Working from "Home"
Polysemy
People envisage different types of places when hearing the word “home.” Some may picture a place where they laugh with their family members or loved ones, and some may visualize a place with a comfortable and familiar couch where they de-stress after a weary daily routine. Surely, perhaps acknowledging this versatility of meaning, the Oxford dictionary defines “home” in several ways. Of few, one states that it is “[t]he district or country where one was born or has settled on a long-term basis,” while another suggests it’s “[t]he place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.” For many, it means either or both—but not me. Although Arlington, Virginia, is where I have been residing ever since I graduated from college, it is neither the district nor part of the country I was born in. Similarly, I cannot ascertain my permanence in Arlington, though I am certain that I am not a member of a family or household in the city. The truth is, my status as a South Korea-born U.S. permanent resident with all of my family members living in Korea seems to render me irreconcilable with the dictionary definitions of “home.” Whether I am in the U.S. or Korea, none of the definitions seem quite pertinent. This reality has always unsettled me ever since my move to the U.S. from Korea, as I struggled to decide where in this world constitutes a true “home” for me.
Nonetheless, as I remarked previously, every cloud has a silver lining—even remote working amidst the pandemic. While not in Yangon, remote working has allowed me to carry out my internship in any part of the world, and upon this realization and permission, I decided to continue my work in Korea. As a result, four weeks into my internship, I flew to Korea and reunited with my family. Ironically, although remote working has limited the internationality of my internship, it has not only enabled it at the same time but also helped continue my journey to find a true sense of home.
Progress on the Briefing Memo
Halfway into my internship, I have discovered various interesting facts about FDI in Cambodia. Below are five noteworthy recent developments elaborated and analyzed in the first half of my briefing memo:
(Content unavailable until briefing memo is fully approved by donors and published by the Open Development Initiative)
In my next blog post, I will further discuss my findings relevant to the legal framework supporting FDI. In the last, I will note crucial FDI policies and their socio-economic and environmental consequences, along with my interim conclusion about the true sense of “home.” Citations for all findings will be available in my briefing memo.