Lisez moins, vivez plus

hoi an, hanoi and ha long bay

2009-07-17T16:41:00.002+01:00

Just got back to Hanoi from Ha Long bay cruise.

Since I last updated when I was in Hanoi, I met up with Gordon and some other now 4th years who are going north to south in VN. It was so surreal to meet up with people in such unfamiliar surroundings! We had a few drinks and Gary and I sold them Jungle Beach- that place should be paying us for the PR we are providing for them! Anyway, they went off there this week, hope they enjoyed it.

I got a couple of skirts and a top made in Hoi An- it wasn't the cheapest or best quality but it was an interesting experience. Everyone here is fascinated with my pale skin- to the extent that strange women keep touching me (just on the arm) even if we haven't interacted. It's quite creepy actually. If we have interacted they usually hold on to me. It's a really Vietnamese trait, invading your personal space and touching people.

So Hoi An was a beautiful town although it rained our second day there and we weren't really able to do much apart from sit in cafes and drink coffee. What a disaster!

Anyway, we organised to get the train from there to Hanoi, and since we left it quite late we had to get hard sleeper! 6 people in one room. We had level 2 and level 3 bunks. It was a great experience. We got a taxi from Hoi An to Da Nang (about 30km north) to the station. The taxi played all the greats- Yesterday, Glen Maderious, Lionel Ritchie, the Bangles. We sang along and the driver must have thought we were nuts! The train was packed full, we were the only white people in the carriage. Dinner was rice and warm soup and chicken which was one of the most fun experiences in VN so far. (G and I were the only people drinking beer) Our train was about 50mins late but we didn't mind because it meant we didn't arrive in Hanoi at 4.48am.

I quite like Hanoi, it's very different from HCM but we only spent a day here because we bumped into Zoe and Luke and decided to go a cruise to Ha Long bay. This was a difficult call- there are so many different companies and it was hard to decide which ones were best to go for. Anyway we picked a kind of averaged priced one which was probably the best option. We had a day sailing and a day on Cat Ba island. This second day was pretty horrendous. We seemed to be hanging about for ages, no one told us what was going on, it was POURING with rain, only Zoe had on proper shoes (they told us it was ok to climb a mountain in our flip flops, and let's just say, it wasn't) and the island was full of litter and fumes and it wasn't pleasant. We did enjoy the boat though, and sang a lot of karaoke and drank a lot of over priced beer and cocktails.

We just got back to Hanoi this evening and tried to complain to the company but they didn't really get it. Anyway. Cooking class tomorrow, HCM mausoleum, massage, manicure and pedicure and drinks at the Sheraton to go then CHINA on Monday!

xxx

update!

2009-07-11T11:51:00.002+01:00

can't believe how quickly time is passing! quick summary of what we've been up to since my camera got stolen.

bus to da lat was horrendous, wsa meant to take 6 hours and ended up taking 10! we found a great hotel with a spa on the roof which we treated ourselves too. Da Lat was lovely, a really family feel with Vietnemese enjoying wholesome socialist activities like sail boats and kite flying. Also we went on a cable car which was fun and met up with our friends Dave and Stuart who are biking the length of Vietnam.

We left there and got a very downhill bus (but by no means quick) to Nha Trang which is like the Costa del Sol. Lots of high hotels and not much culture. G and I had an amazing lobster and scallop dinner for 400,000 dong, about 15 quid! Bargain. We also took the chance to get everyone together, so Gary, Dave, Stuart, Zoe, Luke and I went on a boat trip which was exactly what you would expect from a six buck boat trip. Low brow and culture free, but we still had a lovely day all being together.

Nha Trang (and really Vietnam in general) is full of hawking and people in your face all the time so we wanted to get away from it, and we certainly did! We went to Jungle Beach Resort, which is about 7km from nowhere, where for $22 per day you get bed, breakfast, lunch, dinner, a 20 second walk to the beach, great chat and lots of people to meet! We had a lovely couple of days there just relaxing and reading, and swimming and it was much needed.

