离去

你留下的空隙，

何得以填补。

我转身的离去，

在眼泪和鼻涕中交错。

生活变得难以猜测，

唯有悄悄的消失。

思念与牵挂，

难免游走于两情之间，

爱情、友情。

依赖随时间,

而变得更加贪婪.

黎明，自有分晓。


奕斌
855pm

困·囧

两年，就这样过去了。
我还是我，
没有什么好消息，哈哈～
可是一切感觉上记忆犹新...

最近，
又困又囧。
唉...活动排山倒海，
学业糟透了。
要力挽狂澜，没那么简单了吧。
救命！
难道就要闭关吗?
AMSA WARD VISIT
SINAR BAKTI
AMSEP PHILIPPINES
AMSEP INDONESIA
AMSA HEALTH DAY
现在是5个活动一同进行，
我的妈啊！
吐血咯！
整十多份lecture note还没碰，
活动还是一样那么多。
我需要喘气啊 T.T
西洋棋，钢琴，甚至运动，
更免谈了。
为什么sem 4 这么忙的 >.<
想也没想到。

每天还那么堕落，
我很需要一点点的动力 !!

奕斌
1232am

GACC chess competition Day 5

Today , I did many silly things .

BUT I'M PROUD OF MYSELF ~!

1stly , woke up at 3am to study but ended up sleeping again at 630am.too tired.my head was just spinning. vertigo , they call it as in medical term.


2ndly, this must be the 1st time i did an exam in such a relaxed mood and , damn fast. haha... pon pon must be surprised that i only took 35 minutes to finish the paper. and guess what , yea , out of the 26 objective questions , i hardly know 10 XD dead meat ! No qualms though. GACC took out my time and energy to study. I remember the module coordinator saying ' this is stupid , u should prioritize ur studies 1st ' . haha...

3rdly , taking taxi to UM and arriving in 20 minutes from UKM KL . RM12. By the time I sat on the chair in tha playing hall , I had been late for 24 minutes.

But I'm happy that i drew my game , which gave me 20th place ! =) rmb that magic 20 ? My target !!



Check this out ! Number 20 ! ^^v


I fought for a draw in the last round and it was totally wise to rush to UM for the valuable half point. The January list of FIDE rating will be something I'm looking forward to . Drew with 3 players ( 2294, 2123 , 1992) and lost to 2 (2360 , 2065 ) .

My score for this tournament is 4-3-2. not a bad one afterall .hehe !


SNo is the starting seeding. In the 9 rounds , i played 5 players with ranking higher than me and scored 1.5 ; while scoring 4/4 against those ranked lower than me . Can't be more happy than this =)

well, this GACC had been a splendid tourney , the most satisfying one after MASUM 2010. hope that there will be more of these sweet moments to recall in the future.Thanks UKM , Thanks GorGor.


More details can be found here(men and women) , with all the pairings and results.

p/s: time to buck up in my studies =\ shit ...


yikping
418pm

GACC chess competition Day 4

下棋，除了看技术，还得看心理素质。
今天，我输了心理战，而且还是输给自己。
从昨晚开始的坏心情，
到今早倒霉事件累累，
加上自己调理不好的心情，
我败给了自己。
我准备的棋布没什么用到，
反而遇到的是昨晚来不及看的开局。
我一度想放弃，
因为扰乱的思绪根本不允许我专心。
我的‘复仇战’ 宣告失败。

今天的成绩，一胜一败，
只能说平淡无奇。
也因为昨天太累的关系，
专注力也有些分散，哈哈。

至于明天的第九轮，
也就是此比赛的最后一轮，
能不能够下场...
那就得看明天考试如何了 =\
我很想圆满地结束这一次的赛事。
唉...听天由命了

奕斌
819pm

GACC chess competition Day 1-3

Just came back from UM. 6 rounds of the tournament had passed, and yea , so far so good.Being very satisfied with my performance of 3 wins , 2 draws and a loss.

The pairings , cross tables and all the info about the tournament are on this link .

I managed to hold 2 Filipinos to draws , in which they are rated (FIDE) 2294 and 2123 respectively. The 1st was a bonus , losing as we transposed into the endgame ; while the second one was quite unfortunate since i have the initiative but did not managed to take home the full point. The wins , although not against highly rated opponents , were well worked for too. The lost, gosh...trashed by the FM. I just screwed my opening theory =P

I had enjoyed the tourney till this stage , giving me pleasant memories that marks another milestone in my illustrious chess career. I never liked chess so much than other things all along. This is the main reason i skipped 3 days of classes and risk failing the formative exam (my semester had started , and in week 5 now) due this monday.

Tomorrow will be a rest day which i hope to utilise to catch up . Come Sunday , it's back to chessing again =) Tough opponent awaits me.

