As a ritual of the usual first post shenanigans, let me introduce myself to Imperial College London’s blog readers.
I’m a current Master of Public Health (MPH – Global Health) student here at ICL from…wait, don’t ask me that. I won’t be able to tell you my hometown…you see, I’ve been moving around too much and am a typical Third Culture Kid (TCK) where I identify with too many places as home. So my usual formulated response to people is that ‘I’m Singaporean, but Indian at heart and went to college in the USA’.
If you think I must be sick of moving around by now, not quite. The problem with us TCKs is that as much as a nightmare constantly being on the go can be, we get so used to this nomadic life. Navigating airports, dealing with jet lag, rattling time differences off your fingertips and constantly finding forgotten currencies in your wallet are a norm. And it feels weirdly out of place when we’re not living this life; these little characteristics become our identity. That’s why after graduating with my Bachelor’s degree in May in the USA, and getting too fidgety with the prospect of comfortably settling back down in Singapore a la working life, I jumped at the opportunity to move to the UK for this MPH. There was plenty more for me to see, plenty more to learn and plenty more to do, and this was the perfect opportunity. And after a whirlwind four weeks of organising my move and settling down here, London is now my current home.
I identify myself as a ‘global citizen’ and its quite apt then that I’m here studying global public health, learning to tackle global health challenges and striving towards ‘mind’ing the global equity gap – be it social, economic or access to resources – that contributes to these challenges. I don’t associate ‘health’ with only just the treatment of ill-health, but with all the things that jeopardise your health in the first place.
Whilst in London, I intend to make the most of living in this gorgeous, historic city. London’s diverse and multi-cultural environment strikes a chord with the international student in me; I’m falling in love with this city. There’s just something about being in your twenties and living in a hustling, bustling yet historic city like London and meeting people from all the world in your everyday life; there’s always something new to offer.
So do follow the blog as I make my way through the course and explore the city’s hidden gems (read mostly as stumbled upon hole-in-the-wall cafes doubling up as my caffeine fix/study spots after I get too tired of the library) when I’m not in class or dancing Bhangra with the Imperial team. There are plenty of posts to come about my journey as an international postgrad living in my fourth country in twenty two years (yet another culture shock!), while studying the best ways to keep our world population fit as fiddles, and keeping my passions of dancing, culinary feasts and travel blogging alive. You get the gist, there’s so much to do but so little time…vamos!!
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