10th

Back in Kampala, Edge House! Ha only after you’ve gone for the rural rotation then you’d appreciate the things which you took for granted. Luckily we decided to go for the rural rotation last instead of first, so we were exposed to a more of Uganda as the time went by and so there was no cultural shock. Ha.but yes, would have loved the opportunity to stay in the village. But we were only there for one day, for outreach.

So yes, the highlight of the week that has passed was that we took the Monday off to go outreach with the Korean missionary, called Missionary L. Ha but I preferred to call him Dr Lim. We went to this ? island (not sure if it has a name ha) in the middle of Lake Victoria for outreach. Apparently, Dr Lim has already been to this village for a few times to provide free medical care, often going with the Korean church. So on this trip there was Korean pastor, Korean elder, Korean Dr, Singaporean students, Ugandans (1 intern, 2 University Bible Fellowship people) all on the trip! Ha it was a wonderful experience. Shall describe what we’ve done later…

SUNDAY

so yups before using internet, had a great lunch at this place called Javas. Ha is atas restaurant. So yups here's the pic:

Cappuccino


and i ate this char grilled lamb! so nice



This is in stark contrast to the local food i eat everyday (ha the samosas in the background is already a luxury) and yes greens is a luxury



And yups, so shall show you where i've been to these 2 weeks. nice photo by JL's panoramic function on camera. Mine does not have. hahahha Wakiso health centre at busiro east district



After we left the internet café, we decided to go back to Edge House. On our way back we saw the sign for the museum in the University. So finally we’re going to the museum! hahaha Why finally? cos during our stay in the university, we wanted to go there, but could not find it and missed the exhibition! It was deemed by the Bradt guidebook as an attraction ha but we asked around and apparently the students there do not know it exists! ha. Hmmm but when we went there we were a tad too late, cos it closed 15 mins earlier. Sigh but there were many nice exhibits around there, presumably all by their school of fine arts students. So yups, we took many photos!



and



Later, on the pretext of giving photos, we sneaked back to Edge House to take a bath at our nice nice toilet. there was no one so we sneaked back in hahahaha it was real fun! Ha and we felt clean. WOW!

we stayed over at the Dr L’s house. We had a very very full dinner. Nice traditional Korean food!!! There was this ____ (erhm, I conveniently forgot the name, was busy eating… heh mabbe look at JL’s blog she’d have it) where you wrap the lettuce with bean sauce and stewed beef! *slurp* so nice! Then there was the traditional soup, used chopsticks and spoons (first time in Uganda) that look like the ones in Da Chang Jin (the Korean drama) and lotsa greens and late lotsa raw green chilli!! Miss them so much! ha show you the photo ah..



Then helped prepare the medical supplies, looked around in his clinic, slept in their children’s room, cos 2 of their 3 children are in Kenya, studying at an International School for missionaries’ children. Hmmm Interestingly, their 3rd son is more African then Korean! Ha he prefers African food more than Korean (hmmm, bad choice my dear… Korean food has chilli which is so so nice!!!!)

We set off at 6.30am, driving to Jinja for about 1plus hr (yes, where we’re planning to go, probably white water rafting?) then boarded a BOAT haha like sampan, but there’s motor and cruised Lake Victoria for 2 plus hours. Throughout the trip I did not sleep much cos I was busy taking photos of the nice nice scenery! Heh and yes, on the way back caught a nice nice sunset.

Ha yups, and the village was really interesting, it was like those village houses we saw at the museum come alive! Ha, took some photos. Didn’t see much patients, cos we were in charge of the dispensary, which was what we did in Batam. ha really think God made all the experiences for a reason.

The village was my idea of rural medicine! Ha the fields full of crops, village houses built from straw and mud and wood, no electricity, some water, no toilets… (well there is! army style heh) Was quite high when I went there. Won’t mind if I could stay there. ha the environment was so nice, the air was fresh! Lotsa maize etc. Really enjoyed myself.

Hmmm no preaching or giving out of bibles, but yes, I loved it. And definitely, Dr L is really admirable. He was the one who helped build the health centre where we worked at. yes, albeit just a small single storey house with say 3 rooms, it was already the most modern building there. There was bricks and cement. (yes, he transported more cement on our trip there). He started building this since years ago. Currently, according to him, there is a nurse who works there. And all the medical supplies and the building? Built from his own salary from his clinic in UBF. And he charges each consultation only 10000 shillings (like 9 plus SGD) each patient, half of what the other specialists in Uganda charges, albeit having attained a PhD in paediatrics. wow. And you can see how the villagers respected him. Prepared a meal, helped with all the carrying (the cement, medical supplies and all) and lotsa maize as souvenirs.

The return journey was a stormy one. Ha so they had to get us life jackets, but yups, the boat was swaying in full force, cos the waves were huge and the boat was just a sampan ha. But it was an interesting experience. And yes, was they were in full confidence that we can sail. Ha reminds me of the scene where Jesus and His disciples were on the sea. Ha. Dunno why, but had peace in my heart even though the boat was swaying. Just having confidence in Him.

Yet, I know I have failed Him, always falling short, yielding to temptation and sin. Sigh. but no, will try my best, yes try my best to live a life that He wants me to. Free from bondage. Free. But yes, my actions have shown that He is still not my first and foremost priority in life, which is bad! Sigh. I am still more self loving than God loving. Hmmm change, change change! Naughty boy must become good boy! Ha.

Hmmm yups, looking at these missionaries, there is something that tugs my heart. And yes, such is the faith of the missionaries. Asked the pastor why Uganda? He just shrugs and point up there. Am awed by the faith. Am hoping that my faith is like that. Will I be like that?

Food for thought.

Anyway, the rest of the week was mundane hahaha cos it’s just running clinics on our own. Just like GPs, and lotsa question marks cos like 80% speak Luganda, so if we do not have a translator, its CHAM.

Ha yups, back at Edge house, really comfortable, at least there is running water. Has not stopped. And throughout these 2 months, it really struck me that if there was any natural disasters around in the world near Singapore, Singapore will just go downhill from our current state. Why? Cos we depend much on others for food, unlike like Uganda, where if the whole world is having war, they’d still survive, cos they live very basically. Water from the lakes, food etc all local produce. Hmmm, so many Singaporean students (heh me lah) have been taught in geography classes etc that we are well protected from all the natural disasters. True, but you never know how the world can change. And we are not immune. Any earth quake that strikes the water pipes from Indonesia or bird flu hitting the region we’d be out of water, or food. How to survive? Hmmm I’m sure our leaders have contingency plans. Ha, if not, they better start planning! Ha seeing Myanmar and China, we know more disasters are to come… but yes, we place our confidence in Him.
Have not cooked any meals for the past 2 weeks. Ha feel very unhealthy always having to eat out, so yups, will cook some lunch today! muhahahaha my fave hobby!

But yes, will try to post some more photos!

NEXT WEEK – FUNFILLED WEEK AHEAD!

So having completed the serious business that is all the medical studies in Uganda, we are now back to the fun business! Ha am so looking forward to touring to Uganda. So here’s our plan:

Monday – Lesster and us drive off to Kabale, Kisiizi hospital to pick up the other 4 students. We’re staying there for the night to see what their life is like.
Tuesday, - leave Kisiizi, to Queen Elizabeth Park! We’re staying at a resort and L’s fren is there so we get special price!
Wednesday – Game drive
Thurs – bee farm, bat caves etc
Fri, Sat – Jinja ? White water rafting? hahahaha
Sun – Kampala. Cornerstone church?
Mon, Tues – Entebbe, fly to HK
Wed – reach HK in the evening.
Thurs – Start HK tour… shall look at the itinery my fren planned for us!!!! muhahahaha!

kk gg to cook now!!!! hungry!!!!

_________

look at the next post for the village photos! :P

9th

hahaha so glad i was able to post so many photos! *pleased w myself* heh heh heh nice photos rite? k here's the update i typed at my place of residence in Wakiso... went back to kampala to use internet... hahahaha sad rite.

