dream, ideas, etc

It's one of those dreams that is too overwhelming that you wake up still haunted by the realistic experience. The dream is a culmination of "Million Dollar Baby" (I watched it with my house mates B and C last night), my project on conditions of female migrant workers in Taiwan, recent conversation with a psychiatrist, and other thoughts going through my mind these days.

Basically, a young woman is being tried for murder. Everyone (including herself) thinks she is guilty, but through a variety of circumstances, I found out that she is actually schizophrenic, and had at times up to six distinct personalities/identities. The disease was severe and yet untreated. Throughout the dream, I was fighting to help her plea not guilty for reason of insanity, but nobody listened to me. Seeing her frail body, tender spirit, and sense of helplessness, I was determined to give it all to save her. It was a very sad dream, really shaking me up to a feeling of helplessness myself: you know so well that she shouldn't be punished and that she is completely innocent, but you can't do anything about it!

Anyway, what I can do is write this class paper on the mental and physical health status of Indonesian domestic health aids in Taiwan, particularly discrimination, subordination, and sometimes isolation which they face, in addition to the long work hours and lack of vacation days which could all contribute to poor health. The topic is at the interaction of health, human rights, and labor laws. It's a topic that has intrigued me ever since I got to Taiwan, so finally through the class on social epidemiology, I'll get an excuse to spend more time (actually just two weeks as I am almost graduating!) on the subject matter.