Adios Southend

We will be leaving this town today. I have a feeling that I am going to miss this beautiful place. It is next to the sea, everything is within walking distance and the weather in the summer is great. 

Below are few of the photos of this picturesque town captured yesterday during our final stroll along the seafront.

Good bye Southend on Sea. I hope we will meet again. xoxo

Damages done

I suspect that I went a bit overboard with shopping. The consequence is...... excess baggage!!

 I can't seemed to resist myself as the prices of clothes here are way cheaper than Malaysia even on non sale items. Seriously, sape tak gile? If our luggage exceeds 20kg, we decided to ship our barang2 back home. 

Some of the old baju that I brought along will be donated to charity. I am sad having to part with my Power sports shoes (murah tapi best!) and my navy sweater from Miss Read (dah pudar tapi it never fails to keep me warm).

These are the some of the damages done:

Dorothy Perkins: a pair of jeans (I am currently 2 sizes smaller, hence, need to get a new pair), a chinos, 2 blouses for me and another 3 blouses for my sister

New Look: a sleeveless blouse, a cardigan (I wanted to return this but it was a sale item. Most probably I will sell it online later to whoever interested)

Peacock: a blouse (sold at RM35!), a t-shirt and a sweater for my hub, very cute lip balm for my cousin

H&M: t-shirts and pants for my daughter, a jumper for my niece

NEXT: a pants (agak solehah sebab loose, boleh pakai time oncall) and a sweater for myself, t-shirts size 3-4 years old for my daughter, make up for my sisters and a shirt for my niece

M&S: a pair of jeans for only RM125 (would cost RM250 in Malaysia)

Clarks: simple staple flats for moi, tried to order a pair for my hub and sis online tapi tak dapat coz they only accept UK credit card!

Tkmaxx: 2 shawls for RM50 each.

Few other things yet to buy: chocolates and biscuits to bring back home and souvenirs for close family members and friends. I am determined not to step into any Zara outlet when I am in Spain (cross fingers) :p

Last day at the hospital

Depan rumah orang pun jadi la :p

Sad mode.. today was our last day at the hospital. Even though our supervisor has left to Belgium 3 days ago, we still attended the out patient clinic and tagged ourselves with our favourite consultant from Sudan.  He allowed us to do full CNS examination, clerk a case and even practised communication skill with one of the patients. We just love him to bits, and I can sense that all of his patients were happy with him. Everyone will smile when they left his consultation room. Betul, tak tipu!

My partner in crime

This is the hospital compound, lovely isn't it?!

Anyway, I can see myself working in the UK in the future. I'll do so ONLY if I have my husband and daughter by my side. The weather is superb (probably as it is still summer) and I love the daily walk. I also have great respect for the people who are nothing but polite and courteous. Halal food and butchers are a plenty and prayer room is available even at the hospital. I really couldn't find any reason why muslims cannot survive in UK.

One of the historic hospital buildings,
I love the Harry Potter door

Still summer, cold but sunny

Tomorrow will be our last minute shopping. I need to get a pair of Clarks shoes for my sister and a long dress for my niece. We'll be heading to my cousin's place on Sunday and off to Spain on Tuesday. My only worry is that it'll rain on Wednesday according to weather forecast. That will be the day of our trip to Toledo, Spain. O Allah, please give us good weather that day and ease our journey.

By the way, I was sadden by the news that my staff nurse in Paediatric clinic just passed away few hours ago. Innalillahirajiuun. She was a very soft spoken lady, cooked very well (I missed her sambal tempoyak) and like a second mother to me. The irony was that she kept saying to me few months ago that she can foresee that umur dia tak panjang. She was never diagnosed of having cardiac illness except for hypertension, always looked after her diet but sadly died due to heart complication. 

My prayer goes out to her and her family. Dia sudah berada di tempat yang pasti, kekal dan abadi, pengakhiran kita belum tahu lagi kan. May Allah forgive her of her sins, have mercy on her, accept all her good deeds and placed her amongst the mukminin. Al-Fatihah.