______

This is my weekly update. Yes, it is exactly one week since I last have access to internet, as I am now physically back in Kampala, to settle some stuff and cos we are invited to dinner at the Korean missionary's home. They have also invited us to go on an outreach tomorrow, into the villages. It is definitely a new experience for me.

 

But indeed, the past week has been nothing short of interesting, in a different way. I am now doing my rural rotation in Wakiso Health Centre, in Busiro East district of Wakiso Town. We first arrived at the health centre on Monday afternoon, after a long wait for the driver from the university. This was something like a polyclinic, a mini hospital of sorts, for they have one doctor, who doesn't seem to see patients at all, as he is usually doing his administrative work. The main people seeing the patients are the clinical officers (they've got diploma in medicine, not doctors but something like paramedical staff) and the nurses. Here the nursing officers can prescribe. So we met the doctor in charge and of course, it was waiting for the health officer to bring us to the place of residence.

 

Here the accommodation is quite cheap, 10000 shillings per night, equivalent to less than SGD10. But disadvantage is that it is near a pub, so they're blasting music till 1.30am every night. (Ha, but yes, I've gotten use to all the noise in my place of residence at the university, so I can sleep despite all the noise, even when the light is on. Good training. Never used to be able to do that in Spore.) And the room here is much smaller than that which I've been staying for 5 wks. There is a small attached bathroom. But it is really really small. About slightly less than 1metre square.

 

Here things are more primitive. So yups, its quite rural. In Kampala, I get power failure once a week. But here, the power failure is almost everyday, then after certain time in the afternoon there is no water. At night there is not a single drop of water. So yups, they've provided jerry cans for us to store water. Interestingly, as this place has a pub, they have a backup generator. So we still have lights (if at night) when the power failure comes. Except the generator is just outside my room and they use petrol to run it so I smell it everyday. However, the light isn't fantastic. Can't really read with this light. Been using my torch and rechargeable batts ha.

 

So yups the main problem is with the water. Yesterday, there has been no water from the tap for more than 30 hrs ha luckily there was rain and they stored some water. So I've replenished one jerry can of water! That's all ha.

 

BUT no worries, people. I am fine with this living condition! ha sorta expected! Rural what! Ha this was what I wanted to experience so yups. And army has trained me well. I can choose not to bathe and still be clean! hahahahaha erps shan't go down to details. But heh interesting life here.

 

Eating out everyday, at the hawkers. Food here's cheaper, but the bottled water is more expensive than in kampala. But life here is really simple and interesting and slack. Cos I start seeing patients at 9 plus, then by 1plus 2 we're done and would be off for lunch and home!

 

Ha, yes, I get to run clinics here on our own. Not really confident at first but you soon get the hang of the things here. (erps must say it is really NOT good practice, but yups, we just do as they do here lor… can't really try much radical stuff) so got a feel of how it is like being a GP. But yes, the cases here are definitely much more interesting than GP in Spore sees. My first case was syphilis. Then hyperthyroidism. (the clinical officer gave me the ???WHAT??? look when I diagnosed hyperthyroidism. Think he'd have given some propanolol and reassurance and send the patient off.) Think: for somebody who was tachypnoeic, sick looking and not looking dehydrated, (I couldn't take any history cos of lang barrier, so I;m not sure what the patient told him) he took the blood pressure. It was  140/90 and he diagnosed it as hypertension. Treatment for this "hypertension" was IV fluids and observe. Firstly, the BP isn't all that high. It is just abit high. Then even if this was hypertension, the treatment wasn't IV fluids. And for her condition, I need to find out why she is so tachypneic and having some shortness of breath. I examined, chest was clear, everything else was fine. I couldn't take the history, so could find out no more.. So just had to agree to let the senior health officer treat it as hypertension and give IV fluids.

 

Many others… the first day I was full of ???? in my head. Ha but later recovered and yups, just did best what I could, using what little knowledge I have to help. At least, I saw patients with a stethoscope. The clinical officers didn't even use any. They just SEE patients. Don't even examine sometimes.

 

Ha feeling quite tired now, that's why this post does not seem coherent. Anyway, in SUMMARY: have adapted to the new environment pretty well and yups life is interesting!!! Looking forward to the outreach… and Kimchi!!! 4 more weeks and I'd be back!

________

hmmm since i still have about 25 mins shall blog abit more...

Must really admit that i can really be quite a dirty person... cos the past few days there has been no water (luckily we usually buy bottled water to drink, so drinking is really not a problem for us...), even resorted to collecting rainwater. BUT there has not been much rain too! hahahaha the locals have the habit of storing lots of water... that explains the malaria... but i guess you cant help it given such a system. They've spared one jerry can of water for us! haha but yups i didnt bathe la haha but i got those wipes haha so im still smelling good! not tt smelly

heh and i just realised that it is the finals of the american idol soon!!!! hahahaha hmmm heard that these 2 finalists are really good. hope to watch em! i think the younger david will win! hahaha he's so good la! must tape must tape!

heh kk gg off liaoz... gg to village tomorrow for outreach. guess it should be fun ne! take care folks, i'd be back!

8th - yet yet more pics

On top of the ssezibwe rocks. yes we did some rock climbing to reach that high! hahahaha breath taking scenery!




yes, this is THAT CAT. THAT CAT that barged into my room when i opened the door and refused to go out! ha but as the days went by i must say i find it quite cute. just a tad different from the spore cats, albeit they look almost the same. they are NOT enticed by my hand signal for "food"! in spore if i do that, the cats will just come in my direction. BUT in here, this cat remained UNDER MY BED!



Ha there was this traditional dance troupe that performed at the guest house near our place of residence so yups, took a photo with them after their performance! Me holding some instrument which i'm not sure what it is hahaha




Well, thats the last photo i have uploaded! hahaha hope i can post more next week! Next week is an entirely exciting week!

8th - yet more pics

Me sitting on grass outside me residence at the uni



With the painter and guide at Kasubi tombs!




Makerere church and me muhahahah



At the market near kasubi tombs great view isnt it?



MULAGO - where i spent the first 5 wks



Pastor's wife, peace and her children and me! she has SEVEN children! hahaha so nice so fun! ha too bad im not ugandan haha cant have so many... ahahahah but didnt get to meet pastor to thank him... but its still nice! went his house for lunch.




at the ssezibwe falls!!!! so nice rite! its abt 15m tall only la but still...

8th - hoping to post more pictures!

African Village at the Ugandan museum



GOATS. Ha brother goat.



Children - the future...



Cornerstone community church




Cornerstone community school, with pastor's wife and the principal, viola. Guess it was really God's grace that we met them. They were really hospitable and brought us around. Were really touched.



Emmanuel - the intern while we were at infectious disease. HA WE DID ALOT OF LUMBAR PUNCTURES!

8th

the weekend has been good. But yups, missing my mum now that it is mothers' day... yups you must be wondering why I have time to type this given the fact that I am going to a more rural area? cos the simple answer is that the African way is at work ha. The driver will only pick us up tomorrow morning, so we'd start later and so we'd still be in the city for the night. But still, guess it has been a great weekend. Let me tell u what we have done.

FRIDAY - bade farewell to many of our friends, exchanged contacts, then went home to pack bag.

SATURDAY - went to Ssezibwe Falls, which was interesting! So close to nature!!!! Ha but the journey was LONG. We started like moving off at 8.30. Took the bus to the main stop, then took another bus towards Jinja and alighted halfway, then took a boda boda (motorcycle) in to the falls. When we reached, it was 1030. Thanks to the jam in the city I guess… Yups Ha then they had a guide. So yups paid entrance fee of UGSh 3000 each, and the guided tour cost UGSh25000.

The trails took about 1.5 hrs. We took a lot of pictures! Wow haha there were 2 trails: nature trail and cultural trail. We went the nature trail first.

