TTT: Best Procrastination Sites

So for about five months I’ve been meme-ing along with The Broke and the Bookish on a weekly basis – and I had no idea there were so many book blogs out there.

This week, TBTB asks about the Top Ten Blogs or Sites we visit regularly that aren’t about books. I think I’m going to like this, because I will finally get to know a little more about the bloggers behind the TTTs.

Here are some of my favourites, in no particular order:

1. Terribly Cute - I am very broody. And since I am nowhere near ready for kids, I want puppies and kitties (or anything smaller than a fully grown human, actually). But living in student dorms means that’s not really a possibility either. This site is the next best thing – and it really is terribly cute! They update several times a day. One of my favourites:

2. Street Anatomy combines anatomy and pop culture, and it is simply amazing. Anatomy is so not my strong suit AT ALL, but I’ve become more and more intrigued with it after Forensic Pathology. Be warned that some of the artsy stuff can sometimes be a little graphic – it is anatomy, after all. The picture alongside is Parisian Pole Ka‘s work. Click the image for the original post.

3. Semester at Sea does not really need introduction, but if you’re new to this blog you can check out my post about it here. It’s awesome and I keep checking it out because I’m just fascinated I guess. Also, I was in their blog the other day!

4. The Underwear Drawer is a blog by Michelle Au, about whom I have written before too. She writes about medschool, becoming a doctor (she’s an anaesthesiologist now) and motherhood. Her medschool cartoons are absolutely wonderful. You should visit them here.

5. Youth Journalism International is an organisation really close to my heart. I still write for them occasionally, and I now also focus on an “ambassadorial” role. YJI is a non-profit journalism organisation. I joined them in 2008. They offer students all over the world the opportunity to write, and students have covered things like natural disasters and the revolutions in Egypt and Syria last year. If you want to know what the future of Journalism and our world’s leadership looks like, you should visit here.

 

6. The Oatmeal – I’m not even sure how to describe this site. Part cartoon, part sarcasm, part satire. It’s good and entertaining, but be warned that there is sometimes some use of crude language and allusions to violence. Some “safe” cartoons for sensitive viewers include 15 Things About Coffee, What Your Email Address Says About You and How to Pet a Kitty.  I must admit, finding non-PG stuff on there was a little difficult. But the three above should be enjoyable if you are an oatmeal-ish person.

7. Creating Motherhood – I definitely try to stay away from those mothering blogs… It’s not that I am judging, it’s just that it’s not really me at all. There are some exceptions, like Dresden here. She writes about her long struggle with IVF, looking after her gran who had Alzheimer’s disease and now recently has a guest-blogging theme called In Times Like These, about difficult financial times (I wrote a guest post too).

 

8. PostSecret should really not be new to readers of this blog. It’s full of secrets and creativity and it’s awesome. A new set of secrets is published every Sunday. Just visit it, you will love it. You should also check out this TEDtalk byFrank Warren, who started it all.

9. New England Journal of Medicine 200th Anniversary Site – Okay, I suck at the whole medical journal, critical appraisal thing. I really don’t get why people can’t just write in normal English, so I can understand all their wonderful studies. So I don’t exactly have a favourite journal or something like that. But NEJM has this amazing site for their 200 year celebrations, and part of it has a great medical timeline as well as a library of classic clinical images that every physician should know. Yes, I guess I’m a nerd at heart.

Guess what happened here?
Click the image to be taken to the article.

10. Calcutta Kids is a NPO community health program in Kolkata, India – where I hope to do my elective soon. They’ve just launched their new website. They have done some amazing things, especially when it comes to reducing low birth weight and treating/preventing diarrhoeal disease. They also have a blog. This post about helping a little boy who was malnourished should give you an idea of the work they do.

Spring Tide in Cape Town

The supermoon this past weekend brought a majestic spring tide to Blaauwberg, Cape Town. I went snapping away with my tiny camera along the esplanade.

This was taken seconds before I was drenched by the wave. Underestimated it…

If you’ve never been to Blaauwberg: no, the water doesn’t usually reach there…

This one makes me want to wax poetic.

Notice Table Mountain faintly in the back.

Unfortunately my little happy-snap camera couldn’t adequately catch the beautiful moon, but I’m sure pictures will abound of that soon.

 

The Meeting: Ni & Mi

Today (a public holiday) I went to Stellenbosch, in the Winelands District of the Western Cape. The medical campus is far from the main campus, so I don’t get to go to Stellenbosch very often. But today I met Nazirah.

Yes, the tree has to be in there. It's pretty, and I was having a bad hair day

Nazirah and I are both medical students – she in Malaysia and I in Cape Town. She’s doing her elective rotation in Cape Town. We met via our blogs. And no, we’re not the kind of people who readily meet people over the internet.

