Going to South Africa today

On my way to the airport . . . gotta pack . . . gotta return bro’s car . . .

Fun places in China

I just found this card in my pocket and want to jot down the info before I lose it.

Note to self: Next time I am in Shanghai, I should definitely look up Cindy and Soto (friends of my brother’s friend Dave). They’ve got a nice restaurant there called Mekong river Restaurant in three locations Metro city 02164268256 Bund Hotel 63603677 Shanghai Times Square 63918028

Must go back to Taikang Rd alley 210 to check out the hip new clothing and art stores, get a cup of coffee and feel the China art scene

Wandering around the city . . .

Sometimes I feel like just walking . . . wandering about with no particular destination, going in whichever direction seems right at the moment . . . carefree, with nothing but my curiosity leading the way.

Maybe that is why I love this city and why it will be so hard to leave it behind. No more being able to walk around downtown and look at the tourists, pick up a carne asada taco on the way to Yerba Buena, get a glass of wine at bacar and listen to the jazz band. No more film festivals, late night Korean BBQ runs or cheap sushi rolls at Kiki’s or sushi house. No more driving down to San Mateo for Santa ramen.
I will miss San Francisco.

Getting cold feet?

I am experiencing something that I imagine those with marriage jitters must feel . . . I am getting cold feet about moving to Hanover, NH.

Maybe its because I have been abroad for a while and it feels good to be back in a familiar place; maybe its because another one of my good friends, Dave will be staying here; or maybe its just because I feel at home here. There is definitely a level of peace I feel just being in SF that I do not feel in quite the same way anywhere else.

I am starting to think seriously about pursuing UC Davis. So far, I have been waitlisted there and I do not think it would be a far stretch for them to offer me a place if I was persistent and really wanted to go.

The big reason really is the location. I am really at home in California and when shit hits the fan in med school, my friends and family here in the bay area are who I will look to for solace, advice and understanding. In Hanover, I just don’t have the same connection with the location or the people.

What’s holding me back is my curiosity and desire to explore someplace new, meet new people, engage new issues and challenges. From my experience with each schoo, I feel that DMS students imagine the world as a bigger place than just Northern California and are generally more intellectually curious. In addition there are some of the smaller things that DMS has to offer like the brand name of going to an Ivy, the MD/MBA program, lots of money and better opportunities to do other things in medicine such as microfinance or venture capital.

Ultimately, I know I will get a good education at both places. Most people tell me that I can’t go wrong with either place. Yet I can’t help asking myself what there is to gain at the expense of my own happiness.

Leaving Taipei today

So much for relaxing. Three full days of being in the hospital watching surgeries and seeing patients, going to the National Palace museum, shopping for ceramics at the old town in Yingge, seeing friends, family dinners, clubbing, drinking and shopping. I also got to see some good Taiwanese friends who have moved back to Taipei recently, Charles and Kathy who have a new three year old and Steve who is finishing up a PhD in Chemistry at Qinghua. Unfortunately they all tell me that I am getting fat. I figure I’m just making some extra reserves for the cold weather at Dartmouth. Haha

Keigo left this morning for Japan. I think he had a good time which is great. I also leave Taipei today for San Francisco. Four days and then I’m off to Africa.

Great Eats in Taipei

OLDIES BUT GOODIES
1) Din Tai Fung (Yung Kang Jie) – Go on 9-10am on Saturdays and Sundays for their famous “Tang Bao” Soup Dumplings. Some of the best dumplings you’ve ever had wrapped in a very thin dumpling skin, each filled with soup. The tang bao are gently placed in a broth based soup where they osmotically soak up more goodness before you finally finish them off.

2) No Name Beef Noodles (Heng Yang Rd/Tao Yuan Jie) – This place has no sign, no name, no menu, only the best Taiwanese beef noodles you’ve ever had. Just go there and ask for “hong shao niu rou mien” and you get a steaming bowl of hand pulled noodles in a spicy hot beef soup with generous pieces of beef and tendon cooked tender.

3) Fei Qian Wu (Zhong Shan Bei Rd Sec 1 181 Alley No. 13-2, closed Mondays) – If you like Unagi rice, this place is as good as any in Japan. Traditional Japanese style restaurant with wooden benches, fast service and excellent unagi rice. Great place for a quick dinner with friends or family.

4) Sheng Ji Dan Dan Noodles (Chang Chun road near the intersection with Dun Hua, go up Chang Chun on the Hong Kuo building side) – My favorite lunch place in Taipei. Tender dan dan noodles with a creamy spicy peanut sauce, a bowl of hong yiu chao shou (wontons in spicy red oil) and an Apple Sidra soda really hit the spot!

THE NEW STUFF
1) SuHang (Jin Nan Rd Sec 1 No. 2-1 2nd Fl, phone 0223963186) – One of the best Shanghainese style places I’ve been to. Excellent roast pork in steamed buns, shanghainese dumplings, rice with greens. Ask for the dou shu dish (I hear its their best).

Pictures from home!

The lights of Taipei’s Xinyi district from Taipei 101 (the tallest building in Taipei – for now . . .)

One of my favorite pieces at the National Palace musum. Its a piece of Jade whose natural colors were shaped by the artist into a very convincing piece of pork . . . mmmmmm

Keigo, invading someone’s privacy in Yingge?

My family at my grandparents’ house. I hope to see them again soon.

Happy Birthday Saya! :)

AP nijyusan sai no tanjyoubi desuyo!

Taiwanese Medicine – a manufacturing approach to health care

Its amazing how well run this place is. Computerized IT systems that allow the doctor to see a patient’s charts, previous diagnoses and office visit notes, imaging and meds all from a smart computer terminal that recognizes and authenticates (via a smart card reader) the user. This as well as the efficiency with which these HMO doctors see their patients results in an average consult time of 10-20 minutes per patient. In some cases, the patients we saw today were in and out in less than 5.

Contrast this with UCSF where the pain management doctor I shadowed sometimes took 30-50 minutes with each patient and you start to see how the bills can add up.

I would be interested to see how a third party public health group rates the care at Chang Gung Hospital in Taiwan. Without much experience to go by, I would say that from what I have seen so far, it is accessible (all Taiwanese are able to go to any hospital), efficient without sacrificing quality, and cost effective for the patient. Maybe the manufacturing mentality that has served Taiwan so well in making semiconductors CAN indeed be applied to health care?

Neurosurgery or Seeing patients?

After two days of observing in both the OR and the outpatient clinic at Chang Gung Hospital in Linkou, I think I have a better idea of what area of medicine I want to pursue. Between spending 3-4 hours
operating on a immobilized BODY that is barely breathing versus seeing and interacting with a living breathing PERSON with real economic, social and medical problems, I prefer the latter. It seems more real to me somehow. The problems and the human contact are aspects of medicine that I like more. Perhaps some area of medicine in which I see patients most of the time and spent 1/4 or 1/5 of my time on procedures may also be good.