My first community placement!

I have started to believe that the uni is organising this for us, the second year medic students so that we can enjoy a day out of uni and do something meaningful yet relaxing. This is due to the fact that I had such a fun session at a centre for adults with various disability.

I had 3 firsts in my life in just a short 5 hour volunteering in the centre-- my first pottery, aboriginal painting and puppet show!

I started off by working with a half-completed aboriginal painting which I still have no idea what it is supposed to represent. My placement mate was helping with a painting of a snake in outback Australia. I had to paint numerous dots according to certain patterns. It had been a while since I last drew. I was lost at some point as I had no idea what pattern was I following but the end-product looked neat! I should have taken a photo!

It was just as exciting when i got hands-on for shaping a piece of clay. The client whom I was working with was really artistic. He was genuinely excited to his artwork as well as meeting me as one of the new volunteers. A lot of patience and concentration was needed though. I needed to translate his thoughts carefully onto the clay which is going to be an oval-shaped plate. Given his inability to move and speak freely, I did most of the job but it was a rewarding experience for both of us. This may sound cliche, but it has dawn upon me that a lot of things that I take granted in life maybe very difficult to be achieved by people with disability.

We then enjoyed a fun-filled afternoon with an awesome puppet show. There were real-sized pupets involved. With agility, the performer gave lives to the puppets just by moving the strings!

She made this puppet which can be 8 feet tall all by herself using simple materials like sofa cushion and cast!



This belly dancer puppet is named Chacha. She could actually twist her buttock when she was dancing with the rhythm!



The performer gave us some puppets to play with as well. I was holding a caterpillar puppet. Victor, Melody and Rebekah are my placements mates.



I hope the fun will continue when I get back from rural placement!

Post-exam celebration

Besides the Boxhill trip that we went which was described on Jess's blog, we just could not have enough fun!



*Jess, thanks for promoting my 'poo'... :P







Yesterday, we went to Springvale for grocery shopping. Oh my god, I have never seen such a crowd in Melbourne! It was as if the stuff were free. All the shops were filled with people and all the restaurants were so crowded as well. Sheryl (who is kind enough to drive us there), Jessica, Ryan and I spent 20minutes just to find a parking space for 2 hours.







We were famished by the time we got off the car. Sheryl recommended us to a Vietnamese restaurant which her aunt brought her to for dinner recently.






This bowl of beef noodle was bigger than my face! We also ordered beef tendon noodles, pork chop set and pork chop meehon individually.





The jackfruit smoothie was so delicious! And it was only $3.50! Sheryl drank 2 glasses when she had dinner with her aunt.


Afterwards, we had a very satisfying tomyam seafood steamboat together for dinner. There was lobster ball, salmon, crabstick, meehon (yes, again), mushroom, beansprout and prawn! (please stop salivating on your computer :P)



Too bad that we were all too busy eating to take photos...haha...





Anyways, I will be going to my rural placement from 28 Apr-9 May :)


I am so excited!

Huong YW, 2008

Yu Wan said, “I did not know you are as slim” when she saw me wearing a new coat. As a matter of fact, we had been classmates for the whole year in 2007.

She then said, after a week, “I had always thought that Yun Ying is as tall as me” when she saw me walking to the lecture theater today. Well, I am almost half a head taller than her…

Afterwards, she told Jessica, “Actually Yun Ying’s figure is quite good!”

……………

Do I have delusion that she was my classmate?!?!?!

Nothing is impossible!

Yesterday I was literally blown away by the wind!!! First time in my life!!!

Well, did I in any way imply that I have become very slim?Haha...it's actually because the wind was so so so strong!A humogous tree in front of the Menzies Building was rooted by the wind. You may say that I am insane as I actually enjoyed being blown by the wind :P

Anyways, at night, we still followed the original plan for our floor outing despite the storm--ice-skating at Oakleigh!!!Being a first-timer, I was actually brave enough to skate in the middle of the rink(ehem...actually I was more like trying to walk on the ice). Well, as expected, I sustained from traumas(I sound so doctor-ish)--a blister on left ankle, a 6cm diameter swelling on the right knee and impacted coccyx...In exchange for fun, I had to limp to uni just in time to find out that the lecturer did not turn up.And to wake up feeling the whole body did not belong to me!

What a fun-filled day :p