Merry Maryland

Still puffy eyed after Jamie’s long, warm and also tearful hug outside of Baltimore-Washington International Airport, armed with a newly acquired AC resistant hoodie and a bag full of snacks, I am about to catch a flight back to reality, with a brain bursting with half-processed new experiences and memories.
It’s been a week, but it definitely feels more like a whole month.

After a hilarious welcome WhatsApp combo and an awkward exchange with a very flirtatious customs official, Jamie and Elle kidnapped me at this same airport late at night what feels like an eternity and a half ago. I had one job: to fall asleep and “recover from the surely exhausting long journey” to the carefully curated soothing playlist they had prepared. But I failed miserably. How couldn’t I? After seven months, there were just too many things to catch up on. There was a delicious peanut butter-jelly sandwich and pasta salad, the American highway, all the diners, all the boats, the full moon, the amusement parks... They would have had to use elephant tranquilizer to put me down.

Upon arrival, we were warmly welcomed by Jamie’s wonderful mom. I vaguely remember seeing the biggest hotdog tomatoes of my life resting on the kitchen counter, then found myself in the largest, most tastefully decorated, private bedroom I’d ever been in. Just after saying goodbye to Jamie and before hitting the AMAZING mattress, I heard Kay’s soft steps approaching from the other end of the hallway. Her beaming smile and cute Bambi pajamas put the perfect ending to a beautiful beginning.

I still remember what it felt like to wake up to those views. Soft, warm morning light, gorgeous water front with private dock and two shining boats. A background of lush nature, clear skies. My jaw dropped so low I had to drag it around on the floor during the first waking hour. How was this even real? How did I end up there? Paradoxically, it was like waking up to a dream. And a dream is exactly what the rest of the week felt like.

So many things happened I could not put my hand on fire to swear on the order of things. I just know that even in those moments we did absolutely nothing, our days were full: full of sunshine and humid summer air, full of laughter, full of delicious food, full of heartfelt of just fun conversation, full of togetherness, harmony, love, family and friendship.

The first half of our first whole day together we hung out by the pool. At the barbecue hosted by her parents that afternoon, we met Jamie’s neigbours and family, including her grandma: an accomplished, very elegant woman with a fascinating aura, stunning artistic talent, and a surprisingly youthful and cheeky sense of humor, whose life work decorated most common areas of the family’s homes we had the pleasure of visiting. It was fun but also intimidating to meet so many people at the same time, and I didn’t think the day could get any more intense than that, but then the most magical thing happened: hundreds of flickering fireflies appeared at dusk, making everything look like a reflection of the beautiful night sky above just inches over the ground. It filled my heart with joy and awe in a similar way the Northern Lights did last October (minus the tears). I remembered Owl City’s “Fireflies”:

You would not believe your eyes
If ten million fireflies
Lit up the world as I fell asleep
'Cause they fill the open air
And leave teardrops everywhere
You'd think me rude but I would just stand and stare

I'd like to make myself believe that planet Earth turns slowly
It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep
'Cause everything is never as it seems

Eating crab is not something I ever thought I’d do, not to mention opening it myself with my bare hands and using the primitive force of a crab mallet (and my teeth, but based on everyone’s reaction, this seems to be something NOT to be proud of). Even the whole experience around it was priceless, hanging out at Doc’s Sunset Grille while listening to live music and watching a live hotdog eating contest, plus enjoying a beautiful rainbow sitting on the grass by the creek wearing our Powerpuff Girls style matching Oxford t-shirts.

Driving to Potomac to drop off Kay at the airport on Friday was bittersweet. We enjoyed the long car drive, the talking, the singing, the laughing… but we’d miss her wisdom, relentless energy and sense of humor on our last day.
We had dinner in Washington DC that evening, rejoining Nicole and meeting one of her friends, and having the pleasure of seeing Megan again after our Amsterdam trip early this year. Crazy to think this actually happened, that I got to see her so soon again. “Is this a special event?” is what our waitress asked while pointing my camera at us. I told her we were celebrating Friendship Day. And so it seemed: an impossible astronomical alignment that brought Jamie, our common Greece friends, her family and my friend together around that table.

