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Woke up at 2:45am and started packing. I have a 6am flight to Nepal today! Packed in a rush and headed to the airport in the early hours before dawn. Met Marissa and her parents at the airport coincidentally and our seats turned out to be in the same row! Bye Jakarta, for the third time in less than a month! We went to KL for transit for a couple of hours and met up with Melidya and Vania who came from Singapore before us. Not long after, we were on the plane to Kathmandu! I could feel the Nepalese culture on board already, three monks sitting not far from my seat, Nepalese locals sitting next to me and it hit me; I'm on my way to Nepal baby!!! I slept through most of the duration of the flight. As the plane was landing, I could see the mountainous regions we were flying above and many villages situated on them! When we arrived at the airport, we took the shortest bus ride of our lives - literally lasted 20 seconds or less! We settled our visa which costed $40USD for 30 days. Next, we got our Nepalese mobile sim cards, I opted to go for the 5GB plan for good measure. Afterwards, we headed to our hotel in the city. I sat at the front with the driver and looking at the streets of Kathmandu reminded me of my visit to Kolkata 2 years ago. Hectic, dusty, overcrowded, and noisy are just a few words to describe the atmosphere! We were greeted by Hom, a local Nepalese who will be overseeing our trip. He was very friendly and answered all our questions regarding exchange rates, getting bottled water, and organising dinner. Once we checked in to the hotel, a group of us decided to explore the area around our hotel. This area is known as Thamel and is the main street in Kathmandu and where you can find most tourists. It's filled with myriads of shops selling souvenirs such as traditional clothes, trekking gear, supermarkets, and antiquities! It was a feast for my eyes as we ventured through the narrow and busy streets of Thamel. We found a section where there no vehicles allowed which was my favourite area. It was much less polluted as a result of no vehicles and also to my surprise there were plenty of cuisines on offer such as italian woodfried pizza, Korean food, and burgers and fried chicken! We dropped by a large supermarket where I bought dried coconut which everyone seemed to like. It had a really nice texture to it and it was simply delicious! I really look forward to wandering around the streets again when we come back to Kathmandu in 2 weeks! I feel like I could spend an entire day just taking photos of the streets, shops, people, and food! I think I will do just that when I have the next opportunity instead of hiding my camera in my bag. I did get a good shot of the iconic colourful prayer flags which I am about to upload to insta! Also, we tried MOMOS at last! We found a good deal which was 10 momos for 60 rupees! We shared among the 5 of us and they were simply delicious! Sakeenah couldn't stop talking about them during dinner and I couldn't blame her! The momos were filled with ox??? and showered with a mildly spicy curry sauce which made the dish that much better. Definitely getting more momos in the days to come! We eventually reached the hotel again and had dinner shortly after. Dinner was a range of traditional Nepalese food served on a round silver platter with rice and papadom! I have to sleep early tonight because we are heading to Chitwan tomorrow morning at 6am! Goodnight from Kathmandu friends :)

Current Mood: cheerful
Current Location: Kathmandu

Woke up at 4:30am thinking we were to leave for the airport at 6! Turns out we were meant to leave at 7.. Oh well more time to do stuff before we leave for Singapore!!! I packed my small luggage (10kg Scoot baggage allowance so I decided to laeve my trustee backpack!). I had a nice breakfast with dad, who made fried eggs and I made some toast. Mom came back from church and immediately brought out avocados we had to finish before leaving the country... So I made her avo on toast! Even had the chance to p lay with Dafi and Cotton for a bit, who scratched my face pretty badly - ok not that bad but there was a visible mark on the left side of my face. Off to the airport! The security took my facewash and toothpaste even though they were less than 100mls (apparently the bottle also had to be less than 100mls which is honestly stupid...). The flight was smooth sailing, I just slept through most of it and then before we knew it, we landed in SINGAPORE! The first stop of my multi-country holiday! We rushed to the hospital after waiting so long at the immigration and then waited another while to see the urologist, a Dr John Yuen. He suspected kidney stones as soon as my dad told him he had discomfort at his flank. He ordered a CT Scan with contrast which the doctor in Indo failed to order (CT Scan w/o contrast) and some urine test. This just goes to show how different the level of care you receive in terms of healthcare in Indonesia and Singapore... The doc also checked my dad's prostate and everything was ok which is a relief.

