Since the last update, which was when the school year ended in about June 08, the 3 month summer holiday had been a good one for me. I took a short trip with some friends to Sipadan in Sabah, Malaysia to learn how to scuba dive. It was a great trip, and a nice skill to learn. For me, it was especially exciting to experience from a new perspective the beauty of God’s creation. It is quite a bit different from scuba diving and watching an underwater documentary, and the pictures which I took shows some of the things which I saw under the sea. It was a relaxing and refreshing time to pause and take a break from the year of hard work and study in school.

Also during the holidays, I took a 2 week trip to Khon Kaen, Thailand for a Project with Singapore Medical Society London. Khon Kaen is one of the poorest regions of Thailand, situated in the Northeast of the country. A team of 18 people, mostly medical students plus a doctor, stayed in a village, taught the residents about diabetes, hypertension, first aid and basic hygiene. We also brought resources and supplies for them. This was also a good experience to live in the same conditions as the villagers, using buckets of rain water to shower, cooking food for 20 people at a time, trying to get over the language barrier (with help from students from Khon Kaen University. In the last 2 days, I arranged to meet up with my godsister Elizabeth and her team from Gerald Khoo World Harvest foundation. A leader from the trip was with me to see the conditions in the slums in the city, as well as recce for a possible spot to do this project in 2009. We found the conditions in the slums to be worse than the village we went to, and the need for medical and social attention, greater. Therefore, I decided to lead a team in 2009 to both the same village for follow-up, as well as the slums in Khon Kaen city. This time though, we will be focusing our efforts on liver fluke infections, which are worms/parasites that infect the people when they eat raw fish. They have a high association with cholangiocarcinoma, which is one of the top cancers in Thailand. Another leader and I have been planning and getting in touch with the relevant parties for sponsorship, help and advice. The trip will be in July or August 2009.

After enjoying the company of family and friends in Singapore, and some attachments with doctors in Singapore as well, I started year2 medicine in Imperial in Oct08. Since then it’s been going at breakneck speed. The first month of the course was basically lots of lectures, usually up to 6 per day. The topics were stuff like anatomy, pharmacology, neuroscience, more endocrinology. In end Nov08, we started a 4-week long attachment in a hospital. I was posted to Northwick Park Hospital, which is in zone4, Northwest of London. It takes me an hour to get there, and my day started at 0800 everyday. Those 4-weeks proved to be an awesome learning experience. Not only were there dedicated teaching sessions, but I clerked patients, followed and helped with ward rounds, watched and assisted in some surgeries, and saw many patients in outpatient clinics. I was attached to GI/General surgical team, and many of the junior doctors were very kind and keen in teaching, which meant I learnt quite abit about biliary colic, pancreatitis, appendicitis, volvulus, and other GI conditions. It was great to finally link up what we’ve learnt in lectures to real clinical work. It was a good chance to get to know the life of the doctor, especially all the stupid paperwork involved, as well as learning from some consultants who are renowned in whole of UK. I also concluded during my 4 weeks there, that the NHS isn’t a very efficient system. It may actually deter me from working in London after I qualify. 

During the attachment, I also managed to get the people working in Microbiology there to teach me about diagnosis of liver flukes and other parasites in preparation for Project Khon Kaen 09. I will be going there next Tuesday to learn. Not only did I get to observe many aspects in Northwick Park Hospital, but I also got several chances to observe the procedures, clinics and surgeries in St Marks’ Hospital right beside, which is a private hospital specialising in colorectal work. It was quite different from Northwick Park, and I enjoyed the little time I got to spend there.

On to the music side of things. I have been less involved in Imperial College Big Band this year. Mostly because I have been terribly busy, but also because I don’t enjoy it as much as playing in a combo. Also because the main activity they talk about is pubbing, which is not something I enjoy very much. There is hardly any growth as a band because its all written charts and also because everything they play has the dynamics fff. Let’s just say I prefer to keep my ears intact.

Sir Real Jazz has been doing quite a number of gigs this term, and I have managed to get a fair amount of pocket money from those. With that money, I purchase a huge amplifier for home use, a Gallien Kruger 2X10 goldline cabinet, used with my Acoustic Image head. I finally can hear the basslines of my music clearly. 

I joined another group for a short while. I thought I might as well get as many opportunities to play for some extra money, but turned out this group wasn’t even being paid for their gigs, and they were mainly doing pop-ish acoustic stuff, which I didn’t particularly enjoy much, so that was very much short-lived.

With All Souls Orchestra, I traveled with them to The Sage, Gateshead, a beautiful concert venue in Newcastle. We played 2 sold-out shows there, and I met a couple of jazz musicians in the orchestra as well. The journey to and fro was long, but it was fun to get to know more people in the orchestra who love God the same music I love.

Right before I came to London this term, I also played with my brother and 2 friends, Prakesh and Boon Chye in Esplanade for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix. That was a great opportunity for my brother and I. It was a real enjoyable time playing and talking with the band. 

Talking about music, I also set up a music page on Facebook so that friends and other people can listen to some of my music, and find out about what has been going on withmy music. You can visit the page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-Tan/37438266261

Do become a fan to get updates about my music.

Now that it’s the holidays, Christmas is around the corner. It will be my first Christmas overseas, and I don’t think I have much planned except church. I will be visiting hospital a couple of times to get in on practicing scrubbing and learn more. I probably will be visiting some friends in Oxford and Cambridge as well. My original plan was to go to France, but I think I might not actually do it, since I have noone to go with, and because I really have to study the work we did last term.

So lastly, but most importantly, please pray for a couple of things as the year comes to a close and a new year starts. Please pray for Project Khon Kaen 2009. Pray that things will be sorted swiftly and planning will be easy and efficient. Pray for generous sponsors and enthusiastic participants. Pray for my studies especially as well. That I’ll be able to learn and absorb as much as possible, and that it will all stick in my brain. This is also along with discipline to hammer the facts into my head in the first place. For the new year, pray for protection, good health and determination for the rest of the school year, and that I will be a channel for God’s saving grace in school.

Before I end, I would like to wish all of you a very blessed Christmas and a great festive holidays to spend with friends and family. Maybe God continue to bless you and keep you. And do tell me how to pray for you as well.

In His Love,

Mark