Last Friday, 17-year-old Pakastani girl Malala Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
She was shot in the head by the Taliban two years ago but has persevered in continuing to strive toward her life goal of educating herself.
In meeting President Obama last year, she gave an sharp critique of the battles in the Middle East: “Instead of soldiers, send books. Instead of sending weapons, send pens.”
I think it’s very powerful to see younger activists fighting the good fight and inspiring others to do the same. We need that, in a world that isn’t always so kind or fair.
The young ones are sometimes the ones that can see it best.
You can read more about this Malala’s story here.
“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen, can change the world.”
—2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai
I recently got back from a lengthy trip to China, Macau, and Hong Kong (8/27-9/11).
This was my fifth trip out there, and this time, more than any other, I felt how different things were compared to my life back in the United States.
- For one, there’s so many people. Rush hour at the metro station is shoulder to shoulder, face to back. People are always in a rush too, probably because they have to be. No time or space for the same courtesies as in America.
- Public restrooms usually have squat toilets. Pretty much a nice hole in the ground with no toilet seat. And you have to bring your own toilet paper.
- Google is blocked. Facebook is blocked. Twitter is blocked.
- I wear XL or XXL t-shirts in Chinese sizes…
- Apartments on apartments on apartments
And some public health tidbits for ya:
- No one is fat. Probably some combination of walking everywhere, sweating a lot from the weather, genetics, and the food they eat.
- You can buy a live chicken from a vendor on the street and he will slaughter and skin it for you right there on the sidewalk. Groceries.
As with every summer, it was hot as hell. And humid too. I seemed like every time I took two steps outside, I was covered in sweat already.
Visited Chimelong a couple times and played in a roller coaster theme park and water park for the first time in a long while, probably since middle school. It was quite the thrill. We rode everything. School had just started again, so there were literally no lines for anything.
And of course, there was some sightseeing and exploring:
Canton Tower bubble tram in Guangzhou:
In the heart of Macau:
Seafood fresh off the boat at Sai Kung Public Pier:
Way up high at the Victoria Peak Sky Terrace in Hong Kong:
But my favorite part of the trip was hanging out with family. The day after arriving in Guangzhou, we participated in one of my cousins’ wedding ceremony and reception. I have just two cousins in China and met my new cousins-in-law for the first time. Quite instantly, we became good friends. Same thing in Hong Kong with uncles, aunts, and second cousins. Family is family.
I’m really glad I got to chat with my grandpa and even pour him a round of drinks. He played along to make my cousin-in-law join in the fun: “If you can’t drink beer, you’re not a man.”
My mom’s been trying to get me and my brother to form connections with our family out in China and Hong Kong and hopefully this time it sticks.
Can’t wait to come back.
Still can’t really believe that I turned 25 this past Sunday.
I’ve been feeling some of that quarter century crisis creeping in for a while now, so why not just make it official.
As the years have gone by, I find myself caring less and less about what people think about me and more and more about just living.
I seek the addictive thrill of adventure, grasping for the imagination of the younger days.
I was on a work trip to the Boston area for the past two weeks and got a good feel for the Northeastern summer.
Started with a quick stop in the hustle and bustle of NYC for a fun weekend with friends…
…before zooming over to what I often describe as the more chill big city.
In Cambridge, I stayed at a hotel the whole time and it’s right up there with my longest hotel stays. Believe it or not, it can feel like home after a few days.
The long trip was because we were going live with the software. In other words, “turning the system on” in other words.
There’s something really gratifying about completing a lengthy (ten months in this case) project, especially for a safety net hospital. All those hours building, testing, and training, always with the patient at heart.
Within those two weeks, I got a chance to meet up with some newer and older friends, and experience Boston summer.
Due to some changes of plan, I ended up having the middle weekend free to myself. And of course, I had to explore.
I roamed all around, from Boston parks and open air markets…
Look what I found in along the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, a 1.5-mile stretch of contemporary parks in the heart of Boston:
…to the riverwalk in Nashua, New Hampshire (found out that everything in New Hampshire is closed on Sundays, except nature), and even got to grab dinner with an old work buddy in Providence.
New Hampshire checks in as state #35 in the race!
Saw this post from DoSomething.org today:
“Today’s top photo is a pretty powerful one.
In China several doctors bow to an 11 year old boy diagnosed with terminal brain cancer who managed to save the lives of several others by donating his organs shortly after he passed.
Incredibly touching.”
The photo captures an extraordinary range of emotion, the tragedy and honor of it all.
It reminds us that life can be so fleeting.
YOLO, as the young kids say.
I list myself as an organ donor on my driver’s license and hope that you do too.
When it comes, it comes. And at that time, hopefully we can prevent it from coming for others too early too.