The nature trail was fantastic, cos we saw many different kinds of plants, dug some termite hills, took lotsa pictures and even did some rock climbing! Ha but yups it was really interesting and very back to nature! But it was tiring for JL. Anyway, so yups, breathed in all the fresh air and see the plants and the waterfall and river!!!! The water is so cooling!!! Hahaha so happy.

Then there was the cultural trail, where we were introduced to the way of life of the people living near the river and also the traditional beliefs. They go to the Ssezibwe falls to worship if they have gotten twins. Basically they crawl into a small hole and then worship there. And they leave pots there with 2 holes (signifying twins) to thank their gods. Interesting.

Then we had bible study with Specky, the intern which JL met during her surgery rotation. Yups. It was about Matthew 21:22-46. It was an interesting topic and I have begun to re-think many issues: going to church (erhm feel very much like a Christian paying lip service if I don’t fellowship and worship at a church), serving God, specialization to choose, faith and longing for God. Yups. And shared a lot with the intern, and she shared how she knew she was to be a missionary and then how she decided on anaethesia. And as I listened to her, the calling to be a paediatrician seemed to surface again. But I’m really not smart! But she says, as long as it is part of God’s will, it will be done.

Think most important thing for me is to learn to be more attuned to God’s word and I really need to study my bible. Think there are many things to learn and I am still inadequate.

SUNDAY (today) – finished packing… went for service at the University Bible Fellowship. Yups the sermon was on the same chapters we did for bible study yesterday. The worship was superb. Not that it was the music or what. It was a small church with about 20 people. Yet, during worship, I teared. This is the place where I teared the most, where I can feel the Holy Spirit really here. Yups so who says small churches can’t be good? Think this is a very good example. Enjoyed just being in His Presence.

Then yups, had lunch and fellowship at the Korean missionary cum paediatrician and talked to both him and his wife a lot, and played with his 3.5 year old child! Ha then we took a photo together. It really looked like those traditional Asian family photo cos the guys sat in front and the gals stood behind hahaha duno why it turned out like that.

Feel spiritually more recharged, more ready for rural. Hopefully can just speak to some people about Christ there. But yups, just keep Him in our hearts and His ministry will follow. (Ha this was concurred with by Specky!) And yes, God speaks through people too!

That’s all for now! 14 minutes left.

HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY TO MY MAMA AND GRANDMA AND ALL THE MAMAs IN THE WORLD!!!!

7th

Some photos... hopefully they turn out fine.


This is one of the dinners i cook hahaha so yups i eat ok here dont worry!


This is at the Uganda museum



This is at the wedding, with one of the page boys hahaha so cute!

7th

Hmmm it is the last day in Mulago hospital, but the sense of familiarity is so strong that I don't feel that I am leaving at all. Working till the last day, yups all the procedures and all. Have grown so used to the place. Have many friends, bade farewell to them. But yups, it just felt like another day, as if i might be coming back to this place... Hmmm I really dunno. I dun think so. Guess I have adapted so well to the place... Perhaps cos we're still spending 5 weeks more away from home that is why we do not have the "i am going home and will not be coming back here" kind of feeling and nostalgia. Yups.

But looking back, time really flies. I still remember the first day when I arrived, I was totally not used to being the only white person walking around and everybody staring at you. Now, I'm used to stardom. I was not used to the roads, the culture, the way they do things here, but now I guess you can call me a local, albeit still a superstar. Just the stares i suppose. But yups I have learnt how to interact with the locals, though sometimes the language is still a problem. Yups. Wait a moment will change computer...

Ha changed. Cos that computer cant access yahoo only gmail. yups back.

So yes, this week has not been much different, feels like any other week, except we've gotta start packing again... hate packing, especially when you have to keep within that limit... but this time i can just lug everything to Wakiso Health Centre, the rural rotation. Heard that I will be running clinics there. Yups, just need that clinical guidelines and oxford handbook. Hopefully it'd be alright and fun. Then after 2 weeks it is TOURING TIME!!!!! MUHAHAHAHA!!!! The Singaporean (hmmm catch the Channel U variety show tink June first wk.. forgot the date... its about Singaporeans in places which very few Singaporeans go...) bee keeper, Lesster, is bringing us around!!!! He's really very nice! Ha and if we've not come to uganda, we'd never have known this person. Ha its really interesting how God brings people together!!!

Yups, will be going to the University Bible Fellowship church this weekend. No need to preach i guess so yups, just enjoying the service and God's presence. This church is really interesting... cos it is started by some Korean missionary doctors (yes, they've set up a clinic called the Bethesda Medical Clinic, and yes, it is set up by a PAEDIATRICIAN!!!!) so its really cool. They've been here for 7 years!!!! (ha same duration as Lesster) wow. And learnt from them there are only about 200 odd Koreans here, and most of them are doing missionary work.

The Koreans are really interesting and inspiring. They have only 30% Christians (source is from the doctor here... not really sure if it is accurate) but there are alot of them who becomes missionaries! They are almost EVERYWHERE!!! Just recall the korean missionaries held hostage in Afghan... Really really RESPECT them. And nothing daunts them. Like the missionary doctor here, because English is not their first language in Korea, so they are still having some problems despite being here for 7 years BUT they have never given up!!! And it was interesting how this Dr Lim actually became a Paediatrician. His favourites were as follows: Surgery, _______ , ________, Paediatrics (haha er paiseh... i really cant recall @ this moment in time) He knew he wanted to do missions in future. But he was not sure of his specialisation. he wanted to do surgery, but he could not stand for long... so he decided his physique was not cut for surgery. Then he applied for the 2nd choice... Rejected. Did army, applied for 3rd choice, rejected. Then applied his last choice. Got it. Yet, he found his specialisation, Paediatrics most useful in Uganda, as there are many children!!!! He knew that God had it planned for him.

Hmmm ha a little inspiring to me cos i havent really figured out what specialisation i should do. Wanted to do Paediatrics but after the posting, i was still interested but not sure whether i had the brain power to do it. Might as well spend the extra time doing something else... But yups, i'd just do whatever i can apply! Trust in the Lord! :P

SO yups, i might not be checking my emails for the next 5 weeks, especially during the next two weeks im in rural part dunno if got internet... BUT I REALLY REALLY HOPE I GET INTERNET!!! I'm So Net hungry these days hahaha

but yups i have gotten used to not watching tv etc... only the internet... need to communicate with the rest of the world ma hahaha but still i'd be looking forward to emails fr all of u!!!

will publish this post first then crap again. in the crappy mode... finally on msn with some ppl!!! hahahaha

6th - some details missing... shall update another time

Ooops forgot to add that after the service i went to pastor wife's
house (er i didnt meet the pastor) for lunch (really nice) and
fellowship, played with her children (7!!! i oso want!!!) and then
they drove us to see their schools and then stopped by Lake Victoria
(breathtaking view) at Ggaba, near the school before driving us back
home and yes, she was so nice she shared offering with us... we were
like so shocked la... but well all in all summary is that pastor's
wife and her helper all very nice to us, they were really hospitable
and we were really touched. really really. ha yups and God is truly
amazing

6th

This weekend had been great. Well not that great in the sense that we
didn't manage to visit Entebbe, but spiritually I guess it was a rich
experience. It made me re-think many issues and got back close to God.

On Thursday, went to the Kasubi Tombs (yes, finally, after the spate
of poor weather and so on) and learnt a lot about the history of
Uganda. Apparently, Uganda has many tribes or kingdom, and the biggest
one is that of Buganda Kingdom. They have approx 8million out of the
28 million pple they have in total. I forgot how many tribes in total
they have but I believe it is like 50 plus? So yes, the Kasubi Tombs
is where they bury 4 of their Buganda kings. There are other tombs
elsewhere of those other kingdoms. Yes, the smaller tribes have
chieftains. But I guess finally the Buganda kings are the overall in
charge. So Uganda come from "buganda". Basically it works like this,
every new king will choose to build his palace on top of a hill. (for
easy defence and so on) and there will be a fireplace within that
palace, which just keeps on burning. It will only be put off when the
current king passes away. Then when the next king succeeds the throne,
the fire will be burnt again. Now for this tomb, it was the palace of
1 king. Then when he died, it was converted into a tomb. And 3 of his
other descendants chose to be buried in the same place.