‘O Allaah, Kak Sham is under Your care and protection so protect her from the trial of the grave and torment of the Fire. Indeed You are faithful and truthful. Forgive and have mercy upon her, surely You are The Oft-Forgiving, The Most-Merciful’.

Day 20: Famished Monday

Menu:
Rice
 Chicken cooked with garlic and ginger
 Stir fried broccoli with mushroom and prawns
Verdict: finger lickin' good!

Day 17: Taste buds remained oriental

Today's lunch:
Rice
Modified singgang ikan using sea bass
Broccoli and prawn cooked with oyster sauce

Day 15: Sad & Sorrow

It has not been a good day for me and my friend. We practised history taking with our supervisor on JIA and CF. Boy, I did badly! The history taking part wasn't that bad but when it came to the discussion part, I was left clueless. The questions were more detail than I expected. So I was upset with my performance and embarrassed at the same time. 

The supervisor was nice and advised us to read more. He even emailed me the latest guidelines on the topics above. That was very kind of him to do that. 

I am more determine to study harder and push myself further. I know I can do it, I just need to focus and study smart. Kena banyak berdu'a moga dipermudahkan as I know, only He can help me at this point in time.

Day 14: Blown away

I'm so impressed with the consultants in UK. Very kids friendly, seriously! They are so humble as well. I've encountered a consultant cardiologist as old as my father sang nursery rhymes to a baby during echo in an attempt to keep the baby quiet during the procedure. Paediatricians here are the nicest bunch of people. Siap consultant dia tanya to his registrar after she examined a patient "So, what's you finding, dear?" Baik kan?

Why in Malaysia I feel that it is otherwise? One of the reasons that I do not want to take up Masters programme is because I heard so many horror stories (which I shall not elaborate). Even my sister who is undergoing her masters training completedt her paediatric rotation felt that it was her worst experience by far. 

Well, in my opinion,  it is definitely one of the toughest field, which explains why not many doctors would like to pursue this carrier path. Hence, I feel that we should create a positive encouraging environment for everyone to work right? No bickering, no putting down others, humiliating your junior colleagues etc. In a tough working situation with a lot of stress, good working environment at least take off the pressure for a little bit, am I right?

I am determine to become a better employee, a considerate colleague, a humble doctor and work with humility. I vow to be more kids friendly and treat them with a lot of respect. I aspire to become like the consultants that I've met here, Insyallah.

Present for Hana

At first I want to get another design for her but the store run out of stock and has shoes too small for her. Hana is currently wearing UK 5, so I planned to buy 1 or 2 sizes bigger. I finally decided to purchase this rather cheap cute flats for my daughter.

I just showed her on skype and it really made her day. She got all excited about it, wanted to try the shoes on but of course, she wasn't able to do so via skype.  Papa reminded her that she can always wear the shoes when Mama returns home. Poor lil Hana.

Madrid, here we come!

It is in my plan to travel out of UK during our trip here. There are so many affordable countries to visit that I'm spoilt with choices. I would love to travel to Paris in France, Rome in Italy, Greece, Amsterdam, Norway, Turkey and many other wonderful tourist spots... I just wish I have more time and definitely money to go to all these places. I guess that's why you can see Malaysian students travelling all over the place as they are cheap and so near, like 1-2 hours by plane or train! 

My sister really strongly recommended me to go to Paris unfortunately Alya already visited France many years ago. So we decided to go to either Spain or Rome. Unfortunately, we have to fork out 500 to 600 pounds per person which is way beyond our budget. I did contact Perantauholidays travel agent but it is still be quite costly for us unless we can find another extra member. That will reduce the cost by 100 pounds but where can I find another friend to join us as they are all back home! Mind you, I need to come again to UK in Feb 2013 for my exam. Hence, I am feeling rather cheapskate here. 

Without a tourist guide, I am utterly worried of getting lost in a country where majority of them do not converse in English! I googled around and found  out that Madrid has good public transportation system. Their metro service was thought to be super efficient. 

