Hi 2015!

In a blink of eyes, which I literally mean it, 2014 has come to an end. 2014 was not a good year, at least for all Malaysians. Tragedies happened after tragedies here in Malaysia and around the world, plane went missing or crashed, flash flood, land slide, economic recession, ISIS, terrorism, wars, and many more. It was indeed heart-stricken when receiving these news. For the first time when I read all the news of the missing plane, tears rolled down from my eyes, especially when I read the letter from the pilot's daughter.  Yes, we may not be affected by it, we still continue our routines, chill out with our friends and enjoy our life. But for once if we slow down our pace and think, what if we are one of those who got affected? What would it be? I wish I can do something for them. Hence, for the very first time, I wish, I can turn the clock back to the old times, reversed all the bad things that have struck us. I also wish I can wave 2014 good bye as soon as possible to embrace the brand new good year, which I hope it would be one.

I guess 2014 was an average year for me. Everything was in an extremely fast pace in 2014. I held tight to my own principles, and not to go against my own wills, no matter it is regarding my studies, or to the people that I have encountered. Try not to be a hater, learn something good from everyone in order to improve myself. Treat people whole-heartedly and sincerely. Respect is to be earned if you want it. Have been seeing all kinds of dramas in the past few years. Things slowly get better recently. Still the same thought, the more you share, the more you learn. No point in reaching your goal by stepping on others with egocentricity, because at the end of the day things will prove you wrong when you feel the emptiness in yourself #if you know what this means. It's just like people always ask me why would you study medicine, after all you have had your first degree. Believe me or not, I wanted to do so with no other reasons, except that I want to do something meaningful for the rest of my life instead of chasing some monthly targets monetarily which I'm not pretty fond of doing so at this point of my life. It's definitely not something related to being a doctor is more successful than others, or to prove than I'm better. Since every occupation has its own strength and limitations, so ultimately interest is still the most important consideration. Yes, sometimes I may regret with my own choice by blaming my limited memory space and lacked of patience or discipline, but it's just a temporary self denial state. Lol. 

Anyway I got to travel to few places with my family and friends, and I truly hope that I can do that more often, to spend more quality time with my loved ones. Putting aside my over-think-negative-mind, I am blessed to be where I be today. Slowly, I checked off the boxes of my wish-list. This year, 2015, I wish more and more good news will come. Time to step out from my comfort zone to reach where I want to be in the future. 

So, 2015, please be good to me, and to everyone around me.

Travelogue: Japan- Nara (Day 5)

The next day we travelled to Nara from Kyoto by rapid train. We bought Nara one day pass, which included train fares and discounts on some tourism spots. It took approximately 40 minutes to reach Nara. Nara is my another favourite destination. Love the lush green sceneries with wild deers that can be seen everywhere. The relaxing ambiance and afternoon breeze made me miss this place so much! 

Nara one day pass

My companion throughout the journey

Selfie in the train :)

In Nara, most of the attractions are located surrounding Nara Park. Once you have alighted from the train, you could just walk to the park within minutes, and here you go, all the wild Sika Deers around you! Crackers for the deers (Shika senbei) were sold at the park; however, beware if you are going to feed them as they can be very agitated when they see food! The Sika Deers are believed to be the messengers of god in Shinto religion, so they can be seen roaming freely in Nara.

Another must-visit spot is Todaiji. It is a renowned landmark in Nara, as the world largest wooden building. It also houses a 15m bronze buddha. Interestingly, the support pillar in the temple is considered as "healing pillar". It is believed that if one successfully squeezes through it (which is mostly impossible, unless you're a small kid),  he/she is granted a place in heaven.

Another deer spotted at the vicinity of Todaiji

Todaiji

The interior of the temple

The pillar that I have mentioned earlier. Don't even try to go through it if you are an adult XD

The bronze buddha (*photography is allowed in this temple :))

Group photo before leaving

Lastly, the Sika deer maskot of Nara at the train station

Finally graduated! :D

Yeah! I'm proud to be a graduate of UPM :)) The first day I stepped into UPM, I was impressed by the lush green picturesque scenery! In fact, a conducive environment is very important for me. Then, I met a bunch of crazy friends! We studied together and had fun at the same time. Test results were not an issue or any big deal for us and most importantly was the learning process. We never hesitate to help each others all the time. I miss the Q&A session conducted by us one day before each test and how we annoyed each other when we were stressful lols I also miss the days when I first learned tennis, traditional dance, Japanese, and joined all sorts of interesting activities in UPM.   