Written briefly since I'm drained mentally and physically. A good night's rest awaits me ^^
[It just rained , it will be a splendid night to recharge]

yikping
955pm

GACC chess competition

Come tomorrow ( 9 more hours =.= ) , i will be in Universiti Malaya for the GACC Chess Competition . Well , I don't expect to win anything . A placing of above 20 will be good enough for me =)




This is the poster for the competition , 90min + 30 secs of 9 rounds over a space of 5 days. 1st and 4th day are registration and rest days.

MCF will be supervising. I registered this afternoon , saw some indian and sri lankans . huhu . It'll be fun to play against foreigners =)

All the best to me =) I will post more in the next few days (if time permits XD )

Bye ~

yikping
1136pm

AMSA Health Campaign

This is one recent post that was written by me , on the AMSA Malaysia Website

It had been there for some time though =)

It was about an event we organised in-line with the conference in Bangkok come January 2011


yikping
207pm

洋蔥沒有心，剝開一層又一層，什麼都沒有，若你仔細，所有辛辣味­都在每一片。

如果你眼神能够为我 片刻的降临
如果你能听到 心碎的声音
沉默的守护着你 沉默的等奇迹
沉默的让自己 像是空气

大家都吃着聊着笑着 今晚多开心
最角落里的我 笑得多合群
盘底的洋葱像我 永远是调味品
偷偷的看着你 偷偷的隐藏着自己

如果你愿意一层一层
一层的剥开我的心
你会发现 你会讶异
你是我最压抑最深处的秘密

如果你愿意一层一层
一层的剥开我的心
你会鼻酸 你会流泪
只要你能听到我看到我的全心全意

听你说你和你的他们 暧昧的空气
我和我的绝望 装得很风趣
我就像一颗洋葱 永远是配角戏
多希望能与你 有一秒专属的剧情

如果你愿意一层一层
一层的剥开我的心
你会发现 你会讶异
你是我最压抑最深处的秘密

如果你愿意一层一层
一层的剥开我的心
你会鼻酸 你会流泪
只要你能听到我看到我的全心全意

如果你愿意一层一层
一层的剥开我的心
你会发现 你会讶异
你是我最压抑最深处的秘密

如果你愿意一层一层
一层的剥开我的心
你会鼻酸 你会流泪
只要你能听到我 看到我的全心全意
你会鼻酸 你会流泪
只要你能听到我 看到我的全心全意

The taste of failure

Failure is a word rarely found in my dictionary.However , it struck me with a double blow today. I'm just lost again in the midst of life , biting dust perpetually. There were times when perseverance conquered over moody , but it certainly isn't the case this time.

Since I came back from hometown , I have been enduring a tough ride as things seem to go against my way. Life , studies , then AMSA.

The bad day started off with CSL today. Well , I'm not condemning , but , to get a radiologist to teach us clinical skills seem to be way off . My mentor was dedicated in teaching but I do not really favour a clinician who hasn't been in contact with patients to guide me along. I really miss Dr. Melvin K , my previous mentor who was wonderful in all aspects with a great sense of humour. OK , I didn't really enjoy the session since it was quite monotonous and dry. The days where I look forward towards CSL might just be the times of past.

CSL had already done quite a sustainable amount of damage , let alone the ward visit thingy...
The AMSA pediatrics ward visit suffered another hiccup today when i was informed that the venue we were going to use wasn't available due to lack of staff. In short , we have to postpone the visit to another date . It had happened once before last semester. As the director , I am very annoyed and disturbed by another postponement . Is it that I hadn't done enough? I admit i did what i can , although not to the extreme . It's hard to swallow.

Tough times are looming up . GACC chess competition , AMSEP and Formative examination . It's a triple kill that might just turn out to be the worst period of semester 4 . I'm doomed , stymied and lost. I just want to be alone . Music will help me through this. I seriously miss you , and those days that , although fake , I still treasure deep in my heart

Yik Ping
642pm

回家

刚刚踏入家门，心情是七上八下的。三天前才在槟城，现在已回到KL了。天空开始亮了，这座城市也缓缓的蠕动着...

说到回家，老实说，这是第一次计划不到我的行程。人算不如天算，认命了！原以为有五天的小假期，变成了现在的两天周末。这样回去，有点傻，不过，奈何? lecturer 放飞机，说要cancel class的时候，我已经买票了勒...要更动时间的是你，反悔的，也是你...唉...其次，今天有AMSA活动需要办，得去HUKM一趟。这通电话，还是我在回槟城的巴士上接到的，炸到....就这样，‘沧海桑田’的周末，弄得我头晕晕.现在变得好像我只回家参加西洋棋比赛。别以为我赤热，只是其他两天（今天和明天）的假期提前结束。

这趟回家，看来也是农历新年前的最后一次了。接下来的日子，可没那么好死咯～没有小假期了...因为不想当傻瓜，只回那两三天，匆匆忙忙...这次回家，基本上都有把‘任务’完成：去 PC fair , 打球，比赛，剪头发，见朋友...不过可笑的是，notes带回家摆美，又带了回来 XD

