Summer, can you get here any sooner?

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I didn’t get to take as many pictures as I wanted to, especially in the hospital where we worked at, for fear of theft…lugging around a huge camera kind of invites attention. Sadface. (But let me just say that I’m absolutely in love with my new Siggy – it takes amazing pictures and the colors, omg. I don’t do any additional processing or editing to my pictures after taking them, and I was amazed at how sharp and vibrant everything was.)

My trip to Nicaragua over Spring Break was an eye-opening experience — while we weren’t necessarily able to perform any procedures outside of taking blood pressures and your normal everyday stuff, I was able to observe a lot of surgeries and witness many births. In addition to having been thoroughly convinced that I’m getting a C-section (you laugh at me now, but wait until you have to see a natural birth!), I thought it was really interesting observing the differences in how medicine is practiced in the States and how it is practiced in Nicaragua. The main limitation to practice there is money — and so what logically follows is the limitation of how certain procedures are done.

For instance — most surgical patients don’t undergo general anesthesia; instead, they get an epidural and are sedated throughout surgery…which means that the patients are half lucid. Anesthesiologists asking the patient if they were okay in the middle of surgery (with mumbled responses of “…yes..” from the patient) was a regular occurrence — it boggles my mind. Surgical patients get epidurals…pregnant women about to give birth do not. Cholecystectomies, considered minimally invasive and performed laparoscopically in the States, is performed as an open surgery where we were at because a component in the laparoscope broke that cost the hospital too much to fix. Things we take for granted here are desperately needed there; the doctor that we worked with there was on call for 2 days straight because of a doctor shortage — and then had to work the following day. (WHAT.)

On the whole, Nicaraguans are very friendly people — willing to help even if you don’t speak Spanish. I did experience some mildly offensive remarks (the worst being a police officer who referred to me as something that sounded like “Ching chang tong chong”), but I attribute that to lack of exposure to Asian people (they tend to assume everyone is Chinese, even if you’re as dark as me hah). I’d like to think my time there has made me more sensitive to their culture as well as educating them a little about mine (“Yo soy de Tailandia”).

Being in Nicaragua with no way to personally communicate in Spanish also made me realize how much I need to learn the language, especially if I’m going to be practicing in Texas. On my to-do list: be able to hold a conversation in Spanish by the time I graduate medical school. Let’s go, self!

3 coats Essie Chinchilly, accented (on the 2 fingers on which I wear rings) by Sally Hansen Night Flight

…also ruminating about how I’m turning 23 in less than a week. And how I’m almost done with my first year. And how I should be studying for my sixth (!!) round of tests instead of painting my nails and wasting my time on YouTube and Pinterest. Must keep pushing — Nicaragua in 2 weeks!

This just might be the most flamboyant polish I’ve ever had on my nails. Two coats of Deborah Lippman’s Happy Birthday over three coats of Revlon’s A Walk On The Beach. I think one coat of Happy Birthday would have been enough, except my curiosity got the better of me and forced me to try a second — I ended up putting on way too much on the first nail on accident and had to match my other nails lest I start over. (And I hate starting over, so…)

I’m not sure if I can handle how incredibly flashy this feels on my nails (I usually wear neutral colors or your traditional red/pink) or if I can even go to class tomorrow without feeling like I’m drawing attention to myself, hah.

Also, excuse the shitty picture — the Sigma lens that I bought to replace my Nikon kit lens still has yet to be shipped (something about being backordered, boo), and having to shoot this picture with a 50mm prime is way too difficult. The focal length had me stretch my arm wayyy too far for comfort.

Other news: to end off my delightful round of tests last week (6 exams in 8 days, I’ve never experienced such hell), my dentist replaced 3 of my fillings and started on a root canal this afternoon. My life = :(

But on the bright side, I’m finally getting to straighten my teeth after my parents refused to justify the thousands of dollars needed to do so when other teenagers were doing it. I’ve spent years trying to hide the imperfection so that I would look “normal” in pictures (show my left side more prominently, only open smiles when there’s flash involved, etc. etc.), and now I by this time next year I won’t have to….needless to say, it’s been a kind of thorn in my side ever since my permanent teeth started growing in. Crossing my fingers for no mishaps!

Other other news: I’m having a bit of a blog identity crisis. I’m playing with the idea of “merging” this blog with Drama Hour here — there wouldn’t be reviews or anything like that, but more of some occasional gushing about dramas I might currently be watching. The “theme” of this blog has yet to be decided, but I figure if this is to be my own personal blog, it would be a fusion of school, life in general, and Asian pop culture. (And NAIL POLISH. I seem to have developed an addiction lately.)

In 2011, I:

• graduated from the best university in the country (us Longhorns have immense school pride),
• was accepted to medical school, only to feel way over my head when I actually started,
• made lots of amazing new friends, and
• traveled to Taiwan for the first time.

For me, 2011 was a year of realizations. I think I’m finally becoming aware of what kind of sacrifices are exactly made when you commit to the decision of wanting to become a physician. I’ve had the luxury of entering medical school straight from undergrad (the “traditional” student), so I can’t even begin to fathom what it’s like for my much older classmates…but in my case, just even reaching the epiphany that most of my 20s will be spent in a library or in a hospital, trying to fill my brain with thousands upon thousands of minuscule (but important) factoids was a bit dampening. Most of my friends are either working or about to work, and by the time I graduate from medical school (earning -$40,000/year), they will probably be working their way towards buying their first houses or settling down. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN SO FAST.

But despite how much it seems like I hate medical school, I know this was the right decision for me. It’s a contradiction, really — I hate how much time I need (and do) put in to my studying, but I love learning so many things about the human body. Time feels like it’s moving by so slowly, and yet I’m inching closer and closer to the end of my first year. Yesterday was the day Texas applicants matched to their medical schools — it feels like it was just literally yesterday when it happened for me. I know more things that I ever thought I could know, and there’s so much more to learn. I’m turning yet another year older…where has the time gone?

I think 2012 will be a very exciting year for me. I get to travel to Nicaragua for Spring Break on my first medical mission trip, and I have research lined up for the summer that I’m actually interested in. I want to make this year a memorable one, while bettering myself in the process. (How cheesy is that? I feel so old.)

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It’s hard to describe the experience in words: it’s flown by so fast (and yet so slowly), but before I knew it, I found myself sitting here at my desk trying to convey how utterly surreal it’s been (while haphazardly trying to pack for my flight to Taiwan tomorrow morning). I’ve met lots of amazing people, am astounded with how much I’ve learned in only 6 months, and am desperately trying to figure out how I’m supposed to keep all this information in my head.

Classmates have been making status updates with how we’re “1/8th” of a doctor now — and the thought is kind of terrifying. If this semester is any indication, 7 more will fly right on by and I’ll be responsible for people’s lives. Holy. Cow.

…trying not to let that thought get the best of me. Until then, I’m going half way around the world on a long-awaited vacation. Prepare for upcoming picture posts! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXh9RQCvxmg

Astrophysics is something that greatly interests me (that black hole section during the interview blew my mind!), and I wish I had the intelligence to pursue it. This had to have been one of the most interesting interviews (if not the most interesting interview) I’ve ever watched — having Stephen Colbert leading it was a big plus too :)

Other news:

• Test week is approaching (yet again) in 2 weeks, so updates will probably be sparse between then and now. But it’s not like they were numerous to begin with…but…
• I’m going to Taiwan for my winter break, so that hopefully means that I finally get to use my camera again and make lots of photo updates! Yay.