5 things you didn't know about the dik-dik

# 5. Home shit home. They mark their territory with dung deposits and with secretions from the preorbital gland.

# 4. Just say no to H2O. Dik-diks are herbivores and consume enough water in their food,making drinking unnecessary.

# 3. They are ri-dik-dik-ulously cute.

# 2. They belong to Kirk.

# 1. There is such a thing as a dik-dik

 

Ant and Jinna's Excellent Adventure

Guess who's back, back again. Ant is back, tell a friend.

For three weeks, I was sans watch, sans crackberry and sans internet. It was liberating, especially for someone so addicted to being "connected." But now that I'm back stateside, I've quickly re-established my need for speed.

Oh broadband internet, how I love thee.

Jinna bore the brunt of trip-planning as I was devoting almost every waking hour to cramming seemingly useless facts into my head. (Note: I checked my Step 1 scores while in Zanzibar. I passed). Inadvertently, we basically followed Lonely Planet's "bush & beach" itinerary.

Week 1: Nairobi, Kenya

The Idwasi family, the Rotarians who Jinna is currently living with, graciously opened their home (and kitchen) to me. Twas a glorious week. I slept in. I watched movies. I ate (lots). I shopped. I soaked in the sights and sounds of Nairobi and Karen (Nairobi's 'burbs). And most importantly, I managed to become human again. I also managed to acquire two additional little brothers. I already have two of 'em, which is trouble enough, but I'm adding two more to the pham-ily: Jason and Ben.

Week 2: Bush
5 day safari to Lake Nakuru, Lake Naivasha and Masai Mara Reserve with Wildcats Safaris (Go 'Cats!)

Week 3: Beach
Music festival. Zanzibar. Enough said.
Stay tuned. More pictures and stories to follow.

Do it for the story.

I’m a talker. It’s what I do: talk, think, usually talk without thinking. I’m not an expert at many things but I’ve pretty much mastered the art of foot-in-mouth. But after studying for over 6 weeks for Step 1, I find myself at a loss for words. I’m s/p 5 days (I guarantee you’ll do better at the bars/clubs if you use med jargon, trust me…), and I only almost feel human. Almost. I wanted to have something profound or even remotely funny to share but I don’t. I’m drained. Studying full-time somehow manages to suck up pieces of your soul and I need this next month off to scrounge up all the little pieces. It’s going to take that long to reacquire social and communication skills.

But as is my M.O., I’m headed out of the States - passport in hand, backpack strapped on - and spending 3 weeks in Kenya and Tanzania with Jinna "Afr.i.can" Yun. On the schedule so far: 5-day safari in the Masai Mara Reserve and 5 days in Zanzibar for Sauti za Busara. The rest, we will P.I.B.E. aka play-it-by-ear.

I temporarily hailed from the Hometown of Obama and now I’m off to the Homeland of Obama. My motto for life but especially for travel is: do it for the story. So, here’s to storymaking and storytelling...

Disclaimer: this entry was originally written for Emory SOM Admissions. Recycling posts is lame but I'm a busy girl.

Goodbye Vietnam

I'm currently in Hanoi, commie capital, and flying solo for the first time in 3 weeks. The Pham-ily flew back to Saigon yesterday morning and the Jess & Pooj circus act flew to Phnom Penh to continue their invasion of Southeast Asia. I spent a few hours catching up on emails and other sundry business and just sitting. In silence. Silence has been a rare commodity during my time in Vietnam. Yes, the honking and street noise is non-stop. But more importantly, my Pham-ily is loud; it's in the blood.

Clearly, the blogging while traveling through Vietnam didn't work out so well. We were on the go every other day or so, making leisure internet time scarce. To do things backwards, I'll post entries and pics from the States.

I fly out tonight at 11pm for a 24+ hour journey back to Atlanta.

goodbye vietnam. hello america.

Love is in the air

One bus ride and one ferry ride away from Bangkok, we arrived on the island of Ko Samet. I think the most effort spent in our 3 days there was the 15 minute walk into "town" to access an ATM and the local 7-11 for some bottled water... which we only bothered to do once. Seriously? Seriously.

I managed to get ridiculously tan in a ridiculously short period of time. Now, everyday as I walk through Saigon, I get catcalls. No, not that kind. But the kind guessing my nationality: Kampuchea? Thai? Filipino? Laos? Even when I correct them, I'm accused of lying. What a bittersweet homecoming to the motherland: rejected by my own people.
But I digress.