But not everything was rainbows and butterflies (in this case meant quite literally). Just like some of the lessons learned and solidified.
The turmoil unfolding in my heart, the sadness entering it since I decided to crack it open. I cannot think about it without tears filling my eyes, and so their shed amount on account of these feelings in the past would have been enough to refill Peachblossom Creek in its entirety at the other side of my morning window. Just like a fruit with a compromised spot, I cut out the part of my heart that was hurting to prevent it from spoiling the rest. And then chopped it into tiny pieces and scattered them in the bay.
There is a hole again. But, according to Rumi, “the wound is the place where the light enters you.” Even though it doesn’t feel like it now, I can only hope the light of everything beautiful that always happens is bright and warm enough to make the missing parts grow back.

I’m midflight now, daydreaming about our next reunion in Madeira, and looking forward to the bright things that’ll hopefully come our way until then.

Singapore

Singapore did not disappoint.

Landing close to midnight threw me off a bit, but I was not ready at all for the 30°C hot humid air that hit me after setting foot outside of the terminal. The strong floral smells and the loud animal noises emanating from the lush vegetation all around were also equally unexpected and a complete change of setting from Japan.
I walked for half an hour to the Lyf hotel ─a tired, sweaty and sticky starving mess─ only to find the only available source of nourishment for the evening would consist of a small bag of Hello Panda Fun Filled Biscuit Treats.

Fortunately, once you hit rock bottom, things can only improve from there.

The next day, my one and only free day in Singapore, I did what I was most excited about first thing in the morning: visiting the Botanic Gardens. As it always is with tropical weather, I was caught off guard by sudden drenching rain at the entrance, which made me hesitate and almost turn back. I’m glad I didn’t, though, as it stopped as abruptly as it started, giving way to a splendid (albeit extremely hot and humid) morning.

Oh. My word. That place. How do I describe it using simple words? Exuberant, lush, magnificent? I love my camera very much, but the pictures I took just don’t do justice to what it was like being there. Saying plants came in all shapes and sizes would be a half-lie, since although the variety of them was overwhelming, they were all XXL. I felt as if I had been shrunk by Wayne Szalinski and placed at the core of a massive OBI style garden retailer. At one point, around the lotus pond, I was moved by my surroundings to the verge of tears. Nature remains forever a wondrous mystery to me, a fascinating miracle of existence and a never-ending source of awe. Granted one doesn’t walk throught gardens containing hundreds of tropical species every single day, but alone knowing these creatures exist in such abundance, variety and diversified beauty should be enough to maintain a general baseline sense of appreciation and wonder for the world we live in.

During my almost 3h at the gardens, I came across a hundred tourists or so, tops. Nothing compared to the massification experienced at the Arashiyama bamboo grove near Kyoto, for example. Also, most of the people I saw were middle aged, accompanied by family members or friends, and overtly as fascinated and mesmerized by the nature around us as I was. No 'influencers', no husband/boyfriend photographers exploited by their female counterparts. I think all these facts definitely had a positive impact on my mood and my train of thought.
I, once again, remembered what kind of experiences I find most joyous and uplifting, and which are those that drain me.

Long story short: after New Zealand, I didn’t think I’d love any botanic garden as much I did Christchurch’s. But I might have found a replacement for my personal number one.

That day I also enjoyed a delicious quinoa salad with chicken and the mandatory Ginger Ale at a grill place at Marina Bay Sands. Table for one with first row seat to the Singaporean skyline. There’s something freeing about taking myself out on a restaurant or movie theatre date somewhere no one knows me, and around people I know I’ll never see again.
I spent the afternoon losing track of time while exploring the luxurious shopping mall, with its own water canals and waterfall, the ArtScience museum and its 'Future World' exposition, as well as enjoying the astounding panoramic vistas over the city and the beautiful Gardens by the Bay from the SkyPark Observation Deck.
So much so, that I was once again left with nothing but another Happy Panda biscuits-based dinner that night…

And then, next day, finally I set foot on the IDKD Asia 2023. Bus line 200 took me straight to the Shaw Foundation Alumni House at the National University of Singapore according to plan, just in time for registration.
It was very intimidating at first: hundreds of radiologists of all ages, and only two other participants besides myself of European origins. A very welcoming talk held by the very warm and likeable Prof. Khong, as well as two interesting talks on spine imaging and sarcomas respectively would set the tone and high standard for the rest of the event, carried out by expert professionals, knowledgeable but charismatic and mostly very engaging (For example, I never thought I’d actually enjoy hand-wrist radiology until Dr. Hillary W. Garner flew all the way from Florida to change my mind).

