Reflections

The timetable for my final year in med school is finally out and I'll be starting the exciting year (yeah) with psychological medicine (double yeah). I wonder how my trip to india will affect me as a medical student and as a doctor. Hopefully in a good way. Seriously, I don't think my time at St. John's has affected me much. It's almost like a posting at any singapore's hospital except I was more slack and spent less time at the hospital. However, the time spent outside the hospital and travelling around india probably has a greater effect on my life.

For example, I've learnt not to take things for granted. Just normal and simple things like brushing teeth. With every mouthful of water i take into my mouth, I am reminded that Singapore's water is so clean that we can actually drink from the tap. Never ever try it in india! Or you will be rewarded with lots of trips to the loo. I used to think that staying at an expensive hotel is the best way of travelling, but I have been proven wrong. The places we stayed in like the hospital annex and the cheap places we found whilst travelling were all extremely comfortable and made the trip much more enjoyable.

The best part about spending money overseas is seeing the faces of those I bought presents for. It's really fun and makes me very happy. Bought a shawl for myself in india, quite expensive and nice, but yet I don't get the same feeling as I get when I look at it compared to the feeling I get when I gave masala tea to my family. Wish I bought more gifts for everybody.

I'm glad I chose india and had the bunch of friends with me there. I can't imgaine going for the trip all by myself. I got the chance to know everybody a little better. Sometimes too well. haha. I'm really happy I got the chance to see India. Even though we did everything on a small budget, I enjoyed myself tremendously and got to see most of South India. I think everybody should pay India a visit if they have time. It's near enough, value for money, and lots of things to see and experience. Especially Kerala...think it's my favourite place there. Now that I'm back in singapore, I'm in kind of a nostalgic mood. Everything now seems so real and year 5 is really happening. Sigh.