Vivy's Journey to Thailand: Summer 2015 @summerlivingtolove - Tumblr Blog

Overall Travel Thoughts - Weeks 1 & 2

Fun fact: 99% of the time I am mistaken for Thai if I don’t open my mouth and speak English, or if I stick to my basic Thai. Even if I speak English sometimes, people have a hard time understanding that I’m Asian American and though I have Vietnamese heritage, I grew up in America. It’s weird how cultural stereotypes are! Though I’m starting to use my Thai-like appearance to my advantage -- I can blend in crowds without notice, which in my opinion, is much safer as I travel. My friends have also said that they think I get better service because I look Thai, which I don’t believe is true...but hey I’ll take it if that’s the case!

I spent my first two weeks getting accustomed to transportation and the pace of the city. Bangkok is always moving and crowded with such a vibrant energy and it’s so exciting! At the same, however, I’ve had to get used to long commutes and exhausting getting from one place to another. The traffic here makes Dallas or Austin traffic look great. I’ve learned to use the BTS sky train (the equivalent of the DART rail or metro) more often because it can get me from place to place WAY more quickly without the stress of sitting in dead stop traffic for hours. Also, it’s much cheaper!

I’ve really enjoyed finding local restaurants, shops, and vendors nearby that I can access by foot. Sometimes my favorite thing to do is to just walk on a busy street and discover a new place I had not previously seen or just observe the lifestyle here. As fun as seeing the landmarks is, I enjoy walking through any normal street and picking up some street fruit and visiting little shops along the way. Street fruit has been my favorite thing thus far. I love tropical fruit SO MUCH. And it is abundant on the street whenever I might have a craving, it’s so wonderful. Also, I’m starting to get acclimated to spicy food and even starting to enjoy the burning sensation a bit! Food has been quite a satisfying part of my adventure here. A friend of my uncle’s and her daughter have been showing me around the area and exposing me to Thai cuisine and it has been such a blessing! It’s been great talking to Thai people about Bangkok and the culture as well as trying authentic Thai food!

Traveling to nearby areas and landmarks here is MUCH cheaper and easier than back in the US. If I wanted to visit the beach for the weekend, like I did my second weekend, it would be $50 for transportation and hotel and was easy to put together. There are buses leaving from Bangkok every morning to various locations nearby and it’s easy to access. I didn’t have anything planned when I got here but it was simple to book a trip for me and some friends in my volunteer group for the weekend. This upcoming weekend, we were thinking of trekking a waterfall and visiting an elephant camp a few hours away on a day trip. My friends have been traveling to neighboring countries and all across Thailand on the weekends and it’s been so easy!

One thing I’ve really enjoyed are the markets. It is such a different atmosphere than shopping malls and has so much personality! Thai locals sell anything from home decor to clothes to plants and it’s all laid out together in either stalls or along the street. It’s an exciting environment to be in with people bargaining and a variety of people going in and out, looking at the goods. It can be overwhelming at first, but once you’re used to the pace, it’s exciting. People watching has been awesome here as well. Bangkok is an international city and because of that, a variety of people work in the city, travel to the city, and live in the city. So the mix in the markets (as well as the rest of the city) is fun to watch. I love observing the plethora of people pouring over various goods in the markets and interacting in the often cramped space.

I’ve loved roaming the neighborhood and city as well as traveling the area. Traveling in my free time has been so eye opening and fun. It’s been awesome to experience a completely different culture and become immersed in it during my extended stay here. Only 11 more days, gotta make the most of it!

#summerlivingtolove #summer2015 #thailandtravels

Weekend 2: Traveling to Ko Samet

After a long week of getting acclimated to the time zone (it definitely took almost a week for me!) and finishing a week of my medical internship, me and a few other girls from my volunteer group headed to Ko Samet, a nearby island with beautiful white sand beaches for some much needed r&r. The 3 hour drive there was beautiful – we passed by a lot of farm lands and open fields and I just love the lush vegetation of SE Asia; it doesn’t scream beautiful landscape but just exists in a natural, quiet form. We stayed in a small hotel by the pier a walked a few kilometers to the beach. The beach was SO BEAUTIFUL and peaceful. We found a less touristy beach to lay out and relax and it was PERFECT. Between the craziness of studies and working in the spring semester and then summer session, I hadn’t had any time to spend without any obligations or to do list and it was so wonderful to lay on the beach without thinking of what I had to do next. I go to be reunited with my love, aka coconut juice, every single meal while I was in Ko Samet. I ordered a fresh coconut with every meal and it was AMAZING. Fresh coconut is definitely something I have missed since I was in SE Asia 7-8 years ago.