Of course there were moments that I felt I didn't belong to here and disappointed with the curriculum. Still, at the end of the days, I am proud and grateful to choose UPM as my first choice :)

and guess what, I was smiling all the way when looking at the photos and reminiscing all the crazy moments that were captured vividly in my mind. It's not the fame or ranking of university that counts, but the lovely people around me that never fail to make me smile :) 

I ❤ my friends! (｡◕‿◕｡)

 

My family :)) they are the greatest support for me! I'm such a lucky girl to have the best daddy mommy and brother sisters in the world!

My caring granny :)

Last but not least, a little prize that surprised me :) it's indeed an encouragement for me!

New Chapters of Life @Perdana University

Earlier on, I have mentioned that I might further study, perhaps Msc. Nutrition in UK. Due to the deferment of the scholarship approval and reconsideration of my future path, I decided to enrol in Perdana University which offers the graduate program of Medicine Degree to the science-stream's degree holders. Being a health science (Nutrition) student, I have realized that by becoming a doctor, I can do more to help others in the society. Rather than prevention alone that I've always been taught as a Nutrition student, I'm interested to study more on treatment or clinical sciences. So...I'm sure most of you don't know about Perdana University, so here's a brief introduction on it.

"Perdana University is a private university established under the Private Higher Educational Institutional Act 1996 (Act 555).  Perdana University was established in 2011 as a project under the Public-Private Partnership Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department (UKAS). Its establishment is in line with the Ministry of Higher Education’s (MOHE) National Higher Education Strategic Plan on the development of first-class human capital in an environment that results in individuals finding and fully achieving their personal potential. Perdana University will work towards providing world class education for all qualified students through efforts of international benchmarking and collaboration with professional bodies and industry. Perdana University’s vision, mission and objectives as stated below are aimed at contributing to MOHE’s efforts of establishing Malaysia as an international hub for education by attracting students from all over the world.

Perdana University offers two medical degree programmes. The first, Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine (PUGSOM) in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, offers a four-year graduate entry programme based on a JHUSOM curriculum. The second, PU-RCSI School of Medicine in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), offers a five-year programme based on a conventional curriculum. 

The Life Sciences Research Centre of Perdana University is affiliated with Johns Hopkins Research Centre. The centre will not only enable local students to acquire the necessary skills of research early in their career but place Malaysia in the global research community. The 600-bed Teaching Hospital of Perdana University is affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medicine International. It will be the first private teaching hospital in Malaysia and will include a full complement of ambulatory care facilities, diagnostic capabilities and ancillary support services.
Plans are also underway to establish a Centre of Excellence for diseases prevalent in this region such as heart diseases, cancer, cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes and tropical diseases among others." 

So why Perdana University? it's the first medical graduate school in Malaysia in collaboration with John Hopkins University School of Medicine. Initially, I found it not really promising since the school fees is extremely horrifying, it costs a million ringgit!!! JPA offers 50 scholarships each year but doesn't that means only JPA scholars will afford to study in PU? How will it be in the long run? My main concern is will it shut down after a few years? After meeting the admission officer from PU, he analysed and explained the situation to me that PU is the inspiration of Tun Mahathir Mohamed that he wishes to retain local talents by bringing in the international benchmarking and professionals. The fees is expensive because they have invited the lecturers from John Hopkins to teach in PU. Moreover, JPA has signed a contract with them to ensure that there're will be scholarships for the students in the long run. After hearing that, I still feel unsure about it and was struggling whether I should further in overseas or go to PU, but ended up I sent my application form, together with personal statement and three essays lols Then, I was called up for two interview sessions, first with three lecturers (more like sharing session with each of them) and the second time with two doctors from JPA (harsh session as they really gave me hard time lol). 

