Jumping in Feet First
Hello, my dears!
The Global Brain Health Institute courses are really getting rolling, and I want to share a bit of what I’ve been learning.
But first! Here’s a photo of a sculpture of Roger Casement, a remarkable international human rights activist who was executed for his part in the 1916 Rising for Irish Independence. Click on the photo for more info about the sculpture and Roger Casement’s fascinating life. (I’m on the right, flinging myself into the Irish Sea!)
Photo by Craig Copeland
Here are some of the classes I have had since my last post (with brief takeaways):
Introduction to Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis Sounds like it would be a dry class, but it made me think about how the burning question should define the type of study that’s done. In other words, research is a way to create new knowledge. What new knowledge or understanding needs to be created around brain health or dementia care?
Comparative Health Systems and Finance My colleagues and I took turns describing how our respective countries’ health systems are funded and how they function or don’t. It was fascinating to hear about systems in Egypt, Chile, Ireland, Ecuador, Nigeria. No surprise, nobody has a great system, but the U.S. system is comparatively huge, complex and flowing with money, yet still full of glaring inequities.
Brain Anatomy My colleague, Richard Dei-Asamoa is very enthusiastic about brain anatomy and made a 3-D printed model of a brain for us to look at. I enjoyed putting names to places, almost like mapping a giant city that all of us reside in. Our instructor asked us to draw a lateral view of the brain, so I pulled out my watercolor paints and had fun with it. I added the yellow CSF which is my way of representing cerebrospinal fluid because I feel strongly it should not get left out of the anatomy conversation.
But how is life in Dublin, you may ask? Excellent! My shared home in Dun Laoghaire is comfortable and sociable. I’ve gotten the hang of things, from mass transit to Irish terminology. The culture shift is not huge. In addition to work for GBHI I have gone to special lectures at Trinity (like seeing Colm Tóibín), taken hikes, visited charity shops, jumped in the ocean and swam several times at the pool on campus.
I’ve been collecting some nice graffiti to share with you. Any one of these could be an excellent cover for a novel, I think. Which one is your top pick?
My husband, Craig, and our younger son, Penn, on their way back from a visit to Europe stayed with me for several days, and our older son, Oliver, joined us from New York. It meant so much to share this place with all of them. I’m very grateful. Here we are at The Harbour Bar in Bray.
As always, please feel free to post a comment! I’d love to hear from you. It’s a nice way to stay in touch.