In order to leave there we had to get a mototaxi to the night bus..... what an experience, for the first time on a bike in the dark in the middle of nowhere. Anyway, the driver did go a bit fast but I managed not to fall off......... hahaha..... and then after getting ripped off at the service station for water we got the cramped night bus to Hoi An. We arrived here this morning and it's really different to anywhere else we've been. The buildings are old and low and it's quite French in atmosphere. Got some clothes measured up so going back tomorrow to try them on! It's all rather exciting.

xxxx

camera stolen!

2009-07-04T15:54:00.003+01:00

this is a nation of scammers. it's a beautiful country but feels like everyone is out to get you. anyways, probably just a bit bummed outcos our plans to go to phu choq island wouldn't work out because there were no buses, when surprise surprise, there were. aaaargh just realised internet shuts at 10 so have to gooooooo.... camera got stolen on bus to da lat, which SUCKS so much it's not even funny but at least the guy didn't steal my bag (with all my money, cards, passport etc in it) ..... camera in da lat is SOOOOOOPER expensive and insurance isn't really worth the hassle (50quid excess on 80 pound camera which I probably don't have a receipt for anyway)
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
xxx

saigon

2009-07-03T04:40:00.000+01:00

in saigon! it's bvery hot. arrived safely on wednesday night and it was raining so heavy! managed to navigate to the hotel by cheating and getting a taxi! the streets were heaving with people and it was such a culture shock. hotel is nice and clean and safe and central. there's towels and our own shower. we've eaten loads of exciting things like crab, deep fried quails' eggs, salad in a bag (12.5p), lychees, (but you can only buy them by the kilo) and clams which were still closed after cooking! gross. the local beer is excellent. what is not excellent is the feeling that everyone is out to scam you because you are a rich tourist and also that we just don't have enough time to do everything. met up with zoe and luke last night in a bar called crazy buffalo where we got a free baseball cap because we spent so much money ($20US between 6 people!). going to the mekong delta tomorrow then to the highlands for some mountain air. we haven't experienced the rain yet but this is down to sheer luck. other highlights were cocktails in the bar on the roof og the sheraton saigon and a small child of indiscriminate gender trying to wheeegh my camera from my wrist in a funny way honestly!!

this is full on typos but it's too hot to correct. i'll post it on my blog too and if you want to forward it to anyone feel free! (d0n't have nellie's email here!)

xxx

Vietnam!

2009-06-22T19:28:00.001+01:00

Not long til I go to Vietnam... about 7 days. I'd hope to update this, we'll see what the internet is like over there...

Gary's Oz pics

2008-11-27T11:56:00.001Z

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42049&id=600922408

and

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=50217&id=600922408

Sydney pics have still to come!

xxx

more pics!

2008-09-27T17:07:00.004+01:00

and

and

and

xxx

photo news

2008-09-19T15:08:00.003+01:00

I do not like the way blogger uploads so I have put some pics on flickr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nemshy/
of my trip to ile des pins!

xx

Noumea

2008-09-15T09:14:00.005+01:00

This was the view from the hostel....
and this one is just one of the beautiful sunsets I witnessed. It was fortunate that the hostel was located on top of a hill so that it bypassed most of the ugliness of the town and I got to see so much of the sky!
These were the stairs I climbed twice a day! They don't look so bad in the photo as they were in real life!
At the bottom of the stairs was Place des Cocotiers, where there were often events taking place. One night I went to a concert there.
(I was playing with exposure times on my camera)

PICS!!!!

2008-09-09T13:35:00.004+01:00

First views of NC from the plane....

Sydney

2008-09-02T06:54:00.001+01:00

Is not as nice as Brisbane but is still fun. Off on a wine tour tomorrow! Just been recovering today after our super long train journey overnight. I find spending money helps a lot.

Quick Update!

