We recently had the opportunity to interview Alex Carballo-Diéguez, PhD, a SabbaticalHomes member and retired Columbia University professor and researcher.
Throughout his active academic career, he utilized SabbaticalHomes.com to find apartments to stay in when he travelled internationally to attend conferences and give lectures. He also became a host by listing his apartment in Buenos Aires, Argentina and making it available during the periods that neither he nor his family were occupying it.
Now retired, he finds that the platform continues to serve his evolving needs in new ways. With more time to expand his cultural interests, Alex appreciates how SabbaticalHomes.com adapts to his changing life stages, still effectively bridging connections within the academic community. He especially enjoys being able to assist active academics by being a stellar host and providing a welcoming temporary home for their stay.
As just one example, he rented his Buenos Aires apartment to a fellow faculty member at Columbia (ironically they connected through our website), a professor of Africana studies focusing on the history of slavery and gender in Latin America. She needed to do research at the Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno, the largest public library in Argentina, which is just three blocks from Alex’s apartment! And because she had family members accompanying her, the apartment was a great fit. Alex was delighted to assist her not only with her lodging needs but also with plenty of recommendations for restaurants, transportation and fun activities within walking distance of the apartment in his beloved Buenos Aires neighborhood.
Pioneering Research for HIV Prevention
Note: we’ve chosen to use the medical vocabulary related to HIV prevention and human anatomy, which may feel explicit to some. Our philosophy is that to empower people to take care of their own health, it is important to be able to use accurate words for specific parts of the human body in text and in conversation.
During his successful 30-year career as a Behavioral Scientist at Columbia University, Alex was at the forefront of behavioral HIV-prevention research, marked by a series of pioneering and innovative studies. His work has profoundly impacted the field through its focus on stigmatized populations and the incorporation of digital communication and information technology into behavioral and clinical studies.
Among many studies he was part of over the years, Alex worked with multidisciplinary teams focused on finding alternatives to the male condom for sexually active women wanting to protect their health. He also conducted and collaborated on studies on the safety and acceptability of rectal microbicide gels and douches as a means of HIV prevention.
One of Alex’s roles in many of these studies was to design assessments to be implemented remotely from New York City through interviews with participants in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Thailand, South Africa, Peru and Argentina. Culturally-matched interviewers evaluated participants’ uncertainties, assumptions or fears of using the products being studied. Their feedback informed ways to diminish behaviors and beliefs that could interfere with consistent product use.
His last research project focused on the use of HIV-home testing to screen sexual partners. The results of this randomized study were selected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for inclusion in the Compendium of Evidence-Based Interventions and Best Practices for HIV Prevention. Alex was happy to promote the idea of simplifying and democratizing HIV home testing, particularly among stigmatized populations.
Related: Alex Carballo-Diéguez Biography
Considering the Concept of Retirement
In his 60’s, he started to feel impatient with the bureaucracy of academic research – and noticed that he was gradually shifting towards other interests. As he considered his options, he observed that many of his colleagues, especially in New York, were reluctant or even afraid of retirement despite being past retirement age. Was it the fear of no longer being addressed as “Professor” or “Doctor”? Wasn’t it time for some of their highly accomplished younger colleagues to take the lead?
As a lifelong academic, it was difficult to shed the mindset that finances will always be tight. Alex started to reflect on how much money is “enough money” and to embrace feeling secure after a lifetime of careful budgeting and saving. Additionally, a phrase of his Argentine grandfather came to mind, “the mortaja [shroud] doesn’t have pockets.” He decided that it was time for him to plan the next phase of his life.
Making the Decision to Retire
When Alex looked up the word “retirement” in English dictionaries, he was surprised about the mainly negative connotations he found: relinquishment, resignation, abandonment, separation, withdrawal, vacating, evacuation, removal, handing over, laying down, egressing, exiting, retreating, going away, leaving, secession, departure, recession, retreat, regression, severance and abdication.
Conversely, in his native Spanish language, retirement is referred to “la jubilación,” i.e. jubilation time, associated with exultation, triumph, joy, elation, euphoria, ecstasy, rapture, gleefulness, exuberance, joyousness, rejoicing and delight. Therefore, he leaned on this cultural meaning to prepare for “the time to have fun!”
