VCMC here I come! And, Medical Acupuncture in Pittsburgh!

Hi everyone! So, I haven't blogged much after I got back from Cambodia... man, I've just been so busy. So, good news... I have matched to my number 1 choice for a broad spectrum family medicine residency program at Ventura County Medical Center (VCMC). I fell in love with 2 programs: VCMC and In His Image (IHI). There are both very unique programs and have strengths that are unmatched by any other programs out there. I love both of them, however, after careful consideration and prayers, I have chosen to rank VCMC #1 and IHI #2. I know I will love either one. God had open the door for me to go to VCMC.

So, on Match Day (3/19), I was on a plane to Pittsburgh for my 2nd clinical week of my Medical Acupuncture training. It was such an awesome week there. I learned so much and do feel pretty comfortable with needling and most of the concepts and metaphors of Chinese Medicine and treatment through acupuncture. I can see that there are many practical uses for patients that conventional western medicine does not have answers to. I am excited to incorporate both in my treatment of patients.

Here are some pictures of my trip there... enjoy! Keep tuned in for pictures from Costa Rica... I am going there next week! I will be gone for 1 week and will hike into the Jungle to bring medicine to the Bribri people. Please pray for me and the team.

Sun setting over Pittsburgh on Mt Washington! What a view. Pittsburgh is known as the 'city of bridges'... man, they weren't kidding.

The famous Duquesne Incline... it used to transport worker and material up and down Mt Washington. Now, it is a ride that anyone can take. All aboard!

Beautiful night scene from the top of Mt. Washington. I also ate a very good dinner at a restaurant "Georgetown Inn" at the top that gave me the same view! It was awesome. I had to celebrate that night, because that was the night I found out that I got matched to my first choice of FM residency at Ventura County Medical Center! I had dinner with Jesus. It was very serene.

Having dinner at Pimanti Brother's sandwich (stack of beef, fries, and coleslaw) with my roommate Dave and my friend Valeska. We also got some 'bubble tea' at an Asian restaurant.

A church and the 'Cathedral of Learning.' There is a room on the top I heard is really neat, but I didn't have time to see it this time.

Me and a statue of Christopher Colombus! I took about 1 hr before I had to go to the airport on the last day to visit the famous conservatory. It was very pretty!

I didn't know pineapples grew out of a stalk! Each 'spikes' on the side is a bunch of flowers, and the green 'top' is a complete 'seed' to a new plant. You can just chop that green top off and plant it! I think I might try it.

Every room in this conservatory is completely temperature, moisture and sunlight regulated. All the blinds and shades are computer controlled. Amazing place!

Foods from Cambodia... yum!

So, finally, here are some food pictures! It has been about 6weeks since I got back from Cambodia, and I am still drooling dreaming about the food. Even the airplane food from EVA if you can imagine that. These pictures are taken 30,000 ft up in the air, in markets in Phnom Penh and Battambang, and in various restaurants in the cities on the dirty country roads... So, I won't keep the connaisseur waiting...

I love EVA air! They have the best service, the best food, and a wonderful Elite class seats! That was Seafood Noodles for breakfast and the American Continental breakfast.

Khmer breakfast: (Cambodian=Khmer) BBQ chicken with rice and a bowl of Khmer soup base. The next picture is stolen off the internet, it is a traditional Khmer breakfast noodle. This includes rice noodle stretched over lead pipes in the village, and some yummy beef balls or pieces of thin sliced pork. The most unique thing about Khmer cooking is the 'gray fish paste.' It is an essential ingredient in all the foods. It gives the distinct flavor of what's genuinly Khmer. It is what makes this bowl of noodle soup different from the Vietnamese Pho soup. This soup is my favorite in all of the Khmer cooking... Now, I do wake up every morning craving a bowl of soup.

Khmer food has some influence from Thai and Indian traditions... So, you can find some curry. So, here is chicken curry with rice... and some 'very poached' egg with chicken in heavy sauce.

Here is another very much traditional Khmer dish, the 'Fish Amok' which is in the little banana leaf bowl right next to the coconut. The Khmer ice coffee is also very good and very strong, about 20% sweetened condense milk and 80% pure caffein! The coconuts are always freshly opened, about 1 liter of fluid inside. The next dish is 'garlic chicken,' which also is a part of the Khmer tradition, lots of Chinese influence.

Another traditional Khmer dish: the 'Beef Lok Lak' on the left. Basically, some nicely marinated cooked beef in special sauce with an very poached egg over it and rice. It is very tasty! The dish next to it is just a beef noodle soup.

Here are some Thai influence: Seafood noodles with coconut sauce and pinapple fried rice with egg rolls on top.

Ok, the following are some snacks, weird foods, weird fruits, and some desserts!

Little sweet and sour plum balls, very common in Asia. Then, some roasted bugs! It is said that on the road from Battambang to Phnom Penh, one can find roasted Trantulas... yikes! I hate bugs!

Fruits: Rambutans (very good, like Lycee), and some 'rubber nose' fruit... also very good.