Because I don’t know Stellenbosch very well myself, one of my friends, Dee, joined us for the day. She gave us the royal tour and it was lovely. And a royal tour must of course start with some lovely tea. We went to The Birdcage, a quaint little coffee shop with the most amazing teas. I had French Vanilla tea, Dee had Raspberry and Blueberry, and Nazirah had Rooibos tea – the endemic and famous “red bush” tea of South Africa. And she liked it!

Dee's tea is pink, Ni's is reddish. How lovely are the tea sets?!

We learned a lot about similarities and differences between our countries in terms of healthcare, politics and infrastructure. It was amazing. It was a chilly – but not cold – Autumn day, and the town was simply beautiful.

And I got to meet an international friend, and that with the aid of WordPress.

Book Review: The Garden of Evening Mists

A few months ago, an awesome thing happened: I was contacted by Myrmidon Books to participate in a Virtual Book Tour (my first time ever). Very exciting, and nice to get to read a book without buying it too (you were all thinking it, no lies).

The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng follows the metamorphosis of Malaysia through World War II, the fight for independence to where the country finds herself today.

With an non-chronological narrative, the protagonist (suffering from primary progressive aphasia) travels with us through the past of her country, her family and herself.

Much of Yun Ling’s life-experiences are connected to a Japanese gardener, who was once her mentor – an unlikely match, as she herself was a survivor of Japanese labour camps. And much of her life-experiences relate directly to exquisite practices of Japanese gardening.

Sogenchi Garden, the oldest surviving traditional Japanese Garden, dating to the 14th century.

Desperate not to forget, desperate to leave something tangible behind when her memories finally desert her, she continues her quest of remembrance, re-embracing thoughts and a life she left behind after traumatic events decades ago.

I enjoyed this book. The scene is set in a tangible manner, and has left me with a strong desire to travel to Malaysia. Characterisation is performed excellently. Eng weaves an intricate story, effortlessly combining past and present.

I also love the historical context of this novel, and the fact that it is so well researched.

The protagonist is Malaysian, her mentor was Japanese, and some of her closest friends are South African – and this novel embraces reconciliation as a strong theme. I enjoy that: I enjoyed Yun Ling’s journey to understanding, acceptance and perhaps (only perhaps) also forgiveness.

“One day you will realise that there is no wind, and the flag does not move. It is only the hearts and minds of men that are restless.”

In my mind, Malaysian history and literature is poorly known the world over. This novel is one very good reason for it to become more well-known.

Much of the novel takes place in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia... and the author certainly does a good job of expressing the beauty that is experienced there.

“That point in time just as the last leaf is about to drop,as the remaining petal is about to fall; that moment captures everything beautiful and sorrowful about life. Mono no aware…”

If ever you should visit Africa…

…mind the cattle overhead.

Also, mind the traffic police, who might (or should) give one a fine for driving while operating a cellular phone or a camera.

This made me laugh. I don’t know where in Cape Town this was taken or by whom. But in Bhisho (Eastern Cape, RSA), there are goats grazing outside the huge and very fancy office blocks.

My Latest Obsession

On Friday, members of the Student Government (including myself!) were invited to attend Semester at Sea‘s Open Ship at Cape Town Harbour.

This is us being all touristy-like:

This is the ship:

Semester at Sea is just that: it allows students the opportunity of a semester abroad… abroad in various places. It is affiliated with the University of Virginia, and has excellent courses available.

And I want to go. Next year, 9 January to 25 April.

The itinerary includes San Diago, Hawaii, Japan, China, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Mauritius, South Africa (!!!), Ghana, Morocco and Spain. The great thing about SAS is that they take “service learning” very seriously. So you don’t just visit these places for the fun of it; you also visit them to learn.

And that’s my kinda travelling.

Here’s the other awesome thing: The Academic Dean for the specific voyage is Dr Sharon Hostler. She is a professor in pediatrics, and one of her niches is outreach to rural underserved children.

This Friday, I am going to meet with my faculty’s assistant registrar. Our school doesn’t readily allow students to just leave for three months… BUT, I have a plan! It is quite a complex plan, but it will work, and it will make me a better student and a better doctor and this the only thing I want to think of right now.

Which is making studying extremely difficult.

First Ever Guest Post: Elective in India

A while ago, a friend suggested guest posts for my blog – which is completely understandable, as I represent only one sphere of med student life. At my school, we do electives at the end of fourth year and in the middle of fifth year. As is custom, most students attempt to use it as an excuse for some travelling. Last year’s fourth year group had students who went to Rwanda, India, Zambia and other fun places. I’m trying to get more students to write about their electives – I’m sure it will be of use to those of us still to plan said module.

