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The IA Global Health and PreMed Panel that occurred on the 25th of March 2021 focused on how the lives of medical students have shifted given the onset of the pandemic. Questions such as how they have dealt with the situation both in school and in general college life were addressed during the meeting. There was quite a bit of emphasis placed in the necessity of medical students keeping their hands on service opportunities related to the medical world. As a pre-dental student, this advice does apply to me as well. Majority of the expectations placed on med students align very closely to those of dental students.

Public Health specializations appeared to be a key aspects of these med student’s lives. The ability to understand how health is perceived, dealt with, and the importance of it in populations provides doctors with the knowledge of what to expect from their patients. Especially for doctors who do quite a bit of traveling work, this information is critical to their success.

There was plenty of good advice given during the panel, but there was one point in particular that I want to implement in my presentable journey. Getting involved in an organization that I can stick with. All of the medical students had particular service activities that they found and continued doing throughout their undergraduate lives. My goal this next year is to find an organization that will make me want to stay and help longer.

Attending the Lunar New Year Celebration with WeHope on February 12th, 2021 was quite insightful. Known in Korean culture as Seollal, the Lunar New marks the first full moon of the lunisolar calendar. This calendar is used throughout East Asia, including China, Vietnam, and Singapore. In this day families gather at the house of their eldest male relative, to pay respects to their ancestors. There is a very high influx of travel around this time for this exact reason. In Korean culture, respecting one’s elders and ancestors is one of the main pillars in their tradition and lifestyle.

Historically, some Korean ancestors had to endure the tragedy of being “comfort women.” During World War II, imperial Japanese Armies would abduct Korean women from their homes, and take them in as sex slaves. The name “comfort women” comes from the Japanese word fro prostitutes. Women from China, Taiwan, and other Asian countries also fell victims to these terrible practice. Once sex selves, the job placed on these women was to comfort and enhance the morale of Japanese soldiers away from home. They were subject to continuous rapes, and would suffer beatings when they did not provide the services that the soldiers required from them. At the end of the war, many comfort women were tragically executed, and the ones who survived suffered lifelong physical and mental trauma.

“La Soledad,” directed by Jorge Thielen Armand, depicts life of a Venezuelan father who is trying to hold on to what little his family has left. The house in which most of the plot takes place, use to be the director’s, but is now in his maid’s grandson’s hands, Jose. The struggles that Jose faces are caught on camera, in an organic format. His life has become extremely difficult given the current crisis. The economic crisis in Venezuela, caused by sever mismanagement and corruption in the government, had an unimaginable impact on the people. Shelves upon shelves of emptiness, and no sign of it ending. According to the director, Jose’s story does pull some strings of reality, but there are many sad truths that were kept in the story. An interesting touch that the director added to the story was the hidden treasure. One that could save Jose from his current life.

The movie was insightful in a way that was quite expected. It gave the sad, tough truth that everyone is aware of, but no one want to talk about. International Affairs was created on stories like these. Being far away in a coddled and safe environment, allows me to be far away from a Jose’s situation. However, thanks to the type of study and interest that IA requires, I am able to see and hear stories such as this, which can help me appreciate what I have and maybe even help.

Over the weekend, I watched the documentary titled Warsaw: A City Divided, created by Eric Bednarski. Most of the information that was presented was not new to me given that I attended Polish school almost every Sunday for ten years. I learned about the history, life, and triumph of Poland in all of the adversity that was thrown their way. Furthermore, my parents grew up in Poland under the communist regime that took over after WWII. Throughout my childhood, Polish history was just as prevalent in my learning experience as any other subject.

There were however several interesting historical facts that had not been introduced to me before. The separation of the ghetto was one of those topics. The streets of Poland were physically blocked by walls built by their invaders. Furthermore, leaving a designated part of the ghetto, and getting caught would have resulted in death. Anyone who aided these individuals would have been killed as well. Thankfully, these threat did not stop Polish people from helping those who needed it. There were also children who used these walls for smuggling food and drink for themselves and their families. Bags of food and other essentials were thrown over the wall for anyone who needed them.

These were very dark times in the history of our would, and I would only hope that we can take this knowledge and make sure nothing like this ever happens again.