DAY 809-829

Nov 19-Dec 9

1) Where to even begin? Soon after our final class on Nov 21, we've been bombarded with exams after exams, and as I'm typing this there is one last exam to overcome. We had our CNSLF "mid-semesters" exams on Nov 26, then our finals started on Dec 2, with an exam every other day. We've literally gone through three huge exams in just one week - REGUB, GIHEP, CNSLF (which we had today - on Saturday(!)), with the final exam (TM - Tropical Medicine) coming up in three days.

2) And of course, as the exams are all in the main campus (much to the delight of pretty much everyone else) I had to travel everyday from Beaumont to the city centre. Add to that the chilly and recently rainy weather and that's a lot to take in. The only small consolation is thanks to the tight schedule, we'll finish our last exam very soon. And that would be it - 2.5 years (or 832 days) in Dublin!

3) As I am returning to Malaysia early (on Dec 16th), I have very little time to say a proper farewell to Ireland. Nevertheless, I have planned trips and meals with friends to make the most of what little time I have left post-exam. It will be very difficult to say goodbye to everybody, but hopefully it's just a roundabout way of saying I'll be back.

4) Now, as they say, I need to get cracking again. Last Paper Syndrome cannot get the better of me; I have to finish strong! My sleep-deprived, running-on-fumes, caffeine-imbued self can only take so much, but it will nevertheless take me through the last mile of our exam marathon. And that's that for today's update - I really do not have the luxury of time anymore (just for now - I'll have loads of time after exams XD). Thanks very much for reading, and have a lovely week ahead. Cheers!

The last day of lectures - with Prof. Arnold Hill

(Professor and Chair of Surgery, RCSI)

The last day of lectures - with Prof. Leader

(Professor of Pathology, who taught us from IC1 right till the very end of our journey 

(for the Penang students I mean XD))

With Ms Tanya Chapple - the most helpful person for anything and everything 

societies-related

Claire, Monika, Lanny, and myself

- at Cafe Nero enjoying some light conversation before the nightmare of exams begins :))

The Moon was out in full force this rather chilly morning - I wait at this particular point every time I need to go to the main campus!

A fun fact: this is the first balloon I've actually inflated and tied off - I know it sounds strange but I've never done it before! XD

Promoting our Cancer Soc's Bake Sale - all proceeds would go to charity, specifically the Movember Foundation which aims to raise awareness on men's health and research.

(P.S. That is my handiwork)

Posing with Eddy the Elk - the new official RCSI Mascot!! ^^

All the decorations are up in preparation of Christmas! It's gonna be a big one :)

Contemplating life's many intricacies the night before our first exam (if I remember correctly - my sense of day and time has been lost)

Our CNS mid-sem exams were in Beaumont - the first time we had our exams in the recently renovated Smurfit Building

Probably the most fulfilling meal I've had in a long time - at Croi na B Cafeteria at  Beaumont Cafeteria (some day I'll be able to pronounce the name haha)

I'm going to miss this view very soon. It's so quiet and tranquil at night...

Trop Med - one last hurdle to go, and I'm free! 

(until the next semester of course haha)

   

DAY 758-767

Sept 30 - Oct 9

1) And just like that, another week has passed. A week which has seen me try my best to prepare for our "quiz" - worth only 20% for each module, but at this stage in our course, every single percentage counts. Tropical Medicine and GIHEP (Gastrointestinal Hepatology) were the two modules we were tested on, one after the other with no break in between.

2) Although it was only MCQs in this particular quiz, that didn't make it any easier, at least not for me. Sometimes it feels like no amount of studying would have prepared me for the type of questions asked. Anyway, as they say, that's a thing of the past. Now it's onwards to the next couple of tests in the coming month - REGUB (Renal, Endocrine, Genito-Urinary and Breast), and CNSLF (Central Nervous System, Locomotor, Forensics) - not to mention a pass/fail OSCE in between.

3) You'd expect a brief respite after racking our brains over those two exams in the morning - but as this is RCSI, nothing can be further from the truth. We had four hours worth of study after our exams, compounding to my misery of not having slept enough these couple of days. Plus as they've long started the other modules and I haven't really looked through any of them since I was too busy revising for this exam, I now have to play catch up for the rest of the week. As if I didn't have enough already haha.

4) Anyway, in a sort of ironic way, this is preparing us for reality. When it comes to patient wellbeing (and indeed, their lives), there is simply no excuse. The plus side is the semester seems to be flying by. It's hard to believe that we're deep into our second month, and about a third of the semester gone. Here's to more knowledge acquisition in the coming weeks/months, and to achieving our desired grades in our exams. That's it for this edition of my blog, and thanks as usual for checking in. Have a lovely week ahead, cheers! :D

Post exam "celebration" - lovely Beaumont staff cafeteria food :')

(l-r: Sarita, Joshua, Aliyah, Yours truly, Zi Yan)

Curry lamb with rice and carrots :)

Chicken and mushroom pie - this tasted really awesome :)

Vegetarian something with stuffing and carrots XD

My host mom Emma bought me this really fancy luxury chocolates after coming back from holiday!!<3<3<3

Fish and chips - a staple here in Ireland. Really fresh fish too ^^

And one more for the record :)

Day 650

June 13

1) Yet another fine day in the labs, and today I'm learning more about the equipment and techniques from Chris and the others. I've even started synthesising compounds to be used for further reactions. The routine is gradually starting to sink in - it's 8.30am in the labs, and then around 11.30am everyone makes a beeline for the cafeterias, and we're back in at around 1.30pm, after which we have dinner at 5.30pm.

