JB and KL
As I sit here, enjoying the nice airconditioning of the meddie library, I realise that I've been in Malaysia for over a week now! I'm living in Johor Bahru with 4 other meddie girls in our flash apartment near the hospital.
The hospital here is very different from back home and challenging in that the patients don't speak much English (even though the doctors do and ward rounds are in English). On the gen med ward there are lots of patient beds all lined up in rows with curtains that are rarely drawn. It's really hot, and on ward rounds the other medical student and I try to subtly position ourselves in optimal fan positions. The patients don't fit the standard Aussie gen med ward profile, with lots of Dengue, a fair bit of TB, some melioidosis, leprosy, HIV as well as some of the more standard cardiovascular disease and COPD that we get back home. There's definitely a large chunk that is infectious diseases (and therefore really interesting!)
Last weekend two of the meddies and I went to Kuala Lumpur where we had a great time, poking around China town, going to museums, wandering around a bird park in the pouring rain (and getting totally drenched!) visiting KL tower, a mosque (where we were required to wear a head scarf and full length 'dress' that made us overheat a bit - and look Amish) as well as doing some mandatory shopping...
In a few days time we'll be heading to Brunei for Hari Raya, which marks the end of Ramadhan. Should be lots of fun!
