The Semarang Conference

I'm not actually sure how I got here. I mean, Semarang isn't quite a city that I imagine I'd love to explore, nor that I have any friends I'd like to hang out with in this city.. but maybe it was my somewhat excessive ideas. Yep, those ideas that popped out when I was sorting out topics for my thesis.. then got kind of too bad to throw away without being presented and be given feedback... so I decided to just present it in this conference. Then also I might miss the 'thrill' of doing a presentation in a conference. Well. It seems that I shouldn't expect too much about being thrilled by doing a presentation because I'm just not, but.... day 1 of the conference has passed, and it feels good!

the poster I presented

I presented this simple research that I intended to kind of give a glimpse of an aspect of psychiatric practice in Bali that might not be commonly found in other places. It got me thinking quite a lot that maybe "cultural psychiatry" is not enough; it should be "CROSS-cultural psychiatry" if we were to really try to meet the demand of care nowadays. It also made me realize that somehow the mental health care just wouldn't work without an interdisciplinary approach that includes policy maker, educational system, proper funding, transportation, and maybe many other things; an yes, this is quite an irony when we take a look at how fragmented science is nowadays (as also mentioned in a lecture today by the professor).
Talking about being fragmented, by the way, also got me thinking about those separation thingy that kind of happens in Indonesia where people... ah never mind. I just don't enjoy it when my FB news feed are filled with posts with blaming tone, but.. I can always deactivate anytime it feels too much, so.. whatever :p
Yang jelas pak gubernurnya tadi ganteng bok.. tinggi kurus semacam om AE versi ngebass dengan bentukan yang less cynical. Uhwaw.

meeting up with some friends

I also got to meet some friends from high-school or my previous university who are currently also studying psychiatry and I also happen to know more psychiatrist from other places now.. so I feel more 'engaged' and less anxious. It's just nice to be able to exchange ideas and excitement in the field (instead of the somewhat hopeless 'yang penting lewat' feeling), to learn about other things that aren't too clinical, and to somehow find out that my interest in the preventive and educational aspects of psychiatry aren't actually bullshits. Haha. At least in my case, sometimes I find it hard to believe that those concerns aren't bullshit because the setting that I tend to see more every day is clinical setting which is highly "curative-minded"; not preventive-minded, educational-minded, nor rehabilitative-minded. It's nice to be reminded that psychiatry is a very large and diverse branch of science, and that every individual has his/her own place within the field; and that if you're not doing what everyone's doing, it's okay. I feel supported, accommodated, and more motivated in sticking what I believe I can do best. It's awesome :D

So anyway. That's day one. There will still be two more days, and I'm really looking forward to learn some more! Dan of kors, ga rugi guweh kemaren catok, potonya jadi.. mayaaan <3