We have come to the decision of going to Spain towards the end of our stay, just a short 3 days and 2 nights trip. Well, we can't afford to wait any longer as the airfare will get more expensive by each day. I booked a room online via Agoda for 39 pounds per night and purchased a return Ryanair flight ticket, a low cost carrier just like Airasia. In total, we have spent 190 pounds/person so far. In estimation we need to spend another 100 pounds on miscellaneous stuffs like food, local transportation to go around the city, tour to Toledo for 36 pounds, hop and off bus in Madrid for 20 pounds. 

I am quite uncertain about this, first time backpacking but at least I have my friend with me right. Well, Espaniol, here we come! Pictures credit to http://www.localmadridtours.com/

Madrid

Madrid

Madrid

Toledo: A world heritage city

P/s As a damage control measure, I need to do more locum in the coming months -___-

Wee spend our mid-day sweat, or mid-night oyle; Wee tyre the night in thought; the day in toyle.

It is 4.13am in the morning as I was typing this entry. I wasn't exactly burning the midnight oil. Last night was spent studying but the corner of my eyes were periodically focused on my favourite comedy show Friends rerun on the television. By 2am, I finished up reading on endocrinology and thought that I had enough of tall/short statures and puberty. I went on Youtube and checked out on Peter Russell, an Indian stand up comedian from Canada that my friend was ranting about. He is seriously out of this world hilarious and I find myself laughing uncontrollably in the wee hours of the morning.

I skyped for a while with my hub as it was already 10am in Malaysia but my little girl who is apparently down with a common cold was taking her morning nap. I felt bad that I couldn't be by my daughter's side, hug her and tell her that she'll get better soon. Poor hubby as well as he had to deal with Hana all alone, well..she can be really cranky whenever she is unwell.

It already 4.24am and Athan was just played on my laptop. It is the calling for Subuh prayer. I'll be hitting the sack soon after I perform my solat.

I'll leave you with a video of Sister Rebecca and Nye, 2 Muslim American Muallafs talking about Islam in our day to day life. May Allah bless them both.

Day 10: Diabetics 123

I attended their diabetic clinic this morning. The system here was superb! I was totally amazed by their set up. 

First, patient had to go for anthropometric measurements just like in any other hospitals. Then, they'll have their blood sugar and HbA1C taken with the result obtained on the spot. The same nurse will ask few questions with regards to their insulin regime, site of injection and examined the site for complications like lipohypertrophy. 

The patient will then seen by a child psychologist (if they have an appointment or if they feel like they have any issue to discuss) then to a diabetic nurse specialist (who normally see them at home on a regular basis) to discuss regarding their sugar monitoring. A dietitian is also at site should they need a consultation. Finally, the consultant will see the patient for fine tuning, and that session normally doesn't take that long. 

In Malaysia, I guess the doctor is the one who does 4 in 1 job. Dia lah dietitian, counsellor and a doctor, all in one. Here, they take the psychological and social aspect of the illness very seriously especially chronic ones. How are they coping at school, sports activity, school performance etc which is sadly lacking in our country. They compliment the patient a lot even on small progress. You will hear a lot of " you did well', "excellent", " you are a big boy now" and many positive encouraging words. 

Back home, we converse mainly in our native bahasa during our day to day consultation. Agak janggal bila nak translate ke bahasa Malaysia sebenarnya. "Bagus", "awak cemerlang", "tahniah", "takpe.. bukan salah awak".. all sounds kelakar la pulak kan. Hmm, macamana nak apply kat Malaysia ni?

Petang pulak, we had a communication practice with our supervisor. Kecut perut since he is one of the examiners for the membership exam. He gave us some komen yang membina. Learnt a lot from him as he shared with us lots of useful tips! We will be having another session with him tomorrow noon, if time permits. Takuuuttnye!!

Nak study and buat comm lagi tonight. We definitely need to practice more. Wish us luck ya. 

Tak sempat nak skype with my hubb and my lil girl. Missing them lots!!

Day 9: Missed Opportunity

We went to the clinic this morning and finally met our supervisor. He runs the rheumatology clinic together with another paediatric rheumatologis on Tuesdays. Last night me and my friend did some revision on the musculoskeletal so that we do not appear like a fool in front them :p

Sadly this morning only one of us can join their clinic. There were too many people cramped in a room, 2 consultants, a physiotherapist, a nurse, my colleague and another medical students. Ini tak termasuk patients and their families. They saw quite a number of JIAs, Ehler Danlos etc. Hmm, takde rezeki.