At night, we wandered the beach and found a nice outdoor restaurant with cute lantern lighting and had a meal right on the beach. The weather was great in combination with Thai food and mood lighting, I felt so relaxed. I also indulged in squid at every meal, another favorite of mine! At Ko Samet, they have fire shows at night and they were incredible!!! I love watching fires and sparks and these guys were amazing! They wielded huge sticks smothered in gasoline and twirled them around with ease whilst running around or holding one another. It was mesmerizing.

The next day I woke up for a morning run along the beach, one of my favorite things to do anytime I’m on the coast. The feeling of engaging my body and feeling the earth around me on my feet and through the wind was just what I needed to rejuvenate myself. We spent the day at the beach again before heading home for our second week at our projects. Overall, a wonderful weekend relaxing at the beach with new friends and experiencing a little part of the beauty in Thailand :)

#kosamet #thailandtravels #summer2015 #summerlivingtolove #friendsforasia

Medical Internship Summary!

My first 2 weeks here I spent interning at Thammasat University Hospital. Before this trip, I felt like I hadn’t had sufficient experience in the medical field to know 100% that I wanted to be a doctor, but the past 2 weeks definitely confirmed it. Upon reflection the past few years, I have come to find that I would like to use my life to help others find an optimal quality of life through health and fitness because it is my belief that the body is the basic foundation of obtaining skills and knowledge to positively impact society. But whether or not I could do that through a career as I doctor, I wanted to discover on my own. The past 2 weeks have been a great experience to see the various ways a medical career helps impact the lives of many, which has solidified my desire to pursue medical school.

In my time at the hospital, I was able to observe in 4 departments: surgery, pediatrics, biochemistry, and medical diagnostics.

[warning: the next few paragraphs will contain a lot of scientific/medical jargon that could be tedious/boring to read, feel free to skim over if it’s not your interest]

Biochemistry

In biochemistry, we visited a few labs and got to see the connection between medicine and research. Most of the projects we saw were investigating the molecular significance of traditional Thai herbs and how they attributed to their medicinal properties. Thanks to the UT FRI program (Freshman Research Initiative), I was able to gain research experience, read scientific papers, and understand basic biology and biochemistry techniques, which made the day I spent there enriching and intriguing. The biochemistry lab we visited first used a lot of techniques I had learned about in my introductory classes like Western blotting, and it was exciting to see its application beyond the textbook descriptions. One of the graduate students was investigating a Thai herb’s effect on leukemia cells. She allowed us to look at the differences between normal cells and leukemia cells through a microscope, which was amazing. We also spent time talking to another researcher who did neuroscience research on the effects of another traditional Thai herb on schizophrenia in rats and because I have a neuroscience background, I was incredibly excited!!! She showed us slides of the rat brains and how schizophrenia caused certain parts of the brain to deteriorate and went into detail about how she used a variety of tests like prepulse inhibition, maze studies, etc. in order to make conclusions about the herb, which was exciting to me because I had studied all of these techniques but had never been able to experience the techniques’ applications. All of the knowledge I had obtained over the years suddenly seemed to have a purpose beyond a test or exam, and I was very grateful I had learned all that I did prior to coming here. I felt like my knowledge gave me full grasp of the research and its importance to the medical field. I spent my time in the biochemistry department in awe of all the potentially life-changing research going on throughout the world. It was so EXCITING. Though I do not want to pursue research in the future, I gained an appreciation for the strong role it plays in advancing medicine.

[lab coat official!]

