Japan

This is just a quick note to tell everyone that I am currently in Japan. I will be here for a week. So far it is everything that I had thought it will be: tons of people, good food, very hospitable people, and the technology is like no other. The service that you get here is amazing. It puts all other countries to shame really. Getting around is not as bad as I thought but then again it is the long weekend so I was told that most people have left Tokyo. I can not imagine this place with any more people than there is. Craziness I tell you.

I will write more once I am back in Canada, kinda surreal writing that. In some ways I still can not believe that I will not be returning to Australia any time soon. I sat on the plane waiting for it to finally hit me but it still hasn't. I don't know what I'm expecting but it's just been so non-chalent, maybe because I've had so much time to think about it and prepare for the departure. Of course, the hours leading up to my departure was quite the excitement but I'll leave that story til when I get back and not on a Japanese windows. Everything's in Japanese and sometimes I'll accidently press a key and it'll start writing in Japanese. Even some of the symbols are in different spots of the keyboard. And I'm basically choosing options and signing in to things based on memory of where on the screen they are located.

No access for me...

Get out, no access for you...You know you've completed your degree when the love stops, not that there were much to begin with. It's amazing how fast they disconnected my student card and all access to buildings and internet. The school had their board meeting last Thursday morning and I was probably signed off that afternoon. Over the past two years it took them ages to do a simple administration task but when they want you out, you're out immediately. At least it's nice to know that the school is capable of working fast. I guess they just prefer not to.

All I want to do is check my hotmail account but now they even restrict people from logging onto hotmail. Oh well, at least I have dial up at home. I know, who gets dial up these days. It's slower than a snail, literally. I've been sitting here for an hour trying to attach 6 pics onto my email. Wow, that's all I have to say...Wow...

Goodbyes

When I was in Geraldton, doing my rural placement, I began to think about actually moving back home. Two weeks ago when I was isolated from familar faces I thought that leaving this country will not be difficult. My classmates were the people that I spent the most time with during these past 2+ years and yet I don't feel as though I've gained any close friends, except for maybe 1-2 people at the most. We all got along great and I am proud to say that, as a whole, we were quite a close and supportive bunch however...You know how sometimes you just know the people that you will and will not keep in touch with? Yeah I just know. Who knows I might be wrong...

So yeah that was my thoughts on leaving until I got back to Perth two weeks ago and I now realize that leaving this country will be extremely hard. It may be even harder than when I left Canada. I didn't realize how close I've become with people other than my classmates until I started hanging out with them again and starting to say goodbye.

Some of my friends last week threw me a surprise going away party. That was extremely cool and unexpected. Never did I ever think people would do that for me or that I deserve something like that. And now all these people want to come to the airport to send me off. That's crazy.

I knew leaving my baseball teammates would be hard but didn't expect it to be this hard. It has almost made me question whether or not it's better for me to stick around here and delay the leaving or deportation as I like to say. After going through a season were we were frequently playing with 8 players, you become quite a close group on and off the field. My landlord says it best, "once you've shared the battle field with someone, you're forever connected". The hardest part is knowing that they will be battling to find enough players next year, especially experienced players.

We all meet people everyday and may converse with them on a daily basis and we don't realize just how much they have affected our lives until its time to walk away. I hate saying goodbye. This is almost like deja vu. People say that they will keep in touch and visit but really, how people actually do?? We may have the convenience of technology but somehow, even that is not effortless enough...

I can't wait to go back home and see my friends and family and everything that is familar again but it doesn't make it any easier. I give those people credit who had no second thoughts of leaving and going back home. I thought I was one of those people but clearly I am not and I'm glad that I'm not...

Baseball Wind-up

Last weekend was my baseball club's wind-up. One thing I really like about it here is that when you sign up for a team, you're actually signing up for a club. The club's got teams of all ages and levels. After our games we usually stick around to cheer on the State guys. It had been a month since I've seen everyone so it was nice to catch up and see everyone out of their uniforms. Most of the night was the usual dinner and giving out awards, which always seem to take forever. Overall it was a good night. I came home with the most consistent player award. That was completely unexpected so that was pretty cool and embarassing at the same time. I hate walking up on stage, especially when you know everyone's watching you.

Here's a pic of some of my girls at the wind-up:

Burns disaster

Two weeks ago at my rural placement we had a personal development day for most of the health professions. The topic was burns, from how it occurs to how to manage it. There was a whole team of "burns specialist", one of which was a guest lecturer in our class last year. So I knew the basics of the burns and how to determine the severity of it but it was interesting to learn how to manage burns medically.

There's this one story that was told, with pictures included, has really stuck in my head. It makes you realize just how easy things can be avoided but also how easily we can be a victim of burns. I reflect back from my UW days and think about how careless I was somethings with the acidic chemicals that we were mixing. I could have easily burned my entire hand or something. Or how careless I usually am with electrical wires, just pulling them and occasionally causing mini sparks to flair up.

One of the burns Physios was telling us how this guy was out drinking and on his way home, he had to go to the washroom. Being a guy and all, he figured he would just go on the side of the road. Well not realizing or seeing what was on the ground he started peeing onto some live electrical wires. Even though he didn't ever physically touch the electrical wires his entire body got burnt because urine is ionic and it allowed the current to travel up into his body. The pictures were so disturbing. The electrical basically travelling all throughout his body and was completely burnt severely. I think he ended up losing 1 or 2 limbs but made quite the recovery when comparing what he came in with. So guys, please watch where you're peeing if you're going to go in public...

Questions??

I just got back from my rural placement in Geraldton and other than a few minor assignments, I am DONE as a Curtin Physiotherapy student. It hasn't really sunk in yet, probably won't for awhile. I'm still getting over leaving another placement, saying goodbye to my patients. It's hard to choose a favourite placement but I think this one has brought it all together. This was and is the way a final placement should be.

I basically ran the entire outpatient physiotherapy clinic, from seeing the most patients indvidually and running all the community group classes. Most of everything that I was worried about prior to this placement was answered during this prac. From things like treating patients in a realilstic time frame to my ability to create and run a motivating group exercise class.

One big thing that I've realized is that I have to ask more questions. Some supervisors have suggested that I ask more questions but I always said that I'm not a questions person. My entire life I've always been the one in the back, just listening and absorbing everything in. I've tried to ask more questions but it's more of asking for the sake of asking and not actually having a question.

I've realized during this placement that I do need to ask more questions. It might be the way I was brought up and was taught to think but I find it difficult asking people for help. I hate depending on people but yet I get disappointed when people don't ask me for help. It was drilled in my head that you should not depend on others. Nothing will get done if you let others do it. In a sense, it's true. It's been extremely frustrating whenever I have to call other hospitals or try to call a doctor regarding a patient. Things are done extremely slow, if at all. But I need to realize that no one is expected to know everything, especially a student or new grad. Sometimes my doubts are very simple and it'll make me look incompetent if I do ask so I try to figure it out myself. It's weird because it seems as though I have an incredible about of confidence in front of my patients and sometimes so little that I can't even ask my supervisor about a simple question. I realize now that it's better to ask because it's not really about me, it's about the patients and their well being. It was almost like a lightbulb that went off during this placement.