We have welcomed Hiroaki Watanabe and Shintaro Yurugi, two 4th year medical students to share their study abroad experiences.
Hiroaki Watanabe participated in the Medical English Program at Stanford University
Hiroaki shared his story entitled “Medical Exchange Program at Stanford”. Hiroaki lived in USA as a child for some years. So we think English Program must be a piece of cake for him plus summer in California sounds just nice & relaxing being there. But the program was intensive and tough even if Hiroaki was well prepared to work hard!
It was interesting to learn that medical students from Taiwan did pretty well at this program. Was it due to the difference in medical education system between Taiwan and Japan?
Program loaded with activities!
The schedule of the program was filled with variety of activities. Hiroaki learned quite a lot, and made many friends. He is much more motivated and confident to pursue his vision which became clearer now.
English is getting indispensable for medical professionals today. Thank you, Hiroaki, for reminding us that we need to work harder to provide students with the quality Medical English education!
Shintaro talked about his 2-weeks experience in Sri Lanka. He started talking about himself, then we learned the meaning of his presentation title “Struggle for Survival”. Shintaro’s journey started long before departing Japan.
Shintaro knew Sri Lanka as “Warm” & “Famous for Tea”!
By the way, what do we know of Sri Lanka? Honestly most of us do not know much, but are aware of its existence…. and that’s about it! Shintaro knew Sri Lanka as “warm” and “famous for tea”.
Ayurvedic Medicine is integral to Sri Lankan culture.
One of purposes of his trip was to learn the medical care in Sri Lanka. Talking about queues and chaos. There also are ayurvedic hospitals in Sri Lanka. Patients have options being treated in traditional ayurvedic medicine or Western medicine.
Shintaro also feels that he has increased the level of confidence and self-affirmation from this experience. Study abroad can be a powerful and transformative experience. Stay open to the opportunities and surprises, and you might find the new you!
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass
A big big thank you to Hiroaki and Shintaro for sharing awesome stories.
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Be brave to step out of your comfort zone, take some time away to explore the world, embrace unknown territory, and gain meaningful life experiences 🙂
