Tadaima! :)

It's good to be back. To file away my anxiety (from being away) along with my possessions. I've been back nearly a week now, just settling back into life in Australia. The weather's been horrid (consistently >35C), which makes me feel very lethargic. So I've been napping an awful lot. That too is nice.

So what have I been up to these past three months? The bulk of it (nine weeks) have been spent on my electives, both undertaken in very scenic locations. I spent quite a lot of time admiring sunrise, waves rolling, leaves falling, sunset, during both electives, so I decided to share a photo from each.

{Palawan, The Philippines}

Theme song: For you alone

{Cambridge, UK}

Theme Song: In Christ Alone

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse (NIV)

weeks 8+ of elective

i've been working in accident & emergency and critical care. when i tell people, they ask why i chose this elective. why not in a bigger city? why not in south africa, where trauma is rampant? why not america, where people turn guns on each other?

well, in my five-and-a-half weeks here, i have seen plenty of trauma. plenty of resuscitation and surgery. of lives ruined and lives lost. true, the causes are different, but it is trauma nonetheless.

usually i can just switch the emotion off, i can scrub in and assist without any qualms, read blood gases with academic interest instead of horror. but today suddenly it's all too much.

why the waste? what remnants of life will these people return to? for them, especially those who are younger, what is living about now? when you are unable to walk, can barely feed yourself, or have lost those closest to you?

they don't cry for themselves. i wonder if they can.

exploring the surrounding areas

i've only really been talking about my little excursions, so this is turning into a bit of a weekend blog. but i assure you i am still on my elective, and going to hospital monday-friday. just that there's no reason to discuss anything about my daily living because you're all already on my elective email list (if not, shoot me an email and i'll add you).

today kiran and i hired some bicycles and cycled to a nearly village? suburb? called grantchester. we went to the orchard, which supposedly has some amazing scones. i thought they were alright. what excited me was that virginia woolf used to go there for tea, as did maynard keynes and a whole bunch of other famous people who were prominent figures in my high school education.

{sign from the Grantchester Meadows entrance}

We then hopped onto a train bound for Ely, and walked around the town. It was, as promised, quite lovely. And the cathedral was amazing. I think definitely one of my favourites so far. This is kind of cliche, but I also really like Notre Dame.

{Ely cathedral}

We went home and killed some time, then I tried out Zubeida's carbonara recipe. She bought the ingredients and was planning on teaching me, but we never got around to it, and the ingredients were reaching their due date. So before she left for the weekend, she verbally talked me through it. Of course, I got all of the instructions muddled up, and got all the quantities wrong. Kiran has been very encouraging, and tells me it tasted fine, but was lacking in salt. I thought it was bland, too. Then I realised that I'd forgotten to add cheese. Whoops.

{The final product}