Happy New Year

Happy new year!

I am back from the states. It's been a good month, travelling here there, moving from one place to another. Honestly, it was rather tiring. But who am I to complain, it was a fulfilling trip. Going to share what I have learnt from the trip:

1) travelling does open one's horizon- the experience of travelling, especially if you do it back-packing way, cannot be learnt from any book, any documentary on earth. All this thing, you need to experience it yourself. The feeling of being thrown in an unknown place, exploring the place and the culture of the people, is the most valuable thing which I have earned. I always believe that in order to understand a place, one have to stay there long enough, knowing a place cannot be done by just joining a tour, hoping from one tourist spot to another. so, before I have osteoarthritis, I am going to do back-packing style of travelling!

2) we are soooo far back - Being in the states for 3 weeks and also in China for about 12 days, this does make me realise that we are so far back. I am not comparing only to the states, even when I am comparing to China, which was once so underdeveloped, it has now gone far beyond what we have achieved. Take for example public transport, Shang Hai has like one of the fastest train in the world, which runs at a speed of approximately 400km/hr. Amazing right? even the subway system itself is much more developed and organised than us. I once read somewhere, how developed a country is not judged by how big the cars owned by the citizens, it is determined by how developed is the public transport system. We definitely have a lot more to learn.

3) home is still the best - I think I came to that conclusion after I came back from taiwan and singapore one year ago, but I am going to repeat this. Regardless how advanced or how developed other countries are, nothing beats home.
Firstly, the weather. I was so happy when I was embraced by a temperature of double digit when I step out of the airport. you cannot imagine how hard it is to live in a country which is so cold and dry. I had like nose bleed almost everyday due to the dry air. It was sooo troublesome having to check the forecast before going out each day so that we are not under/overdressed. I feel so much lighter back home here not having to wrap myself up with 5 layers!

Secondly, I realise regardless how fluent we are in mandarin or english, there is still a difference when we speak to the caucasian or to the local chinese people. it's not easy to learn the accent, perhaps it takes time. more over, there would definitely be cultural difference. we may understand every single word they say, but we may not be able to catch the meaning due to a cultural difference, vice versa.

Thirdly, you would not imagine how hard it is for me to find a plate of veggie to eat in the states. unlike back home, I normally have like 2 dishes of veggie each meal. there in the states, even to buy a fresh veggie, they only have salad in the normal caucasian supermarket. So, if we are desperate for REAL veggie, we need to go to some korean mart to get them. Of course, that explains the constipation which I got! lol.


and the list will go on and on.

People may ask, if I love back home so much, why I am still pursuing my goal to get to the states for residency training? The trip to the states has definitely make me more determined of my goal - for the reason mentioned above- no 2. we are so far back. Can't use a ruler to gauge how far back we are in medicine, but when I compare myself to my peers who went there to study, I am definitely no where compared to them as far as what I have achieved. It was a humbling experience, to see what other people of my age has already achieved. Perhaps, it's the america culture that pushes people to strive further.

So, to make my resolution of the year:  I am going to stretch my limits, to achieve a greater height in terms of my career, personal attributes and also relationships.

side note, I am starting my step 1 preparation today. ( completed step 2 ck and cs and I am glad that step 2 ck turned out alright! hopefully this will be a motivation for me to perform better in step 1)

2012 has witnessed lots of magical moments, hopefully year 2013 will promise more! Have a blessed year everybody!