Will Swanson's Blog

Letters Home: An Interview with Will

The following is an email I sent home in July 2008, enjoy! W

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Isn’t it interesting when one of your friends takes off overseas, has the time of the lives, and then sends back multiple emails about their incredible adventures, you sit in your office chair staring at the computer screen under fluorescent lighting. Maybe you a little resentful, perhaps disconnected or simply file these emails straight to the ‘spam/trash’ folder because it won’t really make your Friday afternoon go any faster (or like me you’ve probably forgotten they’re overseas anyway!).

I know, because I usually get through the first line of “(Insert exotic location) is just so amazing! It’s like the most brilliant and beautiful place I’ve ever been! Everyone is so nice and everything is so cheap! And the beach…” and at this point I’ll abandon the email for some light-hearted kitten pictures with hallmark captions to really spice up my afternoon.

So I hope you enjoy this interview I recently did with my invisible friend Fred, he’s a really good interviewer and can seriously get inside one’s head! All the best! Will

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I’ve never been so excited about an interview before, maybe it’s because this is my first one, or maybe because of the subject. They’re both compelling facts that are giving me sweaty palms and wobbly knees – not a good sign for a pro!

But as I walked up the strangely smelling staircase to his apartment I couldn’t help but think what a great guy he really is, a world away from his home in Australia, busy searching for a cure to cancer and HIV with the health ministry of Mongolia. What a guy indeed.

As we sit down on his couch my apprehension subsides, and my knees begin to relax. His engaging personality really shines through, and is famous for making anyone feel comfortable and at ease – a friend for many years.

Thanks for granting the interview- I know you’re really busy.

Sure thing, no probs! I really want to get my story out there; let people back home know I’m still ALIVE.

Oh why, don’t they know?

Yeah well, it’s hard to tell. I would’ve thought I’d receive some real encouraging “we’re standing besides ya Will’ type emails, maybe a phone call. Hey, what about a parcel with nandos chicken and chocolate mousse, you know?

Wow, are you ok man?

Haha, yeah I was joking – but seriously.

Ok… So what else is new? How is work?

Hmmm, last week I would’ve said work is great. It’s really good experience, the people are really nice and I’m having a great time. But this week it changed a little…

Oh yeah?

Yeah, don’t interrupt or this email will be way too long. So it’s still great, the experience is still amazing and the people are nice, and I’m having a great time. But of course the honeymoon period has to end sometime, and I’m starting to see and hear all those wonderful things you find inside a government office- the whispering, the non-smile photos and the lack of toilet paper in the bathroom.

So what do you actually do at work?

Well, I have a work plan, and I will be working on some big projects. For instance, soon I will be assisting with a Health Promotion Fund (give hugs not drugs!), planning how to disperse a USD250K kitty for non-comm. diseases prevention programs, it’s going to be big! Other than that, I’m holding training workshops with people who have PhDs and 20 years work experience, and also assisting with some externally funded projects in the health sector.

Wow, sounds really busy. So what’s the highlight so far?

Yeah it is… Well, because I’m new they are sending me to a different conference every week. The Russian style three course meals are great, but the sessions have been really good too. I’m meeting lots of people from the health sector and also learning a lot, like what a ‘placenta pit’ is.

Oh, sounds interesting…

Yeah, I have a photo if you wanna see it.

Um, no thanks. And when you’re not working?

Well, I have so many new friends. I have Mongolian friends, German friends, French and Swiss friends, American friends, friends from Norway and many Australian friends too. Maybe I’ll write a song about it one day. But they are all great. On Monday nights we play floor-ball (indoor hockey) which is lots of fun, though I still hobble around work the next day complaining to everyone. On weekends I hang out with these aforementioned friends, go to the opera and ballet or just sit at home in my undies watching the NRL.

National Rugby League?

Yeah, it’s the Australia Network Channel, the highlight of my week!

So we’re running out of email space and attention spans (we’ve lost a few already), what do you miss most from home?

Ah lotsa stuff, but I haven’t hit the wall yet (if you know what I mean, dastardly culture shock). Of course my family, my puppy dog (shoutout to the ‘Skar!) and friends. But I’m not doing it too tough here so things are still looking good.

Well, let me say that you’re a real multi dimensional, interesting, GREAT looking guy. How can people get more of you?

Wow. That was a really random but nice compliment hey. If you do want ‘more’ of me, you can’t have my body but you can have my blog.

Cool! You have a blog!! They are so 2005…

Yeah it’s www.willswanson.net/blog so I’d love it if people went there and read about what I was up to and left comments, they’re like little E-hugs and I cherish every one of them.

Are you worried that you just wrote a whole interview with yourself?

Yeah kinda.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, July 12th, 2008 at 4:56 pm. It is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.