And kings cannot be described to be dead. They have "disappeared". So
the tomb aka the previous palace has one huge African type house (yes
those with grass etc) where the king stays and every day 2 of his 84
wives will go in and serve him. So when he dies, half of it is sealed.
They dig deep down into the soil till certain depth then dig at right
angles forwards into the forest. Then they will place the coffin
there. So basically, the king has disappeared into the forest. So that
half of the house is sealed. And yes there are 4 kings there in total…
almost all are in succession. They can be requested to be buried there
or elsewhere or in their palace.

Other then the central house, there are smaller houses in the
peripheries, where all the 84 wives of the first king stayed. So when
he died, all the wives still have to stay in that house until they
die. Then after they die, the family of these wives have to select
another woman from that family, who will then take turns with the
other 84 families… So every month there will be 2 women from these
families staying in the central house to keep the place tidy. Etc.
Yes. They stay there. Then the next month another 2 families. And this
tradition is passed on for generations. Cos they consider it an honour
to be part of that "royal family". Of course, those kings after that
king have only one wife, so yes, they have only added a few women
family to that list. The current king is staying somewhere far from
it.

On Friday, we wanted to search for the crafts place where we were told
traditional crafts sold cheaply. But when we went there we did not
find the place. Ha so we went back home, put down our stuff and then
went to the film festival, called Amakula Kampala. We took a taxi to
the national theatre. Now you must understand the term 'taxi' in
Uganda means 'bus' in our context. It is a mini bus (actually like
those vans) which carries 14 passengers, where there will be a driver
and person who opens the door from the company. He is the one who
opens the door and collects the fare and shouts where the taxi goes eg
"Kampala Road, Jinja Road" So basically to take a taxi, you go to the
stop or "park" and start telling people the road you want to go, or
you listen to the shoutings. Er no bus guide or labels. Just ASK. Ha
so it was quite a fun experience for us. We were directed to the right
bus stop and managed to get on the 'taxi'. How do you alight? Just
shout "parking" when you think it is near where you want. They will
stop at the nearest stop. And the door opener collects the fare. Yes,
he can actually remember when one boards and alights. So yes, the fare
varies. To town it takes about 50 cents per person so it is rather ok
for us. This was the first time we took a 'taxi"

Another mode of public transport we tried was the "boda boda" which is
essentially a motorcycle. So only one passenger per boda boda. So it
is more expensive then the taxi. Of course, it can be dangerous. But
yes, we felt that if we never tried it we cannot say we have lived in
Uganda before. Ha so yes, we took it last week. It was pretty smooth.

Back to the Amakula Kampala film festival. We went at the right time,
for they were showing some short films by Ugandan directors. Erhm,
budding young directors. And yes, I do agree that for some of them,
the Singapore slapstick "Gui Ya Gui Ya" (Men in White) was better in
many areas. Ha. That is the standard. However the last one was good,
there was meaning and it advocated against child abuse. It was
touching and saved us from the agony of watching yet another (dots)
short film. Yups, then there was a small play cum dance thing put up
in traditional language, which of course we couldn't understand but it
was talking about the tribe's reaction to a couple having a pair of
twins. It was quite entertaining, all the dancing.

SATURDAY. Did nothing much. Had intended to go down to Entebbe. But
due to some unforeseen circumstances, it didn't materialize. So we
stayed at home, and I prepared my SERMON. YES. SERMON. The story went
like this. I contacted the Cornerstone pastor for a place of worship
in Uganda, so he forwarded my mail to his contact in Uganda. But the
pastor was preaching in the villages so we communicated by email and
he forwarded to one of his staff. (who was really friendly btw. We
were really touched) Who contacted me and offered to pick me up from
our workplace on Sunday. But she asked if we could share our
experiences. So I said sure. But then after I realized that this
sharing was more like a sermon. (she didn't tell us…) it was one hour
long. So ya, we freaked out, cos we've never preached before. So yups,
we decided each take half an hour. So yes, we prepared the sermon

SUNDAY. Yes. We went to the Cornerstone Community Church in Uganda.
My, it was really nice. And to our surprise and relief, we were only
preaching to the youth service! Ha but all these made me reflect upon
my whole trip and realized all my prayers were answered and it was
God's hand in all of these. So yes, I teared during the adult service
as I worshipped (it always happens, but this time all the things that
happened really flashed past my mind and I realized how great God IS!)

It was by divine intervention that I met this Professor from Mulago
Hospital at the Wonca conference. I did not realize it at that time. I
noticed she was African, learnt that she was from Uganda, then took
her namecard, cos I thought having another contact will be good for
the 4 others going to Kisiizi hospital in Kabale. I already had a
place in Kenya at that time. So I took her contact and passed it to my
friends.

Then just before exams, the bad news came. Kenya was too tumultuous
for us to go. There was political instability, killings everywhere,
especially in the town that I was supposed to go. Everyone else
freaked out, but I thought this was one challenge God posed. I didn't
fret, instead was rather calm and prayed. I knew I was going to
Africa, so I knew that if I stayed close to God, everything would turn
out fine. (this happened once before the time when NUS suddenly did
not allow us to go Africa in general. Of course we fret, even cried,
but we prayed and miraculously one wk after the whole incident, the
decision was reverted. And yes, the people who took the initiative to
petition was me and JL. We felt it was something we had to do. But it
was not our petition but rather our prayers that was answered.) So
having the previous experience, we knew God was in control so we
didn't fret.

Yet, the time passed and still the situation did not change. This was
in the midst of all the patho exams. After the exams, we knew we could
not wait any longer. One month before our electives, my friend NY
passed the namecard back to us, saying why don't you try this. So yes,
we tried. The application was really smooth until we couldn't believe
it. Then we wanted to buy the air tickets to fly with the other 4.
Yet, the airline said there was no more places. Then we called again
another day. We could fly again, with the rest of the group, on the
same day, with the same plane. The rest, as you know, I am in Uganda
now.

Prayers were answered. And I guess He really wanted to bring us here.
These few weeks I had initially felt empty, as I am still considering
whether to be a mission doctor and wanted to make use of this elective
experience to decide. Yet, i did not go to any mission hospital at
all.

During the past 3 wks in neurology, it dawned upon me that as long as
we keep God in our hearts, the ministry will come along smoothly. We
do not have to burden ourselves with whether we are doing enough for
God. I had expected to do something for the Lord for this trip, to
share to others about Him, yet I found myself largely not doing so,
save for the few patients I prayed at the bedside for during
Neurology. The ultimate was this "preaching" incident. It made me
realized, God is training me up in some way. (ha this was more felt by
JL, for she was really surprised that it was youth service, for she is
serving in youth svc in her church) This is just the beginning and
there is more to come. I asked God to reveal to me His purpose for me,
whether I am doing too little and this incident came up. Yes, I still
do not know the exact plans He has, but I guess, preaching, sharing
and probably missions will be the way to go for me in future.

Don't know what else to do, except keeping close to Him. I know He has
plans for me. I need not worry or burden myself. (ha yes, this was the
'sermon' I preached, and I got a new understanding on the "yoke" which
Jesus mentioned in Matthew)

Yes, but there are still many issues to be resolved. I really hope I
can go to church in Spore, serve the Lord, serve in ministry. More
importantly, I want to grow spiritually. My growth is really minimal.
I am still a spiritual baby, despite the long time I've been telling
others that I am a Christian.

Yes, use me Lord.

KK ENOUGH OF THE WEEKEND. Hmmm just an update… might not be able to
update much in the next few weeks, cos after this current week, I'd be
going to rural rotation at Wakiso Health Centre for 2 wks, for which I
do not know if I'd have internet. Then I will be touring for another
1.5 wks around the country… so moving around, might not have chance to
update.

But yes, I do want to update. And my travel diary is still on DAY 2. SIGHS

And yes, I bought lotsa souvenirs but still tink I have many ppl I
haven't bought hahaha bought mainly for my family.

