Back to the blogosphere after ages and there’s just SO much that I want to talk about. At the same time, it just feels good to be voicing all my mundane thoughts. It feels like I’m throwing my words into outer space, where they’ll remain for eternity, unchanged and untouched by any soul but merely as a memorial of the wandering thoughts of one convoluted brain.
So where do I begin?
We had our practicals, in ENT, Community Medicine and Ophthalmology which required some of our questionable clinical skills. The hardest part was to maintain even the semblance of composure for these practical exams lest we confirm the suspicions of the examiner that we are a lot more clueless than we’d like to admit.
ENT began with us unable to identify our findings with certainty but the examiner had decided to quiz me on Maxillary and Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma instead of my case of Bilateral Ethmoidal Polyp. As always, my identity and background was examined and scrutinized, my answers were met with sarcasm and derision despite the few answers that could pass muster.
Community Medicine was fairly uneventful. I was not too disappointed with my viva and I’m glad the examiners were of better temperament than we had anticipated. One of the female examiners though, did not respond adequately to any of my answers. Now, this is a far more worrying concept than the external shaking her head in disagreement or openly condemning you for a lousy answer because here she’s leaving you in the dark; you could be right, you could be way off target but she won’t really let you know which one. -_-
And now for the draconian subject that has always ‘eyed’ me with disdain, which has always threatened to obscure my vision and has often left me in tears; Ophthalmology. True to the guidelines of the earlier batch, we had to take 2 cases each in groups of 2 but we had to face the examiners alone. So I entered the lion’s den, turns my rapid answer convinced her that I had found out the questions from the earlier students which enraged her and she subjected me to a series of questions for which I couldn’t answer adequately and thus inviting more ridicule and mockery. At this point she asks me ‘So where do you see paralysis of Orbicularis Oculi muscle?’ and despite being a fairly simple answer, I couldn’t provide the answer she was looking for. After expressing her disappointment, she proceeded to the next question on Iris Shadow at which point, I interjected with the enthusiasm of a little kid that the answer to the previous question was Lagophthalmos.
Now the last time I did this, the Pathology external was quite pleased. But this lady here only had to remark on the speed of my lagging brain which further dampened my spirits and basically stimulated my lacrimal glands once I got out of the interrogation chamber. Luckily, the rest of the examiners were atleast more approachable and receptive to our answers. And at long last, 3rd year had come to an end.
After some dinner, I boarded the train to Bangalore and it was time to shop, chill, sleep and basically be an enthu cutlet. On the 11th of January, MaPaDiMe set off to the airport and we took the flight to Port Blair. As always, there was and probably will always be some childlike enthusiasm about take offs and landings. Di sketched a little and made a friend on the flight while Ma and I had a lot of topics to catch up with and Pa caught up with his sleep. Once in Port Blair, we checked into the North Reef and proceeded to the Cellular Jail (Kaala Paani) (I SWEAR I’m going to blog about it separately.) and then to Corbin’s Cove. At Corbin’s we took a boat ride to a small island (the size of lecture hall 1 mebi) and then got back to Cellular Jail for the light and sound show that described the rich history of the place and the struggle of the freedom fighters incarcerated here.
The next day, 12th of January, we spent the morning in the Zonal Anthropological Museum taking a sneak peek into the lives of the tribals (Jarawa, Nicobarese, Sentinelese, Shompen and so on) and their living facilities which were recreated. We also spent some time picking up memorabilia at a local gift store and took a short visit to the aquarium. After lunch, we proceeded to the Port area and boarded the Makkruzz from Port Blair to Havelock Island. After a pleasant 1.5hour journey, we landed at Havelock where we stayed at Symphony Palms , a beautiful property with access to the beach. While MaPa sorted out some accommodation glitches, Di and I just had to rush to the beach and the cool blue water was a treat to the eyes. We spent the rest of the evening by the beach and watched the golden moon appear and its rippled reflection on the water. I realized there are somethings that we probably can’t capture with lens. The beauty of that moment, the happiness at such a beautiful sight and every sensation that adds up to the experience; atleast my phone could not do justice to what I felt but I don’t think it matters because that experience is etched un my memory.
The following day, 13th January, we took a fairly rocky boat to Elephant Island where we indulged in water sports. PaDiMe ventured into snorkelling which requires one to master the art of breathing through the mouth and keeping the lips clamped shut to prevent entry of water.
