To my family and friends back home, sorry for the lack of updates (in terms of updating this blog) for the last 3 weeks?
Wow, has it really been that long? 
The past 3 weeks has been a whirlwind! It took me awhile to finally accept the fact that I'll be here, in Philadelphia for 2 years. The first few days felt like I was on a holiday; new places, new environment, new weather, new food, new faces! It really felt like I was on a trip but minus my family.. 
But it's slowly sinking in that it's no longer gonna be all play, but hard work! Orientation started on the 6th of May and we've been slowly introduced to the American healthcare system which I think is really great in terms of preparing us for what to expect! But I'll save that for another post so I can further elaborate(especially for my med student friends who are interested!)! 
After the insanely long tiring and emotional flight 
, I finally arrived in Philly at bout 6:30am local time. It helped that I didn't fly alone and had a friend to fly with and to navigate our way around the airport together cause trust me, you do NOT want to get lost in LAX.
Surprisingly, I wasn't tired when I arrived. I was overwhelmed! The difference in culture was immediate! The tipping culture in Malaysia is almost nonexistent whereas in the States, it'd be considered disrespectful (?) if you don't tip? So we had to take a cab to our dorm which is Martin Hall, and we thought we'd tip the taxi driver (after his many obvious hints that he accepts tips >.<) 15-20% of our fare (which is the normal rate btw if you're wondering). After we paid him the money and gave him his tip, he said to us that it was too little and told us that *said amount of $$$* was the normal fare! We didn't want to stir up trouble so we gave him the money and thanked him but thinking retrospectively, I think my friend and I were tricked? >.<
We arrived on a rainy gloomy dreary Monday morning 
. Something we did not expect! So honestly, Philly didn't give me a very good first impression! >.< Bring out the 
I thought!!! I was very cold and also wet because our umbrellas were in our luggage (obviously!!) and the both of us had to lug about 6-7 bags altogether from the street to the entrance of our dorm, up the stairs into the lift and then to our rooms!! T_T If you'd see us from afar, we probably looked like a pair of sad drenched Asians lugging huge bags!
BUT over the next few days, Philly managed to redeem itself! Pictures below as proof! 
Why thank you! How nice of them!
So this is the door to my room! And yes, my room is seven eleven 
and yes, that brightly lit room next door is the kitchen. Still trying to decide if living right next to the kitchen is a good or bad thing! 
Pro - More convenient when cooking (if I forget soya sauce or oil, I can just grab it next door)
- I have close access to a sink for emergencies
Con - Weird/funky smells in my room [I've yet to experience this but then again, my floor is a new floor]
- Noisy chatter from people just hanging out in the kitchen or watching TV
Problem now is that I can only truly consider these cons when people start moving in. The walls are soundproof so I don't think (I hope!!!) noise won't be so much of a problem but the doors aren't soundproof though. We'll see..
And yeap, this was how creepy the walkway to my room was when I first arrived!! But I assure you, it's not so scary anymore cause the kitchen light is mostly on.. >.<
And ladies and gentlemen, on the left we have here a microfridge which is a microwave attached to a mini fridge! And to your right, we have a super small study table with limited shelf space and a single bed with 2 drawers below.
Oh and not to forget, the closet for clothes and a mirror!
And yes, I don't have a personal toilet in my room to my dismay. SIGH. This was something that bothered me for quite awhile but since I couldn't do anything about it, I just accepted it! I'm already getting used to the idea of a shared toilet although I find it highly inconvenient (and also illogical) to have to SEPARATE the shower room from the peeing/pooping/sink room! WAI?!?! *scratches head* 
These were the bags I came with. They don't look that hard to handle right?
OH THINK AGAIN!!! The big ones each weighed about 28 kilograms (!!!) and I STILL have things I didn't manage to bring cause of the limited weight!
This was my plane outfit. I was contemplating whether to sacrifice comfort over style (trust me, I thought about it for a few days!) but in the end comfort >>> style!
Okay the picture of the furniture below are arranged in increasing order of importance. Just for the fun of it. 
Yeap, the closet has now been reduced to the least important furniture of all. I know I know,what happened to the Chloe we used to know?? If I was still home, this would probably be one of the more important things.. but 3 weeks can really change a person, guys…
HAHA!! Jokes jokes, I'm still the same person la! Just maybe more independent……
AND *newsflash*!!!
I think I've been domesticated… -__-
I find cooking…. therapeutic. 
And I find joy in vacuuming my room.
