DAY 599-616

Apr 23 - May 10

1) After what I can only describe as an eternity, exam season has finally drawn to a close. Our three end-of-semester exams were on the 30th (Cardio-Respiratory), 3rd (Foundations in Pathology), and 9th (Foundations in Microbiology). This semester has not been an easy task, but I'm glad that it happened. It has made me realise that the pathway to any goal in life is never going to be easy, and that is exactly what makes it all worthwhile.

2) Finishing our exams, to me, is akin to moving from Jupiter to the Moon. Jupiter, with its strong gravitational pull - resembles my studies, and the constant nagging thought at the back of my head to stop whatever I am doing and resume studying. Au contraire, the Moon, with its relatively meagre gravitational force - represents the aftermath of my exam. There isn't any more central force keeping me in check, and I am free to explore and discover at my leisure.

3) There has been a drastic change in weather these past three weeks, with Dublin (and I'm sure, most of Ireland as well) experiencing a lovely burst of warm weather. In fact, the past few days have come very close to matching the weather back home... Speaking of home, the end of my exams also means that my parents will be coming to visit! In just three short days, I will be greeting them at Terminal 2, the same place we touched down on our first arrival to Dublin two years ago.

4) My dad informed me that he had a trip around Europe planned, but stopped shy of the details. "It'll be a surprise," he says. Indeed, the thought of reuniting with my parents after two long years brings more than enough joy to me - so everything else is just icing on the cake. I simply cannot wait :)

5) As for my plans for the summer, I applied - and was successful - in being selected for the International Research Summer School Programme. In the past years, there were four spots available each, for two universities (Hoshi University in Japan, and Soochow University in China). To my disappointment, funding was halted for the Japan programme, and the China programme intake was reduced to two. I can only count my lucky stars to be selected for this wonderful opportunity to do research over the summer in Soochow, China.

6) With the GE14 (Malaysia's 14th General Election) well and truly over, Malaysia has reached a decision. It is a decision that I believe many had hoped for, but not so many (myself included) believed would be possible. Vox populi vox Dei - "the voice of the people is the voice of God." The majority have spoken - let them be heard! :)

That has been roughly three weeks' worth of blog update. Thank you very much for visiting as always, and have a lovely week ahead. Cheers!

Marking my territory - in Beaumont Library

(frankly it's so empty here compared to the college library)

A vegetarian lasagna from Beaumont's Cafetaria

My host mom left this for me - I'm so touched <3<3

As you can see, there's really no one here :)

1784 is the name of the new cafe in the main campus

(they have a wide variety of food items which rotate every single day)

Such as this phyllo-wrapped rice pastry

(it kinda resembles ouzi)

Two falafel cakes served with pita, rice, and hummus, on a bed of greens :)

Fish and chips is my favourite at 1784

(loaded with a heapful of chips and mashed peas - it's heavenly!)

My post-exam meal - mushroom risotto with garlic bread and salad

(with an extra heapful of parmesan)

DAY 557-561

Mar 12 - 16

1) Another week has passed. Literally two weeks after our mid-semesters, we have our OSCEs, after which we have another CR exam (two weeks following). As a result, there's barely time for a breather, as we struggle to keep up with the lectures. At least the weather's looking a lot better now -warm and sunny, and longer daylight.

2) But one can only hope that this is not a foreshadowing of the calm before the storm. After all, Met Ireland reports the return of the "Beast from the East" later this week, with three warnings already issued for heavy rains and gale force winds, and an alert for flooding in parts. While we have been largely affected thus far, only time will tell if the impact will be as large as it was with the previous encounter with the storm.

3) On Monday night, I participated in the RCSI Model United Nations, a collaboration between the RCSI MUN Society with UNICEF Society - to organise a keynote speech/ MUN conference. The title was "Syria - Paving the Road to Peace. Our guest speaker, Dr. Bismar, is an orthopaedic surgeon who travels to Syria and other conflict zones on medical missions. He gave his keynote speech detailing his experiences while in Syria, after which it was time for us - the delegates - to draft out a resolution ("solution") to the crisis.

4) As the delegate of USA, the onus was on me to draft a resolution to be debated upon. Other delegates formed their own alliances as well, and proceeded to draft out their resolutions. All in all, it was an exciting and informative session, as I really broadened my understanding of the crisis plaguing the Middle East. Innocent lives were being lost in a proxy war that has been going on for years, yet the coverage has been startlingly lacking, and *dare I say it* we've become desensitized to such depictions of violence and brutality in these regions.

5) Ultimately, the event was a huge success, and we were given our certificates of participation. I took the night bus back to Beaumont, reaching at around 11pm  - Beaumont is far ): Anyway, that was the gist of my week (the rest was just studying, eating, not getting enough sleep etc), so thanks very much for dropping by. Have a great weekend ahead, cheers!

Delegates of the world

Delegate of the United States of America

Dr. Bismar - orthopaedic surgeon and guest speaker of the conference :)

Night by the Liffey

Group photo again ^^