Alas, dear readers, I shall have to bid a temporary adieu at this juncture. I will be back soon with many more exciting stories to regale you with. As I embark on a new adventure, I hope to see more, learn and gain from this experience. (:
So where do I begin?
We had our practicals, in ENT, Community Medicine and Ophthalmology which required some of our questionable clinical skills. The hardest part was to maintain even the semblance of composure for these practical exams lest we confirm the suspicions of the examiner that we are a lot more clueless than we’d like to admit.
ENT began with us unable to identify our findings with certainty but the examiner had decided to quiz me on Maxillary and Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma instead of my case of Bilateral Ethmoidal Polyp. As always, my identity and background was examined and scrutinized, my answers were met with sarcasm and derision despite the few answers that could pass muster.
Community Medicine was fairly uneventful. I was not too disappointed with my viva and I’m glad the examiners were of better temperament than we had anticipated. One of the female examiners though, did not respond adequately to any of my answers. Now, this is a far more worrying concept than the external shaking her head in disagreement or openly condemning you for a lousy answer because here she’s leaving you in the dark; you could be right, you could be way off target but she won’t really let you know which one. -_-
And now for the draconian subject that has always ‘eyed’ me with disdain, which has always threatened to obscure my vision and has often left me in tears; Ophthalmology. True to the guidelines of the earlier batch, we had to take 2 cases each in groups of 2 but we had to face the examiners alone. So I entered the lion’s den, turns my rapid answer convinced her that I had found out the questions from the earlier students which enraged her and she subjected me to a series of questions for which I couldn’t answer adequately and thus inviting more ridicule and mockery. At this point she asks me ‘So where do you see paralysis of Orbicularis Oculi muscle?’ and despite being a fairly simple answer, I couldn’t provide the answer she was looking for. After expressing her disappointment, she proceeded to the next question on Iris Shadow at which point, I interjected with the enthusiasm of a little kid that the answer to the previous question was Lagophthalmos.
Now the last time I did this, the Pathology external was quite pleased. But this lady here only had to remark on the speed of my lagging brain which further dampened my spirits and basically stimulated my lacrimal glands once I got out of the interrogation chamber. Luckily, the rest of the examiners were atleast more approachable and receptive to our answers. And at long last, 3rd year had come to an end.
After some dinner, I boarded the train to Bangalore and it was time to shop, chill, sleep and basically be an enthu cutlet. On the 11th of January, MaPaDiMe set off to the airport and we took the flight to Port Blair. As always, there was and probably will always be some childlike enthusiasm about take offs and landings. Di sketched a little and made a friend on the flight while Ma and I had a lot of topics to catch up with and Pa caught up with his sleep. Once in Port Blair, we checked into the North Reef and proceeded to the Cellular Jail (Kaala Paani) (I SWEAR I’m going to blog about it separately.) and then to Corbin’s Cove. At Corbin’s we took a boat ride to a small island (the size of lecture hall 1 mebi) and then got back to Cellular Jail for the light and sound show that described the rich history of the place and the struggle of the freedom fighters incarcerated here.
The next day, 12th of January, we spent the morning in the Zonal Anthropological Museum taking a sneak peek into the lives of the tribals (Jarawa, Nicobarese, Sentinelese, Shompen and so on) and their living facilities which were recreated. We also spent some time picking up memorabilia at a local gift store and took a short visit to the aquarium. After lunch, we proceeded to the Port area and boarded the Makkruzz from Port Blair to Havelock Island. After a pleasant 1.5hour journey, we landed at Havelock where we stayed at Symphony Palms , a beautiful property with access to the beach. While MaPa sorted out some accommodation glitches, Di and I just had to rush to the beach and the cool blue water was a treat to the eyes. We spent the rest of the evening by the beach and watched the golden moon appear and its rippled reflection on the water. I realized there are somethings that we probably can’t capture with lens. The beauty of that moment, the happiness at such a beautiful sight and every sensation that adds up to the experience; atleast my phone could not do justice to what I felt but I don’t think it matters because that experience is etched un my memory.
The following day, 13th January, we took a fairly rocky boat to Elephant Island where we indulged in water sports. PaDiMe ventured into snorkelling which requires one to master the art of breathing through the mouth and keeping the lips clamped shut to prevent entry of water.
Alas, dear readers, I shall have to bid a temporary adieu at this juncture. I will be back soon with many more exciting stories to regale you with. As I embark on a new adventure, I hope to see more, learn and gain from this experience. (:
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