Pediatrics – Gastrointestinal Tract specialty

We spent one afternoon observing a GI tract pediatrician see her patients. It’s a little different in Thai hospitals with regards to appointments; some departments still need appointments, like surgery and procedural departments, but for specialty or general doctor appointments, you just have to show up and wait for a doctor to see you. The GI tract doctor had a long line of patients that waited patiently until it was their turn to be seen. There was no predetermined time to arrive, it was more of a first-come first serve basis. The attitude of patients towards their doctors is slightly different than in America also: Thai people greatly respect their doctors and are very thankful for their time and consult. There were a few medical residents who were also observing as well, and the patients were patiently waiting as the doctor explained to us the medical history and condition of the patient; whereas I think it would not be the same in America with regards to patience and respect. The doctor was sweet and motherly towards the children that came in and provided a warm aura that kept the kids calm for the most part. Most of the kids had esophageal sphincter irritation, constipation, or anal fissures, which are all painful GI problems, but the doctor made them feel at ease. She explained to use the signs of various common afflictions children have with the GI tract and it was interesting to me to learn how the diagnosis and treatment process. There is a lot of problem solving that comes with being in the medical practice, something I had never considered before! I have also always been interested in pediatrics because I believe that a child’s health foundation is crucial to their lives and thus enjoyed my afternoon seeing the kids come in!

[the hospital was gorgeous with lush vegetation everywhere!]

Surgery – Transgender Transition

Before seeing this surgery, I already had a preconceived notion that I would not want to pursue surgery, but the morning I spent in the OR confirmed my thoughts entirely. We watched the complete rewiring of a former male’s genitalia to that of a female’s. The doctor explained to us the pre-operation procedure: in Thailand, before this procedure is performed, a patient has to undergo a long procedure of psychiatric confirmation of a gender disorder, physical operations like breast and hip implants, etc. in order to confirm the patient’s necessity and desire to change their gender. Though surgery does not frighten me out visually, I was uninterested in the physical interaction and mechanisms of surgery. I appreciated the experience because it was a rare chance to see this type of operation, but it did not peak my interest. I’ve come to realize that I enjoyed observing patient-doctor interactions much more because I enjoy forming bonds with patients, which to me is much more rewarding and enjoyable.

[first time ever in scrubs!]

Medical Diagnosis

We spent the majority of our 2 weeks in the Medical Diagnostics, and it was by far my favorite of the four departments! The staff was so welcoming and were eager to maximize my time there by teaching me about all the various tests used to detect physiological dysfunction as well as allowing me to try it myself. Within this department as well, I saw a significant use of the scientific method problem solving process applied to the diagnosis and treatment of patients. We first got to observe nerve conduction studies to detect neuromuscular problems and also got to experience them firsthand. A stimulus is applied, which causes an involuntary muscle twitch, which made me laugh so hard [which is wrong because you need to be relaxed for adequate measurements]. We did arm, facial, and leg conduction tests and learned how to interpret the results. The conduction speeds and latency could show nerve dysfunction or injury. It was super interesting to me because of my neuroscience and anatomy background. It is always exciting to me to see the application of the physical mechanisms on the function of the body. The external nerve conduction studies could be performed by technicians; however, invasive procedures have to be performed by doctors and thus for the EMG (electromyography), a doctor came in and evaluated the patient. The doctors explained to us how to interpret EMG results to detect denervation and recovery in the nerves. One doctor in particular, after explaining her problem solving process on how to find the nerve damage in a paralysis patient, encouraged us by sharing the rewarding parts of being a doctor. She said that though it is disheartening to see no improvement or atrophy in a patient’s neuromuscular system, the days that she saw partial or full recovery made her job worth it. This was incredibly encouraging and motivating to hear because that is my hope as a pre-medical student and to have that hope confirmed as a fundamental joy of being a doctor was reassuring. Within the department we also got to experience electroencephalography (observation for abnormal brain waves), carotid duplex ultrasonography (examination of arteries and veins for plaque and atherosclerosis), transcranial Doppler (examination of cerebral blood flow and identification of stenosis or stroke), visual evoked potential (detection of abnormalities in the optical tract), and pulmonary function test (detection of pulmonary obstruction or asthma and similar dysfunctions in respiratory function). I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing and interpreting the diagrams and results of all the tests; it was incredible being able to fuse my knowledge that I had learned in neuroscience and exercise science in a clinical setting with regards to my own body or others. I was also allowed to help with small things, and it was fun to get a little hands on experience. For example, I got to help put on EEG electrodes onto the head of an elderly stroke patient and learn of about all the locations. The patient had the biggest, most joyous smile that melted my heart. She was so sweet and despite the language barrier, I could experience her joy through her smile. It is cliché to say that a smile is the same in all languages, but over the course of this trip, it has proved so true. She told us good luck on our studies and I could feel the sincerity behind her good wishes because of her smile. It was also amazing to me how someone who had Alzheimer’s and had recently had a stroke could be so fully of joy. It was a wonderful reminder that your happiness is in your hands and your perception of your life will influence your happiness or lack thereof.