Even though most workshops by far surpassed a duration most humans can consistently maintain focus for, I absolutely enjoyed most of them: from arthritis and infection by Dr. Teh from Oxford, metabolic and endocrine disease by Dr. Bredella from Harvard, to tumors and tumor-likes from Dr. Garner from Florida (probably my favorite).
I repeatedly found myself in awe of these people, wondering about the insane amount of time and work invested into acquiring all this important knowledge that they seemingly so effortlessly delivered to us in such a delightfully comprehensible and even intuitive manner, which made me view them with nothing but respect and inspiration.

As my brain was enjoying the nutritious new radiological knowledge, so was my body the delicious mostly rice and vegetable-based lunches, as well as tasty samosas and vegetarian spring rolls during coffee breaks.

But aside from the purely academic aspect of the experience, one of the most enriching was, without a doubt, the social one: having the opportunity to meet and chat with so many different radiologists from across Asia: Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, India… all of them with their unique stories, educational and healthcare systems and backgrounds… all of them for me to slowly unravel and delight in.
Most colleagues I found extremely polite, conversational, open minded and kind, and they struck me as generally humbler and more approachable than your average stranger Swiss/German resident that I would otherwise encounter at a venue like that (I hope no one fitting those criteria ever reads this).

Soon enough, I felt very comfortable and well-integrated and found myself effortlessly enjoying casual chats about our evenings, our families, our favorite speakers, food, languages…
What a wonderful, wonderful experience that I’m never going to get tired of thinking of and appreciating and cherishing… and most definitely aspiring to repeat.
I also deepened my appreciating for MSK imaging, easily influenced by the amazing talkers’ contagious fascination for it. Definitively many good choices have been made lately.

But I also enjoyed my solo evenings in Singapore to an unimaginable degree. I think maybe the fact that English is an official language there was a key factor played in the fact that after Japan, I never felt homesick again, or like I was missing something.
The time I spent by myself I did in quiet contemplation, peace and joy ─be it going to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve (aka. Singaporean zoo) for a night safari (with the human line to get there as its wildest component), or ditching my movie theater ticket to see Suzume to go back to Marina Bay and explore the beauty of the Gardens by the Bay from the inside, as well and enjoying a tear-inducing sunset from the mall’s terrace… Another moment turned into memory by now that I hold dear ─bold pastels softly transitioning into one another, slowly changing on a clear beautiful sky acting as a background to the first flickering artificial lights of the Singaporean skyline, with small tourist boats slowly cruising on the bay waters...
There is no better word to describe what I felt in that moment than absolute bliss.

On a side note, after learning from my errors, I was determined to avoid yet another Happy Panda biscuit meal, so I armed myself with homemade lemon tea as well as Tom Yum Fried Rice with seafood from the food court (Yes, it was, indeed, very yum, but it also definitely drilled an ulcer through my duodenal mucosa that night).

I felt sad about saying goodbye to my new IDKD friends on the last day (Facebook and emails were exchanged, as well as promises of reciprocal notification in case of visit to our respective continents), but I also very much enjoyed the 5 hours spent at massive Changi Airport, strolling around Jewel mall while getting my last souvenirs and a great new book.

After around 16 hours or so of travel here I am, back in Basel.
As always, with the change of setting to a familiar one, all these newly past experiences feel both, viscerally vivid and like a faraway dream, only fueling my desire for more, more, more!

It is good to be back, though, especially considering the beautiful weather minus the stuffiness of tropical South East Asia and the mosquitos that go with it.

