Ahh! Waking up to Hualien's fresh air!! What a nice change of scenery from Taipei!!!
In addition, I stayed at the C'est Jeune Hotel in Hualien (No.122 Jungfu Road, Hualien City Hualien, 970, Taiwan), a really cute and modern hotel/inn located in a quiet neighborhood! This was definitely much different from Howard Hotel (a luxurious hotel with both retail and restaurants) in Taipei!!
I knew from the start that today was going to be a good day! To start off the day, we had some Taiwanese breakfast provided by the hotel! I got the porridge, while Rama got the fruit salad. Yummy!! We then boarded the bus and went to an Aborigine Hospital in Hualien (花蓮縣豐濱鄉豐濱村光豐路41 號). The hospital was very different from both the hospitals in Taipei and the hospitals in the U.S. Even though I had previously visited Taiwan, I've never been to Hualien, nor experienced the Aborigine culture there! It was amazing to see the signs written in Aborigines and seeing Aborigine patients! At the hospital, we met the sole doctor of the day!!! It was amazing to learn that there was only one main doctor in the entire hospital, catering to almost every department! This poor guy was probably worked to the extreme!
After viewing the hospital, we went to a rural clinic that was an offshoot of the main hospital! There we really got to see how rural medicine was done! Again, there was only one doctor and one administrative person. The clinic was a small shack with the most minimal resources provided. However, there was a pink trailer parked outside that had all the basic medications, acting as a mini-pharmacy for the clinic! This was very interesting to view because of the huge contrast between health care in rural Taiwan and health care in Taipei!!
Of all the things I have seen so far in Taipei, by far, the most memorable of all, was the Tzu Chi hospital! The hospital was so grandiose, having traditional style architecture, located in a field of green, and placed in front of a beautiful and eerie landscape of mountains. The hospital looked heavenly as the clouds dipped over the mountain tops, slightly covering the buildings, but leaving a feeling of calmness and gratitude in the air! Looking around, I even saw some stray dogs that seemed so calm and peaceful, roaming the Tzu Chi grounds without intimidating anyone! This entire environment was amazingly peaceful and serene!!
We ate lunch around the Tzu Chi hospital before we had our tour of the hospital and the university! While most people went to eat dumplings, Patty and I ventured out and tried a small Taiwanese seafood noodle soup shack! The shack was run by one grandmother, while the rest of the family was inside eating lunch. The minute we placed our order and went inside the home to eat, the kids all hurried out to help grandma cook for us! They were all so kind and helpful- very different from the rushed sales people in Taipei!
After lunch, we went inside the Tzu Chi hospital and toured the inside! The hospital was very lovely on the inside, with a pianist playing live, just like the TMU hospital. In addition, there were lots of artwork painted by patients and families of patients that were on display to bring the viewers comfort and hope! What I liked best about the hospital was that everyone there was so efficient and kind! All the volunteers seemed so grateful and joyful to be there, rather than many of the volunteers in U.S. hospitals who only go for service hours!! In addition, the hospital recycles old devices into things with useful functions! For example, old x-ray light boxes are now used to display artwork and words of wisdom around the hospital!! Another thing that I loved about the hospital was the free Taiwanese style rooms that they provided for the family members of the ill. It was amazing to see that families of patients could stay in the hospital for no charge!! This sort of thing would never be found in America!!
After viewing the hospital, we moved on to the university. Visiting the university has changed my life in so many ways!! I feel so touched and inspired to further pursue medicine after learning about the medicine program at Tzu Chi (if only the U.S had a Tzu Chi medical school too!!). What struck me most about the Tzu Chi medical school was their 'Silent Mentors Program.' This program was truly phenomenal. While most medical schools used unnamed cadavers for their anatomy labs, Tzu Chi's school used donated bodies of Tzu Chi members. These bodies were called 'Silent Mentors' because each group of students was assigned to each body to learn about the human body. Before the students studied these bodies, the students had to go to the families of the 'mentors' in order to learn more about them. By doing so, this allows the students to have compassion when dissecting the mentors' bodies. I really loved this concept because rather than letting students view the cadavers as just another 'meat on the chopping block,' they would learn to value life and respect the body before them. I was brought to tears when I saw the video of the students paying their respects to their 'mentors.' To me, I really respect the dead and hope to learn more from them one day as a pathologist. This experience reassured my desire to become a pathologist!!!! I was so grateful to see that there were people out there who still respected the human body and soul!
After learning about this program, we got to see other aspects of the medical school, such as the flower arranging room and the tea pouring room. It was interesting to learn that those classes were offered to medical students. In the past, I've always thought of these practices to be traditional- something the old practiced. However, I thought it was intriguing to know that many students sign up for this class!! Personally, I think these classes are great because they bring in artistry and appreciation of nature- something I believe that everyone should have!!!
When we arrived back to Hualien, most people were exhausted and wanted to work on group presentations. However, Adam, Andrew, Rama, and I left to go explore the Hualien night markets!!!! The night market was much smaller than Taipei's night market and had almost no clothing being sold!! Instead, there were lots of games and lots of FOOD!! We bought some fireworks that we lit up near the beach. We almost had ourselves killed before some locals came over and told us that we were lighting the fireworks totally wrong! Woops... I guess the incense that the shop owner gave us wasn't meant to use to pray for our safety! Instead, the incense is supposed to light the firecrackers rather than the lighter itself!! I guess the locals were right when they remarked later, "Silly Americans!!"
No comments:
Post a Comment