DAY 1848-1862

Sept 24 - Oct 8

1) For the past two weeks, things have been getting better - both for our country and for us as medical students. The average number of new Covid-19 infections per day has fallen by over 7,800 over the last three weeks, with today being the fifth consecutive day the cases were below 10,000. Considering at our peak, we were averaging well over 20,000 cases per day, I would call this a huge milestone. Indeed, things are looking much brighter now, as there are plans to lift the ban on interstate travel in the next couple of days, once  90% of the adult population have been vaccinated.

2) As for us medical students, we have been informed regarding the re-opening of campus on the 18th onwards. This is a very timely update as well, since we are now in final year, and usage of the library and other facilities will definitely help us through our final stage of medical school. For the past two weeks, my group has resumed clinical training in the orthopaedics outpatient clinics. As mentioned before, we have not been allowed in the wards yet, due to the high number of cases. But in the coming weeks, I am hopeful that at some point we'll be allowed back, as more Covid-19 wards are reverted back for normal use. 

3) Having completed our two weeks of orthopaedics posting (for Semester 9), we now have another two weeks in the surgery outpatient departments (SOPD), after which we have two more rotations - in medicine and public health, respectively. Having done half our the public health module in Semester 6 (Year 3), we will now complete the remaining half during Semester 9, and we will sit the final examination for Public Health as well. Next year, Semester 10 - our final semester - begins. We only have two large modules, medicine and surgery, which includes sub-internship (i.e. pre-housemanship) training as well. Barring any hiccups, there will be one last round of examinations at the end of Semester 10 - these are the final examinations for medicine and surgery. Thus concludes medical school in a nutshell.

4) It has been a really long ride, certainly made longer by my research year abroad. But at the end of the day, I keep telling myself that it will all be worth it. And with that, I'll end my blog post here. Take care, stay safe and stay happy. Cheers!

Dinner with my good friend Sim @ Sushi Tei, Gurney Plaza

A lovely view to the sea

Chicken katsu curry for dinner :)

This is my first dine-in at Gurney Plaza Food Hall in months. 

Feels great seeing people coming back.

Saba meal deal for lunch. Cheap as chips for just RM10 (~£2)!

DAY 673 - 675

Jul 6 - 8

1) These past couple of days have been quite similar actually. If you've noticed in the previous blogs, my adventures tend to peak in the weekdays, and fizzle out in the weekends. That is probably due to the lack of travelling that we get done during the weekends. And this weekend was no exception. I was in the labs on Saturday as usual, learning stuff and jotting down notes as I often do (I really can't remember things well so...) Anyway, it did dawn on me that my time here in Suzhou is coming to an end soon, and that I really should make the most of it other than just burying myself in the labs...

2) So in the afternoon, I took a sabbatical and decided to just walk around the huge campus, and to explore its many buildings. Indeed, I never entered any of them, but it was nice to just walk around and discover. As luck would have it, the weather has been absolutely perfect, especially on Saturday. The mild weather made it perfect for walking, as it meant one didn't get tired easily due to the heat.

3) As for what I did on Sunday, that's a bit lacklustre. I literally spent the whole day in the apartment, idling about and only leaving to get lunch and dinner from the convenience store. One of the main incentives for going to the labs (other than to meet with everyone and learn new things of course ^^) is to get access to good ol' (did I mention free? XD) WiFi. As it happens, they do provide WiFi in the dorm room, in the form of a cable that connects to the laptop. But because I use an Apple laptop, the cable is too large to fit properly! Just my luck then...

4) Anyway, I'll end on that note and let you enjoy some pictures of the beautiful campus. It's a huge university (by my standards anyway haha) so there's always something just around the corner, waiting to be photographed. Hopefully you can appreciate the natural, eco-friendly environment of the campus as much as I've enjoyed walking around exploring it. That's it for today, and thanks for visiting my blog. Have a great day, cheers! :)

Individual practice rooms for the music students

A little souvenir from our Hospital Visit :))

"香锅" - stir-fry hotpot - served with as much rice as you want, and soup :)

That's a lot of fire extinguishers if you ask me! 

Are they preparing for a huge fire? XD

"老干妈炒饭" - "Old Godmother" (a famous brand that makes chilli sauces) 

Fried Rice

10/10 would have again! ^^

Got to get those fruit/ dessert cravings satisfied

The Molecular Cancer Research Lab (3F) is where I currently lead a double life, alternating between this and the Medicinal Chemical Biology Lab (5F)

(Probably) my last taste of "烤鸭泡饭" - roast duck with rice soup (cut me some slack I couldn't do a better translation XD)

College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

The ever so majestic and lotus-shaped Binglin Library binglint

I honestly can't remember the name of this building haha but I am pretty sure it's about animal lab research

Every time I walk along the streets of Suzhou I am reminded of the care taken towards the environment, and in particular, the multitude of trees stretching as far as the eye can see

National University of Singapore Suzhou Research Institute (NUSRI)

A very appetising "onigiri" (おにぎり) - Japanese rice balls