2008-08-30T13:30:00.002+01:00

I love Australia. Heading to Byron Bay tomorrow, then we are getting the overnight train to Sydney on Monday night. Hopefully we'll get to go surfing.

Fraser Island was magnificient, there's no way to convey how amazing it was but I will get to tell you all soon as it's not long now til I am back! This last week has been the fastest ever!

xx

t-2hours

2008-08-23T01:58:00.000+01:00

Can’t believe I’ve been away for 6 weeks! Amazing. I’m just writing a quick note as I’ve 2 hours to wait for my bus to the airport and then I’ll be gone. Last night I just hung out in the hostel with the usual suspects and then Diane and I headed to MuzzBar for a wee 1664. It was horrific music but fun all the same. I love being in a nightclub which is outside and where you can see the stars!

This morning I finished packing and checked out the hostel. Sob!! I gave away all my food and my wee locker looked so mpty and sad. It’s been fun living here and I’ve met so many interesting people from all over the world, and I’ve made some friends that I hope I will be friends with for a long time. (that’s the soppy bit out of the way). Then I went to the market for coffee (ran out on Thursday argh!) and a wander, and spent my last 1000F on some nonsense that I now have to carry!

In the last week though, it’s been time to go, it’s hard to keep up enthusiasm for 6 weeks when blocks normally last 4. I was glad when Amélie came back cos she let me do loads, refer people for psychological assessment, CT scans, bloods and stuff. I think I have a much better idea now of what kind of doctor I want to be, and I don’t mean speciality wise, because I’ve had the opportunity to see different styles of practice up close and get to know the personalities behind these styles and I see what works (wow- that’s going in my report, word for word!!!) I suppose that’s why it’s a 6 week placement. Anyway, it was nice to say goodbye to everyone and de faire les bises, whenever I’ve been in France I always want to bring that custom back with me, this time it’s going to work!!!!

Just lifted my backpack, things are not looking good. At least it’s (mostly) all downhill although leaving here at 2pm it’s going to be scorching hot. I have abslutely no clothes suitable for when it’s 13C in Sydney and I can’t carry anything more- still we’ll worry about that when it happens! I need a new winter coat anyway...

Dad- I did mean autonomous, there’s no spel chek here!!!

Over and out

xxx

Nearly there !

2008-08-20T11:04:00.000+01:00

Even have my evaluation done now, so almost no reason to go in!! However, very excitingly some GI dude is doing an ascitic tap tomorrow morning at 8am so going in early for that. You’ll all be just getting up!

Nicolas did my evaluation yesterday, all As apart from one B cos he said it was too ridiculous to give all As. Which is true I suppose. The other interne has come back her holidays, she was only there the first day I was there, so that’s some holiday and she’s super nice, compared to the other, who is a hobgoblin! She lets me write in the notes and fil in forms and stuff, plus she was asking me about the patients because obviously I know them from the last few weeks and she’s not been there.

Think I’ve decided on my case too, this young guy with a brain tumour. It’s reoccurred 3 times and he’s only 34. He’s decided he doesn’t want any more surgery. it’s pretty gruelling stuff, in the week or so he’s been with us for his chemo he’s gone rapidly downhill, when he came in he was autpomous and today he can barely stand and walks with a cane. He’s really nice too, it’s just so sad. I think Nicolas finds it hard because they are the same age and I think he’s know this guy since he moved to NC.

Anyway, still haven’t posted any postcards, been walking around with them in my bag for the last week but I am planning an afternoon of shopping tomorrow so should get it sorted then. Then work Friday morning, beach in the afternoon, market Saturday morning and then off to Oz! Got Fraser Island booked now, got first 3 nights accommodation booked, just need to find transport to Hervey Bay. Can we please have pizza on Saturday Gary??

xxx

last weekend in NC!!

2008-08-17T11:49:00.000+01:00

Well, you would have thought I would know by now about the benefits of SPF… My back is a perfect example of sun burn, you can see exactly where I missed when I applied the cream. I’m thinking of taking a photo and sending it to Garnier as proof that their miracle cream is in fact miraculous!

