[Note: No photos til we have our internet connected!]
This is like working in PARADISE. Instead of driving 45
minutes to work, I walk 10 minutes each way and get a physical exercise benefit
because the walk is on a steep hill. I don't need to own a car. I get there by 9am; I leave around 5pm. I
don't bring any work home. I "multi-task" on ONE project. The NZ
Ethics Committee (research review board) is actually REASONABLE (compared to
USF). I absorb myself in writing and research plans for 8 hours/day; and when I
come home, Dick greets me with a glass of wine and dinner. I read the paper,
watch the news, the Olympics, do some oil painting, check gmail, RELAX. I live
in an anti-nuke, multicultural, environmentally conscious country whose
government is designed to be collaborative, and for which the top three
national budget priorities (totaling 49%) are social services (23%), health
(13.5%), and education (12.5%). In comparison, the US top budget priority, at
60%, is military. This is possible! I am crazy-happy.
My colleagues at Immigration NZ are so friendly. On Monday,
one that recently married came in with leftover wedding cake and her wedding
album. They hold bake sales to raise money for recent international crises,
raising $1,000 or more.
So this week I have revised my research proposal and sent it
out to the (voluntary!) NZ Ethics Review Committee, my colleagues, and my
Ministry of Education colleague. (I am still struggling away with the USF IRB…).
I am working on my travel plans. I have already been invited to meetings
regarding resettlement and set up meetings. The time is already feeling tight!
But I know I have so much more allocated time for this work than I would ever
typically have. This sabbatical will allow me to do work I could never do in my
typical work life. Everyone should have this opportunity if they have a plan to
do work for the public good.
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