Thus, this microfridge has more value than the closet. >.<
(ps/ I love how the microfridge was brand new when I moved in!! ^_^ )
#housewifeinthemaking #whatisthis #icameheretobeadoctor !!!
And yes, the study table will always be #1!
Although I really miss my study table back home though. This table is much too small..The laptop already takes up so much space! Gonna try and make do and see if I can tolerate it! If not, I might go look for a table from a second hand furniture shop or something.. #studentbudget #whyamihashtagging ?!?
This is the gorgeous view right outside my window. 
Hence, I love keeping my blinds up just so the sunrays can come in! 
Okay so this is my room after wiping all the surfaces and vacuuming and unpacking! I'll upload another pic sometime in June after my family comes to visit cause then I think my room will feel and look home-ier (with all the stuff I'm asking them to bring! 
) and my comforter will at least match! The reason why they don't now is because the comforter I have in Msia was too big and fluffy and it would have taken up too much luggage space. So genius me decided to sacrifice a comforter for more clothes. >.<
And on the first day I arrived, it was soooo cold!!! And I couldn't possible survive the night without a blanket so my generous boyfriend lent me his comforter till my family visits! Don't worry, he has another one so he isn't freezing or anything. >.<
I moved the drawers under my bed to the other side of the room to make a makeshift dresser!! But this isn't how it looks like now! It looks a lot better now actually but I'll show u guys in June!
Okay so that's the tour of my room. Maybe I'll show you guys the kitchen and toilet another time.
This was the lobby of the hotel that my friend Sara's mum stayed at while she was here!! I think it was the Ritz and it was extremely fancy!!! So we had to take pictures! xD
Tsung Wai, Sara, me and Adrian! I think this was my second day in Philly!
SEE!!! I told you Philly redeemed itself!! Look how gorgeous the sky is!!! 
I just found out that this centre circle thingy (yeap, that's what we've been calling it for the past 3 weeks) actually has a name!!! >.< It's called Jefferson Lubert Plaza!! Or The Plaza!!
They were having an event that day hence the food. The building with the reflective windows is the CSU building of Jefferson. And yes, they have a whole building dedicated to CSU (aka Clinical Skills Unit!)! It's called the Hamilton Building! And omg, the models here are crazy amazing!!! By models I mean the fake mannequins that act as patients so we can practice on them!
They have a model that actually gives birth to a mannequin baby!! @_@ And the mannequins here SPEAK!!! OMG. And scream in pain. T_T_T So amazing!! And the mannequin that allows us to practice listening to heart sounds? His name is Harvey and his chest AND abdomen moves with respiration. AND his neck veins pulse according to the murmur. T_T_T_T_T Apparently he costs $500,000. *faints* And there's a control room for the doctors to control how the mannequins will respond to our care and treatment! They even have heart rates and pulses! So they're basically almost real!! Super cool. I'm currently still amazed as I type this out. >.<
That statue in the picture, he's Samuel D. Gross. A renowned trauma surgeon that graduated from Jefferson Medical College! *proud* He was immortalized in a famous painting called "The Gross Clinic"! Click on the link to read more about him on wiki! I'll probably take a close up another time!
And finally, a picture of the group!!
From left to right - Adrian, Huei-Wen, Sara, Yinn Shaung, Tsung Wai and me! This is the bunch of people that I'll be going through 2 years of hard work with! 
So far we're all getting along really well and I think we'll come out of med schools not just as doctors but as great friends! Cheers to the coming years together, guys!! 
Another photo of us just because it's hard to get all 6 of us in one shot! Somehow 1 person will be missing!
#ootd There's a huge mirror next to the lift for ootds!!
Okay, so the weather here is actually very very dry. I think I'll be experiencing premature aging. T_T_T_T And I think I'm getting tanner as well!!! T_T_T_T_T
Sunny day so we had lunch outside at the Plaza!!
So here's a little snippet of Philadelphia. I know it's not a good representation of the whole city but stay tuned for more of that! 
I have more pictures to share! Since I'm Asian and I take pictures of almost everything. >.<
Anyways, everything is going well here and we're all healthy and well! Praise God! To those back home, stay safe and I miss you guys!!!! T_T
Ps/ If any of you notice any weight changes in the pictures with me in it, please do NOT hesitate to leave a comment on the post/text/whatsapp/fb message me!!!!! Especially if you think I'm gaining weight. -.- Cause seriously, the food portions here are ginormous!!! And I discovered a love for cooking! T_T_T So just let me know, I won't bite! I would be more than happy to be 'notified' so I can start losing weight. LOL
Okay till next time, lovelies! <3 all the way from Philly!
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