We befriended 3 Cambodian guys who worked at our hotel on the beach, only one even spoke English. Somehow 2 of them had fallen under the spell of my "magnetic face" and "charming smile." Direct quotes, my friends. Maybe I won't be returning to Emory in a few weeks after all...

p.s. Check out http://poojandjess.blogspot.com for more on our Thai adventures.

Quick update

We are back in Bangkok after 3 glorious days on the beaches of Koh Samet. I am about 5 shades darker. Jessica has a busted sunglasses tan. Pooja is anxious about meeting up with the Phamily in T-minus 1 day. Life is good.

We have one last night here in Bangkok (balls to the walls) and then off to Saigon tomorrow!

The eagle has landed

... albeit with some minor mishaps. I may have partied a little too hard in commemoration of the end of my M1 year. I may have made a pit-stop to the airplane lavatory for a little gastric acid removal via my upper GI tract. I may have forgotten to pack my glasses. I may have written down the name of my hostel incorrectly and had to go searching for Pooja at a few Khao San Road hostels. But at least I made my flight and am now in a Bangkok internet cafe staving off a little jetlag. The same could not be said for a certain Miss Jessica Nguyen. She partied a little too hard as well and completely missed her trans-Pacific flight. She is en route now on the same itinerary, only one day later.

The Nguyen sisters are a classy duo....

On a different note, as I boarded the shuttle from the airport to Khao San, I smiled as I heard the sweet melodies of Rihanna, Usher and Leona Lewis.

Welcome to Asia.

Freedom

...I can almost taste it.

Pooja is already in transit to Bangkok. Jess has finished her LSAT and said goodbye to her second graders. I'm almost done with this godforsaken renal module.

Tomorrow, freedom is going to taste like a cold cold beer on a hot hot day (and maybe some fried chicken). And as of Sunday, it's going to taste like endless curries and noodle dishes and pho and bu bo hue and hot street food and fresh tropical fruit and spring rolls and all sorts of dishes that I don't even know the names for... I cannot wait.

On the road again...

Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again,
And I can't wait to get on the road again.

As of Friday June 20 circa 4pm, I will officially be done with my M1 year. Lordy lordy. And what do you think I'll be doing on Saturday June 21? Leaving the country but of course. I fly to Bangkok, meeting up with Lil' Nguyen (aka J-Gun) in Tokyo's airport en route, and plan on putzing around Thailand for a week. Beaches, food and sun, oh my! We'll be with Pooja, a fellow NU'er (go 'cats!), and then it's off to Saigon... to meet up with 15 relatives. Pooj has no idea what she signed up for when she agreed to join three generations of the PNKD clan on their 2-week Vietnam invasion. Expect madness and mayhem to ensue.

After I leave Hanoi, Jess and Pooj will continue through Laos, Cambodia and Thailand (again)... I'm really happy that they're traveling without me. Really, I am. Not bitter at all...

It's been an up-and-down year. They weren't kidding when they said med school is an emotional roller coaster of a ride. Thank god for the good people in my life though. But hell, I've survived one year so no pity party for this girl. Life is different but it's still good.

I haven't been so good at updating this blog, but that's also because no one reads it unless I'm abroad.. I'm sure there'll be some stories to tell from the motherland though.

Until then... there's this little thing called an "exam" that I must pass.

Culture shock, anyone?

We've been back stateside for a month already. Where does the time go? Clearly, blogging got to be a bit tedious during the tail end of the trip. It's hard to sit still long enough to post entries and photos when you're having the time of your life, but I plan on getting around to recapping the last month (eventually). It's easier to send people to this site when they inevitably ask, "How was South America?" than answer with, "It was really South American."

Jess has returned to DC, and I am now a resident of Atlanta, Hotlanta, Antlanta, whatever you want to call it. It's been a whirlwind, and I don't feel quite at home yet. One Monday I was in Lima. On Tuesday I was in Houston. On Wednesday I was in Georgia. I wasn't used to putting toilet paper in the toilet proper before I was thrown into the crazy traffic and pollution of the ATL. Oh yeah, and I started med school at Emory. Culture shock on all levels... Slowly but surely, the longing to be back on the road is subsiding as I carve out a new life in a new city. I need the summer to be over stat because this smog and 100F weather is driving me bonkers.

over and out,
Ant