Traveling
and studying abroad fascinates most of the students around the world. I started
dreaming about it since i was little when my dad furthered his studies abroad
in UK and he brought us to live there with him. Since then, i told myself that
i will follow his footsteps (studying abroad) while fulfilling my dreams of
becoming a doctor.
After 2
years of struggle, battling with IB (International Baccaleaurette) for
preparation course in Mara College Banting, alhamdulillah, finally, i was
offered to pursue medical school in Moravian region of Czech Republic, Palacky
University of Olomouc.
14th
September 2009 was a historical date in
my life timeline. It was the day that I flew off from Kuala Lumpur
International Airport to Vaclav Havel, Prague, Czech Republic. And now it has
been 6 years later. How time flies! Throughout 6 years of studying abroad in
Czech republic, it has been one phase of life changing experience!
Let me
introduce to you what are the impacts of
medical school on me. Medical
school was fun! But there's at times of medschool , that makes me feel like
your head is going to explode if you try to fit one more obscure fact into your
cranium. Well, here is some proof that it's possible.Let me show you some crazy
statistics about the most complex and least understood organ in our body.
I know
all you wanted to see it some more numbers and facts about the body.
Don't
worry, there's no test for this....
At times medical school can become stressful and
monotonous, especially during the first three years. Spending days and nights with piles of material to get
through before eat, sleep, and do it all again the next day. Breaking up the
day with a quick run garnished with a bit of inspiration is just what you need
to make the pre-test push. So if you beginning to feel the pressure of an
upcoming exam or just need a little pick-up, look no more.
So if your medical school or your everyday life is
anything like mine, there will be a constant buzz in the air about what to do
during the summers and breaks. AND TRAVELING IS MY KIND OF ESCAPISM.
Cut to my life. Travel is my passion. To be honest, my
neurons impulsively make me think of what and where places that I can find
excitement and challenges. I have a strong and irresistible impulse to travel.
I never feel more focused, fulfilled, or alive than when I am boarding a train
or listening to the pilot welcome me aboard. Travel feels like home to me.
Because of this passion I have, I travel every chance I get.
I have
visited 33 countries on 4 continents. I had the opportunity to meet some of the
most intensely interesting people on this planet and make friendships with
people the world over. I was honored to be able to take in the sites, sounds,
smells, and cultures of a great many places, if even for only a few fleeting
days. I rode on trains, buses, cars, planes, subways, bicycles, and just about
every other mode of transportation you could envision, in pretty much every
condition imaginable
There’re
so many beautiful memories I have gained throughout my traveling years. One of
the best ones was my trip to Bosnia 3 years ago in September 2012.
Alhamdulillah, thanks to the Almighty, being in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a dream come true. It was a childhood
dream of mine to come over to Bosnia. Since i was little, i watched through the
television screen Bosnia war that happened there, and now its 20 years after
the war, how life would be like in Bosnia? How do you go on after living
through hell? This was the question i asked myself again and again.
Photo : 6th
september 2012. Overlooking the Neretva River and the Old Town of Mostar
Photo : got a kissed from a
nanny!!! :')
And
alhamdulillah, Allah has given me the opportunity to fulfill my dreams and most
of the questions lingered in my mind were answered throughout the journey in
Bosnia. And how could i forget the moment of kissing a beautiful Bosniak little
baby; She stared at me from afar and her sister brought her to me, and let me
kiss this adorable, and I was also kissed by a lady who reminds me of my grandma
since they shared the same name, Zainab. It broke me to tears at heart because
I was terribly missing my beautiful
grandmother and little nephew, Izz
back at home. There’s so much
love in Bosnia’s atmosphere.
Photos
: Meanwhile in Sarajevo city, we met this little baby who stared and smiled at
us from afar and her sister brought her to us. So, i gave her a kiss! (September 2013)
I
smiled every time I reminisced the time
my friend and I went on hiking in Plitvice National Park, Croatia with baju
kurung. Believe it or not, we forced ourselves to walk on the rocky routes just
to get the same view that we saw in Google, and we did it! During this summer
break, my friend, Farhana and I experienced fasting in Ramadhan and Eid away
from our family. So, we decided to do 'Salam Perantauan' shot for our beloved
family in friends on the top view, after enjoying a fabulous panoramic view of
Plitvice lakes.
Photos
: 3rd September 2012, berbaju kurung for hiking, there’s nothing
impossible for Gadis Melayu!
Traveling also pushes one’s limit. When you have the
opportunity to do stuff that scares
you…like jumping out of a plane; it’s about
conquering your fears, no matter how great or small, that generally get
further in life than those who settle for the safety confines of mediocrity.
It’s about pushing your boundaries.