I joined another consultant instead and saw quite a number of interesting cases. Takpelah, Insyaallah next time I can join their rheumatology clinic pulak kan.

Okay, signing off now. Nak take a nap and study.

Day 8: First day at the Hospital

After a week in Southend, we finally able to start our clinical observer post in Paediatrics after passing our occupational health assessment. Our supervisor was not around today and we were put under another consultant instead. We started our day at the paediatric clinic. In total, we saw 10 patients of different problems, endocrine, gastro etc even though it was supposed to be a general clinic. 

I would say that I love how the consultant handled the sessions, he was an experience doctor, very thorough in history taking, examination and management. He is also gentle to the patient, talked through the problems and spent almost 30-45mins with each patient. The way he communicate with the patient and their families were just an eye opener. I am totally inspired to be like him, very children and baby friendly I might say. The parents and the kids are very kind and well verse with their illness as well.

It was a tiring day but I am now really motivated to study. Chaiyok!

Day 7: Buckingham Palace and Oxford Street

We went to London today. Our initial intention of going to the city was to shop. It wasn't in our itinerary, but we ended up visiting Buckingham Palace instead. There were throngs of tourists there, maybe sebab weekend. We walked passed by St James Park, had egg sandwich that we packed earlier and headed on foot to Oxford Street instead of hopping on the shuttle bus. That was our biggest mistake as by the time we reach the so called shopping paradise, we were already exhausted and again hungry.

Oxford street really is a shopping paradise especially for those with money unlike moi. This long stretch of road was very crowded despite summer sale has come to an end.  Macam Jalan Tar pun ada cuma high class skit. There are iconic department stores namely Selfridges and M&S as well as high street brands like Zara, DP, Forever 21 and Top Shop just to name a few. 

Frankly speaking, I prefer to shop in Southend than London.  I was too stressed up when I have SO many choices of very nice, hijabi friendly expensive clothes sprawling in front of me and my purse is half empty. It was not a good feeling at all. 

We were hungry by 2pm, tapi susah nak cari tempat makan. What I noticed is that McDonald's here memang laku habis. Penuh seumpama kedai mamak. There are food hall at Selfridges and M&S store but we would really like to taste their traditional fish and chips instead. Masalahnya it was so difficult to find or we were too tired to look for it. 

We only stumbled upon one halal stall selling this meal. The fish wasn't fresh, tasted bland, and there was no tartare sauce or lemon available. The fish and chips served at Fish & Co in KL are way better than this one. There is another shop selling them as their famous signature dish but the batter was made of beer, so tak boleh la makan kan.

By 5pm, we decided to call it a day. We bought cherries and very sweet flat peaches before we headed home via underground tubes and train to Westcliff. I did not purchase anything for myself though. Sale dah habis kan, so sad. 

Next weekend ada open house at Malaysia Hall London. Teringin nak pergi but I did not bring  any traditional clothes along with me. Sure students2 Malaysia all melaram sakan with their baju raya berlabuci bagai kan. Ala malu la kalau pegi pakai jeans je :( Ada orang Malaysia in London boleh pinjamkan baju kurung tak? Kalau ada baju kebaya lagi best (wink).

Missing hubby and daughter whom at this moment are having fun holiday kat PD. So not fair for leaving me behind :(

Day 6: Staying In

Our initial plan was to go to Oxford Street, London early in the morning. Unfortunately my friend is feeling under the weather. Sorry dear for passing you the bad bugs.. We decided to stay indoor today to let her recuperate. Lagi pun I also need to catch up on my reading, kan datang sini nak study!

Last night we invited the Malay boy over for dinner after his night duty was over. He recommended us to go to Cordoba, Espaniol instead. Seemed like a good idea since my friend is not all hyped up about Paris. We would love to see all the Islamic architectures and different culture. The downside is flight airfares will be a bit more expensive and expenses are estimated around RM1500. I'm apprehensive about how to go about in the city. Car rental mahal, not sure about buses or trains and wishing that every top attractions are within walking distance. We are two manjalitis ladies and not used to backpacking :p

Has anyone here ever visited Cordoba? Do you have any recommendation on places to visit, transportation around the city etc. Your comments are most welcome.