So that's it! I'm IN :) It's true that PU has been mauled by countless critics, but I have decided to put my faith in this new university that has just been established last year. This week is the orientation week, I'm so surprised that the orientation is totally different from UPM lols No cheers, no silly games, no funny ice-breaking, but there're leadership intersessions for us! Leadership intersessions sound boring but trust me, they're exciting! The talks were inspiring, mostly related to decision making, health care issues, and communication. The information given was based on real life stories, and the way the speaker (Dr. Sanjay from John Hopkins) conveyed the message was so new and fresh to me! Let's see one of the picture we have seen today, amazing optical illusion regarding to decision making. 

Which box is darker? A or B?

A and B are the same colour! Believe it? Lol. You can try to open it in Photoshop and take a pixcel sample using the eyedropper tool. Our eyes are deceived by the relativity of colours. When the gray box is surrounded by white boxes, it tends to look darker. That's all haha

We also played some games, the game I love the most is the board game (I don't know the exact name but it illustrated the departments in hospital and how are we going to arrange the incoming patients and how to deal with the issues like insufficient beds, on-shift staffs, paramedic turnaways, etc). 

Most importantly, the lecturers and staffs are so helpful and efficient! We have heuristic and two-ways communication rather than passive learning. The class is awesome too! There're 32 of us for the second batch of PUGSOM. We're from different backgrounds, some are from local universities (like me), some obtained their degrees in overseas such as UK, US and Australia, there's one international student from Washington DC, and one master student (he's actually my senior if not mistaken, what a coincidence). How did we break the ice? The answer is Rooftop Pizza Party! Dr. Nicole and Dr. Patrick invited us to the rooftop in Verve Suites, Mont Kiara for a party on the second day of orientation! Got the photos from my friend, she's a lousy photographer hahahaha she gonna kill me. Just managed to take a photo with few of the lecturers and some of my coursemates as others left early :x

Oh yeah back to the curriculum. PUGSOM (Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine) is a four-year medical degree that adopts the curriculum of Gene to Society by John Hopkins. Gene to Society is indisputably the only curriculum in Malaysia that starts the basic science and clinical science concurrently. That's means we need to go to the hospital in the first year for clinical studies rather than waiting until our third year as in local universities. The schedule is arranged differently as well to let us have more chances to apply and practise what we have learnt. PUGSOM always focus on producing a new breed of mature doctors, since  the quality of doctors especially housemen is deteriorating day by day, wrong diagnosis, lack of patient care, and inappropriate drugs prescription. So let's see whether we can make it in the near future! :)) Finger-crossed.

I can't guarantee that this is the best decision I have made, but I'm sure it's not the bad one. In fact I start to believe that it's the best one. lols Oh the only drawback is PU is located in Serdang as well, just a stone throw away from UPM. Basically I just can't get myself OUT OF Serdang, BORING! oh and I'm bombarded by American English every day haha not a big problem to me, thanks to American dramas. Life will be hectic soon as the class starts next week, we'll have few weeks schedule on anatomy. Wish me luck :) 

《华文之于我》

恭喜妹妹荣获新加坡大专文学奖 新诗组三奖和联合早报金奖！我一直以来都很想参加大马大专文学奖，但现在疏于写作，文笔大不如从前，往日创作的热忱也渐渐褪灭。看了她写的新诗，唤起我往日对华文的喜爱与坚持，或许是时候执笔创作咯 :)