So another awesome weekend, just got back a couple of hours ago with a burned back, an empty food sack and covered in sand. Got the ferry super early on Friday morning, nice smooth journey, had a wee coffee and pain au chocolat and watched the sun come up. When we got to the Ile des Pins we were picked up by our campsite owners and driven, literally round the corner, to paradise. I’ve taken hundreds of photos but it is all more or less the same. Beautiful white sandy beach, blue!green water like you can’t believe, palm trees and dogs.

Elodie and I pitched the tent, got into beach mode straight away and installed ourselves on one of these beautiful locations. We pretty much just lay on the beach til about 2pm when it started to get a bit cloudy, and so we went exploring. I must have got burned when I was in the water because I had been quite sensible, staying in the shade most of the time and still using factor 30 (had to sell my soul to afford a second bottle and they don’t yet have that handy spray stuff here.)

We walked back round to the wharf and had a coffee in a restaurant round there, saw a dog fight, found the military base (what a life!) and headed back to get ready for dinner. We were dining in the Gite of the campsite we were staying, which was called Nataiwatch. We had escargots, which are Ile des Pins escargots, and so much larger than usual, but cooked and served exactly the same way, and equally delicious! We also had some kind of seafood curry and a coconut tart... so tasty! Pretty exhausted and full by this point, so we headed back chez nous, to our luxurious tent for a pretty satisfactory night’s sleep (ie warm and dry.)

The next day we got a lift from the camp owners to a beach on the north coast of the island, where there is a piscine naturalle. This was amazing, it was a pity we didn(t have any snorkelling stuff because we didn’t get to see as much as we might have, but the whole place was like something in a film! Unfortunately, it rained a bit, and while I didn’t really understand why that mattered when you were swimming, we packed up and walked round the island a little, and lunch and then thought that since we were so close to the Meridan, well, it would be rude not to, so we stopped by for a coffee and to abuse their beach. I was desperate for shade by this point so I was walking around with my classy Nouvelle Calédonie beach towel over my head.

One overpriced coffee later, it was time for our lift back to the camp. We had dinner in the Gite, then I headed over to the hotel beside the campsite where a couple of girls we knew were staying in super delux bungalows. I joined them for a glass of wine and dessert, for dinner I’d had venison stew, not exactly what you might have picked on a tropical isalnd so I was quite keen for a wee glass of red, which for some reason was served ice cold. We’ll never know. Walking back was particularly cool as I was the only person on the beach, almost afull moon and hunderds and hundreds of stars (don’t worry mum it was like 50m.)

Today we got up early as we were going to mass at 9am in the main town, about 7km from where were we camping (oh, during the night it rained, it was so cool to by safe and dry but kind of outside as well). In order to get there we just stuck out our thumb. Some guys picked us up in a crazy van. I tried not to think about the drink driving rates here. Mass was really nice, a mixture of french and local dialect, and lovely singing. And the kids are unbelievely cute. Then we went on a huge hunt for a baguette (no more?? In the whole town??) which involved climbing into the back of some dude’s pick up truck and hoping that we did not meet the gendarmes. He was going to visit his mum, but if we wanted to wait about 90 mins he would take us home. We ended up cadging a lift with a woman and her two daughters and three of the hugest pots I have ever seen.

After another stressful afternoon on the beach (the surf was so strong, it knocked you right off your feet) it was time to disassemble the tent, pack up and go home. The ferry was pretty rocky as it was quite windy, and there was a huge group of steaming Kanaks who were returning to the grande terre after a wedding. Still we did get to see more whales (that’s 9000F I could have saved).

And now I’m back in the hostel, just about to go to bed before my last week of ‘work’!!

xxx

off to the island of pines

2008-08-14T10:45:00.000+01:00

sounds just like home! back sunday night! xxx

ps today was much better but still emotionally charged!!! xx

One day til the weekend!

