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...