This is Nabeela Adam, now a fifth year medical student. She went to India for her elective. This is what she has to say:

My time in India was magical. From my touchdown to a hot and humid Mumbai to the mosquitoes for possibly sucking me dry every night. If I could I would have stayed longer I would have, because when there are 1.2 billion people in the country, you are bound to see so many diseases and abnormalities that are not so common in our South African tertiary setting.

I found it truly amazing being surrounded by doctors who really wanted to part their knowledge. I also found it astonishing that many of them did their fellowships in America, Europe and Australia.

I thoroughly enjoyed the long hours in theatre, discussing cricket. My knowledge about the Indian cricket team grew from nothing to something I wish my medical knowledge was.

My knowledge in Anaesthesia grew in leaps and bounds, ensuring that I have a better understanding of the physiology of a pregnant woman and a known diabetic.

If it was not for Dr Butani (Head of Anaesthesia) I don’t think it would have been possible for me to see as much as I did.

I appreciated the fact that I was able to see so many surgeries and given a broader understanding of anaesthesia and congenital heart surgery while learning about anaesthesia in a baby at the same time.

I would definitely like to go back someday, and try and learn so much more.

China Part II: Scenic Learning

The overall reason for our trip to China was a liaison-opportunity with Hunan University. We had the opportunity to explore the university grounds and to interact with the students.

Having experienced Stellenbosch Main Campus – a beautiful campus – it was a pleasant surprise to explore an equally beautiful (albeit differently so) campus.

Walking from the main building after our official welcoming by the university chairman and professors. Hunan University dates back to 976AD and was one of Chairman Mao Zedong’s self-proclaimed favourites. Note his statue in the background.

We spent most of our time at Yuelu Academy, the oldest and most prestigious part of the university. Also one of the most beautiful parts. This was taken walking from the main building to the Academy.

The influence of Confucianism is very clear and interesting on the campus. Much of the philosophies and appearance speaks thereof.

And there are Confucianism Temples and monasteries around the Academy.

This contains a list of things one must do in order to be a good student. I cannot remember them all, but one of them is “not to spend any time on matters that are unrelated to academics.” So that must be the reason I am such a bad student…

A map of the campus with Kai, whom we called “Our fearless leader”.

My favourite view at the university.

Note that our interaction with the Hunan students was just as beautiful and far more interesting, but writing about that will take a considerate amount of time – something not at my disposal during exam times.

China Part 1: Awestruck in Zhangjiajie

Part of my trip to China in September included a three day trip to Zhangjiajie, a World Heritage Site and the first National Park of China. Certain scenes of the movie Avatar were shot there (I have never watched the movie, and now that I have seen the real-life place I am afraid the movie will bore me).

Stop 1: Huanglong Cave

Immense – covers an area of 48 hectares and up to 15 kilometers in length. There is a river that runs through the cave and the stalagmites are another level of beauty. Probably the one thing that bothered me a little was the artificial light in unnatural colours, but the place remains stunning.

A lot of the structures in the cave have very imaginative names, but I can’t remember any of them. Huanglong, for example, means Yellow Dragon Cave.

"Eagle Looking for Food"

Stop 2: Zhanjiajie Park

The park is characterised by tall rocky outcrops and more colours of green that I have ever seen (green is my favourite colour). It offers a cable car ride that is breathtakingly scary. My friend with a fear of heights, Clinton, says it is worth it.

Panorama taken by Charl Engels

On the cable car ride

By the way, Zhangjiajie also house the world’s tallest and fastest outdoor elevator – the Bailong Elevator. It is 326m tall and moves at a speed of 3m/s.

Stop 3: Baofeng Lake

It was a rather hot day and all I wanted to do was swim in the beautiful water. The photos hardly do justice to this place.

Zhangjiajie is home to the Tu minority (which must be pronounced properly otherwise it means some expletive). So anywhere you go, you see their traditional dress and hear their traditional song. It is lovely. An awesome moment was when, after our tour guide sang a folk song to us in the Huanglong Caves, our group sang the South African National Anthem. Pretty cool.

Heading to China, I expected many things. Beauty was not one of them. As a South African, I have always firmly believed that my country is the most  beautiful. And because it is home, it probably will always be. China was certainly an experience that opened my eyes – and I thought they were already open.

I am still here

I know I have been awfully quiet, but I have a good excuse, I promise…

I was in CHINA! It was awesome. Eight students from my university went to liaise with students from Hunan University.

Unfortunately I now need to study for Haematology on Friday, so I will only be able to give adequate feedback then. Watch this space!

The team at Baofeng Lake