But yes, keep close to God! Love Him!!!

5th

I can say that my life here in Uganda is really interesting. Far cry from the mundane life in Spore. Ha but yes, i know no matter what, we will need to remember the focus of this trip is God. So whatever happens, we shall not detract away from Him. We should not be detracted by the cares of this world.

 

This weekend is going to be fun too. Am planning to go Entebbe, maybe visit the art festival where they are screening all the films FREE hahahahaha Singaporean mentality. In the public holiday yesterday, i went to visit Kasubi Tombs (abit expensive not so fun as the Museum but it was still nice cos you rarely see the palace turned tomb of kings! at least not in Spore), then went to a fellowship meeting cum bible study at University Bible Fellowship, being invited by one of the local interns. It was a interesting experience, got to know people and talk to them, made friends with this Korean couple, both doctors and missionaries in Uganda. They have been here for 7 years. One is a paediatrician and another an ophthalmologist. They are planning to set up a mission hospital in Entebbe. Really a great experience to talk to these people, ha. Still considering my options. but i tink short term missions will be one of the things i do in future. not sure about long term missions.

 

yet, we'd see where God leads me.

 

I have learnt from a sermon at cornerstone to align ourselves so that we can be attuned to God. That is how all Christians, regardless of denominations can unite. We may have different theologies, yet the way to unite is to call out to God, learn to hear Him, and hence follow His purpose for us. Only then can we fulfil His big picture of having a loving family with all of us.

 

Some things have happened, and we often think whether it is the enemy that is doing all these. Yet, if we would just learn to listen to God, we know that He will and He has won the battle for us.

 

K need preparation for an interesting and exciting weekend ahead. Shall tell ya all what I have done the next week. And yes, next week is my last week in Mulago Hospital, after which I will spend 2 more weeks in a rural place, followed by touring for 1.5 wks before gg HK hahaha so yes must study hard hard now. Hahahaha but still...

4th post fr uganda!

Am now resorting to the internet cafe to check my emails, as the internet in school cannot access all my email accounts. Basically anything that needs log-in cannot be accessed. Can't be helped, cos I need to check my emails! Yet the internet cafe keyboard is really atrocious. Cant type. All the keys are hardened.

Yups, but the internet cafe here's ok, faster speed than school and quite affordable – 1500 shillings (about SGD1.50) per hour, with bonus of 10 mins, so its about 70 mins. Hmmm, but yups, don't think i'd check up on other people's blogs as much, cos its really difficult to get the net. Ha those in Kisiizi has better internet than us! They are on MSN almost everyday! Ha to think we're still in the capital city while they're in the more rural Kabale hahahaha interesting.

Back to sharing what I have been up to these days.

SCHOOL – started school, got to know the locals, talked to patients. Got the hang of stuff, basically saw cases quite similar in Singapore, except that the differential diagnoses were starkly different. Fever = malaria until proven otherwise. Quinine is given liberally to patients with fever and neurological symptoms. Young patient with hemiplegia or stroke like picture is ISS (immunosuppressive state, ie HIV) with suspicion of HIV vasculitis / CNS lymphoma / toxoplasmosis; Meningitis picture, think always of cryptococcus and indian ink. And I guess MBBS examiners will be so happy to come to the wards here. They do not have to list cases.. Almost everyone has like huge stuff. For eg, a hemato pt asked me to check on him, then one hand on the abdomen the diagnosis is out ha hepatosplenomeg +++ etc etc. But of course, the neuro signs are just comparable with our NNI haha.

Got to know many of the locals, am surprised my memory for faces & names were actually working that well. But yes, probably when I go back to Spore, my defunct memory will surface again. Here, I actually talk more to nursing students than I did the whole 4 yrs of my med sch. Ha, probably they're more friendly here? So I taught them a lot of stuff, like reading ECG and CT scans but yups me not very good at these myself! Ha JL taught some of them (haha she actually rem the wrong name and contacted the wrong person... so embarrassing... but as usual hahahahaha.) computer skills, like Microsoft Word, cos they do not have a computer, do not even know how to switch on one but need to use it for literature review (!?!!) Ha high expectations ah! Sigh, perhaps I've come from such an advance place I behave like a goon. So I usually watch certain things first before doing... Ha like for eg taking blood sugar... Spore one is put it in and it will switch on by itself. So I put the stick in, then waited and waited. Then realised it did not switch on... haha Then the nursing student was looking at me like I was some goon. Ha but yups i found the switch and on and did everything all over again. Things like this la... you get the idea.

But of course, have seen more deaths than I had. Could not take it at first...Felt exasperated. Cos these were many patients who deteriorated quickly cos the diagnosis was not made in time. Why? Invx not done OR they had no $$ to pay. Invx not done can be due to absurd reasons like NO GLOVE (cos it gets locked up some where even though there is, only sister gets it...) or sterile set (erps... tink it happens only in my ward... cos JL's ward has chlorhexidine too... mine really deficient. tink its the system) or the intern didnt feel like it.... wow.... so its pushed to the nxt day. And ya so patients go off like this: was conscious on first day, LP / other invx not done, so 2nd day semi conscious, 3rd day unconscious (btw, a lot of my patients are on the ward but unconscious and no one really asks the big WHY... take it as stroke causing unconsciousness) then need oxygen, so they get sent out of the ward to the common corridor where there is only one oxygen tank... and the intern will say almost 100% of patients who went to the oxygen area never made it back... I was like !?!?!. Oh wells. There is no crash cart everything. You get the idea. Basically its quite exasperating for me. Teaching not really that good... would have preferred the NNI teaching! Ha so its just the experience and self study, not so much that of learning. But yes i do learn about toxoplasmosis malaria tetanus (the spasms are triggered by noise!!!) etc which I have never heard of in my life. Here it is like if you do not know whats a ring enhancing lesion on CT, its criminal!

K ENOUGH OF SCHOOL

ENTERTAINMENT – First weekend when I reached there, I was brought around alot... covered in the previous posts. then first week Thursday, another Sporean-Msian (the same one tt brought us to church on the 1st weekend) treated us to dinner, where we met other fellow Sporeans... about 10 of us... we ate at this place in atas (yes, their definition, not ours) Garden City, in the City Central, at the eatery called Spurs Silver City. Basically its a atas South African restaurant. Yups, foood was ok. Then 2nd weekend was boring, studied then went to the biggest pentecostal church KPC (mentioned in previous post) and bought lotsa souvenirs. Ha. 3rd weekend... Went to Uganda Museum, though the Bradt guide gave it a really low score but i had so much fun at the African village. It is those african village houses (mud + straw) kind of the different tribes... took lotsa photos there. Had intended to go to Kasubi tombs on the same day, but we actually overstayed in the museum so much that there was no time to go down there. Kasubi tombs was given a higher rating... haha never mind, we still have time. Then the next day we went to New Redemption church. We were brought there by this Ugandan pastor whom we met on the airplane. There we witnessed a church wedding!!!! Then he treated us to this atas cafe (erps... didnt quite catch the name... but tt place was packed with foreigners... so you know how much the grading is) the food was alright... ha but it was nice. Then he brought us to his house and his office.


FOOD – haha usually i'd have bread and jam / peanut butter plus mocha (milo plus nescafe) for breakfast, local food (matoke ie steamed bananas etc ) for lunch and cook dinner myself with the oven! Ha so yups its nice! And bowel movement has been rigorous, cos the local food is high fibre (ha no not much vegetables, but imagine your whole plate is steamed bananas….)

SPIRITUAL – Ha, hmmm am thankful for the Lord for laying the path in Uganda so smooth... we keep on meeting many people who takes us around... if there was no one to show us around, i think we'd get lost and leading a very un-entertaining life haha. Don't have much plans, but guess might be going to all the tourist attractions in kampala and entebbe.