Day 5: Rain Rain Please Go Away

This morning we chanced upon a young Malaysian guy doctor, who recently posted here for housemanship about a month ago. He was really ecstatic when he stumbled upon another fellow country girls. I was inside the admin office at that time. He saw my friend talking to the housekeeper in front of the hostel building. Looking at the face and the way she wore the hijab, he shouted across the street at my friend " Malaysian ke?". My friend was confused as she thought this mamak guy is a British Pakistani/Indian and replied " Ha'ah, kenapa?".

This chap came over and appeared really excited to see us! He is also happened to be Alya's junior kat MRSM, what a small world kan. Hailed from Manchester with many orang sebangsa, he kinda missed speaking in Malay :) We chatted quite a bit, took down his number and planned to meet later for a drink. 

Lepas tu, we went to the Occupational Health office for Mantoux reading. The induration was 9mm, as expected, as I already received BCG immunization before. The CXR report was still pending though. We lepak2 at the local library while waiting for Alya's appointment as hers was scheduled 2 hours later than mine.

I enjoyed a cuppa at the lounge area of the library .
Lepas gian :p
The small Americano = 1.25 pounds

We headed over to High Street just to check out the whole stretch of shops before we visit Oxford street tomorrow. At the end of High Street is the sea but we couldn't go near as it started to drizzle.

Nampak makin 'expand' since Raya.
Trying to shed off few kilos but the weather here is not helping at all.
Selalu rasa lapar :(

FYI, M&S and Clarks here in UK are WAY cheaper than back home, almost RM150 difference even on non sale items. Ishh, tensionnya! Alya's sister just bought a blouse for RM269 and the exact same top costs RM120 here. Sheeesh -____- 

Finally saw the sea

We decided to call it a day. We were famished and eager to go back to cook. It was raining quite heavily, temperature was around 14 degrees and the cold wind sent chill down our spine. Even the orang putehs were clad in wind breakers and jackets. I almost got frostbites; unfortunately my fingers and body masih jakun dengan wheather kat sini. 

Dropped by Sainsbury's to shop for groceries.
The cart contained fruits mainly nectarines, grapes and apples as well as vegetables.
Easily paid 22 pounds here (RM100++). Aiyyo (scratch head).

Day 4: Rindu mereka :(

Day 4: The hostel

Salam and good morning everyone..

 I am currently residing at Southend Accomodation for the price of 15 pounds per day. In total I have to pay 541 pounds for 35 days. Kali lima and that summed up to RM2700.. gasp! Maheyynyaa, I know!

My friend said macam budak Uni.. hehe

It is actually a 6 rooms apartment, 2 rooms are occupied by others who also work at the hospital and another 2 are vacant. Initially I felt that the room is rather small. I was claustrophobic for a minute but after a while I find that it's just nice for a person. Bukan nak melompat berlari bagai kan :p

The room is equipped with a single bed, wardrobe and a desk. Kettle, towel, mug, internet connection (just have to bring LAN) and an alarm clock are also provided. Apa yang penting is that the room has its own attached bathroom, yayy. 

There is also a shared kitchen which is better equipped than my very own back home. Ada washing machine and dryer, fridge and microwave, tempat masak etc. Iron pun ada kat bilik TV and housekeeping once a week. So for the price I pay, I am happy and satisfied with the facilities provided.

Cuma fridge besar 2 pintu kat sini penuh sangat. Ada 2 orang je lagi yang tinggal kat apartment ni tapi MasyaAllah, fridge stocked untuk 3 bulan okay! Takde space untuk kitorang store barang2. Kena selit2 je : (Mode BM takut ada orang sini terbaca. That's why kitorang tak boleh nak beli banyak2, takde space. Takpelah, we'll just have to make do with whatever we have at the moment.

I don't have any plans today. We were too exhausted yesterday after almost 7 hours of walking. Did I tell you that I slept from 8pm and again skipped dinner. I woke up at 4am with a growling tummy and ate the precooked fried rice at 5am! I'm planning to catch up with a bit of reading today and nak jog to Sainsbury's supermarket nearby later in the afternoon. 