参加的那西洋棋赛，其实只是热身赛。希望借此机会为下个星期的GACC做准备。届时将有不少手到universiti malaya 切磋棋艺。我比了四场，全胜，不过由于是团体赛，单靠个人力量是不够的，哈哈...我们与奖品擦身而过。没关系,热身赛嘛....已经有一段时间没回到槟城比赛了。这回，看见以前的小弟弟小妹妹们都长大长高了。哈哈...都中学了，不像昔日小学般蹦蹦跳跳.嘻嘻

身在KL,象征着忙碌的日子又来临了。加油！考试加油！西洋棋加油！生活加油！我能的 =)

奕斌
712am

放不下·

刚刚冒着雨回家，心中显然有点不满，但现在气也消了...
不过....

你几时才要还我雨伞??!! 屌 !

今天，去找它，看着它，心情七上八下....
唉~十个月...有点可惜。
我们在一起的日子，
是充满颜色的。
恐怕，现在就会失去那手感...
我们以后会不会再见面?
要放下，有事没那么简单...
让时间冲淡一切,
谢谢你陪我的日子，别了.

奕斌
708pm

心情不好时就来看看这篇文章

* 学会 沉默

有 时候，你被人误解，你不想争辩，所以选择沉默。本来就不是所有的人都得了解你，因此你认为不必对全世界喊话。却也有时候，你被最爱的人误解，你难过到不想 争辩，也只有选择沉默。全世界都可以不懂你，但他应该懂，若他竟然不能懂，还有什么话可说?生命中往往有连舒伯特都无言以对的时刻，毕竟不是所有的是非都 能条列清楚，甚至可能根本没有真正的是与非。那么，不想说话，就不说吧，在多说无益的时候，也许沈默就是最好的解释。

* 至少 平静

在 你跌入人生谷底的时候，你身旁所有的人都告诉你：要坚强，而且要快乐。坚强是绝对需要的，但是快乐?在这种情形下，恐怕是太为难你了。毕竟，谁能在跌得头 破血流的时候还觉得高兴？但是至少可以做到平静。平静地看待这件事，平静地把其他该处理的事处理好。平静，没有快乐，也没有不快乐。

* 学会弯腰

这 会是我意外的收获 和别人发生意见上的纷歧，甚造成言语上的冲突，所以你闷闷不乐，因为你觉得都是别人恶意。别再耿耿于怀了，回家去擦地板吧。拎一块抹 布，弯下腰，双膝着地，把你面前这张地板的每个角落来回擦拭干净。然后重新省思自己在那场冲突，所说过的每一句话。现在，你发现自己其实也有不对的地方 了，是不是?你渐渐心平气和了，是不是?有时候你必须学习弯腰，因为这个动作可以让你谦卑。劳动身体的同时，你也擦亮了自己的心绪。而且，你还拥有了一张 光洁的地板呢。这是你的第二个收获。

* 不要想 如果 当初

你说，人生是一条有无限多 岔口的长路，永远在不停地做选择。如果只是选择吃炒面或炒饭，影响似乎不大，但选择读什么科系、做什么工作、结婚或不结婚、要不要有孩子，每一个选择都影 响深远，而不同的选择也必定造就完全不一样的人生。你又说，生命中不可承受之情，就在于人生没有重来的机会啊。如果当初如何如何，现在就不会怎样怎 样...这种充满怅然的喃喃自语，还是别再多说了吧。每一个岔口的选择其实没有真正的好与坏，只要把人生看成是自己。独一无二的创作，就不会频频回首如果 当初做了不一样的选择。

* 努力吧

不管成功与否 至少曾经美丽 漫步林间，你看见一株藤蔓附着树干，柔软与坚实相互交缠，你感动于这静美的一幕。让幸福与归属就此驻足吧。你想。不知未来会有怎样一番风雨 摧折？也许藤将断、树会倒，也许天会荒，地将老。你又想。那么，请时光停格在此刻吧。停格即是永恒。永恒里若有这静美的一刻，未来可能遭遇的种种

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=166002603440461&id=107021296006828

钱景

想不到我又会陷入进退两难的情况....

最近，又开始堕落了。读书的进度缓慢下来，头脑不清醒，老是想那些有的没的。很多琐碎的事情接踵而来，有时都不知该如何是好。谈起周杰伦的演唱会....两百元的入门票，不是说想付就付的。一百元的，还好，但是怕什么都看不到。突然想找份工来赚钱，毕竟额外开支是由自己出的。绝对不会向爸爸讨钱。我就是那么坚决。除了演唱会，还有一些需要钱的地方。唉...自己找来的。也许，这几件事情，钱景不乐观之余，还扰乱了我读书的情绪...