Got to pray for a patient. Other than that, haven really done much. My initial motive for this trip was more of a spiritual one than a medical one... Wanted to see life as a mission doctor, see things in a mission hospital, to talk to people about my Lord. But things had not been what I had expected, as there was a huge change of plans due to the situation in Kenya... Haven done much of these, just going around to different churches and see see look look. But yups, I know God has it all planned for me... in fact the way I found myself in Uganda was almost something that was so smooth and unexpected. So keeping my eyes open, my heart open. Just know that in everything I do, I do it for Him and He will shine through, no matter how little or much i feel I have done. Yups.

ENVIRONMENT – AIR ETC – yes, its really dusty here, especially on the roads. the first few days we thought we were going to get asthma and get black lungs after 2 months! Ha really appreciate our garden city so much! Air is really considered very clean in Spore. So will not complain when i get back! Ha Getting muddy shoes to the wards is really like the norm... at least no one cares... try getting one into the wards at our hospitals... think you'd get screamed at. Ha and they have really red soil here... everywhere it is... Temperature here is like Spore. but humidity really nice!

anw... dun seem to be able to upload photos... really slow k so cya all

in reply to my class blog

There are several issues that struck me after reading these few blog entries. I would just like to point out certain things which I feel. Not in any motive, but just to share. Before I begin, you must understand that probably my approach to things is very much different from all of yours. To a “to-be doctor” I guess every thing boils down to practicalities. That is me, focusing on what I see as practical. (at this point you must note that I am typing this with only distant memory of what you have discussed, cos I rarely have internet in Uganda, so my apologies if I’ve gotten a wrong impression of what any of you have said) So just pointing out stuff which looks starkly different from what I think. And yes, I constantly like to explain and think and even challenge the bible. I’ve been taught to do that. But the fundamental belief is that all things can be explained, there are no contradictions in the bible, just whether one has the time to read through it. But yes, I am rushing thru this, so just typing what comes to my mind. NOT STRUCTURED AT ALL.

Firstly, some of you have quoted several philosophers and so on. My question is, these are but just mere humans expressing their views and thinking. So they are just like you and me, trying to explain certain things in life, just putting forth theories etc. Yet, theories are but theories, no matter how rational, how logical they seem, is it the truth? If they are not, why bother even reading / quoting them? (hmmm guess up to this point I can already feel many arrows shooting onto me) Yes, for interest. Yups, for history. Other than that? One may quote philosophies that appeal to him to explain his point. That further skews everything – one leads to another to another. So is that the truth? No.

However, I know nothing about plagiarism of the Greek philosophers. So please educate me. But before we jump to any conclusions about that, what you are talking about is probably some isolated teachings on how to be “good”, almost all religions alike, so who is plagiarizing who? But yet, these are but secondary. It is the central idea that matters. Most religions teach us to be “good”, but what is “good”? Universal morality as you have mentioned? Is being “good” as we’ve defined the end to it all? Then of course I would agree that all religions are the same, there is not much thinking to be done, and of course coolgoh’s take on how intellectual people, those who can reason what is good and what is not, do not need religion etc. These are but standards set by man for man. Are these the true standards?

Yes, I anticipate you all will start standing up and say why am I highlighting what is true etc, is there really a truth etc etc. But simple simple. There must be a truth. And my take is that a truth is a truth. It cannot be challenged cannot be changed. So there can only be one explanation, not others. (of course, if I dwell on why I think Christianity is the sole truth etc, I’d have to take the whole day… shan’t go onto that yet. mabbe in future)

Next, many people have mis-quoted the bible. The bible is ONE book. So it has to be interpreted as a whole, not isolated lines. (although the labeling of the verses have made it so convenient for people to quote) For the bible, there is simply no distinction of the new and the old testament. It is just like chapter one and chapter two of a novel. The new is a continuation of the old. There are no new laws no new ideas. You all have been quoting Matthew, so lets start off from Matthew 1 and 2 then. Matthew 1 tells of the genealogy of Jesus. It traces all the forefathers etc. God has attempted to prove to man that all these are part of history. If we really trace, all these are the exact lineage. Note that a large part of the bible is dedicated to the lineage. These are not invented, but is recorded, so that the future people (like us) know how the history progressed. So the bible is a record of historical (NOT fictional) events. And the lineage of Abraham all the way to Jesus, tells of the fact that how since the beginning of time God has already been wanting to send Jesus down to save mankind. The old testament is the covenant of law, while the new testament is the covenant of grace. The old testament tells of the promise God will send One to save mankind. The new testament tells of the promise of salvation through the One.

Note that there are many cross references in the bible, as it is all one book! For eg in Matthew 1 the birth of Jesus was described exactly in Isaiah 7:14 (shows fulfilling of the prophecy), that he will be born out of a virgin and was from the Holy Spirit. Then in Matthew 2, there are cross references to Micah 5:2 (that he will be born in Bethlehem) and then in Hosea 11:1 (that he was to raise his son in Egypt). etc etc So my point being the new testament is interpretation of the old testament, it explains the old testament, which some might not understand. So there are no new laws, new things. God did not change. He was always a God of love. He did not “turn into a loving God” instantly in the new testament.

Yes, God is jealous. But if you interpret the whole passage instead of that line, you’d understand what this “jealous” means. These people were worshipping idols instead of God. God is NOT jealous (like the jealousy in humans) of the idols, but He is jealous of the love of man. He loves us so much, desires to have fellowship with us so much so that if we do not love Him / fellowship with Him, He is being torn apart. That is being “jealous”. (think: one sided love affair) Is He still perfect? Yes.

About all the destruction to mankind, how God destroyed cities of Sodom etc etc… It is judgment. From the start till the end of the bible, it is all about judgment. We have sinned. So we need judgment. Just like how if we break a law in Singapore, we have to face up to the punishment. Except that WHEN is the judgment met. For the “old testament people” their judgment has been done. For the “new testament ppl” it will occur after we die.

Idea about original sin. We all know that humans are not perfect. It is not just about choices. We may sin even without choosing to. The thought, the action, just comes to our mind. Its almost like a spinal reflex. No thought.

We may try to explain our ideas, our existence by our wisdom, knowledge or intellect. Yet we know that if someone is of lower intellect, he may never explain things as the higher intellect sees it. So the higher intellect must explain to the lower one. If we can apply this to the situation between man and God, then you’d see why I think it is pointless to look at philosophers and so on. Humans like to think arrogantly that we are the highest on this earth and so we attempt to explain everything ourselves. Yet, are we really the highest being? No. (note that if we are the highest being, we would not be subjected to sufferings etc, we would be the one creating this world and not subjected to the forces of this world.) And can we ever explain fully something of the higher being? No. Its just like a dog can never explain what his master thinks (erps poor analogy I know but you get the idea) So you need the higher being to explain things to you. Which is God. God came down (in the form of Jesus) to explain things to us, to explain the old testament to us.

Erps taken too long. Too much to explain. (haha we should all meet up when XY etc comes back! class outing!) But yups the crux is Christianity is logical and rational. If you would allow, just email me each contradiction you (anyone, not just XY or GCS) think and I will try my best to explain. Yet note all my answers will be from the Bible. NOT from any philosophers or any other people. So I can only give a Christian perspective. And doesn’t matter if you’re an atheist or Buddhist or what. Yups, guess its just a exchange of ideas, breaching a closer understanding!

Last note. The difference in Christianity is that it is all about a personal relationship with God, not any intellectual discussion or anything. You will know that He is in your life, He is there. You can feel the Holy Spirit, you know He is guiding you. A true Christian is one who has a relationship with God, not just based upon some simple motive or logic. It is like a love affair with your spouse. (And yes, the love between man and woman is but an emulation of the relationship between God and Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, shan’t go into that…)

kk. Shucks. My English is really atrocious. Too much of dialects & Singlish in the wards! Now lugandan! haha

3rd

Today is an interesting day. I met the first (erhm, he just goes to the ward every day and shouts), nope second psy patient, no not a patient, he was just outside the medical school. Ha, guess its no different in the nationalities when it comes to psychiatry. But the locals were nice, they helped me out and find me a computer when I was waiting for one. Ha. ok. 10 more minutes before procedure time, but guess they'd make me wait again. Just had a filling lunch and trying to access the internet and emails now! The weekend had been good, I stayed home on saturday to catch up on my reading (yes yr 5's imminent!) and then went to a big church – Kampala Pentecostal Church – on Sunday. It was good, the sermon's by an invited Jew born-again. It was interesting, he talked about family. Yups, the ministry starts from the family, if not there is not testimony to talk about

Then went to buy souvenirs at a craft centre in Kampala. It was nice! Ha i saw many crafts on animal skins which made me drool but sigh each one's like SGD 60. So ex. So ya didnt buy those. Bought other nice crafts! Ha their artwork's great.