[TCD analysis on my cerebral blood flow -- i’m normal!!!]

[nerve conduction study -- facial nerves twitching all over the place]

Overall thoughts

I enjoyed my two weeks at Thammasat so much. I learned so much with regards to patient care, diagnosis, treatment, and recovery, but even moreso, I reaffirmed my passion to pursue medicine. Getting to see and interact with a diverse group of patients made my heart so happy; I can’t wait to see what the future holds as I pursue this path!!!

#summerlivingtolove #summer2015 #friendsforasia #medicalinternship

Arrival + Weekend (Sawadee Ka Thailand)

Sawadee Ka (Hello)

Phew. 23 hours is a loooooong time to spend traveling. Oddly enough, I was glad I was coming sleep deprived from a summer session at UT so I was sleep deprived enough I spent a good portion of the plane ride sleeping and watching movies. I had a layover in Taipei and it was swell to get to see the Taiwanese atmosphere through the windows of the airport. I really enjoyed traveling by myself, finding my way around from flight to flight, and just hanging out in the airport waiting for my flight. People watching is so fun in an international airport because people converge in one airport to go everywhere for a multitude of reasons.

On Friday, I arrived to a warm welcome from the Friends For Asia staff then spent the rest of the day getting acclimated to the humidity and time difference whilst getting to know a few of the other girls in my volunteer group. On Saturday, we really got to meet the rest of our group and got a short training on Thai culture, customs, and language. Then we got the chance to go learn how to use the BTS skytrain, which is the equivalent of the DART rail or any city rail system. Through that we got to visit a few city landmarks around the city, like the Siam Paragon & the Victory Monument. On Sunday, we finished our training with project assignments, debriefings, and another Thai language lesson. We then got to go visit the Jatujak Weekend Market and a few temples. T’was a packed weekend but it was great to get a feel for the culture and city!

One of the first things I noticed while getting lunch was how cheap food was in comparison to America. I could pay $1-2 for a simple meal that would cost at least $9-10. And it’s not chain, pre-prepared food, but authentic food, cooked to order. Also STREET FOOD. Food is everywhere. Yes they do caution against eating street food for sanitary reasons, but it’s such a vital part of the culture, I’ll take the risk. (Thankfully my parents are from Vietnam so they’re not freaking out too much as they read this haha!) Also MOTORBIKE TAXIS. They are now my favorite form of transportation. Yes okay not the safest...but in their defense, only licensed, well trained, and law-following motorbike drivers get “the vest” so it’s gotta be semi-safe...right? They’re such a fun way to get around the city and experience it fully with all 5 senses.

My volunteer group (some are pictured above in the motorbike picture) is AWESOME. Everyone comes from various parts of the world or the US and has unique experiences and aspirations; it’s so intriguing hearing everyone’s stories and what they aspired to do with their future. I definitely got lucky and got a great volunteer group! It makes it easier to go get food and other necessities; safety here is a lot more of a concern than back home. Though younger adults or teens here will wear less conservative clothes than their older generations due to Western influences, men here still have the mentality that if a woman wears tight, short, or see-through clothing, they are “asking for” it. Even less than that, a woman walking alone is just not as safe as in other realms of the world. So it definitely is helpful having friends to go place to place with outside of the home.

Every morning I’ve been here I’ve woken up around 5:30 or 6 to go for a short jog to wake myself up and even though it’s early, I love it. I hear the rooster at the house next door crowing as well as early birds chirping all around. I get to see the city slowly begin to wake and the locals begin to start their days. Even the neighborhood stray dog. I pass by the same dog everyday and I think he’s beginning to recognize me. It’s different here because it has a quiet, peaceful kind of beautiful, especially in the morning. It’s like moments that don’t scream beautiful, but just are. Every morning I pass by the same street food vendor that is preparing his meat for the day, and I think the way the meat sizzles and releases this consistent, aromatic smoke into the air is beautiful. Or maybe it’s because I’m hungry in the morning during the run haha.