偶尔会想，长大了，不可以老是拿不定主意，就闹情绪，上facebook诉苦。要以成人的思想解决自己的难题。不过，涉及钱...一时也无能为力。不是没有钱，只是不舍得花,额外的钱...'buta'掏出六百元，不是说给，就给的。

我实在，放不下....>.<


奕斌
953am

Tired but satisfied

Yep ! I have finally finished blogging about AMSEP Philippines 2010.
It took me 2 days but i enjoyed the moments when i browse through the pictures , giving me a sense of nostalgia. See you guys soon ~ =)

AMSEP Philippines 2010 reflection

Had been in Malaysia for 2 days but my heart is still with my Philippine friends =X It had been a great week with them throughout the AMSEP program and I did not have any regrets in joining this student exchange program.

Frankly speaking , I was quite reluctant to attend this exchange program at the beginning since the toll of the exam was felt . I went to the interview with the mindset of learning something in the holidays but then i felt that the holiday was so short . There just seem to be so many things looming up for the holidays and i was due to Philippines for 8 days. But i managed to persuade myself to go for the exchange . Since i never attended any exchange programs before this , I didn't know what to expect in the Philippines.

Well , so I went to the Philippines with a thousand thoughts in my mind. How would life there be ? Will i really enjoy the exchange program ? My doubts were answered by the subtle hospitality by the Filipinos.

I was really touched deeply in my heart by the hospitality of the Filipinos during the 8 day stay there. For the first time away from my hometown , i felt like home. At times i really thought what i can do to repay their kindness and their unwilling sacrifices to make us delegates so homely . Thanks to Dalvie especially , the AMSEP officer , as well as his team of dedicated and committed AMSEP members. I was never hungry day or night throughout the program. There is just simply so much food at stake. We were always asked whether we needed to go somewhere we wished to , or whether we want something else to eat . I will always remember Dalvie saying ' have more ' , ' is it delicious' . Those moments will be always etched in my mind forever .

The Philippines is an archipelago , comprising of 3 main islands namely the Luzon , Visayas and Mindanao . The Filipino official language is Tagalog but English can be used as medium of communication. I liked the way they speak . Although the slang is quite hard to understand at first but the English they use is perfect (no Manglish , broken English and sort of things...) The Phlippines , as an Asian country , has many similarities with Malaysia , in terms in the people and the landscape. There have been people speaking Tagalog with me , thinking that i am an Filipino =) The city of Manila share many similarities with Kuala Lumpur in the sense of the weather , which is hot and humid. However , the traffic jam and the drainage system is rather terrible. The massive jam makes our journey through the city streets a tough one. More than often , there will be inconsiderate drivers cutting the queue and sounding their horns randomly. However , i still like Manila ^^

Speaking on the curriculum...I can only say that the medical curriculum in UP Manila is awesome , although their method of teaching is lecture centred , unlike in UKM where we were supposed to look up for the details on our own. Another interesting i noted is that the 1st years learn all their anatomy thoroughly , and by 2nd year , they are should have known their anatomy by heart. They had a whole friday of dissection hall session starting from 8am till 5pm. Moreover , they have to dissect their cadever on their own . Only the skull is cut open by the lab assistants . Hence, they have the luxury to explore the contents on their own . I envy them a lot ! Back here , we just get to see the dissected parts , and only for an hour . too bad ~ I also noticed that the students in UP Manila are very disciplined and self motivated . Their time table is twice as pack as what we have and yet we are complaining ! salute ~

Overall , i felt that the most enjoyable part in this program is not the sightseeing part nor the academic part . But rather the moments where we have lunch and dinner , where we get to meet together and have little chats. I will always cherish those moments with my new friends. I am already missing all of them despite just being home here for only 2 days. You all gave me the best memories ! On the most memorable session , i would say that the visit to the PGH was a very enriching experience. It has a strong and rich history behind its establishment . 103 years of establishment and it has already built a name for it in the Philippines . I just hope to be in the PGH for my internship...

Such a memorable experience certainly is a memorable one . But how could i ever forget one that build ties among medical students from different countries . I want to go back to the Philippines ! Meet you all ! ~~~ Take care friends , all the best in your future ^^

THANK YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN !
as another chapter of my life unfolds...

AMSEP Philippines day 7

Day 7 was our last day in the Philippines as our flight back to Malaysia was scheduled at 1120am tmr. Had a satisfying breakfast again in Dalvies with Hadi , Isma and Azhar . Met with Renzo , 4th year UPCM student , also the AMSA Philippines Co-president !

He took us round the hospital telling us about the history of foundation as we walked along . The PGH was a product of the American Colonization and was founded at 1907, 11 years after they landed their foot in the Philippines . The UPCM was founded at 1905 , 3 years before the UP Manila was founded. The PGH had 4 blocks , namely the general OPD , Sentro Ophthalmologico (Ophthal centre) , Orthopedic and the Main building . The OPD was donated by the Japanese while the Sentro was donated by the Spanish . There are 16 wards to accommodate the huge amount of patients . According to the PGH director , which we met later in the afternoon , PGH received 5% of the total Philippines population , although there are some 1500 hospitals nationwide . Just imagine the crowd expected in PGH everyday. If there are more stalls set up along the corridors , you can might self call it market. It's really really crowded. Patients have to wait up to a year for the next follow up , or even share beds. Now you know how it is like...