Well, k shall update ya all again. But basically, there is nothing much to talk about school, ha just an interesting way of life, many things are different and you'd really appreciate the Singapore system. Shall see if i can find another pastor who has several orphanages. Hope to visit some of them and do some work there! :P

2nd post

2nd post, hope it can get thru

It has been good, I have already gotten use to the pace and the life here. And finally I'm on a computer that can access gmail, blog, yahoo. Ok, well, hmmm there seems to have some problems loading the pages again. So hmmm, I shall reserve my comments. And the queer thing about the keyboards here is that it is different from what I usually use. For many of them, the “@” is NOT above the number “2” key. It is “ instead. So yes, when I saw this dell computer with the dell keyboard with all the familiar keys, I thought it was different, for it was printed on the keyboard as “2” and “@”, yet, just as i am typing this message, I realised it was no difference. Ha. Just a random comment.

Yes, for the past 2 days I have been trying in vain to blog something... Ha always problem with the word processor or with accessing the blog itself. Anyway, I've found much cheaper food, thanks to the locals, and am adapting much more to the system. Yes, the system here is really dependent on what you want to do, it is very much like in Singapore, except that you take on abit more responsibilities. Ha went to admit a patient the other day, and presented in rounds. Ha but when it came to correcting and carrying out the plans of management, the consultant passed it to the intern. Oh well, ha. And yes, today the other students were all gone, so I got to do and learn much more, cos I was the only student around. i have not taken so many BP before.

Saw myriad of cases, but its starting to be the same... shall look to the surgery side muhahahaha. Anw, I hope to see and do LP today! :P tt's all about it in neurology... I'm still quite averse to doing procedures, but JL has scrubbed in like a few times. Ha but yes, will do LP ha. i try to “disappear” after the rounds while the interns are doing the blood taking. Then I will try to go back when its time for LP ha. But yes, just be careful lorz. Learnt quite a few local lang and the way they speak. it is Lugandan. Mzungu = foreigner; Weebale = thank you, Kale = you're welcome, Olio Otya (pronounced as 'tia') = how are u feeling today? and if you want someone to do something immediately, you have to say “now now” and not just “now” ha.


SHucks can't see the cursor now on the blog. Shall give it abit more patience and see how it goes. Wonder if this blog is going to get thru again! Anw, have received new news that I have gotten a merit for my ethics test. hmmm wow. didnt know i was that ethical ha. yups guess it was just by fluke. Having to study it during the shiong Obstetrics & Gyne posting was bad!

Baaaah. no more medical stuff first. Shall tell you all what i've done so far... Actually looking forward more to the weekends than anything. Ha cos tt's when i get to play! wooo!

Friday when i first reached, i had to change money... wow i changed like more than 2 million shillings. we both freaked out. that was a thick wad of notes. It was all in 20,000 pieces, so its like 3 to 4 cm thick la! then the driver was quite far away and we didnt know where to hide it. Ha i tried to downplay my anxiety and walked coolly towards the car. anw, yups the weather here is hot but not humid, so u sweat less. but need to put sunscreen. Lots of dust, but yes, the place where i'm staying is on the campus, which is built on a hill, so its slightly cooler and the air is really fresh! just that the city and the roads are abit dusty. on the first day when the local student brought us to the market, we were not used to it, for we were the minority and were getting the stares. but guess now its all ok, feeling more like a superstar than anything ha. And yes, at night its darker, cos the lights aren't as aplenty as in Singapore. So had a bit of adjustment to do.

Had a try of the local food, matoke. which is some starch like thing. Taste ok, similar to rice stuff and the like. yups. They usually eat alot of starch together with the sauce, which can be chicken, beef, fish or even goat. yups It is quite nice la. I'm a big rubbish dump, so yups tt's why i tink i dun really mind. Think the Singapore Lei Cha thingy is the worst dish i've tasted so far hahaha.

went to visit many places. last saturday, went to walk ourselves in the streets, just to get a feel, topped up SIM card etc. Then the honey man, Lesster, a very nice fellow Singaporean who owns bee farms and produces honey in Uganda, brought us around and we enjoyed ourselves. He first brought us to this "Atas" place called Garden City, which is a shopping centre, where we ate nice local food. GOAT meat yes. hahaha in other words mutton. Anw then shopped for maps and bought an african recipe book. Then we followed him to an orphanage, that was set up by the swiss. Too bad we didnt get to go in and see...the security was tight, cos they were afraid ppl will come in to take the children for black magic. But yes, according to him, those ppl only wants children without any defects, so they poke ear holes for them, so that they will not catch them. He made it sound scary... they will decapitate the children they catch. But yes, so children, do go get ur ears poked and u're safe. more reasons for girls to poke ear holes hahahaha

then went to his place, and cos the other 4 of my frens who stayed in his house the previous night (getting ready to go up to the more rural part, Kabale) told him that i could cook very well, so yes, he made me cook for him. Ha cooked gong bao ji ding (the chicken u know) and brinjal w bean sauce and just stir fried the vegetables. Yups. Had fun playing with his 2 sheep (ha kor kor note!) and feeding them with cassia leaves. then he has like 6 huge german shepherds! WoW! Ha, but yes, it was under lock. Had great time talking to him, he was a nice person.

Oh yes, he intro us to this Christian and fellow Singaporean who works here and was previously a missionary, when we said we wanted to go to church. And so our sunday was filled with activity too! went to this church called Covenant Nations Church, according to him was started by the first lady and some powerful ppl. it's a small church, and got to know this Congolese couple there, whose whole family have been killed in the civil strife. prayed for them, and for their newborn. Really an experience. Learnt alot from the sermon, about turning round against the devil instead of letting him attack us. Ha then had nice fried chicken with matoke, then went to his house to use the internet, had some singapore peach tea (wow am still missing it, yes the Pokka one; he had his fren bring it) then went to this nice church function - it sorta like a ceremony for the boys turning 13, saying that they are now adults and hold responsibility to God, etc etc. Their commitment and their maturity, especially in Christ was remarkable! Both of us were impressed and JL wanted to implement it in her youth ministry. I thought it was a good idea too! ha shall try to get photos from her and show u all...

the rest of the days i've spent here's all about sch. yups it has been good, as previously mentioned. k shall stop here. do check updates here again!

Uganda - Pearl of Africa

Finally i have access to the internet. Will just drop a quick note here.

I have reached Uganda safely and thank you all for all the well wishes! Will take care of myself here. These few days have been good, almost like having a tour of Kampala, thanks to the great hospitality of fellow Singaporeans who are living and working in Uganda (there are only 14 of them in total) Have met only a few of them, not all. But yes, it was really fortunate to have them take us around, if not we would be really lost.

The culture here is very much different and it so happens that we are the minority. Read: bad reputation of chinese in Uganda, cos of the way the Chinese ppl do their businesses in Uganda. Yes, so we have been quite careful all the way, even while walking in the streets. But yes, we are able to get around fairly ok, mostly walking cos the public transport is really not that safe actually.

Shall post my travel diary when I am done with it. At least, when I have proper access to Internet. Yups, so just wanna leave a note and wish all well. Take care of yourselves and we shall meet again in 2 months' time.

Yes, i know God will be ahead. So no fear. Will hang in there! :P

ReflectionZ

Just blogging something that struck me these few days.

