Happiness is a state of mind

Man I’ve had a great week! Slept about 5 hours each night, studied like hell, barely even got to talk to Saya on the phone, and no weeked because this coming Monday I have four quizzes to look forward to.

But you know what? I am LOVING IT.

Seriously, I can truly, honestly say I love being here, I love med school, I want to be a doctor. I feel this great sense of belonging to my profession, to my school . . . its like a strong sense of ownership in what I am doing right now every day. I am the only one responsible for making myself a good doctor. Its really a wonderful feeling. So what has made me this happy you ask?

This week I figured out a new way of studying Anatomy that really worked. I bought an Anatomy coloring book, went into lab on my own and talked to my anatomy teacher about questions. It worked wonders and really helped me to learn and start having fun with the material. Sounds nerdy but you know what? I don’t care, its what I want to be learning, its how I am training my mind to observe, perceive, think, sort information and after just five weeks, I can FEEL the growth happening.

In addition, I am really enjoying my time here at Dartmouth. The people are fantastic, supportive and I have never been in a situation where there are so many accomplished people around me WANT me to succeed and are willing to go out of their way to help me. Just today I had one of my Anatomy profs (Dr. C, a former general surgeon) come up to me and tell me that he got my email from last night and wanted to see me in his office because he wanted to explain the answers to my anatomy questions more thoroughly. The second year students just had an Anatomy prosection for us (open lab where they point out on cadavers what is important for us to know) – it was tremendously helpful.

What other med schools give you this kind of personal attention? I think I made the right choice and I am starting to have a hard time imagining being anywhere else!

All day of studying to look forward to tomorrow, . . . as Quagmire from Family Guy would say . . . aaaAAAALLL RIGHT! :)

Moon Festival Party at DMS!

So life in med school is not all about studying . . . I have a life, I swear!

Dinner before the party. We made dumplings! Or should I say my classmates made dumplings and I . . . errr . . . supervised . . .

My friends/classmates at DMS. From Left to Right: Vasi, Jane, Khue, Naren and Vorapat, Henry, Abby, Michelle, Deo

we studied Anatomy afterwards . . . the superior mediastinum is bounded superiorly by the superior aperture, anteriorly by the sternum, posteriorly by vertebrae T1-T4 and inferiorly by the transverse plane from the angle of Louis to the intrathoracic space between T4-T5 . . . oh crap, does this mean I’m a nerd?

Look Mom, I’m cooking! :)

Its a funny thing to live and go to school in a small New England town tucked away in the woods, far far away from everything and almost everyone I know. What makes me feel more at home though is surrounding myself with things that remind me of home. I got a HUGE package from my mom today with all kinds of Japanese and Chinese snacks, condiments and food, a new pillow and a really nice Chinese tea set. Between that and reading Lu Xun short stories, I am really coping quite well to being in the Northeast. I have however decided that I really need to cook to survive out here. So without further ado, my first two homecooked meals at DMS. The head chef (yours truly) sincerely hopes you enjoy these pictures of the great food-I- made-which-you-can’t-have-unless-you-visit-me. Bon Apetit!

Curry, the healthy food on every med student’s diet

Mmmmmmm Curry . . . the chef enjoying a well-deserved meal

Shandong-style Chicken and Mushroom Dumplings and Gai lan with chopped garlic

New Orleans . . .

I can’t believe what is happening there . . . Some of these articles from the NYtimes are just crazy. Look at this one about the Haves and Have Nots

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/05/national/nationalspecial/05moving.html

What I really can’t get my brain around is that while people are suffering in NO, Rwanda, Burundi, China, India, all over the world, I am in my room, socks off, music playing, stomach full trying to study Cardiovascular physiology so that I can be a doctor AND THEN help people.

Meanwhile, people are dying and there is nothing that I can do but study? Do the ends of being a doctor justify the complacency one must embrace as a med student? Apparently they do or else I am just too selfish to act otherwise. Perhaps thats it, perhaps I am just to selfish or afraid to give myself to others. I think I have to get around the thought that its MY med school education. To date my decisions have revolved around what I thought was best for me rather than really helping people for their sake. I suppose thats why living with Deo is so enlightening because he is definitely one person that knows what it means to live for others and not for himself.

I guess the question remains, can I motivate myself to selflessness without being led by someone like Deo?

Taking another deep breath . . .

This labor day will mark three weeks since classes began. Time has passed quickly though, as I take account of what I have learned, much has happened in a very short time.

These past weeks, I have made the transition from a pre-med, looking forward to med school with nervous anticipation and hopeful idealism, to a first year medical student living wholly in the present. Becoming a physician is both the most intense experience of my life yet full of everyday moments that are routine and uninteresting. To wit, I have never studied so seriously in my life yet there is still time to stare into space, look up the latest NBA freeagent news, talk on the phone . . .

Life in Hanover is very simple. There are trees, trees and more trees as far as the eye can see. No view of the ocean, no big buildings, no crowds, no hustle and bustle. The air is clean, very clean and there are rivers and hiking trails all over the place. There is no smog, no dirty rivers or harbours, and not a lot of noise. There is a college town here that seems to be an extension of the college campus. It contains the Dartmouth bookstore, Gap, North Face, Molly’s diner, Mai Thai restaurant, a couple of banks and a small movie theatre. There is no mall here, no Blockbuster Video, no CostCo, no In N Out. There is a very efficient 2hr bus service to Boston, comfy seats, smooth driving, free gourmet pretzels and an in-drive movie. My routine: studying every day, sleeping-in on the weekends, partying every two weeks after the quiz and taking a trip to Boston every month to recover my sanity.

I think I can live with that.

Fleeing in NO, Relaxing in NH

Thanks Phil for the link. Its amazing how life can be catastrophic in one part of the world while being normal and even mundane in another.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/benign_foodtube/7814.html