《华文之于我》

播种•墨中无华、

母亲的手不写字
却紧抓着孩子的
让笔尖复述线条
一遍一遍

瞧
这三个字
是你

柔声地呢喃
懵懂地颔首
呼呼吊扇下
是微风
还有
妈妈微扬的唇角

桌上一方白土
并不广袤
但不灭的种子
悄悄播下了
彼时   墨中无华……

闻香•墨中生华、

飘
一股墨香
似儿时书堂
闻
 一则轶事

方正
框下数千载
兴许
笑几声  恨几重
泪几斛  叹几许

然
书声朗朗
非感怀絮语
振笔于纸
无所谓年华

未掬一把情愁
却叫人徜徉旧忆
是否   墨中生华？

执笔•墨中升华、

学生鞋已泛黄
尘封于鞋柜一隅
但所学并未曾忘

将十指抽离别种方块
五指与笔重逢
颤巍巍把所忆
付诸纸上

那歪斜着的
是所想
是所爱
亦是所悟

它非既有的旧忆
而是
自我的执着
盘桓的念想
一如
从前母亲的笑靥

所以
舍与不舍
择之
去或不去
但愿
就此    墨中升华。

Hanoi, Vietnam: Day 1

Hello! I just returned home from one-week trip to Hanoi and Bangkok. As I've mentioned in the previous entry, my Cambodia trip has been cancelled due to an interview. Therefore, I departed to Ho Chi Minh City to meet my friends right after my interview and spent a night there.

Due to the packed schedule, I don't have much time to visit HCMC, so I just walked in the city and took a rest in the famous Trung Nguyen Coffee Shop. 

Trung Nguyen Coffee Shop
I was so surprised that the Vietnam coffee is very aromatic! Way better than Starbucks, Coffee Bean or whatsoever coffee shops in Malaysia! It was very flavourful and fragrant :) I totally fell in love with the coffee <3 the price range is around 50,000 VND (RM7.50)

Milk coffee with a hint of nutty flavour :) love this

A very concentrated Vietnamese filtered coffee :) too creamy and concentrated for me.. 

The next day, I took a flight to Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. Hanoi is an old historical city, very different from the metropolitan HCMC. Our hotel (May de Ville) is located in the centre of old quarter. On the first day, we walked around in the city :)

New Day Restaurant

We had lunch in this lovely restaurant. It's kinda famous so a lot of customers in the restaurant during lunch hour. Several must-eat food included spring rolls (fresh and fried styles) and pho bo (beef soup noodles). The food is considered mid-range price in Vietnam but cheap for foreigners. 

Fresh spring rolls (2pcs)- 15,000 vnd (RM2.50)

Fried spring rolls (12pcs)- 15,000 vnd (RM2.50)

Pho bo 45,000 VND (RM6.70) & beer 18,000 VND (RM2.70)

Hoan Kiem Lake 

Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of the Restored Sword) is the main landmark in Hanoi. A turtle tower is situated in the middle of the lake. The name "Restored Sword) is actually from a legend that the king received a sword from the turtle god before he defeated the enemy. Then he once again met a turtle that grabbed back his precious sword. Some historical sites around the lake included The Huc Bridge, Pen Tower and Ngoc San Temple (Moonlight Tower).

The Huc Bridge

Ngoc San Temple (Moonlight Tower)

Pen Tower

Water Puppet Show

This is a unique traditional performance in Vietnam. We paid 100,000 VND (RM15) for the front seats and watched this fascinating show in the theatre. The puppets moved on the water playfully, accompanied by the traditional orchestra which caught my eyes more than the puppets lol Btw the tourists need to pay extra charge for camera, so I didn't bring in my camera :P I prefer to focus on the show though.

Street Food
The local people like to eat some street foods such as meat balls, cheese sticks, fries etc while drinking beer and sitting on the stools at the streets.

Cheese stick 6000 VND (RM0.90)

Meat ball 15,000 VND (RM2.20) the best meat ball I've ever tasted!! very juicy!

Xoi Yen

Xoi is a Vietnamese dish made from glutinous rice and other ingredients. We had our dinner in the shop called Xoi Yen. There're a variety of glutinous rice ranged from peanut/maize/original. We have chosen several ingredients such as shredded pork and fried egg.

Sticky rice-15,000 VND (RM2.20) + fried egg- 7000 VND (RM1) + shredded salted pork- 7000 VND (RM1) = 29,000 VND (RM4.20) large portion of sticky rice with appetizing shredded meat! I like this very much!

After one tiring day, we headed back to our hotel and enjoyed our night with Hanoi beer and a good sleep :)

-----to be continued- Hanoi: Day 2------