2008-08-13T09:09:00.000+01:00

Some days are just rotten and today was just like that! When I got into work I spoke to the physio cos I've been trying to shadow her for the last 5 weeks, and still no joy! She told me to have a coffee and then the patients would be ready for their sessions. Just as I was walking along the ward after another delicious coffee, I caught the end of the ward round and Nicolas said.... Oh Naomi, Dr Vignon wanted you to speak to this patient and make a diagnosis, he's got some great signs... so my plans to hang out with Sophie doing exercises were thwarted again and instead off I went to speak to this patient who had just been admitted

I spoke to the patient who gave me a 2 day history of his head spinning and feeling as if his legs wouldn't hold him. He pretty much denied everything else, although he did say he had been a bit sick. Oh and he was so tired/ill that he fell asleep mid-sentence (his sentence, not mine.)

So far, vertigo and some kind of weakness is all I have. When I examined him, it was fairly normal, and very importantly his neuro exam was symmetrical, and nothing glaringly obvious. Now I start to panic, as the patient falls alseep again and I don't really want to wake him up *again*, especially when I'm really not sure what's going on.

I wrote up what I had and it seemed fairly clear that he'd had some kind of stroke, but Nicolas wanted more precision. What did you see in his eyes? he said. I really didn't get it at all. He took me back to this poor patient and showed the most glaringly obvious ptosis (eyelid drooping) and nystagmus (google it) in the world! Well, possibly not in the world but it was fairly certain. His miosis lore difficult to elicit but it was definitely there, and in fact he had a clear cut Horner's syndrome. He was also coughing up stuff (difficulty swallowing) and had some ipsilateral pain alteration on his face and contralateral on his body.... How to tie all this together? Wallenberg's syndrome of course!! (Readers I hope you are looking at the screen as blankly as I was looking about 11:30am today).

After asking Dr Google, I realised that this was in fact Lateral Medullary Syndrome, something we were told is not core, but apparently is in France. Actually, I didn't feel quite so bad after I'd looked at the notes, as the GP, admitting doctor and A&E reg had not brought it together. But still, I felt pretty rubbish.

You know, you always think you can skip pain and temperature testing in a neuro exam- well you can't!

One more day til the weekend and island adventures!!

xxx

nope

2008-08-13T05:58:00.000+01:00

won't work here either! xx

photos!!

2008-08-13T05:38:00.001+01:00

in an internet cafe.... don't think they will ever upload grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr xxx

Happy Birthday Dad!!

2008-08-08T02:30:00.000+01:00

Had a very quiet week, compared to the last few anyway- watched loads of films and reading the various rotten books which have been left in the hostel by other travellers. Really, I have no interest in reading some over privileged Englishman’s memoire about life in Rhodesia, but there’s only so many times you can read Voici magazine and its love affair with les Beckhams.

Been working with Nicolas, a different doc, the last couple of weeks and it’s been good; he’s excellent at explaining things and asking me questions and I’ve been more involved, even asking me what I think about patients’ progress makes me feel like I’m getting somewhere.

Not sure what’s going on this weekend, it’s raining and forecast for more. Heard about an awesome cakeshop so might check that out.

xxx

Back from the north!

2008-08-03T11:32:00.000+01:00

What a crazy trip... It all started on Thursday lunchtime when suddenly my supervisor remembered that I exist and asked if I wanted to go to another department- of course I do, I want to go to anaesthetics, apparently they are prototyping some kind of new anaesthestic technique here which involves using an EEG. Unfortunately the anaesthetic department is the one which he didn’t want me to say, so I can’t go there. Nor can I go to cardiology as they are too disorganised and there is no infectious diseases department! So I might be goin to A&E or dermatology. I was meant to tell him on Friday but I skipped to go up north!

