The Most Stressful Period of My Life (so far)

I cant believe I am sitting here and writing this, months ago this would hardly seem possible. 

I had electives planned in Europe on March and April 2024, but I had wanted to learn at Asia’s best institutions. I came down to National University Hospital (Singapore), Osaka University Hospital (Japan), and Seoul National University Hospital (S. Korea). With the time I had, SNU was the most feasable choice. But as history and fate would have it, the road to the promised land would not be so smooth. 

Getting accepted was miraculous enough, then came the financing issues (my uni could not cover all the fees), visa issues (I had to plan a weekend in the Philippines so I wont overstay in Korea), lodging issues (waaayyy overbudget), and all that while preparing for the most important exam of my life (my medical boards). Many nights I would just gaze at the ceiling, and wonder to myself, what have I gotten myself into...

I was so pessimistic, that even though I had secured a spot and had progressed very far, just one issue could cancel out my entire plan. I wouldnt be disappointed nor shocked, it was so much to handle in a small period of time, and my medical board tryout scores were dismal! I didnt even pray for God's help to put me through, I just asked for strength to give it my all.

Seeing all this in retrospect fills my heart with gratitude for all the people who supported me in that period. My family, friends in RTB, and especially my peers and teachers from the global health course. I am sure they had so many things to do, but was always sure to encourage me and push me on. I was so touched that senior doctors, many of whom are world leaders in their field, still cared to ask about an Indonesian med student's boards.

This is the picture of me on the orientation day, with friends (no we are not all from China) from australia, new zealand and taiwan who were also doing electives in the same period. I have too much to write about korea, and will followup in upcoming blogs.