Opps, did I tell you that the peaches here taste heavenly especially the flat ones. Subhanallah. I shall pack few to bring home if it is still in season.

Okay, see you later. Have a nice day ahead.

Day 3: Just tired..

Today has been another tiring day. We had an appointment for occupational health assessment at 10.30am. By 9am we have left the building and made our way to the Thamesegate House where the health office is. We reached the place early and decided to drop by the public library which is located nearby.

I love the place and I can see that reading is part of their culture particularly amongst the elder ones. I can see old atuk and neneks walking with canes or even mobilizing using the motorised wheelchair coming in and out of the library with bags filled with books. Me and Alya had a discussion on our strategy to study in preparation for the exam in Feb 2013. I felt choked as there are so many things to cover with so little time. May Allah give us strength and perseverance, Ameen. 

At the library

We then headed to the health office 10 minutes before the appointment time. I've got called in first, the nurse was a very nice lady, injected PPD for Mantoux test since we are from country with TB endemics and took my blood for Measles and Rubella screening. We had to perform a chest x-ray at Southend Hospital but on our way there, we decided to stop by a park to enjoy the cool sunny weather whilst having our packed lunch.  

The whether was on our side today. See, I only donned on a layer of top.

Love the bushy flowery park.

We left the hospital by 2pm. Alya had a migraine while my feet were aching. All we wanted to do was to go back to the hostel and lie down. This time around, equipped with a GPS, we tried on a different (hopefully shorter) route back to Balmoral Road. We got lost along the way, made a wrong turn and by that time, both of us were stressed up and grumpy. Alhamdulillah we found our way back. We decided to do some grocery shopping beforehand as I don't think we will ever get out again today.

We bought another 4 packets of rice, fruits, chicken and few herbs and spices from a Pakistani and an Iraqi shop at London Road, very near to our place of stay. We wanted a tiny packet of salt but they only had a big bottle of it. The Iraqi lady generously gave us her own half used salt and we thanked her for that. May Allah bless her and her family for being so kind. 

Experimenting a new route and passed by these area.
Southend is an old town and these houses are still with chimneys.
I am sure you need a lot of $$ for renovation and restoration.

By the time I reached the hostel to Skype, it was already 11pm in Malaysia and my husband and daughter were already asleep :( I'm really exhausted, have not get over of my common cold and aching for a feet reflexology.

Gosh, I miss home terribly...

Day 3: Makan mis-adventure

I would say that since we ever got here, our eating schedule has been erratic. Breakfast normally consist of sandwiches, no lunch, by 4pm our tummy started to growl and hunger pang set it after a long walk. The food here I would say is reasonably priced but to the fact that everything has to be multiplied by 5, we became cheapskate. 

McDonald's meal roughly priced at 4 pounds while fish and chips costs almost 6 pounds. 2 days ago we had large half priced pizza as lunch cum dinner for 3.5 pounds bought at Ali Baba Turkish shop. I can foresee that we will frequent this joint regularly. Yesterday we ate burgers at a Pakistani shop (I forgot the name) for lunch. So for 2 nights in a row, we only had fruits for dinner. The reason being is that by 8pm, I would still felt jet lagged and would already took my 40 winks.

This morning, Alya knocked on my door and told me that she was really hungry. I brought along a small rice cooker from home, cooked basmati rice, alya opened up a can of sardines and made scrambled egg. For a short while, it felt like home. I guess being Malaysian, anywhere you go, somehow or rather, only rice gives your enough satiety, don't you think so?

We are writing down our menu to plan on our grocery shopping this week. We can't afford to eat outside everyday, better save money for travelling and shopping :p The menu includes fried rice, seafood / chicken tahri, ayam masak halia / kicap and telur dadar. We are not equipped with adequate cooking utensils like chopping knife and board and had to make do with cutting on a tray using butter knife.. so sad..

Anyways, plan for today:
1) Occupational health appointment at 10.30am
2) Grocery shopping at a halal butcher down London Road

Today's packed lunch