Thaipusam 2009

I ventured to Penang last weekend to partake in the Hindu Festival that is Thaipusam. If you are not familiar with Thaipusam, then you and I are at the same level, but wikipedia, the bearer of all knowledge, revealed this: "The festival commemorates both the birthday of Murugan (also Subramaniam), the youngest son of Shiva and Parvati, and the occasion when Parvati gave Murugan a vel (spear) so he could vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman."

my very first experience of thaipusam was not great. I didnt sleep for days after. My fondest memory is having the misfortune of the lady infront of me trancing out and speak in what sounded like tongues while seizing around me. this broke my very tenuous seven year old grip on composure and my eternal hero, daddykins had to carry me screaming and flailing from the crowd. but this time it would be different, for several reasons.. im older, wiser and i've witnessed the atrocity that is childbirth so now nothing can phase me ever again. but mostly daddy isnt around to hold my hand this time so im forced to be a big girl. its ok though, for med school has armed me with a new found sensitivity for all cultures. oh wait. no they havent.

Regardless, I figure its time to get down with my own culture. And there to help me were two of my home boys, referred to as cousins by the more mature members of our family. these dudes know everything there is to know about everything malaysia. From the local political climate to where to find the best chicken rice. Also significant is that cousin numero duo has carried kavadi which I find both insane and impressive.

what is Kavadi you ask? well i asked that too and here to tell you is wiki..
"Kavadi Attam is a dance performed by the devotees during the ceremonial worship of Murugan, the Tamil God of War. The Kavadi itself is a physical burden through which the devotees implore for help from the God Murugan.Generally, Hindus take a vow to offer a kavadi for purpose of tiding over or averting a great calamity. For instance, if the devotee's son is laid up with a fatal disease, he would pray to grant the boy a lease of life in return for which the devotee would take a vow to dedicate a kavadi to Him."
its also worth noting that one cant simply carry kavadi.. theres a whole lengthy preparation process that goes into it.. designed to purge themselves of all mental and physical impurities

Behold photos:

dude carrying Kavadi

More Kavadi.. all colours, shapes sizes

the little silverware containers are individually hooked into their skin and each are filled with milk or sacred ash.. so as one can imagine, it gets heavy.

Rambo

Speared, hooked and valiantly pulling a chariot from the skin on their backs.

So all in all my Thaipusam was a success. I discovered what it really means to be hot and sweaty, wading through a traffic jam of human and mountains of coconut; there was singing and dancing the streets; and I didnt run screaming from the crowd which makes me feel like i've redeemed seven year old me. She can once more hold her head high and wander the playground shame free.

Meanwhile in emergency and trauma, patients have been dying and its all very depressing so I dont want to write about it. All I can say is.. enjoy your now.

Peace people.

Exterminator

saw a 30 something guy who ate half a box of rat poison today because he was lonely and people talk to him at the hospital. sad stuff. then he threw up and his vomit was a frothy bright pink as per colour of rat killer. was the prettiest chunder i've seen.

The Motherland

Herrow, apologies and thank you for your emails. You re all beautiful, give your selves a cuddle from me..

Im alive but being in Malaysia made me loose my blog mojo. something about being in familiar territory and comfortable.. figured you didnt want to hear about how fast my cousins are growing or the addictive food my talented aunts can cook.. secret ingredient: cocaine. ..though they wont admit to it.

aaanyhow.

im in Kuala Lumpur, living with my gorgeous cousin. ive adopted her as my big sister.
the vibe here is much much different from japan. theres less raw fish, chopsticks and crazy vending machines for one thing.. i guess the main thing i miss is the beautiful Japanese culture of respect and politeness. also Japanese service is second to none. i cant explain the feeling of getting bowed out of a simple coffee house.. you just have to experience it.

but enough nostalgia.. im back in a hospital so i now have tales of interest to tell...

still early days as i happened to join in the time of public holidays - from chinese new year to fed territory day to thaipusam - but its shaping up to be sweet.. see alot of MVAs which is elitist speak for motor vehicle accidents.. until i know what im doing, have taken a back seat on them.. but im already gaining some decent trauma experience.. yay.

some of the students here are surprisingly stupid... (i feel a rant coming on.. must restrain, im sure they're watching for they are everywhere) ..... to illustrate said stupidity:
an elderly gentleman arrived this morning in a pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia.
myself and malay student #1 are on the receiving team .. ive been assigned the task of IV access.. she is excess and has been assigned the vague task of assisting when required.. we, the team of 6 plus axillary malay student #1, are fluidly (if i do say so myself) proceeding through the advanced cardiac life support protocol and defib dr is about to administer shock when MS#1 yells out that the monitor is still on!
..she rushes to switch it off.
..everyone rushes to stop her.
the monitor she refers to is that which displays the patients ECG rhythm and also happens to be a part of and connected to the charger for the defib machine.
why she thought it appropriate to turn off the monitor and therefore the defibrillator, is beyond me.. truly truly bizarre.

this is of course an extreme example of idiocy and many other students here are bright little buttons and shiny gold stars but she in particular makes me feel like im gonna be okay in this crazy world of medicine.

Curious Observations

Japanese love dressing up their dogs

...then taking them for walks in custom made doggie prams.

i found this here medical cream which i can only assume holds the cure to every ailment known to man

the english language shouldnt be hindered by silly things like making sense. engrish will set your FREE!! YEAH!!

