DAY 697-699

July 30 - Aug 1

1) As the days roll by, my 2-month stint in Suzhou, China is coming to a close. For me it is a bittersweet moment - perhaps in many ways more bitter than sweet. For these two months, I have assimilated into a completely different culture than I am used to, made so many new friends and connections, learnt so much both in the labs and out of, tried so many new things, and experienced so much... all of this will remain ingrained in my memory for years to come.

2) July 30 - This evening, my lab mates/ seniors/ friends from the Medicinal Chemical Biology Lab invited me over for dinner. We went to Wenxing Plaza (文星广场), to a restaurant called "Youjia" (有家). This restaurant, according to them, specialises in "Suan Cai Yu" (酸菜鱼) - hot and sour fish with pickled mustard greens. We ordered two main dishes, both of them fish - along with some side dishes. They certainly weren't lying about the taste - the most tender fish slices poached in a rich broth made from chicken stock, fish stock, and Sichuan pickles - absolutely out-of-this-world delicious! And sitting together, the nine of us, engaging in small talk over what would be our second last meal together - that was quite emotional...

3) July 31 - This afternoon, Niamh and I were required to deliver a PowerPoint presentation on our research work here. It was the first time I got to listen to Niamh's research in detail, and it is really interesting. We presented our work to both Dr. Wang and Dr. Deng, as well as our "supervisors/ PhD friends" - Ming Mei for Niamh's department, and Chris for mine. After that, a short and simple ceremony was held, as we were given certs of participation and some souvenirs to take home. Then it was time for dinner, and we were cordially invited to a "farewell dinner" at a hotel in Renmin University of China (Suzhou Campus). It was yet another memorable evening for us, as we had a nice long chat with Dr. Wang and Dr. Deng (who are in charge with our well being for the duration of our stay here).

4) Aug 1 - A final "farewell dinner" was planned for tonight, by Professor Long. We went to a restaurant called "Bai Sheng" (百盛), located right beside Dushu Lake. Professor Long had reserved a room specially for the dinner, which came equipped with its own KTV (karaoke) bar. We had a lovely dinner together, thanks in part due to Prof. Long's exquisite taste when it comes to food selection. She had ordered a smorgasbord of regional dishes, each of which came lavishly decorated and plated. Prof. Long also presented me with some souvenirs; the most memorable was undoubtedly a photo album detailing all the wonderful memories of my time here in Suzhou. I truly appreciated everything that she, and my lab mates, have done for me during my brief stay here.

5) Gone but not forgotten. That is how I would like to think of my time here. Hopefully, in the near future, I will get the opportunity to revisit China (and its many provinces and tourist sites) and pay everyone a visit. It's still two days till I return to Dublin, and yet I am already missing the lifestyle that I will soon leave behind. That's it for today's blog, and thank you very much for visiting. Have a lovely weekend, cheers! :D

Professor Long presenting me with a beautiful photo album as a farewell gift ^^

What a beautiful sunset!

Flipping through the many wonderful memories of my time here in China

Customary pre-dinner photoshoot :)

Candid photo with Prof. Long

 A feast of fish with friends - at Yu Jia

Farewell dinner #2

(l-r: Chris, Me, Niamh, Ming Mei, Dr. Wang, Dr. Deng :)

What a lovely backdrop of Chinese watercolour!

In between the many feasts, there was also the final round of Western Blots and MTT Assays in the Biology Lab...

Suan Cai Yu - marvellous broth!

Niamh with her Certificate of Completion - after both our presentations

Mandatory group photo XD

Nothing like some local Chinese wine (雪花) to lighten the mood

A gift from the College of Pharmaceutical Sciences

A huge mug embossed with the Soochow University logo :D

Thanks Chris for the ice-cream!

(For the successful synthesis of some really "precious" compounds :)

Look at the wonderful craftsmanship!

Beer tower was the highlight of the night!

(just kidding that had to be the red braised pork belly! (红烧肉))

"Lao Ya Tang" (老鸭汤) - "old duck soup" would be the literal translation of this dish, which contains huge flour balls filled with vegetables. This also happens to be Prof. Long's favourite dish :)

One cannot help but admire the magnificent presentation of each dish

And finally, on to dessert - presented as impeccably as ever

Dr. Hu belting out yet another Cantonese number!

(We later managed to figure out the large TV display)

Pu'er tea (普洱茶) was extremely soothing after a large meal

DAY 452/453/454

Nov 26, 27 & 28

1) One year has whizzed by so fast. I vividly remember volunteering to help out for the PMCSA Farewell Dinner last year - serving our catered food to the many guests. This is part of a tradition we have of saying goodbye to the third years who are transitioning back to Penang for their clinical years. And this year, it was time to bid farewell to our a-year-ahead seniors. I did not volunteer for the event, instead I attended as a guest.

2) This year, there were two distinct changes. (1) The addition of a photo booth for everyone, and (2) ample and delicious food. Last year's Dinner ran into some issues due to miscommunication with the caterers, so that we had less food than expected. Thankfully, this was well accounted for this year. Anyway, to kick things off, we had some opening remarks from the VIPs, followed by the ex-President of PMCSA 2016/17. Next up on our agenda was the presentation of the certificates to the third-year leavers. Everyone got up on stage for a quick group photo afterwards.

3) Then it was time for our three-course dinner. Lamb meatballs on bruschetta as entrees, with chicken and pasta for mains. And what better way to finish than with some lovely comfort food - chocolate brownies with vanilla ice cream. As we tucked into our food, we were greeted with an array of performances. First up was "The Rolled Up Genes", which performed three songs, followed by our very own Zi Yan, whose rendition of "Viva La Vida" left many of us awestruck. Addy and Jong serenaded everyone with a heartfelt duet of Wang Lee Hom's, with many more performances in between.

4) We still had two surprises left in store. First up was the prizes ceremony. We had a multitude of awards, from "Most Involved" to "Library Bookworm", and even "Most Adorable Couple"(!) And for the finale, a 15 minute long video from us, wishing them a safe journey and every possible success back home. It was a fantastic way to wrap up what was certainly "A Night in Paris" (the theme of the event). I'm sure next year will fly by as well, and before I know it, it will be our turn to have to say goodbye to our lecturers and friends.

5) That has been the highlight of my day, and I hope you enjoyed reading about it. Have a lovely week ahead, and thanks for visiting. Cheers!

Group photo with the third years

A Night in Paris

in honour of PMC RCSI Class of 2020

The decor was on point tonight

Exam Hall was the venue for the night

With Giovanni, first year med

With some of our volunteer first med friends

Our table

Went around taking photos with each table... :)

Going round taking pics at each table was so much fun! ^^

A "hot mess", but a very delicious hot mess at that :))

Brownies with ice cream

With Zi Yan and Acap

To many more years of happiness!