There i was, crushing the fish fillet into smaller pieces. For easy chewing and eating. I put it in her spoon, together with some vegetables. Instantly, flashback. Some 18 years ago, i swallowed a fishbone. Did not manage to get it out. Flush it down with water, vegetables or rice, as my parents would say (erhm, now as i've learnt more things, well this is definitely NOT advisable if u accidentally swallow a fishbone). I did. Yet the fear of fish persisted. The next day lunchtime, there i was, staring at the piece of fish and dared not pick it up. For fear of another fishbone. Yet, she patiently crushed the piece of "mai yau" fish (canto) and tried to see and pick out any bone. (yes, even though that type of fish, according to her knowledge, had really really no bones) Then she would encourage me to eat. Bit by bit, slowly, i picked up the pieces and put them in my mouth. Just like what she was doing now. Do not remember much of those days when I was young, just the few precious memories.

Yet, now I looked at her, I am reminded of the sad fact that while I have grown and become more independent and more involved in my own affairs, she has also grown... old. Compared to 18 years ago, she have really aged. No longer is she as nimble, no longer is she as able to pick out bones. No longer she is chewing as well as she did. No longer... ... How long have I not taken her hand and hold it tight. Week after week I visit her, yet she seemed so distant. The visits didnt add on to anything. I can't help but imagine what she has been doing all these while. It seems that I have missed out so much time together with her. Those countless of hours which I have spent outside, working, which I have completed many projects, write ups, tutorials, lectures. What was she doing all this while, while I was in school? Sleeping, watching TV, reading newspaper etc? Well, I would never know what I have missed. Those peaceful quiet times I could have spent holding her hands, speaking to her, talking to her.

And it is really sad. She has many children. All of whom visits her. Yet, they talk among themselves, they talk about her. But who really speaks to her heart? Previously they could have. Now they can't. Whatever you speak, you will have to speak it again. And again.

I am afraid, really afraid. That I might not have much chance to do so. That I might not have time to spend with her. That I might miss out so much of her life. I wonder how different things would be when i return 2 months later. While I am out there trying to experience a new way of life, she is still here, gradually withering away... It has long been since she has had the perfect memory. Now she seems to be even more confused... I don't seem to be able to speak to her heart. The person in her... locked? Life, has reduced... to a point that seemed only mechanical... No intellect, no thoughts to think about. Perhaps the once complex brain is disintegrating to the point of just having spinal reflexes. Message in. Connection. Message out. No retention. Same message in, same message out. Probably a short circuit.

I prayed. I held her hands and prayed...

I went down to this place today. As usual, me in a business like tone. Just wanted to get what I need and leave. Just give a bit of intro and that's it. Then... nearing the end of it all, she said, "Win more souls for Christ!" I felt electrocuted. It just struck me. Ever so hard.

He has done so much for me. It's time I offer myself up to Him.

HaaaChooooo! Quack Quack! HaaaChooooo!

Yes.
A pastor had a revelation from God, that a virus which had appeared sporadically all over the world in 1988 will return with a greater force in 2008. That virus is bird flu...

Hmmm. Well yes, over the past few years, we have had been seeing a few cases dying cos of Bird Flu.

Today, HK. First case.
Tomorrow? Nobody knows. But we have to be prepared, for another outbreak worse than SARS. Not only medically, but spiritually. For Him to protect and raise our nation. That when the flood comes, we will be able to stay on top and not be drowned.

Just keep our focus on Him.

Star Bloggers? You ought to reflect!

Hmmm, didn't really feel like blogging, but an article i read on MY paper (Singapore's only bilingual paper) made me feel really uncomfortable... It was the commentary made by Jamie Yeo on the recent NUS survey (hmph I havent heard anything about this at all before this la!) that 64% of students have intercourse at least once a week, the most preferred places were hostels and toilets. (most of the students taking part in the survey were NUS Arts students)

K yes, of course I'd be shocked over the results of the survey. And what made it worse are jamie yeo's comments on it. (n yes, this is the first time I went on Stomp to find out what this website is all about.) Read at: http://starblog.stomp.com.sg/post.php?blogid=740

Firstly, don't we see that itself as a big problem? How many of these people are married? I don't think they are. Sex in itself is a sacred event. It is God's gift to humans. Even if you do not look at it from the Christian's perspective, don't you think it is a sacred event? It is when you give yourself wholly and fully to someone you truly love and will spend your life with. It is such a personal thing between 2 persons that when any other person is involved, the essence, the feeling and the whole enjoyment even will be different, cos the word "love" isn't even in the picture. It is "lust". This is so personal that I cannot even draw an accurate analogy to it. The closest I have would be this: Would you ever ever wear a stranger's WORN underwear??? Don't think you'd wear it even if its your loved ones. Yes, it's that personal! perhaps this analogy might sound weird, but the point i'm trying to make is that how can one be so flippant over such matters? It's giving of your body to another person! So you just give it to anyone? and you give it almost every week?

Secondly, the medical point of view - yups guess you all know. Shan't speak further

Thirdly. Jamie Yeo. (and the rest of the bloggers) She should know that her views are read by many others. It's even on the newspapers. Many other youngsters out there who are still not sure of what love is. She blames the bad press, the media, propagating this message of casual sex. Then what is she doing as a star blogger? She's propagating it too! She even gives examples of her own personal experience, of sleeping with lecturer for good grades, etc. She ends off with a quote taken from the bible: "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone", trying to say that we should not and do not have to judge others, for we are all full of sin. Yes. But Jesus ended the whole story with "Go and sin no more." So indeed we are in no position to judge, but should you, ENCOURAGE people to continue in sin?

Yes, why am I so worked up over this? We have seen all the worst ever on the newspapers - Edison Chen saga etc etc etc. Since it is really nothing new. Yet, I am concerned for our society as a whole. Are we, progressing to a point of no return? The young and the educated. The meaning of presenting your body as a gift to your future spouse to show your love for him/her. You don't even need a degree to understand all these. Yet, people just don't seem to understand.

And from the Christian's point of view. Are we as a society heading towards sin so much, like the city of Sodom? Then we are heading for destruction...

Perhaps I am not good with words, dunno how i can fully put forth my thoughts, but I am really really bothered by this.

God is weeping. We are hurting Him too much. I am saddened.

What Major is Right for You??

Take this quiz at: http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=35647N

Ha did this quiz when I'm just starting to do data analysis for my project and am already put off... so yes, might have been quite biased. haha anw these are my results. Pretty accurate. haha mabbe cos i'm already in this med mindset and the questions are so predictable of the "major" they're asking of. haha but oh well, just feeling wu liao and putting off doing the data!!!!
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WHAT MAJOR IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

You scored as a Nursing/AthleticTraining/Health

You should strongly consider majoring in Nursing, Athletic Training, or related majors (e.g., Chiropractics, Nutrition/Dietetics, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Radiologic Technology, Rehabilitation Services, Respiratory Therapy). It is possible that the best major for you is your 2nd, 3rd, or even 5th listed category, so be sure to consider ALL majors in your OTHER high scoring categories (below). You may score high in a category you didnt think you would--it is possible that a great major for you is something you once dismissed as not for you. The right major for you will be something 1) you love and enjoy and 2) are really great at it. Consider adding a minor or double majoring to make yourself standout and to combine your interests. Please post your results in your myspace/blog/journal.

Nursing/AthleticTraining/Health 88% Religion/Theology 88% Visual&PerformingArts 81% HR/BusinessManagement 75% Education/Counseling 75% English/Journalism/Comm 69% Biology/Chemistry/Geology 63% Psychology/Sociology 50% French/Spanish/OtherLanguage 50% History/Anthropology/LiberalArts 50% Physics/Engineering/Computer 44% Accounting/Finance/Marketing 38% Mathematics/Statistics 31% PoliticalScience/Philosophy 31%

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haha so yups, perhaps i should try to pull up my political science score? hmmm but i'm really not tt interested...

anw off the bathing n START data analysis!