November 19th - 23rd
To explain a title that probably needs no explanation - it has been both hot and rainy this week. To make up for this, we keep our rooms unseasonably cold. Walking to school each morning requires braving a very large and busy intersection. To date, we remain unscathed.
This past weekend, we visited Songkhla, also known as Old Town. Two pharmacy residents were gracious enough to be our tour guides for the day. We really enjoyed this day trip. See the pictures below to check out everything we got to see!
On Sunday, we spent the day at Central Festival, the local mall. We found pizza! We decided to split a "medium" that was the American equivalent to a personal pan pizza. Anyway, the two bites we got to eat were delicious! After pizza we watched "Fantastic Beasts" in the nicest movie theater we have ever been in. Our *leather* seats reclined and included pillows and blankets. Tickets were 450 baht each (roughly $13 USD). We even enjoyed popcorn, but obviously we made sure to sample it first. Here we have learned just because something looks familiar doesn't mean it is.
For our rotation this week, we were assigned practice sites. Liz was split up from Janie and Kelly. Liz spent the days rounding with an interdisciplinary team on the hematology floor. Liz is learning about leukemia and has listened to several Thai student presentations. In addition to being overwhelmed with several sets of leukemia and lymphoma treatment guidelines, one general observation was that the caloric requirement for cancer patients is the same as a malnourished patient (30-35 kcal/kg/day).
Janie and Kelly have been on the hemodialysis floor learning about both types of dialysis (peritoneal and hemodialysis). We heard our preceptor speak with the hemodialysis patients about their medications, although the conversations all had to be translated.
We have all noted that the pharmacists here spend more time counseling patients at bedside. It's been our experience that it averages to be about 30 minutes per patient. Pharmacists and pharmacy students were welcomed by patients.
At a separate trip to Central Festival this week, we went to Sizzler, a western restaurant and enjoyed an awesome salad bar and grilled chicken. While we've definitely found some Thai foods that we like, we miss food that reminds us of home!
En route to Central Festival on a Songthaew (pronounced "song tail" - it's a mini open bus). Zipping around on one of these through town is a little scary, but fun. It's a little difficult to communicate with drivers and we've learned it's best to not ask how much a ride will cost and to assume it will be 10 baht.
This weekend we plan to visit Koh Lipe, a nearby island!
Stay tuned for more beautiful, scenic pictures.
A tad bit homesick because of Thanksgiving, but still having fun,
JKL