Homesick ホームシック

I’ve been sitting on my Kyoto pocket room bed for a while trying to come up with a single-word-title that accurately portrays my current mood. The best I could do was “homesick”. I hadn’t felt this way in a loooong time, at least not with this intensity. What I sense right now is a watered-down version of what it was like to leave Spain on my own for the first time to partake in our Schulastauschprogramm der 6. Klasse.
Maybe it’s the fact that I haven’t been here long enough to truly adapt, or that I haven’t spent enough time with my travel buddies yet (pretty jealous of their ongoing trip to Hiroshima and Osaka). All I know is that I currently feel a sense of deep longing for the familiar: languages around me I can (at least partially) understand, written characters I can recognize, more predictable surroundings, aesthetics, movements, gestures… It’s so strange because I’m not used to feeling this way when I travel. Just now the young Polish guy at the Apple store seemed so… ecstatic to have moved here to make a living (never heard a Caucasian person speak Japanese so fluently before, by the way. It absolutely blew me away).

Overall, though, it’s been an incredible experience I never actually thought I’d have.
After Tokyo the captivating sites, sights and flavors just kept coming: visiting feudal Takayama in the gorgeous region of Gifu Prefecture, setting foot in the Takayama Jin’ya as well as the solemn and mysterious Hida Folk Village, taking a traditional Japanese bath and playing games on our knees on a tatami to end up spending the night on a shikibuton, enjoying amazing authentic Japanese meals at secluded, traditional restaurants, strolling around in Kyoto, its Geisha District, the covered market, visiting the famous Fushimi Inani Shrine, the mesmerizing Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, the Imperial Palace, the golden temple of Kinkaku-ji, all those delicious taiyakis… and the upcoming karaoke tonight (can’t wait!).

Or maybe my current mood is mostly due to the fact that I just spent the past 3 hours on my own, taking an hour long walk to the Pandora store on retrospectively pretty dodgy looking streets and alleys, and my first solo subway trip back… I realized how atrophied my survival skills had become after almost a week of following Fuji, A or P around. When hordes of people around me are constantly rushing in every direction with fearless determination, it just makes my baseline confusion and hesitation derived from being in a completely foreign continent the more intense by mere contrast.

In short, this has been a blast so far: enriching, stimulating, fun… But I miss home. I miss my friends, I miss my job, my time zone, Basel, Freiburg, Tenerife. I miss my gym, my bike, the hospital, I miss my parents and my brothers…
It's been only one week but I’ve been feeling so alienated and decontextualized often. I can’t help but think of how a Japanese person must feel when moving to any western country. The initial sense of indefinite disconnect and disorientation must be nothing short of overwhelming and scary…

Update:

I’m in a way better mood today. Karaoke was otherworldly: fancy, private staged room for our group with countless screens and lyrics displayed both in Japanese and English, all the songs to ever exist and more a couple of iPad screen taps away, finger food and drinks for all tastes… and sturdy mirror glass that resisted the wrecking soundwaves produced by our amateur singing voices.

The goodbye after that was very sad, especially considering the celebratory context of lovely H’s birthday after midnight and the sweet hug between her and Fugi, who I know I’ll probably never see again. And waking up early in the morning to take another lonesome subway trip to Kyoto main station to catch my Haruka train to the airport didn’t make things better.
Until the nice gentleman seated next to me in our otherwise empty wagon stablished conversation based on our delay due to an accident involving “contact with a person” (I find the fact that this seems to be a very common theme around here extremely saddening and concerning). He told me about his contact lens manufacturing business and how today is a big day for him, as he is moving his business to China. A very interesting conversation followed on a variety of topics, including cultural and behavioral differences between the Chinese and the Japanese (apparently the former speak “too much” and “too loud”), the Japanese language, the demographic problem of Japan’s aging population, Covid in Japan, school and healthcare systems… his eye doctor friend from Madrid and my mandatory recommendations on Tenerife while disclosing its location on his google maps. It all ended with an email/business card exchange and a selfie at Terminal 1 of Kansai International Airport.

Now I’m actually kind of daydreaming about Singapore and its art and science museum, the botanic garden, the fireworks by the bay… And, uh, yes, right, the musculoskeletal radiology course too, of course.

PS.: As a souvenir, my shoulders and nose are as red as Japan's flag. It was mostly pretty nice weather after all.