We got the car and somehow managed to navigate through the Noumean streets to the motorway, which after travelling on for about 5 seconds I got pulled over by two motorcycle police. This was for driving too slow in the fast lane. It wasn't so bad as they just thought we were two daft Australians. Suitably mortified we carried on, pretty much heading straight to the tribu of Wégap, just outside Hienghene. This is 375km from Noumea, in a Kia Picanto, on the wrong side of the road, and it gets dark at 5:30pm. Oh and right before we found the tribu (which is up a dirt track for about 7k, turn left at the volleyball field, there’s no signposts), and it’s pitch black and we are in the middle of nowhere, the petrol light comes on. Somehow, and I’ll never know how, we found it and it was all good. (I’ll have to tell you just how scary it was, driving the pitch dark, miles from anything, over wooden bridges- the next morning when we could see where we had been driving, well it was probably just s well we hadn’t been able to see!)

The case we slept in was pretty basic, actually it was freezing cold and the next morning Tate and I were almost blue and I had developed a rubbish cold. We shared the case with a French couple from Lyon who were the complete anthesis of us, ie, very well prepared, with polar sleeping bags and head torches! Haha, the joke was on them, we then could get their blankets the next night!!!! Actually they were really kind, they helped us get out of our petrol pickle by bringing us some gas! Crisis averted!

Later on we visited some amazing caves, they were really the most amazing place, I will have to show you all pictures because words just couldn’t do any of it justice! There were bats and EVERYTHING! Actually the whole place was like some thing from Jurassic Park, words just escape me. And I had been coping ok with all the driving!

We went to the beach, swam a wee bit, and it even seemed to help my cold a bit. We went on the last remaining ferry in Caledonia. All the rivers used to have ferries but they have been gradually replaced by bridges, some of which look like they are from an Indiana Jones film. It was hilarious. (Tate’s going home on Tuesday so she’s going to put up a video of the crossing). Across the river we some les cascades de Tao, a beautiful waterfall. Everything was just so different, the trees, the landscape. It was so beautiful. Sigh.

At the tribu that night we had bougna for dinner. It is basically meat (chicken in this case) with lots of starchy veggies like taro, yams, choucroute and plantain, soaked in coconut milk, wrapped in banana leaves and slow cooked under stones. This sounded a lot better than it actually was. It just felt like it was lacking something, but it was still a great thing to experience. Another night in the case, the stars were spectacular, you could see so many, galaxies, stretching on and on.

The following day we got up early, had our obligatory coffee and got on the road. We drove cross country sooner than we had previously, coming out at Kone. This drive was even more spectacular- up and up through the mountains til we felt like we were in the sky! Another good thing was coming down- I had hardly had to touch the accelerator once. We stopped a couple of view points but otherwise kept going until we got to Bourail- home of Caledonia's only mosque and it's also cowboy country (I do not know if these two facts are related!). We had lunch in a snack, disappointed that once again the Lonely Planet had let us down; the pizza place was closed), got chatted up by a belligerent drunk man and decided to skip the cultural delights of Bourail and head to the beach at Poe, aka paradise. Our luck was somewhat out as was the tide, so it wasn't quite as perfect as it might have been but finally a beach not entrenched in dead coral, what a delight. Saw loads of cool creatures like tiny fish and sea snails, bigger fish and yes more coral.

Back on the road and heading to Mont Koghi, we found a radio station playing good music! They played Duffy and Coldplay, ok, so maybe it wasn't that good but it was good to hear some music we recognised (the last song had been just after leaving Hienghene, Wham's Last Christmas, I kid you not!)