A Jackfruit tree... never seen one before... Jackfruit taste almost like sweet potatoe, but without the after-taste. It is not to be confused with the picture on the right! That is a very stincky fruit called Durian... YUCK! I can't even get near the fruit... but, supposedly if you can get pass the stentch, people say that it actually taste really sweet and very good. I don't believe any of it.

So, always have to finish off with the dessert... here are some baked goods, very much with French influence. On the left, ginger banana and some rolled pastry with sweet stuff on the inside. Oh, we also found some good gelato icecream too.... Got to have snack!

There are still so many other dishes I didn't get to take pictures of, I guess you just have to go there to have some with me one day :)

Winding down medical school...

I have 3 more days of this internal medicine rotation at UCI medical center. So far in medical school, I haven't felt as much as a doctor until this rotation. This is probably the busiest service I have been on, and I have been on many busy months. (most of my rotations are pretty hard core) As a fourth year medical student on the team, I was given responsibility as an intern (first year resident). I was given just as much patients to manage as the other 2 interns on my team. It is the first time I had to be the primary physician for all my patients. Previously, I had always act as a helper for the doctors on the team to get things done and to learn as much as I could about every case. However, this time, I am solely responsible to admit the patient, to order all their tests, talk to specialists about the patient's care, talk to social workers, case managers, families and educating the patients about how to understand their illness and how to care for their needs, and to discharge them from the hospital when I feel they are ready. I felt that the attending physicians and my senior residents trust my assessments and my patient care.

For about every 15 minutes I spend talking and examining patients, I spend another 1.5 to 2 hours every day doing everything else for that particular patient. Imagine if add all those hours up for 5 patients, I end up spending most of my day arranging consultations, following up on tests and imaging studies, and looking things up that I don't know. So, I have many patients, and it keeps me very busy. However, I felt rewarded in many ways to have the responsibilities to take care, arrange resources for someone and to see them go home healthier than the way they came it. (for the most part)

So, after this week, and after my last test in medical school on this Friday, everything is down hill from here. I have a month of easy rotation in Phoenix and then hopefully a month in South America to learn Spanish, if it works out.

As far as residency matches goes, I have submitted my rank list of programs that I desired after careful considerations and prayers. I feel very good about this list. I know that God will direct my path and He will guide me to wherever He wants me to be. I will find out on March 19 where I will go for the next 3 years for residency. I am so excited!

I am right now listening to some music that I bought from some youths in Cambodia. The group is called Olive Productions. It is really good Cambodian Christian music.

Ahkun Preah Ang!

Sex Slaves

Doesn't all this human trafficking and sex slavery and child labor disgust you? It does to me! I want to throw up every time I hear of it! Why do people think it is ok to do that to another human being? Is it monetary gains or sense of power? Or, is it a lack of reverence for God and a lack of respect for life? I think it is both!

So, recently, since I got back from Cambodia, and after my friend Lauren join the Polaris Project in the US, I’ve learned of another organization that is doing similar things. That is the HAGAR International project. This is a home grown project in Cambodia that helps women and children to get out of human trafficking and slavery by offering rehabilitation, shelter, and means of earning cash for living. I really like the idea of helping the helpless and the oppressed.

Cambodia, like many poor Southeast Asian countries and many African countries, the position women have in society is not equal to men. Many men are responsible for the propagation of prostitution and directly responsible for the spread of HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS has touted as the number ONE killer of people in Cambodia. Men have sex with prostitutes and come home and give it to their wife, or pass it all around, despite education. This has got to stop! How? I have no definitive idea, but through organizational efforts like the Polaris Project and Hagar International, hopefully one day, this world may be a safer place. I think these women and children are at the heart of God. Check it out!

Here is a video to how you can help: http://life.gaiam.com/gaiam/p/Fair-Trade-Paves-a-Way-Out-of-Human-Trafficking-in-Cambodia.html;jsessionid=12D00A58F141AB6C9044343458DDE5C3

(*) True Sabbath - Isaiah 58

Why do we act and behave righteously? Do we think we are pleasing God? Do we think we are 'being good?' or, do we do it to feel good about ourselves? Have we ever ask God: why don't You notice our humility and sacrifice as we worship You? Why, God, haven't You seen when we do a good thing for You or when we fasted and prayed in Your Name?

So, on your day of fasting, praying, or doing good deeds, how do you behave? Do you still utter bad language or anger out of the same lips you use to praise our Almighty God? Do you exploit your workers, friends, and family? On your day of fasting/Sabbath are you still finding yourself in frustration and quarreling?

Do you think that God has only chosen 1 day for us to humble ourselves before the Lord? Have you ever thought or expect that whatever we 'offer' to God is acceptable?

Many times we make 'Sabbath' an opportunity to prove to others or ourselves how 'holy and righteous' we are. This is NOT the Sabbath that God has designed. In Isaiah 58:6-9 God directly, without any hidden language, tells us what would happen to us when our hearts truly reflect the heart of God. When our hearts and minds truly align with God's heart and mind, we are blessed with the things that blesses God and our hearts break for those things that breaks His heart. Worship from the heart in purity and in truth is what pleases God. God's heart breaks for oppression, injustice, hunger, homeless, and the poor. When our hearts break for the poor and seeks opportunity to serve them, our hearts are aligned with God's heart.