Before I knew it, it was almost 6! I'm meant to meet up with Wan Ying and Nisha around 6-7 pm for dinner at Hawker Chans! I've been wanting to go for a while now and tonight may be the night I try it for the first time! We checked in the Capsule Pod Boutique Hostel at 38 Upper Cross street near OG which was a 5 minute fdrive from the hospital! This hostel is so unique! We got a tour of the place and the kind lady showed us to our family room (no pods unfortunately?) and pointed out the various features of the room which I thought was excessive but nice at the same time. Mom and dad left for dinner shortly after while I waited for my friends to reach Hawker Chan. I checked google maps and found out to my surprise and delight that the restaurant was a short 5 minute walk from where I was staying! I started walking to Hawker Chan at Smith Street and just as I arrived, I saw Nisha entering the place! I greeted them at the entrance and we hugged each other! Man, it;s been too long and it's so nice to see them again! The three of us ordered the signature soya sauce chicken with rice ($3.80) each and I decided to treat them for dinner :). The soy sauce was poured over the rice which made the rice super tasty! The chicken was so tender but not too sweet! I really enjoyed it but Nisha though that she's had better chicken rice (she recommends five star - that's the name of the chicken rice place) and wonders why this place has a Michelin star! It was so good seeing them (just realised I said that a few lines before). They haven't changed a bit! Nisha is still very outspoken and joyous, Wan Ying with her friendly and warm smile, I can't believe how time passes by so quickly! Anyways, Wan Ying just came back from overtime at work, while Nisha just came back from Uni from a group meeting. We devoured our chicken rice and proceeded outside to decide where to go for dessert! After much deliberation and obsessive googling which dessert stores were of reasonablr walking distance, we decided to go to awfully chocolate somewhere not too far. So we just chatted our way to awfully chocolate and after getting lost a couple of times, we arrived only to find out the store had closed almost half an hour early! That's alright, we ended up going to this famous cafe called PS Cafe which has multiple outlets due to its popularity according to Nisha. We ordered the chocolate cake and sticky toffee pudding! We continued to chat about uni, work, how messed up the world is currently, friends of ours, and just random stuff! THe cafe had a nice atmosphere, it was dark, quiet, and the ambiance was nice in general. When the clock struck 10pm, it was time to head off. They walked me back to the hostel. Along the way, I marvelled at the various lanes and small streets filled with quirky bars, beautiful fancy restaurants, and cute cafes! I really hadn't seen this side of Singapore before! I've only seen orchard and its surrounds but there is definitely way more to explore in Singapore after tonight. We took a selfie outside the hostel and parted ways.

I am so glad for my dad that the doctor thinks there is nothing serious following his medical emergency on Friday. Hopefully the CT would give my dad a good prognosis and he can continue on with his life. It's been a difficult year for him in terms of health. WIth his asthma and now this, we can only be thankful it is not worse than it already has been. I will continue to pray for him. I am also glad to have caught up with my friends. As I have said in my previous blog, I am just realising how important relationships are in my life. What is a life without meaningful and lasting friendships? Nothing. I feel so lucky to have stayed in touch with these friends and hopefully, we can maintain this friendship for the years to come. I am grateful because since I have been putting more effort into maintaining and developing friendships, I have noticed that I have been happier. Much happier. And I have God to thank for that.

Current Mood: happy
Current Location: Singapore

Shortly after praying the rosary one night, and ending with a prayer asking God to give me what He thinks is the best elective for me, I got the e-mail. The e-mail from Carolyn Cook. That name... It took me a few seconds to associate that name with the institution I wanted to go to for my electives so badly. It was regarding "Elective Decision" as the subject of the e-mail had read. I found out that Oxford was not meant to be. I felt crushed. I didn't expect the message to come this early. They said they would tell me towards the end of November... I wasn't mentally prepared. I felt sad. I felt hopeless. But then, the next day, I thought: I prayed to God before the e-mail came. Obviously He felt that Oxford wasn't the best choice for me. And I have come to terms with that. I prayed so that God would give me the best elective He thinks I can have. I am sure he has better plans for me even though it wasn't what I had hoped for initially. I have put my trust in him regarding this matter since. But one day, if it is His will, I still hope to study at Oxford or another major institution. For now, all I can do is trust in Him.