On the way up the mountain we stopped for kava. I am not really sure what exactly this is made from other than it is not made in Spain and it is not fizzy. It looks like cold tea and it tastes like... well, kind of peppary, burny but not spicy. It made my mouth go numb like I had just brushed my teeth very efficiently with very strong toothpaste. Apparently, it's ok to drive after this so onwards up the mountain we went. We had made reservations to stay over and have raclette, but it was not to be. They had not reserved us a room and since it wasn't really an option to drive home, we made it quite clear that we weren't happy, and despite the head chef saying we could both stay at his house (errrrr...... I don't think so) we left. We called Alex at the hostel in Nouméa and she sorted us out with a room. When we got back she also recommended an excellent French restaurant where I had a superb dinner of chicken liver paté, lamb shank and crème brulée (no cheese for some reason, will have to go back!) and red wine. Then we went to this crazy bar which was having a Mad Max themed night. I nearlygot a KB because I was wearing flip flops!!! (Would you go to a nightclub in Scotland in flip flops?? Yes most certainly I would and have!) It was completely ridiculous as there were about 10 people in the place, and we were wrecked tired from all the excitement.

Today we drove to Anse Vata and got a taxi boat to Ile des Canards. This is a tropical island just like you would imagine, sandy beaches and palm trees and an overpriced café of course! We rented snorkelling equipment- I'd never done it before and I think I need a lot more practice but it was amazing! Saw so many fish, big ones, little ones, ones with teeth, a purple one, zebra fish, a pink fish.... and the coral reef was sensational! And I only saw a tiny bit of it. It was such a great experience and I just can't wait to go again!

Totally exhausted now so I'm going to bed!!
xxx

Ever seen a neurologist run?

2008-07-28T10:35:00.000+01:00

I did today. There was a man who had a thrombolic stroke this morning- his CT scan was unequivocal proof- and the docs wanted to thrombolyse him. Unfortunately, whatever the drug is called, it begins with an A but it's the French name anyway, it was not in stock in the whole of the hospital because in cardiology and A&E it's a different thrombolytic drug on the protocol.It is held in the pharmacy at Magenta, about a 15minute drive away. The protocol says that this drug must be given within three hours of the CVA. This man is completely paralysed on the left side. The doctors don't feel they can give his family the option of the drug until they know it is in the building. The time since this man had the stroke is 2hours 40mins.

Time seemed to slow down for some reason. I was waiting outside A&E with the doc. It felt like every second was counted while we waited. Eventually we saw the technician who had had to drive from Magenta in his own car with the medicine. There were maybe 5minutes to talk to the family. It was pretty emotional to watch as they were told about the pros and cons of such treatment. They had to make the decision for their father as he wasn't capable of giving consent. It really was their only option, but the fact that it is a dangerous treatment cannot be overlooked and it was so difficult to watch.

They did decide to give him the drug, but we had to leave as we were in the middle of the ward round! So we did not find out til much later. When we went back the infusion was almost complete, but there had been no improvement yet. I will find out tomorrow what has happened.

I got to go on the whale watching catamaran; it was awesome! We were at sea for about 11 hours, it was so relaxing to be on the water with only a net between me and certain death. The whales were incredible. We weren't that lucky compared to the other boats, but even so, we got about 20m from them. You can't imagine the size, they are just huge. And they breathe air, yet live in the sea! It's so weird. Even managed not to get burned, so a good day all round.

There's a really weird grumpy old French man who lives in the rooms next to ours. He looks a bit like Mr Divers but meaner. While we were folding cloth (long silly story but it basically unraveled itself when it fell off the balcony) he came and quizzed Tate for ages about the population of Melanasia. While wearing no shorts. Shiver.

Had a super night out on Friday to celebrate les resultats- what a relief! Went dancing in Baie du Citrone, really want to go there during the day sometime soon. Probably not this week though, Tate and I are heading up north on Thursday to Hienghieng- in a Renault Twingo. Oh and Tate can't drive a manual car and I've never driven on the right!

ROADTRIP!

I PAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSED!!!!

2008-07-25T06:00:00.000+01:00

Whoop!!!

And you're all asleep!! How rude!!!

xxx

Happy Birthday Mum!!!

2008-07-20T08:23:00.000+01:00

Week 1 over already!!

Gutted I have to pay for week 2 in the hostel tomorrow- already!!!!