Of all the places we visited in our first few days here, I definitely loved the temples and the weekend market the most. Which is funny because they are polar opposites. But I feel like that describes the city very well: a quiet, serene moment of solitude combined with a flurried madness that is full of life and fervor. I hope to visit more temples in my time here (maybe even try a meditation session with a monk) and the weekend market as well.

Just a few little blurbs of the first few days; I’m getting sleepy so maybe it’s time to call it a night. I will probably add onto the stories from this post later on. Will update more on the beginning of my internship another day (so much to say!!!!), don’t want to leave anything out in my sleepy writing!

Sawadee ka (Bye!!)

Vivy

p.s. if I left you off my email list, let me know! :]

#bangkok #friendsforasia #summer2015

I am fully funded thanks to the generosity of those around me.

Your love and support mean the world to me. Thank you so much everyone for your financial support as well as your continual encouragement; I am so blessed and humbled to have such loving people surrounding me.

Only 2 more days till I’m off!!! WOW!

In far too many countries around the world, an education is not a given for girls. These moving talks are from those facing great risk to change that.

I was really unmotivated to study for my summer midterms next week but then I stumbled on this playlist of 4 TED Talks given by leaders on the forefront of globally educating girls and listened to it as I studied -- It's CRAZY how lucky we are to have the guaranteed opportunity of an education and encouragement to excel beyond that to achieve a higher education. In developing countries, it is a young girl's dream to go to school, but instead of school, their duty as 10 year olds is to prepare for marriage and learn how to be an obedient wife. That is MIND BLOWING to me. These are incredible talks given by inspiring women, I definitely encourage anyone with some free time to check them out! (Update: I am now very motivated to study for my midterms, so lucky to be getting an education!!!)

In awe of the support I’ve received.

I have hit $2600!!! WHOA. That's 86.7% of my fundraising goal!!! I'm so close, wow!

I am in awe of the love and support I have received in the past few months for this trip. I am so incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so many people that support my endeavors and inspire me to pursue my passions.

I am so grateful for everyone's support, both financially and in spirit! Thank you all so so so much, love y'all!

T minus 26 days until I leave for this journey!

Long time no update!

It’s been a crazy semester so I haven’t gotten around to updating.

I received more information on my internship and volunteer project and I am SO STOKED.

and incredibly nervous.

For my medical intern project, I will be interning at Thammasat University Hospital and shadowing doctors of many different departments and gaining experience in the medical environment in a country unlike my own. This makes me excited to see the cultural differences in medical care between my home and the other side of the planet. It’s also exciting because I will be exposed to more practices than I have ever been before. However, it also makes me nervous because it will be foreign and new to me entirely, so I am unsure how I will react to seeing more intense procedures like surgeries and such. The idea excites me and I hope that it will intrigue me when I travel overseas and see it in person.

For my women empowerment project, I will be helping out at the Good Shepherd’s Sisters of Bangkok center. I will be working primarily with 2 groups of females: 10-17 year old girls that have suffered severe sexual or physical abuse as well as young pregnant women or young mothers who have suffered abuse or an unfriendly home environment as well. At this shelter, I will help empower the women through interaction and education that instill confidence in them. I am incredibly excited for this project because I will be able to touch lives directly and hopefully give them the confidence that they need to thrive in their community. I’m super nervous for this project as well because I personally cannot even imagine what these girls and women have gone through. I will write further on the differences between how abuse is treated in our Western society versus less developed countries in the East, and why that leads to more cases of mistreatment of females, especially much of which is pushed under the rug.

Peace out for now! Will write more soon :)

p.s. I am reading a book called Half the Sky, on empowering oppressed women internationally...will keep y’all updated on how it continues to inspire and motivate me!

Valentines Day Fundraiser

Last weekend, I raised a crazy $200 with my Valentine's Day fundraiser!!! Thank you everyone for supporting me by buying my treat boxes! Hope you enjoyed your chocolate covered treats and had a swell weekend! :) Y'all rock!

oldvivspeaking

Hey everyone! Valentine’s Day is coming up & I will be making chocolate covered treats to fundraise for my trip to Thailand! If you would like to support me by buying a treat box ($10) with chocolate covered strawberries & pretzels (shown) or a treat bag with chocolate covered pretzels ($5) let me know!!! These are great treats for loved ones or for yourself!! BYOB —> Be Your Own Bae ;) Treat yourself! :) I will deliver them Friday or Saturday during the day, all orders in by Wednesday night! :) Unfortunately I can only deliver in the Austin area :( But if you have a loved one you want to order for, it’s perfect! Send some love or treat yourself! :) (at be your own bae 😉😚💕)

This is one of my favorite GirlEffect videos that exemplifies the change that empowering adolescent girls could have on the world.