I enjoyed my chat with Renzo , which included the topics of climate change towards public health , AMSA activities as well as some medical knowledge. We toured the rehab centre and the psychiatry ward for the 1 hr 30 min slot before returning to UPCM at 10am. The session was very enriching especially when Renzo conveyed his fascinating ideas and thoughts.

We headed to the Plasticine room at the Anatomy Department while waiting for the other group to join us . We went to Sasha's house for lunch . It was packed Jollibee - Chicken Joy , as they call it. Her house was so wonderful and cosy but we had to leave to meet the dean of med school . We managed to meet 2 assc Deans as the Dean was busy with his office matters. They were both very friendly people =) We also noticed that our UKM Dean , Prof Datuk Dr. Lokman Saim was at the UPCM for an international conference regarding temporal bone dissection but we were not able to meet him , sadly... To meet someone from my own country abroad will certainly be exciting , especially when its our own Dean !

The most interesting session of all day was the dissection hall session with the 1st years ^^ They were in the GIT module when we joined them . I had a chance to took a peek at the gross anatomy of the GIT even before classes start . Unanimously , we will be having our GIT module once school reopens. Nevertheless , I did more chatting with my new friends rather than discussing on what was happening on the cadever . Their dissection hall was small , with 16 tables ( and cadevers ) for the students to use . Every 6-8 students shared one cadever . The interesting part was that they have to dissect everything on their own . And they are only in their 1st year of medical school ! I really hoped that i have a chance to dissect my own cadever....T.T It was so fun opening layer by layer and removing the fascia to undercover the structures in the GIT . Before the GIT , they had already removed the lung and the heart .

We met up with some students from the Uni Of Santo Thomas , which also had AMSA and AMSEP members . The meeting with them was a real fun one but we had only approximately 3 hours before bidding them goodbye. I wished that i would be able to visit their uni one day and have more interaction with them . We walked around old Manila and along the Manila Bay . We dropped by Robbinsons for a birthday celebration for Joanna Choa .

Our farewell dinner was at Chimoms house. It was rather small ( considering she stays alone) but still had ample space to contain all of us . As usual , there was lots of food and Dalvie will be going around asking us 'is it nice' and 'have more' . haha....We had lots of fun and conversations . Most of us gave feedback on the program . Thanks to AMSEP Philippines for all the sacrifices they had made , and all the effort in order to make this program a great success. I really felt at home with your hospitality . After the souvenir exchange and karaoke session , we proceeded to the hotel to pack our stuff.

Miss you guys ~ AMSEP Philippines fr UPCM and UST =) may we meet again some other day ~

AMSEP Philippines day 6

11/11/2010
Thursday

We started our day by having breakfast at McDo before leaving for UPCM ( Uni Of Philippines College of Medicine) . We were divided into groups to carry out the activity in the morning. I was paired up with Valerie . Since our facilitator wasn't free at the moment , we joined the 2nd years in their lecture slot for half an hour . It was on Immunology , some creepy stuff i learnt and studied 8 months ago. So it was somehow like a recap on what i did during my 1st year =) I liked the lecture , perhaps due to the new environment. The lecture was conducted it in english anyway . A glance of the lecture hall made me recall my campus back in Malaysia how privileged we are . Being the top university in the Philippines , the lecture hall is rather small with a capacity of around 170 seats. The good thing being in such a small hall is that all the students seat nearer to each other which will foster better ties among classmates. They are a cheerful lot than we are as they are close to their pals. In my hall , we sit in groups scattered among the 700 capacity hall

The lecture was wonderful and i was so happy to be given the chance to be in the class with them. If i had a choice , i would want to be transferred there and study with them XD . Sadly , we had to leave at 9am as Karlo , my facilitator for the day , was bound to bring us around the PGH for the morning slot. He is a UPCM 3rd year medical student. We chatted a lot about our differences and similarities. I enjoyed the dialogues between us , especially when we were discussing about the medical curriculum and the health care system in our respective countries. He was posted to the pediaritics ward. I joined his group mates in carrying out the ROR session with the children.

ROR , or reach out and read , is a program to instill reading awareness among the children with the help of the medical students as well as personnel . More info can be found at its website. Basically the medical students will use an empty space to carry out this activity . Through this activity the children , mostly <5 years old will not have to endure the waiting in the confines of the hot and noisy hospital condition . Basically the children will sit on a mat while the students read out the short stories and communicate with them.