Of course, when we talk about faith and deeds, one without the other is meaningless and your confession in the Lord is not genuine. We should walk the talk and talk the walk.

If we can address the needs of the oppressed and poor, God's promises are real.

He said:

"The LORD will guide you always;

He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

and will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring whose water never fail."

If you keep the Sabbath holy and a delight

and honor it by not going your own way,

then you will find your joy in the LORD.

(*) Encouragement from Isaiah 57

As the LORD speaks... True Grace...

v2 Those who walk uprightly enter into peace;
they find rest as they lie in death.

v13 But the man who makes Me his refuge will inherit
the land and possess My holy mountain.

v15 I live in a high and holy place,

but also with who is contrite and lowly in spirit,

to revive the spirit of the lowly

and to revive the heart of the contrite.

v16 I will not accuse forever,

nor will I always be angry,

for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me

the breath of man that I have created.

v17 I was enraged by his sinful greed;

I punish him, and hid my face in anger,

yet he kept on in his willful ways.

v18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;

I will guide him and restore comfort to him.

v21 "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."

Cambodia - Post-Trip Update

Jim Rip Sua! (Formal hello in Khmer) This is called the 'Sompiah,' with palms pressed together and say 'jim rip sua' as you greet another. So, hello :)

I want to begin by thanking God for His divine guidance and protection, and to you for your continuous support and prayers. I have now been back from Cambodia for 2 weeks, and I have just begun to unpack my thoughts. I’ve learned so much about the history of the country and its people during my short 17 day stay there.

Dr. Pat (Pediatrician) and his wife Kacie with 3 kids [Trent (6yo), Diana (4yo), Talia (2yo)] and I landed in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia 2 days after we left LAX. I love this family. They are so much fun.

Though my interests are in medicine and public health, I did not have any experience in their applications abroad. Since Dr. Pat has been doing this all over the world for the last 10 years, he decided to take me under his wings to show me how things work. I knew I have a lot to learn, so I have prepared myself to be as flexible as possible and to enjoy anything we get to be a part of. After we arrived at Phnom Penh, we spent about a week visiting churches, clinics, government agencies, and various NGOs to get feedbacks in how we can achieve our objective. Our goal was to set up a reproducible and sustainable ‘Community Health Program.’ This program would involve training Health-Promoters (HP) to become educators of health and hygiene in a pre-selected community. We would develop the HPs to grow in their skills of health and hygiene promotion and also in discipleship of their spiritual maturity. Their role is to make relationships in the community they serve and eventually transforming their health and hygiene standards and to help in the efforts of helping their community to know God better.

After meeting with various local resources, Dr. Pat and I developed a completed proposal for the Community Health Promotion Program. We also participated in a Health and Hygiene Seminar as teachers: Dr. Pat, Denise (dental hygienist), Hung (our wonderful God-sent translator), and I. I start the session by teaching topics of first-aid, followed by Denise’s oral-health lectures, and ended by Dr. Pat’s lessons on how to clean water, how to make oral rehydration solution, and diarrhea prevention/management. There were about 18 students in attendance from towns all over Cambodia. We have numerous question/answering sessions and breakout practical sessions built into the curriculum. At the end of the 3-day seminar, we invited them to stand in front of the class and teach all of us on any one topic of their choice, which many of them did with passion and zest. We felt that the students had a very good understanding of the material and are ready to teach. One of the most exciting and necessary part of the seminar is the topic of spiritual applications along with each health and hygiene topic. As we know, the most important reason that people seek healthcare, also often least addressed, is for emotional/spiritual assurance. So, as teachers, we offered tools by way of applicable Bible verses and simple visuals that the HPs could integrate into their health and hygiene education.

Some fun things we did were traveling to see different temples (Ankor Wat and Ta Prohm in Siem Reap), Toul Sleng Prison and the Killing Fields, Military AID/HIV Hospital, and friends in Battambang. Ankor Wat is the national symbol of Cambodian pride. It was built in the middle ages at the height of the Ankor Empire. It is also the 7th man-made wonders of the world and the largest religious structure on the planet.

Ta Prohm, the temple depicted to the left, is a temple where trees grew out of the structures… also a temple filmed in Tomb-Raiders the movie… it is where God’s creations overcame the man-made building designed for spiritual oppression. It is a simple, yet powerful, display of God’s glory. All creation testifies to the knowledge of our Heavenly King. Simply awesome!!!
Along the way, we tasted many good Cambodia dishes and got to mingle with the locals. I have promised myself to eating at least one Khmer dish every day, and fell in love with the noodle-soup breakfast. And for me, one of the most exciting parts is to learn some language! I was able to greet, order my food, and count my numbers…

Here is a fast list of my first impressions: crazy traffic of cars/motorcycles/people going in all directions; beautiful smiles that stretches from ear to ear; rural feeling everywhere I go, even in many part of the capital; public sanitation is a literal disaster; not much of a public health infrastructure; air pollution is at least 10x worst than L.A.; overwhelming poverty; delicious foods; mosquitoes everywhere; and most of all, the pure hearts of youth who love our Father.