Snowdrops for Ike

I have collected 8 snowglobes since I’ve come to UK. I thought they are almost magical and I often imagine myself being inside it. I like staring at the little shiny and white particles raining down the buildings in there.

My first snowglobe is of Venice. It’s one of the 2 places that I had been dying to go since I was 10. I wanted to go there for the musical significance and the gondola.

The second snowglobe is of Rome. The place that I enjoyed very much during my trip to Italy 2 years ago. I didn’t buy it then and after much regret, a good friend had kindly bought it for me from Rome a year ago.

The third one (yes, I’m going to list down every single snowglobe) is from York. I remember visiting York Minster all by myself during a society trip in 2005 because none of my friends was interested. And I was quite upset about that. And the snowglobe was bought by a flatmate a year after the trip.

The following snowglobe was from Windsor, where the Queen stays. It was a pretty place.

And a friend bought me the largest snowglobe of all, from London. I guess he was pretty frustrated, accompanying me when I went into almost every souvenir shop in that area, staring at each snowglobe without buying one. That snowglobe has got 2 of my most favourite landmarks in London, the London Eye and the Tower Bridge! How cool is that!

The next snowglobe I’ve received was from Berlin. I have not been there myself, but Take That held a concert there in 1994! Here’s a toast to TAKE THAT for reuniting!! (and to Mark Owen who remains cute after a decade.)

And in my recent travel to Salzburg and Prague, I bought a snowglobe from each place.

But the most important snowglobe of all is not yet in my collection. Florence. In the movie, ‘While You were Sleeping’, Bill Pullman gave Sandra Bullock a snowglobe of Florence, a place where she would like to have her honeymoon. And I like that movie very much, awed by Bill Pullman’s rugged looks and piercing eyes.

Someday I would like to make my own snowglobe. ‘Cause in snowglobes, there are only happy endings in there. No sad thoughts.

     In my days in the hospital, there are times when I feel like I won’t make it as a good doctor. Certain triggers will upset my thoughts, making me feel that way. But almost every Thursday, I will feel this renewed motivation to improve myself. It is GP day, when I’ll see my GP tutor and I don’t know why, I always feel like working hard in his presence. It’s almost as if I want him to see the positive changes in my skills, like how a child wants her father to praise her work.

     But today is not Thursday. For the past 2 weeks, I have been on this ward where this really nice F1 doctor is based. And she makes me feel like improving as well because she is such a great doctor and teacher who makes patients (and me) feel at ease. Moreover, my ward partner this time is so different from the other two that I was with. He listens and takes my concerns into consideration. I admire the way he talks to patients, the way he looks at them, and the words he carefully selects to say. Wish I could be like him in every way. So sincere and genuine.

     It is now the 15th week of Foundations of Clinical Practice in this hospital. The first semester of the year, filled with those first, awkward encounters with real patients, is ending soon. I am glad that this final week has been a great learning experience, made memorable by this wonderful F1 doctor and my ward partner. And today is one of those days that I feel that I can actually be a good doctor someday.