Went to Chowking in Robbinsons for lunch , which was so packed with people. The crowd during lunch hour in the mall was damn huge and everywhere was so congested ! Medical students as well as students from other colleges can be seen here and there as we negotiate our way pass the crowd , especially in the franchises.


This photo was taken at the 1st row of the hall . The medical students are required to put on their special uniform specially assigned for them . ( To avoid confusion when they enter PGH )

We continued our day by attending lectures with the 2nd years from 1pm to around 4pm. 3 hours passed so fast even without a feeling of boredom. I just think its the new environment that makes me more alert and attentive in lectures. The longest stretch of lectures i had was only 2 hours. The topic was about hypersensitivity and autoimmune diseases. Took down some interesting notes which were delivered by the lecturer. We even had a group photo with their lecturer.

Took a look at their dissection hall before moving on to the Mall Of Asia , purportedly the largest mall in the Asia Pacific Region . We played 'water balls' 1st before doing some shopping (that's what we liked the most =P )in a souvenir shop . The water ball game was very tiring and due to the limited oxygen content in the ball , it's really hard to breathe and I also felt a little dizzy . Respiratory acidosis ? haha....The mall of asia was very grand and big but we didn't get to tour the whole mall due to time constrains ( and since we used around 1 hour just for shopping....) . The malls in the Philippines were all so nice and cosy that i just felt like going there again just to hang out in their malls XD Seriously we didn't really tour around any of the malls since we were more interested in buying souvenirs and gifts.hehe... But that's satisfying enough ~ Dinner was in yellow cab , a pizza franchise . Reached our hotel by 11pm , ready for a good nights sleep !

AMSEP Philippines day 5

Rose early in the morning coz we r due for a long journey today. Had a sumptuous breakfast at Dalvie's . Thanks to Dalvie's mum for the effort. We arrived at 645 and breakfast is already served on the table waiting for us.

Met the others at the UPCM and took a jeepney to intramuros.The jeepney is like a jeep , only found in the Philippines .See more of it here. They frequent a few places like a bus , but has the characteristic of a taxi where you can just stop them at the roadside. It is relatively cheap and thus the most popular transport in the Philippines.

Took a walk to the Intramuros by passing by the Manila Post Office , the biggest one there . Visited the Manila Cathedral Church , the biggest one there too. There is even a pipe organ inside =) continued our journey to the Fort Santiago. Intramuros , by its name known as the city behind the walls , paints the picture of the era of Spanish Occupation for 333 years until 1898. The buildings and the streets are filled with the colours and characteristics of Spain. In Fort Santiago , where their national hero , Dr. Jose Rizal was kept as an inmate before his sentence. I think the pictures will speak better than words here =)



Lunch at greenhills about an hour drive from the Fort Santiago. We were supposed to be shopping at the Greenhills for souvenirs but sadly it was closed. We only managed to visit the mall before leaving. There was rain as we headed to the Manila Ocean Park and that caused some low land areas to flood. I noticed that the drainage system is rather unconvincing though XD

Reached Ocean World and did some shopping (as we always craved for !). Found some interesting stuff there. We shopped till 430 and then proceeded to watch the American Sealion performance under the slight drizzle . The sealions were very obedient in following the instructions of their trainers. The crowd were literally amazed when they mimicked the actions of their trainers such as shaking hands , saluting , dancing... The glass boat and the aquarium visit made up the rest of the time we stayed inside. Dinner was at a restaurant there where we bid farewell to the 1st years who had to go back early for their exam on friday. What a pity...Btw , my memory card ran out of memory and had to use Valerie's...haha

That's me^^ in the tunnel , surrounded by fish , in Manila Ocean World

Visited the Rizal Memorial , the place where he was executed . Watched the Philippines map on the river =) , although it was dark. Tired day ~ did a lot of walking

AMSEP Philippines day 4

Tuesday
9/11/2010

Late for breakfast....haha , so we arrived at the museum by taxi . but ....what a jam. the traffic here is horrible . yea...same goes to Kuala Lumpur in its rush hour. no complains =)

visited the children museum since the 'adult' museum (national museum) is closed. Nothing much inside since it's a children museum XD so we took the lrt to tayuman from UN ave. The lrt was so sardin-packed with people. It's just like the KTM situation in Malaysia during rush hours. Security check had been tightened up as we were required to open our bags for security check whenever we enter malls , lrt , fast food franchises....

OK, so we got down the station and had a short walk to the DOH ( department of health ) where we met with Dr Florence , who is the representative of UN-WHO. I liked this session because it made me more aware of the health situation in Philippines as well as how the WHO works. Anyway , it is what i get to implement from my 2nd year Medicine and Society Studies =) I was also informed that the top cause of mortality in the Philippines is postpartum hemorrhage , or in layman terms , excess bleeding after delivering a child. The health situation in the Philippines is that the health care has not been reached out to the rural areas. While the rich and the city folks enjoy the benefits of high quality medication , more than often , those that are far away from the major cities are neglected.
Public health on re-emerging or existing disease is the main focus of the DOH now.

