらしくてとても愛おしいけど、時に息場を失くしてうろたえてしまう。New Yorkの街は、余計なことを考えなくて済むから、出歩くことが僕の精神衛生上、良い気がする。No one knows me, I know no one there. しかしそれが気楽なのだ。
夏目漱石が好きだ。こっちに来てからも、短篇集をぽつりぽつりと、読んでいる。
「思い出すことなど」 病気で倒れていた時期を回顧する漱石。
自分は今危険な病気からやっと回復しかけて、それを非常な仕合の様に喜んでいる。そうして自分の癒りつつある間に、容赦なく死んで行く知名の人々や惜しい人々を今少し活かして置きたいとのみ冀っている。自分の介抱を助けた妻や医者や看護婦や若い人達を難有く思っている。世話をしてくれた朋友やら、見舞いにきてくれた誰彼やらには篤い感謝の念を抱いている。そうして此処に人間らしいあるものが潜んでいると信じている。その証拠には此処に始めて生き甲斐のあると思われる程深い強い快よい感じが漲っているからである。
優しい文章だと思う。とてもとても、やさしい。不安定な精神状況から持ち直しかけている自分もまた同じく、自分を生かしてくれている多くの人達を難有く思っている。
そういえば、前回NYに来た時から今月でちょうど2年になる。大学4年生だった当時、海外大学院出願以外の進路オプションを特に用意することもなく、一本気に挑んでいた時期だが、今思えばずいぶんと思い切ったことをしたものだ。いつもの自分らしいと言えばらしいが。とにかく少しでも情報を得ようと、色んな人に会って回ったな。そして今年また再会出来た大切な友達も出来た。