Current Mood: calm
Current Location: Jakarta

It's 10:30 at night and I've decided to make a blog (again)! After reading Miss Potter's blog entries about her medical elective experience at Oxford, I was inspired by the idea of recording memories in the form of a blog! It's easier than handwriting (though it's less traditional and personal) but it gets the job done. We'll see how far I go with this.

Anyways, here goes. From now I shall refer to you as friend. Because that's cliche and how it's supposed to be done.

Dear Friend,

I have been thinking a lot lately. Thinking of what you ask? Well, many things is the least I can say. I found myself in a very sad and lonely place for the past few months. I felt like after my breakup, I wasn't worth much, I didn't have many close friends, didn't have meaningful relationships with my family members, still did not know God very well, and I felt lonely more than anything. I think things started getting better when I called my sister. Finally found a way to call her from Australia - through purchasing Skype credit! Can't believe I didn't think of this earlier but oh well, better late than never hey? My sister, doesn't matter if it be in the form of her writing, or her voice, she always encouraged me to pray. Pray to God in a way that I talk to my friends. And so I did. I prayed more. I knelt infront of Mary's statue at church, I'd pray whenever I felt I needed God to hear something. "Oh God, I feel very lonely and sad. If this is my cross to bear, then I will bear it everytime, until you think I am ready to move on." I prayed to be happier, to have more meaningful relationships in life and view things positively. One day at church, I realised something very important. Perhaps the most important lesson in my life so far. It's okay to not be attached right now, eventhough all my friends seem to be getting into relationships the moment I had mine broken, it's okay. And it's okay to be lonely. Instead of being sad over being single, I should use this period to improve other aspects of my life. There is so much more than just dating. I can improve my relationships with friends, family, God, and also myself. Until I improve all these aspects of my life, I will be a happy single person. And when God deems me ready and mature enough, I am sure I will cross paths with that special someone. And so with this in mind, I made an effort to talk more to my friends. Whether it be the small random talks I have in the kitchen, or chatting in the dining hall, or sharing things with friends like my roast chicken to Vivien and Adeline, or just spending time with friends over dinner at CHat Thai, I tried more. I learnt that friendships depend not just on your friend, but also how much effort you put into that friendship. In hindsight, this seems obvious, but I am glad I recently recognised this. I also started making an effort talking to my parents more in the Whatsapp group and also when I Skype them. I always try to put on a smile and tell them funny stories. I also called my sister. A good piece of advice she gave me was that I should ask God what he wants from me. Surrender to his will. So I have been praying "what kind of doctor do you want me to be God? I will obey". My sister said I will be so happy one day, it's just that I have to know what God wants of me and pursue it. I agree with her. I wouldn't be in Medicine if it weren't for Him. She goes on to say that becoming a doctor is a calling. Very much like when she was called to the religious life, medicine is my calling. I am so glad I have my sister. Eventhough we are very far apart, I feel we've never been closer. I love you kak. I could never have asked for a better, more caring, and smart sister.

On another note, I really do hope I get into Oxford Medical Elective next year. or in early 2019. I have been praying every night. The only other people who knows I applied for it are my mom and sister. And they are both praying for me. My marks aren't very high but I put so much time and effort into my application. I hope the panel can see through my writing and recognise my desire and ambition to study at Oxford. What an experience it would be! Spending 4 weeks at the number 1 medical school in the world, and exploring Oxford! I can probably visit my sister too which is a big plus! Miss Potter seemed like she had such a wonderful time there during her elective many years ago, and reading her blog makes me want to go that much more! It will be during winter as well which would make it even more magical. I know my parents would be so proud of me if I manage to get in, and I really do want to surprise my dad (hence why I decided not to tell him). 24 more days at most until I find out if I am accepted into Oxford. They said they would let applicants know towards the end of November. Fingers crossed friend! I relish the prospect of learning from experts in their field, make new friends from UK and around the world, experience a different culture, and just travelling to new places! Sounds cliche but I feel like I need to travel in order to "find myself". Life has so much to offer, and I am just beginning to realise this fact.