After an amazing seven-plus weeks in South Africa^[1], it is nice to be back. During that time, I got to run a study on fatalism and masculinity and their effect on sexual risk taking and sexual violence. I learned a lot about paper surveys–like how incredibly long it takes to manually enter 350 surveys into a data set^[2] or how heavy all these surveys can get^[3]. I learned about the difficulties of conducting a survey across country lines, cultural divides, and social norms. I learned that the rockstar life of a principal investigator can often involve 80-100 hour work weeks, sleepless nights, and overflowing inboxes. I’m only about 2/3 of the way done inputting data, but the preliminary tests are interesting and I’m confident I can get something publishable out of this.

I also took a month-long course at the University of Cape Town and got to witness a health care system within the context of a truly transitional society. I learned it’s possible to provide free primary care to your entire population. I also learned doing so is difficult. I learned the battle between private and public health providers knows no geographical, cultural, or social boundary. I learned about the difficulties of expansive poverty in the wake of heated violence and racism. I learned that an amazing and beautifully crafted constitution^[4] is meaningless without political and logistical backing.

Well, suffice it to say I learned a lot. It solidified my desire to get a doctorate and go into research.^[5] I’ll keep you updated on any articles that come out of the trip.

1. and another week gallivanting through UAE and Europe [go back]
2. 4.7 minutes per survey for raw data plus an additional 30 minutes per 50 surveys for coding [go back]
3. 15.7 pounds [go back]
4. And South Africa’s is definitely one of the best constitutions I’ve ever read. [go back]
5. Though, I am not sure if I’d want to be based in another country for extended periods of time. [go back]