as mentioned in my previous entries, i was actually not keen to go to korat. when i reached there, most of the participants are bosses - head of departments, medical director, national program planner. i felt so small, rasa inferior sangat2. in my introduction, i mentioned that i have no experience at all in community eyecare, and went there to learn. there were a few like me - younger generation who were sent there to learn.
i made a lot of new friends. the closest to me are the indonesians - since kita selalu makan and solat sama2. they were Mayang, Dr Rahasiah and Dr Farida. Mayang is getting married soon, comel betul budak ni, pakai colored contact lens. Dr Rahasiah is from UNHAS, Head Opthal Dept. dah kali ke3 ke Korat, umur dah dekat 60.
- prof konyama, dr farida, mayang, dr rahasiah n me
Dr Farida is 62, she is really nice, daughter to a diplomat and spent her younger years in the states and mexico. tapi sanggup korbankan kemewahan n hidup senangnya untuk kerja di Lombok, where civilization was still way down. she built-up the ophthalmology service there from zero sampailah dah ada bangunan sendiri and got 4 ophthalmologist. she has retired but continue to be a volunteer and now serve as a lecturer in 2 universities there. i really kagum ngan dia. she inspired us with her experiences, and i was so touched by her dedication and love towards the people and her work. my eyes were tearful at the end of her presentation.
i was also close to Dr Sam from Vietnam. we usually sat next to each other in class. he is 36, single, smokes, and an Arsenal fan. i suka sakat dia, dia pun suka kenakan kita. tapi dia ni bagus juga. eventhough he is d youngest in his group (3 org), i can see that he was the most responsible among them. presentation and report semua dia yang buat (just like me). walaupun english pronounciation dia tak berapa betul, tapi dia tak malu nak cakap. he can also speaks french sbb dia pernah buat attachment kat France for 1 year. dia banyak copy i punya presentation, tak malu betul - sebiji2 guna my sentences.
- sam, dr lim, sylvia, dr fatimah, me n saijin
Saijin is an ophthalmologist from Thailand. She is older than me, but i consider her "cute". perangai dia yang "cute", macam budak2. she always calls me ANGEL. kenapa panggil i angel - sebab dia ni sangat berusaha nak cakap english, tapi ramai prof. yg jadi instructor tak faham apa dia cakap, dan selalunya i lah yang akan menjadi interpreter. dia kagum gmana i boleh understand her bila org lain tak boleh. dia juga cukup minat tengok i cekap guna laptop, and banyak tolong dia guna computer. kalau i present kat depan, dia mesti sibuk nak ambik gambar, n will always say that i presented very well.
ted (family physician fr taiwan) and dr lim (retinal surgeon fr korea) were roomates. ted ni kuat makan, comel macam teddy bear. banyak idea, lepas group discussion dia mesti come to me with macam2 new ideas on innovation. ted ni minat F1 and suka main games... Dr lim kawan ngan i sebab kita sama2 peminat MU, suka lagu2 org putih yang lama2. masa farewell party siap nyanyi lagu eric clapton - wonderful tonight. datang korat bawa 2 je seluar panjang utk 2 weeks... hehe, dapat juga dia cari jeans harga Bhat200, made in korea pulak tu! paling cute time i suggest dr lim and take (takenori inomata) to try sticky rice with durian. beria2 mereka nak cuba, rugi tak capture that moment... air muka depa tiba2 berubah n berlari2 cari air. kata Take, pengalaman makan durian was indescribable. he will never ever try it again.
- dr lim and ted
there were also the philippinos - prof abet and prof mavi, sangat bersemangat and rajin. takenori inomata - japanese, stylo, single, kuat main games juga. chaihan (thailand), 28, single, drives an accord, kulit licin mengalahkan pompuan, tapi hairstyle macam org tua. the laos doctors yang kelakar n baik hati - dr khampoua n dr goumua. the mongolian ladies yang kuat shopping - dr urangchimeg and dr bulgan. the sweet and beautiful sylvia from taiwan. the chinese team yang asyik buat hal sendiri, and the quiet cambodians - dr sun sarin and sokunvary.
- a visit to Pimai Historical Park
paling i kagum semangat director korat course - Prof Konyama. we call him ah-jahn (cikgu). umur dia dah 82, tapi masih semangat nak memastikan the asia pacific region dapat upgradekan community eyecare. dia banyak experience, kerja ngan WHO, jadi lecturer kat john hopkins kat US and was instrumental in developing the ophthalmology service in thailand, laos, cambodia, vietnam and mongolia. kalu bagi lecture tak pernah duk diam, mesti nak jalan2. tapi kalu org present dia mesti tidur. kat telinga mesti ada earphone - suka dengar lagu! his last words on the closing ceremony sungguh menyentuh hati. i cried walaupun bukan main control macho tak nak bagi keluar airmata. he is the backbone of the korat course for the past 18 years, and i don't know whether this program will continue kalau dia dah tak de nanti.
- dr uran and Ah-Jahn Konyama
i learned a lot from that course. ah-jahn selalu kata: an action without a plan is bad, but plan and action without evaluation is even worse. kadang2 kita ni ghairah nak plan macam2 but we do not have enough resources to manage it and never evaluate what we do...
somehow... rindu pula kat kawan2 n korat.