#girleffect #makeachange

Why Women Empowerment? Pt. 2 (More In Depth)

I am a part of an organization at UT called GirlAdvocates, an organization that promotes education, positive self-image, and aid for girls locally as well as globally.

Our philanthropy is the Girl Effect, a movement that leverages the potential of adolescent girls to end poverty for themselves, their families, their communities, their countries and the world by providing girls the resources to change their own social and economic dynamics. The Girl Effect movement is a big reason I am so passionate about women empowerment, because I can see the change that can be made not only for each individual female’s life, but also for change within impoverished areas with the addition of an educated woman, mother, and participant in society.

Why Girls?

1. Girls are agents of change

They play a crucial role in solving the most persistent development problems facing the world today. By investing in their economic potential through education and by delaying child marriage and teen pregnancy, issues such as HIV and AIDS can be resolved and the cycle of poverty can be broken.

2. People assume girls are being reached

They’re not. The reality is that children’s programs focus on 0-5 year-olds, and they tend to focus on males and older groups. Women’s programs don’t typically include adolescent girls. Programs that do reach girls rarely address the ones most at risk. To break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, programs must be designed for, and measure the impact on, girls.

3. THE COST OF EXCLUDING GIRLS IS HIGH

In India, adolescent pregnancy results in nearly $10 billion in lost potential income. In Uganda, 85% of girls leave school early, resulting in $10 billion in lost potential earnings. By delaying child marriage and early birth for one million girls, Bangladesh could potentially add $69 billion to the national income over these girls’ lifetimes.

It has been shown that an educated girl will reinvest 90% of her future income in her family, compared with 35% for a boy. And yet 250 million adolescent girls live in poverty and are more likely than boys to be uneducated, to be married at a young age, and to be exposed to HIV/AIDS. Today, less than two cents of every international development dollar goes to girls – the very people who could do the most to end poverty. As long as girls remain invisible, the world misses out on a tremendous opportunity for change.

#girleffect

Why Medicine? And Why Women Empowerment?

Hey there! My name is Vivy Phan. I am a pre-medical student at UT Austin passionate about improving physical health and fitness for people both within my country and globally. I believe that physical health and fitness are important to a person's quality of life and happiness. On a larger scale, I believe that health and fitness are a crucial part of a person's ability to succeed and contribute to society in an integral way. With good health and physical ability, a person can optimally use their mind and body to achieve their goals and positively impact their society. I am also passionate about women empowerment because I believe in the power of girls and women to transform their societies with the opportunity of getting an education. Education can empower women to become a working and educated part of their society, which can implement change for women's rights as well as conditions of abuse and mistreatment that often befall women. By becoming educated and an integral part of society, women can also invest their knowledge and resources into their children, which can in turn cause a cascade of education and amelioration of poverty.

Summer 2015

This summer from mid July to mid August, I have the amazing opportunity of volunteering in Bangkok, Thailand for 4 weeks in two different projects through Friends for Asia. The first project is a medical internship in which I will be able to have the opportunity of gaining first hand experience seeing how doctors and hospital staff interact with patients as well as procedures and operations. I will also be able to see the cultural differences in how patients are treated in different countries other than my own because I aspire to work with Doctors without Borders following medical school. The second project is a women empowerment project in which I will be helping at a refugee center for young women and single mothers from impoverished areas surrounding Bangkok, who often come from broken homes or backgrounds of abuse. By equipping them with education and skills needed to stand on their own and by instilling confidence in these women, they will be able to support themselves and their children on their own.

Living to Love

Why the URL summerlivingtolove?

My personal motto is to live everyday to love everything I do as well as everything in my environment, from the people I am surround with to the opportunities I am lucky to have. And by pursuing my passions via volunteer projects this summer, I am living out my summer expressing my love for my aspirations and causes I strongly advocate for.

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Vivy's Journey to Thailand: Summer 2015