If he were to give advice to others in a similar situation, he would counsel them not to be afraid of losing their professional role and to accept that choosing to retire “allows other parts of your life to bloom, things that didn’t have the time or space during your active working years.”
After his “Jubilation Celebration Party,” his last work day was set for February 2020. In early March 2020, he traveled to Puerto Rico for his partner’s mother’s 80th birthday. Two days after his arrival on the island, COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions were suddenly instituted in New York and quickly extended to most of the United States. He ended up staying in Puerto Rico for a year, not entirely on purpose, but a beautiful place to be slightly “stuck”!
Retiring with a Plan: Four Pillars of Living Well
It seems that those who know Alex should not have asked “What are you going to do now? Sit at home and watch TV?” Yet, that was a real question from more than one person. His approach to his jubilación is exactly what you’d expect an accomplished behavioral scientist to establish: Alex’s Four Point Plan created a routine both structured and inspiring, the recipe for an enjoyable and successful life.
Body Maintenance
Alex is committed to maintaining the vitality and energy of his body. He regularly lifts weights for strength and does yoga for flexibility. He is very active and enjoys a lot of different pastimes, but maintaining his fitness level is a non-negotiable basic.
When he was in Puerto Rico by accident for a year, it was quite handy to have all that water. He spent a lot of time swimming and stand-up paddle boarding!
Brain Maintenance
As Alex mentioned in our conversation, there are “many things you can do to keep your brain busy other than planning a research project for the National Institutes of Health.” He loves learning languages, so decided to add Italian to his repertoire of Spanish, French and English. He started to study Italian online twice a week with Anna, a woman who lived in the north of Italy near Codogno, the city that became the epicenter of the Covid pandemic in Europe.
As they progressed, Alex and Anna included discussions on everything pandemic-related as well as her work as a farmer and teacher of autistic children who came to the farm to interact with the animals. Anna and Alex had completely different lives, which made the Italian classes even more fascinating. When Italy finally allowed foreigners back in the country, Alex and his partner traveled to northern Italy, spent a couple of days in Lake Como with Anna and her husband, and then returned to her farm for a visit.
For Alex, a silver lining of learning Italian was that he previously had no idea of how much Italian his mother understood. Since his grandmother was Italian born, the process of learning the language opened up entire new topics and wonderful conversations with his mother.
Enjoyment Enhancement
Alex had traveled extensively professionally, but those trips for many years were not about the place he was visiting. Instead, like for many people in academia, conference travel focuses on preparing for what you may be attending, presenting study results, and developing further work ideas. His travel was tactical, like “parachuting into a place and [quickly] going away.”
His goal now was to take the time to prepare for a trip by learning more about a place beforehand, socializing with those who live there during the visit and generally absorbing the magic of being in a totally new place. It’s clear that his post-retirement experiences are much more exploratory than the busy pace of his former conferences and research studies.
Inner Growth
To achieve the last pillar of inner growth, Alex had to undo many of the things he had learned in a successful life in academia. Skills like being very efficient and having everything timed perfectly do not help much when your goal is using your mind to slow down and absorb.
Alex wanted to re-learn how to meditate, reflect and perhaps do nothing but sit in front of the ocean watching pelicans fly. This is always a challenge when you’ve been on the treadmill of life, especially in New York City.
As Alex shared his approach, we can’t help but think he should be writing a book. However, that kind of project might be too much like academic life. There’s a good chance it might defeat the purpose of re-engaging, slowing down and truly enjoying this stage of his life!
Being a SabbaticalHomes Member Through the Years
Now that he has been officially in his jubilación for almost five years, Alex is incredibly happy with the changes he’s made, saying that “life is a non-stop wonderful vacation. I would like to contribute to other people’s enjoyment of their free time by offering them a wonderful place to stay and guiding them through the process of being less of a tourist and more of an explorer of the wonderful world around us.”
For our part, we are grateful to have such a positive, intelligent and fun member of our community. As Alex says, “SabbaticalHomes is special because [it] still maintains a one-to-one connection with people, [and] it inspires you to do as much as you can to be an exceptional host!”
But we think it is people like him who make SabbaticalHomes special.
Related: Off-Campus Housing near Columbia University
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