Sometimes, simply ask yourself “What’s the worst that
could REALLY happen?” For me, I had a fear of both skydiving and bungy jumping
– I mean, seriously: with skydiving your life is in the hands of another
person, wearing a backpack, falling 15,000 feet from the sky. ALL KINDS
OF STUFF could go wrong! And bungy jumping – forget about it. Your
life hangs in the balance by a glorified rubber band.
Fortunately, I took the time to research both
experiences. Although the ‘worst that could happen’ was that I could die,
I realized that I was more likely to get injured in the car on the WAY to
either event than when actually doing them. I weighed the pros and cons
and decided that the risk of both adventures weren’t nearly as big as I had
made it out to be in my mind. More often then not, the worst case isn’t life
threatening or even that bad; also, it’s usually temporary, while the payoff
from the risk could be monumental and life-changing.
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Photo : BUNGEE JUMPING at
AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand - New Zealand's Highest Bungy Jump, 134m
Czech
republic, Milka
And imagine this, you're in 20 meters below the ocean's
surface, gliding silently through the water. The only sound you can hear is you
slowly breathing in and out. And suddenly, you're face to face with a group of
sharks, or manta rays and you can't even swim faster. They just
swallow you with no mercy.
Hahhh, just kidding!
Sounds pretty amazing, doesn't it? It's even more
remarkable to experience scuba diving first hand in the deep blue see and
witness colorful corals and
the beauty below the surface. Subhanallah, Glorified Him who creates
outstandingly beautiful creatures!
Photo :(30th
August 2013) Together with Atie and YC,
we're proudly flying the Malaysian flag at the depth of 12m , in remembering of
the 56th Independence Day
Say all
that not to brag or gloat, this entry was just to show how passionate I am in
traveling. I travel because I can’t stay still. I
need to be constantly exploring and learning about the world. Since I began
traveling, I’ve become less selfish and I’m more interested in understanding
why the world is the way it is and how I can do my bit to make it a slightly
better place for those less fortunate.Travel has made me more empathetic, less
self-centered, and more confident. I’m independent and love backpacking by
myself, and I can make friends anywhere.
Learning more about this globe we live on is what motivates me to
travel and there’s no better way to do that than the experience things
firsthand. My goals in traveling are to learn and understand more about this
world and to have amazing experiences.My present goal with travel is simple: to
soak up as many experiences as possible that serve as constant reminders that
I’m alive and to be grateful for this life because it is so brief.
I’m motivated by these small, special moments that gather together
when each is exciting in its own way, such as a good laugh with the kids, the
excitement of seeing a new flower, the surprise from the beauty of nature. My
goals are discovering new cultures, making new friends, meeting new people,
having new challenges and just to tap into new adventures.
I prefer to select destinations that are less travelled.
When you are thinking about what to do with your upcoming
break or future in general, don't just think about which box you can check off
on the list of things to do in medical school or in life. Draw your own box! Find a way to leverage your passion into
a life experience that you can grow from. If that's travel, GO TRAVEL . BREAK
OUT OF YOUR SHELL!
Photos
: Family photos taken with the school kids in Granada, Spain;
somewhere in January 2010.
That is why traveling is known to provide people with a
whole new perspective, whether that means no longer sweating the small stuff or
promising to get out there and meet new people upon returning home. Those who
have left their comfort zone and headed for a foreign land have done the right
thing; there is nothing like a trip to make you a new man who has no choice but
to fend for himself. Whether alone, with a partner, or in a group, your
development surely speeds up when you're abroad.
Don't let fear or insecurity stop you from trying new things. Believe in
yourself. Do what you love.
If you're a passionate knitter of hats, DO THAT (then give
them away to kids who are bald from chemo). If it's research, by all means
research till your blue in the face! Volunteer in a hospital or research WHILE
you travel (abroad programs). Be innovative with it, be creative, but most
importantly... do it. If you are in love with what you are doing, it will show
through to the people that matter. Cliche yes, but no less true.
Photos
: Impromtu hiking trip with Hradec
Kralove medical students to Snežka Hora, the highest mountain in Czech Republic
There’s a big world out there, and we can choose to
spend our limited time trying to see it and doing things we enjoy, or we can
spend time accumulating material things and doing things that don’t make us
happy. I also like to think that we can choose to live within the comfortable
bubble that we know, or we can choose to experience how life has manifested
across the globe and personally grow as part of the process. This doesn’t mean
you need to drop everything and travel for the rest of your life; it simply
means that if you’re interested in travel, you can make it happen by adjusting
your priorities.
Photos
:worth a selfie with beautiful
background of the city of Kotor, Montenegro , 2014
Insyaallah, in 10 to 15 years ahead, I’m imagining myself
as a volunteer doctor someday, working somewhere in the midst of armed conflict,
epidemics and natural disaster. I’m praying hard so that Allah will choose me
to serve as a doctor in Palestine, Syria or
any places where children are severely malnourishes and large segments
of population are denied any form of health care. Insyaallah.
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