2) It's a routine that is new to me, as I am not used to having lunch or dinner this early. But according to my friends, it is important to go early or the food in the cafeteria will run out, leaving less variety if you go late. So this afternoon, I went with Linda and her boyfriend to have lunch. In addition to the rice with three sides, I got some cold "mung bean soup" (綠豆汤) which made a very nice dessert in the hot weather. 

3) While chatting about our hobbies, I found out that many of them enjoyed playing badminton (in addition to table tennis) and they actually invited me for a round of badminton that evening! While I wasn't entirely dressed for the occasion, I wasn't about to miss an opportunity to play badminton, while at the same time getting to know each other better. So after our light dinner (just simple noodles with egg and tomatoes), we walked to the campus gymnasium. Turns out they only charge after 7.00pm, and that too a very reasonable 5 yuan per hour. 

4) We played doubles for the most part due to the lack of available courts and because there was so many of us. It was so fun playing badminton after more than a year of not picking up a racquet (my racquet string broke during a particularly intense game of badminton in Ireland last year and I have yet to replace it). We ended up playing almost three hours (from 6-9pm) and after that I was completely done! The long walk back home (around 35-40 min) felt even longer as my muscles ached from the vigorous activity. But it was a heck of a nice time that I had, and I'm looking forward to our meeting again next week. Until then, thanks very much for visiting my blog, and have a nice day. Cheers! :)

The Pharmaceutical Sciences Building

(I'm on the top floor :))

Rice with two meats and one veggie, accompanied by a nice cold dessert :)

Having lunch with Linda and her boyfriend

Noodles with egg and tomato - my dinner! ^^

My lab buddies (soon to be badminton buddies too ^^)

Unfortunately, I don't have pics of the gymnasium or the badminton courts, but I will in the future. :)

DAY 648

June 11

1) Today marks the first day of our work in the labs. We were told to wait for someone to pick us up at 8.00am at our apartment, and sure enough, Dr. Wang introduced himself to us and gave us a lift to the college campus. We were taken into the pharmaceutical building and given a tour of all five floors. I was informed that Prof. Long (who is my Principal Investigator for this research project) was not in and would not be back until around next week. Niamh's lab would be on the third floor, while mine would be on the fifth.

2) I was shown around the labs and introduced to all the lab members who were mostly PhD students and post-doc researchers. A PhD student, Chris, would be supervising my project and helping me settle in to the new environment. The first thing to get used to was all the chemical names were in Mandarin! Imagine re-learning the Periodic Table in Chinese. Thankfully, most of the bottles had an English translation as well, presumably for people like me haha.

3) Chris showed me around the labs and where all the equipment and apparatus were kept. He also showed me the chemical techniques that they used in the lab, and helped me understand these techniques better. Finally, he gave me some published articles regarding my project (which coincidentally, is also his thesis) to read and digest. Predictably, the papers were above my understanding, but it provided that bit of context needed to understand my research project better.

4) I found out that lunch is quite long here in the labs, and early too! (from 11.30am - 1.30pm). According to my lab mates, this is the time to have a nice meal and a quick nap, before resuming work till late at night! Yes, these poor researchers work till around 10.30pm each day. They most definitely deserved a long lunch to compensate. Anyway, for lunch, Dr. Hu and some research students went with me to the teacher's cafeteria, as I did not have a student card to eat at the school cafeteria.

5) For lunch (in the teacher's cafeteria at least), you get to choose a number of side dishes, which is served with steamed rice and a bowl of soup. You can also add beverages like soft drinks and yogurt. The rest of the day consisted of me observing Chris carry out his reactions (as I didn't have any of my own yet) and experiments. In the evening, Niamh and I went with another one of our Soochow friends, Ming Mei, who brought us to collect our student cards. Niamh then went home to have dinner while I had dinner with Mei. Then she helped me buy a SIM card for my phone, so I would have access to Wi-Fi in my room.

6) That is the gist of my day today, and hopefully you enjoyed reading about it. Thanks as always for visiting, and have a great day. Cheers! :)

Group photo with everyone :)

Introduction to Soochow University, in the meeting room

Having lunch with Dr. Hu and other lab mates

Finally got my student card! ^^

铁板饭 (hot plate rice with sausage and poached egg)

Dinner with Ming Mei

There's a StarBucks right here, just beside my accommodation