Below is the group photo with Dr. Florence


Had lunch at goldilocks cafe in Robbinson's Mall. Rained slightly on our way to the president's office (Malacanang Palace) where the histories of the past presidents and governors can be found. The spokesman was really fantastic in explaining everything in detail. We toured the place according to chronology , from the reign of the Spaniards lasting for 333 years , to the American Colonisation and the Japanese Occupation. I can regard that as one of the most enriching sessions throughout the program where history of the Philippines is concerned.

The journey to greenbelt was a bad one because of the severe jam coupled with the cramped space i was provided in the van. I really sighed relief upon reaching greenbelt. As i observed the situation of the traffic jam , i noticed many drivers who were not too aware of courtesy and manners. They horn perpetually and inconsiderately even though there is no headway , while others cut the queue. Had dinner there and did a little shopping before heading back to rest .

Anyway , i was clad in formal clothing for the whole day as i didn't really have time to change into something more comfortable =| haha~

AMSEP Philippines day 3

Had a great sleep =)
woke up at 9am. took some shots around the bungalow.
It was such a pleasant morning to kick off the day. The bungalow is situated in a nice garden , with the view of the sea seen from the balcony. No pollution and sounds of vehicles made this place a great place to relax !

Headed to Manila (finally~!) after an early brunch. Stopped at the rest area along the expressway for lunch in Pizza Hut . One of the pizza had a mixture of 6 types of cheese , just the best tonic for a cheese lover like me ^^ The rest area is very clean , even the restroom is kept in such a good condition. I'm totally impressed !




Topped up my mobile credit before heading to St Luke's Medical Centre. That hospital was just established in global city centre less that a year ago , allegedly early in this year. It is a 5 star hospital. Damn nice and luxurious. I can regard it as a hotel with medical facilities. That sounds more appropriate than calling it a medical centre =P There are even shops and franchises like the starbucks at the ground floor. We had the opportunity to see the most extensive therapy they can provide for the patient as long as money's not a matter.


By the time we left St Luke's it was already 5pm. We proceeded to Market!Market! , which is actually a mall instead of a market. Did some shopping after dinner . The mall had been decorated for Christmas. Although Christmas is due in more than a month , but the Filipinos have been putting up the decorations quite early since Christmas is considered a major festival in the country. Around 80% of the population are Catholics.

Brisk walked after lunch to Bonifacio High Street where we entered the 'fully booked' bookstore. Fully booked is its name. This is the only bookstore there that provide chairs and facilities for the public to read there. There are 4 stories all together, making it the largest bookstore i have ever seen XD


Market! Market! seen from a far

Fully booked

We arrived at our hotel quite early for a good rest. Changed to a larger room to accommodate me , lua and hadi. Life in The Philippines was certainly getting more wonderful !

AMSEP Philippines day 2

Met up at University of Philippines , Manila (UP) at 8am before heading to Tagaytay City where the famous Taal Volcano is situated. More info can be found here.


Taal Volcano , Tagaytay City


Tagaytay City greeted us with a cool breeze that immediately brushed away all the drowsiness due to the long distance traveling . Had many pictures with the breathtaking view behind us. It is allegedly one the coldest places in The Philippines. The sun stroke us gently just like a normal Sunday morning although it is already 11am.

Had an early lunch as we prepare for more traveling. Met up with more 'new' faces and had an interesting lunch session with the Filipinos. I started to be more 'acclimatised' to speak more and mix around more freely. Lunch was fantastic with sisig =) But what made the lunch merrier were the dialogues between us.

Travelled to Batangkas which boasts one of the best beaches in The Philippines. And the long travelling we had to do paid off handsomely as i step out of the van. The sand was finer than salt perhaps and the whole long stretch of the beach was a fascinating view itself. Sadly , the waters seem to be little murky =| The afternoon sun of 2pm was so scorching that i had to seek shade under the trees to play frisbee. Eventually the sun became more gentle , giving me the opportunity to wade into the sea. This is also my 1st time swimming in the sea =) (didn't stick my head in the water though) . Came up and opt for the swimming pool instead before gathering back at the hut for some card games.

We stayed in a rented bungalow as night falls. The house is sooooo nice ! there are many pics of it on my fb . We had a sumptuous dinner ( there was marinated bangus ! yummy ! ) thanks to all the guys involved in preparing the meal. I liked the smores too =) . Basically its marshmallow with chocolate and biscuits , baked in the oven. We also celebrated birthday boy -- YinSan's birthday. Happy birthday ~ =)

The following session was something very interesting , to me at least , when we got to know more about the Philippines. There was an intro to the country (only did i know there was a national tree - nara ; national bird - eagle ; fruit - mango ; hero - jose rizal ; flower - sampaguita ; fish - bangus ) cant really rmb if there are more XD . Ado came up with a very informative slide show on the healthcare in The Philippines . There were also intro to AMSA Philippines , hap-hap hooray ....Slept at 12am

AMSEP Philippines day 1

My facebook has lots and lots of pictures . 1000+ of them for all the 8 days i was in The Philippines. So , have a look at them . this will be mostly in words =)

So this was how the 1st day went....

