It has been way too long since I posted anything here. Medical school has been keeping me way too busy and pre-occupied. Life has gotten a little too routined here that there is nothing much to update. Plus, there is just way too much information squeeze into my mind in such little amount of time that there is hardly any space left to formulate a decent blogpost.
A lot of changes has occured since the last time I blogged. Firstly, I have shifted to a newly built hostel from the apartment that was 15 minutes walk away from my campus. It is a single room, hostel like environment. Frankly, I do not miss my old place because this new hostel is way more convenient for me as it is 10 minutes walk away from the lecture hall and 3 minutes away from the library. (In Manipal, sadly the library has become our only acceptable "social place"=P especially since most of us stay in single rooms now.)
In fact, it gets even better as the path to lecture halls, food court and library is a flat and a safer road. I no longer have to climb uphills, walk through lonely alleys or to worry about wrecklessly driven large trucks, as if they are about to swerve to the side of the road and hit a passenger. Hence, I have gotten myself a bicycle from a senior. I ride the bicycle to class everyday and there is nothing more satisfying and peaceful than that. Even with the monsoon bringing showers of rain every morning, I still cycle with lots of joy (and a raincoat of course=P)
The weather here has been pretty irritating. Today, I was in a superbly motivated mood to jog at least 3 rounds at the park near my hostel since I've just completed my last semester exams. I took a slow stroll with my friend to the park and just as I started to jog, the rain poured. I decided to turn back and mind you, the park is at least 20 minutes walk away from my hostel. The rain got even heavier and who brings an umbrella when they jog? So, I got caught off guard and I had to walk in the rain with the cold wind. We were practically drenched all the way back. The funniest part of it? The rain stopped as we were almost reaching our hostel...Tough luck no?
The monsoon, as much as it is a very efficient sleep inducer has also many problems. The environment is so humid that fungus began to take chance to grow on almost anything from food to shoes. Everyone (boys and girls included) carries an umbrella around as the rain can suddenly fall without any warning at all! It is common for us to arrive at the lecture with literally wet and cold feet, causing us to shiver during lectures. There is very little sunshine and the surroundings can sometimes get as cold as Genting Highlands! (And one would think India = A VERY HOT PLACE) I thought India was going to be hot all year round that I left all my sweatshirts back in Malaysia....=/
Other than that, pre-occupying myself with medicine is both an amazing but stressful experience. We were recently exposed to the basics of neuroanatomy and despite its volumnious syllabus, I definitely enjoy learning how intricately the different structures of the brain are interconnected. And who would have known that every little groove(sulci as we medic students call it) has its own name! It was challenging recognizing them at first especially on the live brain specimens, but I've gotten pretty use to it. Hence, the fundamental trick to Anatomy is familiarity. Oh, the live brain...it looks like tofu..seriously. =P
Life as a medical student is still stressful especially nearing exams. If you visit our library, you can't help but notice some really bizzare methods of studying adopted by medical students. Some stand while they are studying although comfy chairs are provided in the library while some study 24-7, even when they are walking to the toilet to ease themselves while some rehearse what they are studying, pacing back and forth like reading a mantra! =P Don't worry, very little Malaysians follow the "mantra-style" of studying. Most of us are still the conventional "sit-on-the-chair-and-study" kinda students.
But despite the strings of information that we need to store in our brain in a short period of time, I don't feel the heat as much as I did when I first arrived here. It could be maybe due to the balance I have found to manage my time more wisely or I have simply learned to tolerate higher amounts of stress than I used to. It feels more like the latter situation is occuring, because finding balance in time has never been my forte. =P
I've just completed my last semester examinations for today. I have three weeks of study break before the MAJOR FIRST YEAR EXAMINATIONS which will determine whether I'll pass my first year or not. I still can't believe first year of medical school is nearing its end. I think I'll miss Anatomy dissections once I go to second year. If I can pass my first year and head on to second year. I do feel pretty nervous about the upcoming major exams as it encompasses all that we have learned from day one of first year. Questions could come out from any region head to toe.
And what's next after my major exams? ........H-O-M-E!!!!! XD Simply can't wait for that. I have been having lack of sleep due to time constraints in completing my revision. I'll only probably regain my sleeping hours back in Malaysia. Home, you are my most major inspiration to study well and CLEAR FIRST YEAR! =D