Erm so apart from hanging out on the wards in the morning (where I am now the unofficial JHO as the interne is on holiday) I've tried to have a kind of low key weekend, which only partly worked because last night after a couple of beers in the hostel a wee group of us ended up going to some crazy nightclub on the Place des Cocotiers where we xatched the exciting finale of Miss Mont Doré and partook in some serious dancing! So at last, one week later, I have celebrated properly the end of the exams, whoop!

Also yesterday I was on the news at 7:30pm! Tate (my roommate who is doing a PhD in anthropology) and she was going to see the NC delegation for the Pacific Arts departing for the conference in Pago Pago, Samoa, so I tagged along. It was held at the Tjiabou centre, which is a really cool exhibition space. There were some dancers and singing, and some music. It was pretty cool and there were some really big cheeses there from the world of NC arts-even the vice president! And we were on the news! Thank goodness for the red shorts, I had been worried I would blend into the crowd!

Today was feeling a bit sensitive so Tate and I went to the beach near Nouville- randomly there's a resort there and we were both starving so when we saw cheeseburgers and chips it was just perfect. So we sat in the NC sun and ate cheeseburgers and listened to the pacifician? music and watched the inappropriately young girls dancing before lying on the beach all afternoon in the winter sun. It gets dark here about 6pm and cools down really quickly, something to remember if you ever come!

Dad- well done for the comment leaving (technically not part of the actual blog you know!)

Wowee finally here !!

2008-07-17T03:44:00.000+01:00

This is technically my third day here already!!! My journey was unbelieveably flawless, only one delayed flight, which was, quelle surprise; Glasgow to Heathrow. But it didn’t really matter as that was certainly the stop with the most time.

Two things I forgot about being here- firstly, despite being located in the south pacific, the plugs are french and not south pacific (except for some bizarre reason, in the shower room) ans secodnly, it’s a stupid french keyboard which doesn’t make any sense. So if i type zithout looking qt zhqt i a, typing i get so,e q,ount of rubbish becuqse i cqn type zithout looking1°

In case you were not aware, my phone does not work here, and I haven’t decided whether or not I will get a sim card, because this might be the most expensive country in the world and it’s hard to know what to do. I also don’t have any friends (yet?). Everyone I meet will say, oh you must not stay in Noumea, you must see the islands, but you shouldn’t travel alone.... Will check out the tourist office and see what’s on offer.

The hospital is pretty nice, most people are nice, apart from one junior whom I was meant to work with, but she obviously didn’t really want to, and there’s a kind of consultant guy who used to work in the Southern and live in the West End (Cecil Street) and who drank in the pub which is across from where Bar Oz used to be (name anyone, it’s beside Clatty Pat’s?) Anyway, he basically wants to speak English, which I know kind of defeats the purpose in travelling over 12,000km to speak French, but he (David) says I can do a lumbar puncture, and frankly I would speak Klingon to get to do that. So now I am with the yellow team.

It’s a lot of stroke medicine (plenty of experience with that then) but there’s some interesting stuff, weird tumours and meninigits, even a new cqse of MS. Not done much yet but there’s plenty of time. I’ve kind of planned to take this week easy and settle in and really get into it next week.

Miss you all, email me anytime!!!

xxx

Where is New Caledonia?

2008-07-10T11:17:00.002+01:00

Téléphone: +687 275-879
Fax: +687 254-817
Adresse de l'Auberge:
Auberge de Jeunesse

BP 767

51 bis Rue Pasteur Marcel Ariège

98845 Nouméa

NOUVELLE-CALEDONIE

One down...

2008-07-09T11:13:00.000+01:00

One to go. Nearly there!

Three more sleeps.

x

2008-06-15T14:18:00.000+01:00

Hmmm... It's going to be a long three weeks!!

First post

2008-06-06T19:27:00.001+01:00

I intend to document my voyage to foreign lands here.

The problem with going on such a fabulous trip is that you have to work for it.

That is what I'll be doing for the next few weeks.