Day 0: Elective no Hajimari 〜エレクティブの始まり〜

こんにちは、
ポールです。

So the time has finally come. I leave for Japan in 6 hours and excited is not the word. The aim of this blog is to document this life changing trip and to allow my loved ones to see what I am getting up to. I wrote a blog during my last Japan trip and it was a roaring success so I decided to make another one (back by popular demand you might say).

Just in case you don't know what an Elective is, it is something that every medical student completes (usually in their final year of study) and it involves going to work in a hospital in another country for a couple of months. Like I mentioned recently in a Facebook status, I decided to goto Tokyo 5 years ago before I'd even applied for Medicine. If you know me at all you will know I have an obsession with Japanese culture. I will be working in the A&E department of the Jikei University Hospital in central Tokyo. The picture above is of the area I will be living and working in.

There is also a lot waiting for me in Japan. During my last trip I made some unbelievable friends who displayed amazing acts of human kindness. One man in particular I am dying to see again is Kouji. He essentially became like a brother to me and we lovingly refer to each other as ベア (bear). Unfortunately, last October I received news that Kouji was in hospital and paralysed from the neck down. He has finally been discharged after months of rehabilitation and I can't believe I get to see him tomorrow.

It still doesn't feel real and I don't think it will until my plane lands. I am going to miss all my nearest and dearest a lot. I turn 22 in a few weeks and it will be weird to not have a cray cray party. Please keep reading my blog and let me know what you think! Get ready for LOTS of photos. Love you all long time, bitches!

さようなら
おやすみなさい