Japanese women have an unfaltering ability to wear the most ridiculous heels in any and every situation. We were hiking through the forest and saw heels on almost every female we passed. These i spied on the subway and tried to take a discrete photo ..hence terrible quality pic

chocolate for real men.
McPork. the Japanese answer to the McChicken. its the spoonful of rice within that makes it delicious.

Things that make me Happy

Brother Dearest has left me for the fair shores of home..

Sathishy at the airport, Air NZ check in

I'm kickin it in Tokyo, alone once more, and though i've made some single serve hostel friends, having been away from home and the people i love for almost 2 months.. there are a few items i'm thankful for, often times on a daily basis:

• my tool band shirt.

a gift from That Guy, an old and dear friend whom i get to see too rarely.
have taken to wearing it to bed because it means i can wear it on a nightly basis without getting weird looks regarding questionable laundry and hygiene habits.

• my wallet

not only does it (too) willingly dispense money, it contains pictures of mummy and daddy and doggy
it also contains my expired Otago Uni Student ID which oddly enough, ive come to treasure here in Japan despite the mongol picture of me on it.
.. it is also no coincidence that my community services card sits in front of my credit card.. serving as a powerful reminder of why im never allowed to use it unless im screwed.. or see a particularly pretty pair of shoes.

• a note from Celia

because it makes me smile.. all cutesy and stuck to a baby maltesers packet which has long been eaten for i love maltesers and shes awesome and thoughtful like that.. plus she praises my wingmaning skills within.

• shiny jewellery from Ebony

from that time we went shopping together in Sylvia Park during her lunch break ..which just so happens to be the day i discovered i get to be a real life doctor just like House MD... she bought me a celebratory mega tall grande Truffle Mocha which was to mark the start of a pamper priya spending spree that Paris Hilton would be proud of.

Let all the souls here rest in peace...

... for we shall not repeat the evil. [inscription on cenotaph]

A night bus saw us into Hiroshima several days ago...which was pretty much numero uno on my agenda of things to see/do in Japan. naturally the kick ass museum for which everyone said "ohmygawd Priya you simply must see it or life shant be worth living" was closed for the new years period. bollocks. i cried a river of bitter tears, ate some chocolate and got over it then wandered over to the A-dome for which words cant describe. thankfully someone tried and im going to plagiarise for it is the highest form of flattery

A-Dome

Excerpt from info tablet at A-Dome Site:
"..At 8:15am August 6th, 1945, an American B29 Bomber dropped an atomic bomb, the first atomic bomb in human history. The bomb exploded approximately 600 meters above and 160 meters to the southeast of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall. The building was crushed and gutted by fire. Everyone in the building died immediately. It is known now that the bomb subsequently killed more than 200,000 people.
However, because the blast came from almost directly above, some of the walls of the building remained standing, leaving enough of the building and iron structure at the top to be recognisable as a dome.
After the war, the badly damaged skeletal remains of the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall came to be known as the A-Bomb Dome.
For many years, opinions about the Dome were divided. Some felt it should be preserved as a memorial to the bombing, while others, calling it a dangerously dilapidated structure that evoked painful memories, advocated its destruction.
Gradually, as the city was rebuilt and other A-Bombed buildings vanished, the desire to preserve the Dome gathered strength. in 1966, the Hiroshima City Council passed a resolution declaring that the A-Bomb Dome would be preserved in perpetuity. This led to a campaign to raise the funds required to physically preserve the dome. Donations poured in from those who wished for peace in Japan and overseas. The first preservation project was implemented in 1967. Several preservation projects have been carried out to ensure the dome will always look as it did immediately after the bombing.
In December 1996, the A-Bomb Dome was formally registered on the World Heritage List as a historic witness to the tragedy of human history's first use of a nuclear weapon and as a universal peace monument appealing for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realisation of lasting world peace. "

the lasting world peace bit may be a touch ambitious but aim high my mother always says.

a tree exposed to the radiation from the A-bomb about one and a half kilometres away from the hypocenter. the half of the trunk on the hypocenter side was burnt to a hollow from the explosion and heat rays. the tree is (miraculously) still growing, curling around the hollow.. some say its protecting the burn.

aww lookie.. St Paddys School from Kaiapoi, mighty NZ..
made an entire shrine of cranes which is now lovingly housed at hiroshima

Hope everyones new year went swimmingly. I know mine did.

Various Mature Conversations with Big Brother

Walking around Osaka Castle

Bro: Spiderman versus Samurai.. who would win?
Me: Ooh..tricky.. i wanna say Samurai
Bro: Mmm.. maybe but spidey would scale the moat wall
Me: But the samurai would pour hot oil on him
Bro: Nah cause he'd creep up on them and use his spidey senses
[long and involved conversation ensues detailing strengths and weaknesses]
Bro: Ookay.. James Bond versus Ninja
Simultaneously: Bond. Defo.

As you can see.. Osaka Castle is intensely blinged out.
Thanks to Maiko for the recommendation.

Lost in Kyoto
Bro: Is this the street?
Me: Na, not this street..
Bro: You're a street.
Me: Your face is a street
Bro: Your momma is a street
[much school girl giggling, especially from Sathish]

more bling than you can handle

Osaka is kinda like the real life version of Tokyo Drift. Impressive cars and neon lights. both best experienced at night. This was compounded by the fact that we had the dubious honour of staying next to what appeared to be a somewhat shady Yakuza run joint that pimped out luxury super cars. Sathish salivated everytime we walked past.. lamborghinis, bentlys, ferrari, astons etc

one of the more rediculous cars we saw..
too scared to take photos of the yakuza joint.. this was in a mall.