Had to wake up very early , 315am to be exact . Headed to KTSN , KTDI and lastly to the LCCT in sepang. Our Air Asia flight was scheduled at 720am . We arrived almost just at time , and that means no breakfast =\ Had to buy some pie from the bakery which cost me RM7.90 ( which i bet i can get for RM 4 perhaps...) Well...this is my 2nd time on the flight but still very excited about it . The last time i took one was in 2006 when i headed to Kota Kinabalu with my family.

We arrived at Clark , Philippines , with a nice cloudy weather welcoming us at the Macapagal Airport. The climate there is totally the same as in Malaysia - hot and humid . The fresh air that surrounded me just gave me the feel of home =) Dalvie and co were there outside waiting for us anxiously. Seriously , the 1st day in the Philippines wasn't that awesome yet , partly because i was quite tired due to the long traveling from one place to another. Never did i know that this program was so awesome in the next few days.

So we went to the Nayong Philippines in where the replica of the American and Spanish Colonization can be found. Its location in Clark makes it the 1st place we will visit after touching down. In the process of sightseeing and having lunch together ( we had McD , but in Philippines it is called McDo {pronounce it as 'Mc Duh'} ) . The icebreaking session somehow cleared the gloomy mood around me and i started to be more attentive. I am a person who is a slow starter , always...So i needed some time to be able to mix around freely with other people. But the lunch session cheered me up at least =)

Headed to Subic where the Night Safari is located . It is the home of the white tigers. Since the zoo is in Subic , it is hence named Zoobic . The journey was a long one , lasting around 2 hours . Along the way , i managed to see the green hills , the paddy fields and of course , the remains of the volcanic larva , as it made a trail from the mountains , crossing the green fields heading towards the other side. The landscape is no different than in Malaysia where you can see green hills and paddy fields in the outskirts of the city. The road leading to Zoobic was quite a small one but we managed to reach safely. I managed to get a glimpse of the white tigers close up by 'venturing' into their 'home'. We took a jeepney , which had metal grillings around it to protect us inside. There will be a feeder who will bait the tiger so that it will get near to us. I was just less than a foot from the tiger anyway !

Darkness quickly set in at around 6pm . And by 630 , you can hardly see the trails (imagine 8pm in malaysia) . In the Philippines , the day brightens up early and darkness sets in early too , although there is no time difference with Malaysia. We went to the museum as well as the crocodile pond. We also saw the native tribe dance before heading out of the zoo. This was the 1st time i was so close to wildlife as i live in the cities of Georgetown and Kuala Lumpur. Superb experience anyway~

We travelled (again~) to Gerry's Grills , which took another 1.5-2 hours . Tasted the sisig and bangus for the 1st time in my life. They were awesome Filipino food. The sisig can be cooked with either chicken , fish , beef or pork while the bangus or milkfish , is the national fish of The Philippines. It really tastes like milk although milk is not added in preparation of it. All of us were so full and satisfied tnx to Dalvie and co =)

Heading back to Manila{travelling again...} where i will be staying took us another some 2-3 hours but luckily Dalvie was there accompanying me chatting throughout the whole journey. We talked a lot , from academics to personal hobbies and to politics. It really helped ease the traveling boredom that i had for the last 2 trips (cause everyone was simply busy catching 40 winks =P )

We stayed in Manila Monor Hotel , which is not too bad for the night. Lights off at 1am after a tired day.

Intro to AMSEP Philippines 2010

AMSEP , also known as Asian Medical Student Exchange Program , creates opportunities for international preclinical exchanges between AMSA international countries. More info can be found here

I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the delegates to represent Malaysia in this exchange program , which was held from 6th to 13th of November. We will be welcomed by the AMSEP members from the Universtity of Philippines in Manila. 10 Malaysians will be going to Manila while 10 Filipinos will be visiting us just before Christmas.

The purpose of this exchange is to broaden our horizons as well as get to know medical students from other countries since the classes are conducted in different methods.Some aspects that are covered in this exchange program are social , academic and cultural

Selected delegates do not have to worry about expenses abroad since the host will pay for accommodation , food and fare tickets. All we have to pay is the air ticket , and of course own expenses like buying souvenirs , top-up the mobile credit and stuff like that. Hence , we will also do the same when we play host to them in a months time.

yikping
413pm

New Blog !

Wordpress sucks...yea
Hopefully blogspot will give me more fun in blogging =)
Happy birthday blog !

btw,my old blog is
http://yikping89.wordpress.com/

yikping
351pm